kerstin.baertschi

The breakfast buffet at the hotel was very good and there was something for everyone. We enjoyed the breakfast and discussed what we wanted to do today. First we went to Svolvær, about 115km from Sortland. The sun didn’t show itself today either, but at least it didn’t rain at times and so we were … Read more

Nyksund is a small old fishing village on Vesterålen in northern Norway.  The harbour is used by the 2 islands Nyksund and Ungsmaløya. In 1959 the 2 islands were connected. The village has been abandoned several times as the natural harbour became too small for the ever-growing fishing boats. In the meantime, Nyksund is being … Read more

The hotel was not far from the harbour. The parking was behind the house and the rooms were nice.  Downstairs at the reception, there was coffee for the hotel guests. Everyone checked into their room and we arranged to meet 40 minutes later downstairs at the reception. Just as I was spreading out my photo … Read more

We arrived in Sortland before the KONG HARALD. As usual, it was raining. Every now and then the rain let up a little, but the sun did not appear. At the quay we looked for a good place to watch the KONG HARALD coming in. By now, a bunch of passengers had gathered and wanted … Read more

So it happened that one of my Norwegian Instagram friends wrote me that the Hurtigruten ship, MS KONG HARALD, would be in Sortland tomorrow at 12:30am. This message was sent after midnight and accordingly I was a bit confused. Was tomorrow the same as today or tomorrow the same as tomorrow. I asked back and … Read more

Eva had booked an overnight stay at Sirena Guest House in Skarstein about 15 minutes before Andenes. My sat nav didn’t know the place, but luckily there was a sign. When we arrived, we only took the suitcases and wanted to get the rest later. An employee showed us the rooms and the kitchen. Both … Read more

From Trondenes we continued to Andenes. We decided to take the overland route without the ferry, so we now had about 225km ahead of us. The following photos are from the road. I can’t tell you where exactly, because we just stopped wherever we liked and there was a possibility. At some point Eva felt … Read more

The first destination was the church of Trondenes. Approx. 65 km from the airport in Evenes. The church (Norwegian: kirke) is the northernmost medieval stone church in Norway and the northernmost surviving medieval building in the world. It is located at the northernmost edge of Harstad. The church from the car park. The weather was … Read more

When we entered the airport building at 5.30am the next morning, we were surprised how many people were already on the move at this time. This time we had to queue to print out the baggage label and to check in our luggage. Luckily Eva had booked priority check-in, because at the normal check-in the … Read more

Fourteen days after my return, I was still halfway to Norway. Many of my work colleagues complained that the holiday had been far too short to recover properly. For me, 5 days in Norway was enough and I was still fully recovered 14 days later and nothing could get me off my feet. I know … Read more