The excursion to Urke was one of the excursions you could book on board. We were a small group.
The Kong Harald couldn’t dock in Urke, so we had to change to a tender boat to get ashore. Masks were compulsory for the transfer and on the tender boat, as the required minimum distance could not be maintained here (corona protection measure).
From the tender boat, we boarded the bus, where our small group had enough space to enjoy the bus journey without masks. Our tour guide was an older Norwegian woman who knew a lot of interesting things and took great pains to explain everything to us.
We drove into the mountains and looked at the huts where the reindeer herders used to live. It was very impressive.
Our tour guide had brought a thermos flask of coffee and a Norwegian sweet for everyone. We had enough time to look round the huts.
Then we went back to the harbour. There we learnt some interesting facts about the small village of Urke. I was so fascinated by this that the following information has stayed with me. Only 53 people live in Urke, 10 children, 31 adults and 12 teenagers. There are also some people who have a hut here and therefore spend a lot of time in Urke. Some people have also found work here. The inhabitants are self-sufficient, i.e. they live from fishing and hunting and there is a small shop in the village where you can buy everything you need. There is also a small market garden where you can buy fresh tomatoes and vegetables and the fjord supplies the fish. There are goats and sheep for meat. There is even a small power station that produces the electricity and if anything else is needed, the residents drive to Ålesund. The shop is also the meeting place where people come together to hike in the mountains, go fishing or simply enjoy the view and the good life in Urke. When we were there, the shop was having its lunch break.
