An Instagram friend had written me that the Polarlys would be in Ålesund all day today. That was good, because I could buy something for my friend back home. She is a big fan of the Polarlys ship. It also gave me a chance to see my Instagram friend live.
So after breakfast, I walked to the Hurtigruten quay. I got there in time to watch the Polarlys dock. On my Instagram account (link at the end of this post) you can also find a video of the docking.
When all the passengers had disembarked, I went on board. I was given a guest boarding pass. There was also a really big Christmas tree near the shop. In the shop on deck 4, I had arranged to meet my Instagram friend. We had a short chat, then she had to go back to work and I went shopping in the shop. But it was really cool to meet her live 😊.
In the shop I also found presents for my girlfriend at home. I bought a Hurtigruten ship made of Lego bricks not only for my girlfriend, but also for myself. You can also build my favourite ship, the Kong Harald, with this kit 😊. The jacket I really wanted to buy for myself was unfortunately not available in my size 😢. I already wanted to buy a Hurtigruten jacket like this when I was travelling with the Kong Harald, but it wasn’t available in my size then either. So I kept looking.
When I got to the checkout and wanted to pay, they explained that guests are not allowed to buy anything in the shop. Guests are allowed to visit the ship, eat and drink something, but not to buy anything in the shop. I explained that they were all just gifts, but that didn’t help. Luckily, someone behind me with a valid boarding pass heard my discussion and took my purchases on his boarding pass. I was very happy, paid and thanked him. As we all know, shopping makes you hungry, so I went to the café and enjoyed a typical Norwegian waffle.
After that, I went home with the presents. I took the opportunity to charge my mobile phone and then took the car to the aquarium. Several Instagram friends had given me this tip. So it had to be good 😉.
I was lucky and arrived on time for a feeding. The hall was full of small children with their parents. They were impressed by so many fish. When Father Christmas appeared, the little ones were unstoppable and talked even more and not only in Norwegian. It was an interesting mix of different languages (Norwegian, German, English, Spanish, etc.)😂
After Santa’s feeding was over, I took a look at the aquarium from the inside. It was very interesting and there were also panels about the individual fish, crabs and partly something about the history. Of course, there was also a knowledge corner to play in and various fish models. The time flew by.
The announcement that there was a feeding in the outdoor area fitted perfectly into my schedule. Let’s go outside.
After feeding, I went for a walk in the outdoor area. The penguins enjoyed playing with the spectators. At least it looked like it. But the landscape around the outdoor area was also very beautiful.
Then it was time to go home again. I rested a bit and then wrote the postcards I had bought on the ship. Yes, there are still people like my mother and some acquaintances who are happier to receive a card than a WhatsApp message.
After writing the postcards, I went in search of a letterbox. If you are looking for one, you won’t find one. In my search I ended up at Polarlys again. Have you ever wondered how you clean the windows of the bridge on a ship? If you want to know, check out my Instagram video (link below).
Unfortunately I didn’t find a letterbox, but I took some nice pictures of Ålesund and found a phone box with books. This is probably some kind of reading kiosk. I haven’t found out how it works.
When Virgil corrected the Norwegian translation, he also explained to me how the phone box works: The reading kiosk is available to anyone who wants to borrow books. You can pick up one or more books and return books you have read yourself.
In the evening we had Fiskeboller with bacon again. I had bought two ready-made meals.
Afterwards, in addition to the WhatsApp status, a photo of Father Christmas was sent to my two Instagram friends who had given me the tip about the aquarium.
Instagram “Polarlys is docking”
Instagram “Cleaning windows on the Polarlys”