EDITOR'S NOTE: Today, we offer Part Four of a seven-day series on boat-related vacations that leave the steering, cooking and maintenance to somebody else. For more about this series and why we did it, please see the Room 13 blog.
Kirkenes, Norway, may be the only place on Earth where the sight of wildflowers and virgin pine forests is a letdown. The town, about 850 miles above the Arctic Circle, is closer to the North Pole than to the capital in Oslo so a visitor could be forgiven for expecting something more intense than Currier and Ives scenery.
But then the Arctic culture begins to unfold: getting stuck in a reindeer traffic jam, for instance, or opening up a menu to find the daily special is pan-fried whale.
Kirkenes is the starting point of a six-day Norwegian Coastal Voyage trip down a jigsaw shoreline that resembles an unfinished puzzle. According to local legend, God created the world in six days and on the seventh, he had so many leftover stones he threw them on the ground and called it Norway. That's one way to explain this crazy coastal topography of endless islands, year-round snow-capped mountains and fjords carved out of ancient glaciers.
The Norwegian Coastal Voyage fleet of 11 vessels has been navigating these waters for more than a hundred years. Ships like the 490-passenger MS Nordkapp deliver everything from food to coffins to towns tucked away in 34 ports of call. These days, though, people are the main cargo and Mother Nature provides the entertainment. Standard rooms on the Nordkapp are compact, with a seating area, fold-down berth and usually a view. The newest vessels in the fleet are the Millennium ships, which have a gym, sauna, Internet café, multiple restaurants and beautifully suites with balconies.
Iyna Bort Caruso
There are many ways to get on the water, and not all of them involve sitting in the captain's chair. While we all love our boats, planning a vacation as a passenger this winter will allow you to travel to exotic waters while leaving the hassles to someone else. To lend some inspiration to your planning, Mad Mariner is publishing a story every day this week that highlights vacations both exotic and aquatic - vacations to places like Norway, where at least it is cold and beautiful.
15 POUND CRABS
During World War II, when Norway was under German occupation, Kirkenes' strategic location on the Russian border and the Barents Sea made it a battleground. By war's end, it was reduced to rubble and had the sad distinction of being one of the most bombed-out places in all of Europe. To this day, mountains are hollow from use as bunkers, rocks are pockmarked from torpedo holes, and undersea divers encounter war wrecks.
