Standing on top of the world

If you’re a veteran traveler, you know all about the world’s most famous places to visit – Hawaii, Disney World, London, Caribbean islands, Panama Canal, European rivers, Alaska, Paris, African safaris, Mediterranean resorts, Greek islands, New York City, etc., etc.

But I just returned from a place that may not be on your cruising radar. Ever been to, or considered going to, the Norwegian fjords, and experiencing Lapland and all of its reindeer and Santa Claus fantasies? Or mixing an ocean cruise with commercial shipping in one of the world’s most scenic and breathtakingly beautiful landscapes?

My wife Karen and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary last month with a two-week trip to Finland and Norway, accompanied by Karen’s two siblings and Bob and Betty Zimmerman, close friends and former Sun City residents. I have cruised on the Danube, the Caribbean twice, and Alaska, but this was a truly unique and fascinating experience.

We learned how to enjoy reindeer and whale meat, walked and shopped in picturesque Norwegian fishing villages, spent a week above the arctic circle and didn’t freeze, learned how huge natural and oil discoveries off the coast of Norway have turned that country into a financial powerhouse, and got a close-up view of Laplanders whose culture has changed very little in 10,000 years in northern Finland. We also got a sobering view of the harrowing impact World War II had on Scandinavia.

Here are a few brief glimpses of our Scandinavian experience:

Norway is one of the most scenic countries I have ever visited. Nearly 3,000 islands are scattered along its northern and western coasts, from far above the arctic circle south nearly to Denmark. Its fjords (a fjord is an inlet from the ocean into the mainland) sometimes extend inland more than 200 miles and become rivers, with 3,000-foot mountains rising majestically straight out of the water’s edge.

Until 1969, Norway was the poorest nation in Scandinavia, and the nation struggled economically. But that year, it struck gold, in the form of vast fields of natural gas discovered on the seabed located all over its coastline. Today, Norway is a financial powerhouse that sells the gas all over Europe. It has enough known natural gas resources to last at least 50 years. We toured at a processing plant near Bergen, and visited a museum describing how the 1969 discoveries took place.

Flipping the historical coin over, we also visited the sites of several battles fought in Norway during World War II, toured towns and villages that were burned out and bombed, and spent a couple of hours at the wartime home of Vidkun Quisling, one of the most infamous names in Norwegian history. He was a local politician who collaborated with the Germans in the 1930s and became head of the Nazi Party during the German occupation of Norway. His palatial home is now a historical museum in Oslo. Quisling was arrested when the war ended and executed in October, 1945.

We flew and bused to northern Finland and spent a couple of days soaking up the ancient culture of the Sami Laplanders, who have been living in northern Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, and Finland) for 10,000 years. They are hunters, artisans, and farmers whose culture hasn’t changed much in all of that time. We fed reindeer on a Sami farm and then ate a marvelous meal of reindeer meat. We saw reindeer along the highways and near towns frequently.

At the exact location of the arctic circle near a tiny town of Rovaniemi, we visited Santa’s village. Norwegians claim, with a straight face, that this is actually the home, or business address, of Kris Kringle himself. Employees dressed up like elves wait on you in shops, restaurants, and even Santa’s chief post office, where letters to the jolly old elf are ceremoniously opened every Christmas.

Weather-wise in late August, Finland was cool (high in 60s) and Norway was a bit warmer (high near 80 one day, average high 60s to low 70s). The arctic circle in the summer is cool, not freezing cold.

I was persuaded to try a whale steak in a Bergen restaurant, and I found it delicious and very similar to beefsteak. The Norwegians call it a meat, not a fish. Food in Norway is very good, and expensive. And by the way, almost all of the Norwegians we encountered spoke English, including locals in towns and farms.

Remember the Kontiki, the balsa raft sailed by Thor Heyerdahl and friends from South America to Tahiti in 1947? The original boat is on display at the Kontiki museum in Oslo. Heyderdahl died in 2002, but his name is a household word today all over his native land. We also saw three 1200-year-old Viking ships reassembled after recent archaeological discoveries in Europe.

How would you like to share your cruise with a cargo hauling operation on a coastal steamer? That’s what Grand Circle Tours did for us in Norway. The bottom two decks of our ship, the MS Nordlys, were cargo holds for the delivery and pickup of goods destined for the many small towns on Norway’s western coast. The top five decks were a luxury cruise ship. Sometimes the ship stopped only long enough to disgorge or pick up cargoes and then sail on. Other times, it stayed long enough to enable us to go for a walk in the town or nearby areas. The Hurtigrutens, as the Norwegians call these vessels, can mix commercial shipping operations with entertaining tourists in fine style.

Then there was the cod liver oil celebration. When we crossed the arctic circle near the end of our trip on the ship, we saw a monument to the “circle” on a tiny island in the channel. A few minutes later, the ship’s PA system invited us to go to a rear deck for a party. To commemorate the passage, crew members served gulps of cod liver oil in plastic shot glasses, with an orange juice chaser. I suspect the cod part has something to do with it. No comment on the taste.

We visited a 1000-year-old church on the Norwegian coast that doubled as a fort and shelter during medieval times and even in the 1940s. It has walls that are two feet or more thick in some places. Since it was a Sunday morning, the local pastor conducted a brief service for our group. He read the 23rd Psalm in Norwegian and English, and told us much of the rich history of the church and the town.

Scandinavia offers rich and fascinating history, spectacular scenery, welcoming people, and authentic shopping opportunities.

Try it sometime if you haven’t already been there; you’ll probably enjoy it.

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