Day 3 (Tue 12th Mar) - Trondheim to Rorvik

The grey up ahead I mentioned in yesterday's blog wasn't mist .. it was snow showers. With the weather closing in there was no chance of seeing the lights last night. By this morning the snow had stopped but it was a bit grey and overcast. I slept better last night so perhaps I am getting used to the motion of the ship? 

Overnight we had made our way up the coast to Trondheim. We had booked a bus tour of Trondheim which started at 8am so an early breakfast and then onto the bus for a tour of the town followed by a visit to the Nidaros Cathedral. Another Hurtigruten ship was in the harbour - the MS Lofoten which was on the southward journey back to Bergen. This was leaving at 10am and meant the bus tour was shortened so the passengers from that ship could be back in time. 

So we decided to walk back to the MS Finnmarken as the guide assured us it was straightforward. We didn't have a map so I hoped that wasn't just "guide talk". It turned out to be just as easy as she had said it would be - and the grippers came into their own again on the snowy and icy pavements. Even though you know it is going to be cold at this time of year, the icy, biting wind reminds you very quickly just how cold it can get. The ice crystals blowing in the wind sting your face and eyes .. I think next time I venture out the sunglasses will come in handy and a scarf to cover my nose and mouth. 

We got back at around 10:30am and set sail again at 12pm making our way out of Trondheimsfjord. This is one of the largest fjords which I think the guide said was 120km long. Sitting at the front of the observation deck we soaked up the views all around us and reached the end of the fjord sailing amongst stunning coastal scenery and islands. Most of the time it is sunny, but every now and then we would skirt by or sail through snow showers. We also got closer to the open sea again which meant the gentle swell that rocked you gently had become a larger swell that made the ship move up and down a lot more!

Later in the afternoon we reached a narrow channel called Stokksund. We hadn't moved from our seats at the front and an announcement was made to let all the passengers know. We looked behind us a few minutes later to see rows of people standing behind us waiting to view the channel and to take photos as we passed under the bridge. I took photos but made sure I stood up and sat down again quickly so that I didn't spoil anyone else's view.

It was a beautiful evening with a few clouds around. But after sunset it clouded over again and still seems to be the same. We didn't think we would see the northern lights again but we have out our name on the list of cabins to be phoned during the night if they should appear at any time before dawn. We noticed the stars were visible last night as we went to bed. So we went to bed with our outdoor clothes on in case the phone rang or any announcements were made. I woke up later in the night so they obviously didn't make an appearance.

We docked at Rorvik late last night and overnight we will be making our way to Ornes. And tomorrow looks interesting - we cross into the artic circle tomorrow morning and there is an artic circle baptism for first-times like us, performed by Neptune no less. We can also buy special artic circle postcards and stamps to celebrate the crossing into artic waters. If we are still up and about at 11pm tomorrow we are promised free fish rissoles. Personally, I can hardly wait! :-)