Conclusions

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Tromso harbour

Trollfjorden

Trollfjorden, almost close enough to touch

So now, with a little distance, I will come to some conclusions from our holiday. It remains spoilt in our memories by the Fox’s ill-health. There were so many places I had hoped to see but it was impossible. Some I could only see from afar.

 

Tromso's Arctic cathedral, like a Sami tent made of ice

The nearest I got to Trondheim cathedral, another place I'd hoped to visit

I remain convinced that Norway is a beautiful country & the Norwegian people are very warm & friendly. All the staff, mainly Norwegians, were friendly, cheerful & helpful. I still remember the Norwegians, complete strangers, who stopped me racing into the street when my wheelchair lost its wheel. They realised the problem was a lost screw which made it easier to tell the hotel what was needed to repair the wheelchair.

Would we go again? I doubt it. Bergen was beautiful. The scenery on the cruise was fabulous though it, along with the ports we stopped at, became less interesting as we went north, beyond the tree-line.

However, it is very expensive in Norway. The one day we ate out we ended up at an Irish pub. We had a couple of burgers, a half of beer & a half of coke. That cost £36.48!

Above all, it is the food that got to us. Nowhere, not on the ship or in the hotel, did we really enjoy the food. If I’m having to spend a fortune on it I want to enjoy it. Just before we went on this trip, we had seen another holiday in Norway that appealed to us - a few days in Oslo, train through to Stavanger via Bergen, a few days in Stavanger – however the thought of another couple of weeks of that food puts us off.

What about cruising again? That is a difficult one. The Fox is very nervous about it after being so ill for most of the trip. He found it very boring. However, I’m forced to admit, with him being ill, I did have the talks to go to & scenery to watch as we sailed by. In the hotel I couldn’t go out by myself so I was left to just read, puzzle, read, puzzle….. making a very long day. The one thing cruising doesn’t do is allow much spontaneity. You can’t just go out for a stroll & see something of local life whenever you want. One bit of sea still looks like another bit of sea to me. If you don’t like the food you have no other option but to eat as best you can from what’s offered you. There is no alternative restaurant or style of cuisine. Certainly, if ever we go cruising again, & it won’t be very immediately, it will be in warm waters.