Kirkenes - turning point

A very flat sea, as we round the northernmost land and turn south. Most of the sea has been surprisingly flat above the Arctic Circle. As we approach Kirkenes, our turnaround point, the ship drives through some sea ice. The forecast air temp is -7°C.

There were four excursions in Kirkenes, but we had done ours yday, so we let the crowds go before wrapping up and walking into town. Lovely crisp, clean snow underfoot and everywhere. No wind, so it didn't feel too cold. Lesley needed her lambswool mitts and Nic's electric gloves are doing great work. We stumbled (not literally) across a tour group so listened to a bit about the Russians ejecting the Nazis from this strategic location as we gazed at the memorial. 

The church wasn't open, and was a disappointing 1950s concrete affair, the wooden one having been bombed. After a walk around the very quiet town centre we had a hot chocolate in the Centrum cafe. This could become a landside theme. 

Next was the memorial to all mothers during WWII - not something we've seen before.

Our final tourism stop was the Andersgrotta WWII bunker, also not open. Pity, the poster looked impressive. Yes, it's all about the war up here, and with the Russian border only 15km away it doesn't just feel like history. Norway closed that border to Russians in 2024 due to the war in Ukraine. In these pictures the border is atop those distant hills.

This last picture is at noon - yep, that's how high (low) the sun gets. Back to the ship, which looks as though she's stuck in the snow. Before logging back in on the gang plank, we browsed the tourist shop on the Quay and saw this lovely juxtaposition of Norwegian Trolls leering at Russian dolls.

That was a surprisingly pleasant two-hour stroll. We watched the departure from the deck 7 panorama lounge, and gazed at the snow-clad hills gliding past. It is achingly beautiful here, and you can see why people we met yday came here for some reason and never left.

After the usual tasty, three-course lunch and a coffee in the lounge and a bit of writing this, it was time for the daily Gathering where Laura tells us about where we've been and where we're going.

We had 55 mins in Vardo, and Laura volunteered to lead a walk to the fortress. It was good of her, but the ground was slippery even with spikes on, and there wasn't much to see in the dark. Still, we got boots on ground in another port.

After a dinner of swapping stories with our dining mates we went to the Trollfjord lounge which is always deserted, played Scrabble, read, listened to podcasts.