Finally Winter ~ Snow Hotel, Reindeer and Sled Dogs

 November 11, 2022

Kirkenes is the easternmost town in Norway, just a few miles from the border of Russia.  It is also the turning point of the Hurtigruten route.  Heretofore, the weather had been mostly rainy, with a few nicer days thrown in, but no snow.  As we neared the end of the line and our port of call, the precipitation changed to snow.  

In Kirkenes I had booked a dog sled tour, but there wasn't enough snow on the ground for it, so it had been canceled.  Instead of just walking around town for the three or so hours we were in port, I booked a bus trip to the Snow Hotel.  Bus windows have lots of reflections, especially when it's darker outside, but here's a photo of our beautiful ship.  

Soon we were driving through the snowy streets, and then out of town.  As is typical, the tour guide was very chatty, with a memorized spiel and poor jokes.   She did, however, have some interesting things to point out.  Such as the house beside the road that was built utilizing the top of a WWII bunker for a sturdy foundation.

The Snow Hotel is way out in the boonies, away from any town.  It's kind of like a boutique hotel, and farm rolled into one, except instead of cows and chickens, there are reindeer and huskies.  The hotel is comprised of a tarped-in ice structure (which would look a bit better with a foot of snow on top), as well as interesting looking cabins scattered across the hillside.

Inside the Snow Hotel was another world.  It was obviously very cold, and some of the floors were a bit icy.  As a part of the tour, we were given a glass of berry drink in the Ice Bar.  

In this room we met our first ice and snow sculpture, an amazingly life-like reindeer head, formed against the wall of the room. 

I have no idea how they created the eyes to look so alive.

After finishing my tasty drink, I got bored, so decide to explore the hotel.  It wasn't very large, and oddly, there didn't seem to be any guests.  All the rooms were open to go in.  Each room had a different theme on the walls, but otherwise were all the same, in that they consisted only of a bed of ice, topped with fur.  There was no en-suite bathroom, but a warm one down the hall for all to share. 

Lighted ice sculptures lined the halls.  This penguin and her two eggs was one of my favorites.

And this one that maybe is a wolverine.

There was a big room at the end of a hall that was filled with more sculptures.  On one wall this cozy Christmas tree and fireplace setting, with a fur lined chair you could sit in.

The centerpiece of the room was a large sleigh and what I presume was supposed to be Santa.  All around the top of the wall was a start border that looked like quilt blocks.   

This intense-looking Viking stared at us from another wall.

Near the Snow Hotel there was a hilly fenced area, dotted with scrubby trees.  Hiding amongst those trees were three reindeer that slowly ambled down when our guide called to them.  I learned on the ship, and with further research, that male reindeer shed their antlers after mating season, in November or December, while females usually keep theirs until after their calves are born in the spring.  Females usually have smaller sets though.  And either sex can lose them by fighting, etc.  So this sweetheart could either a bull or cow, but since the remaining antler is smaller, I'm thinking she's a girl.  Here I got a close look at reindeer feet, and could see how well-suited they would be for swimming.

This one, with his magnificent rack, was very friendly, and enjoyed a good scratch behind the ears, until someone told me to please move so they could take a picture.  Apparently they didn't want me front and center in their photo.  It was an awkward moment.

The nearby reception area and hotel dining room was a cozy place to come warm up and have a small bite to eat.  

I liked the design of the firepit here.  The fire is high enough off the ground to be useful with only a small fire needed.  Walking around towns in Norway I saw a few of these with people huddled around. 

Inside it was really warm, and we soon were peeling off our coats.

We sat at long tables with a beautiful view beyond the window and enjoyed wraps of tasty reindeer sausage, with a hot drink of some berry juice.  I've never really liked sausage, but these were quite good.

Once we finished our snack we were free to go outside to explore, and to visit the huskies.  

I'm not sure how many dogs they keep here, but there were a lot of them!  Chained in groups of two to their little duplexes, they were a rowdy bunch.  Howling, yapping and lunging against their chains.  

We were told, however, that they were perfectly safe to approach and pet, so I took a chance and gave a few good behind-the-ear scratches.

A couple of girl mushers were harnessing up teams.  Though there wasn't enough snow to take tourists out for a ride, they would continue with their training for the upcoming season.

The funny thing was, once the teams flew off down the trail, the left-behind dogs immediately quieted down.  It seems that they were all just clamoring to be on the team.  Phoebe was especially sweet, and once she accepted that she wouldn't be going out, she snuggled into her house for a nap.

Though certainly a tourist stop, I'll always treasure this excursion as it was a little taste of northern winter, with reindeer, dog sledding and the unique hotel made of snow. 

Honningsvaag ~ Swimming Reindeer and Family Gravestones

 November 10, 2022

Wispy clouds over the horizon allowed the sun to weakly rise over the sea.  The temperature hovered around freezing as I took a short stroll around the deck after breakfast.

Late morning, as we came near to our stop in Honningsvag, the excursion team called us outside under gathering clouds, for a "point of interest" talk.  Honningsvag is a town located on the southeastern shore of the island of Mageroya.  In the summertime, the hills of the island are populated with thousands of reindeer.  They aren't wild, but rather owned by the Sami people.  In fact, one cannot own a reindeer if they are not of the Sami race.  

We looked across the Mageroya Strait as Svena explained the migration of the reindeer herds.  In the summertime, they grow fat and strong on their favorite food, a lichen that grows prolifically on the island ground. 

When winter is approaching, the reindeer are herded to the shore by their owners, using four-wheelers.  At the shore they plunge in and swim across the strait to their winter home on the mainland.  The reindeer is equipped for this swim in cold water in two main ways.  First, his hair shafts are hollow, which are insulating.  Second, the reindeer has three toes, or more like a cloven hoof in front, and another toe on the side.  This allows the foot to fan out a bit, creating more propulsion.  Svena here is demonstrating using a stuffed reindeer from the ship's little gift shop.

Island of Mageroya

In the spring the reindeer return to the island.  However, they are weakened after the winter and are unable to swim the channel.  In previous years, the Norwegian navy helped to ferry them across on boats.  In 1999, however, the construction of a more than four mile, undersea tunnel was completed, so they are able to be herded across through that.  

The Island of Mageroya is home to the iconic landmark, The North Cape.  Referred to as the northernmost point in Europe, one can visit by driving north from Honningsvag.  In 1996, despite its small population, Honningvag received the designation of a city, thus making it the northernmost city on mainland Europe.  On my previous trip I took a bus tour to this location.  It is an other-worldly, edge-of-the-earth experience.  The two photos below are from that visit.  The iconic metal globe would be off to the right in the first picture.  There is a straight drop from the cliff edge, more than a thousand feet to the Arctic Ocean below.

Nordkapp, or North Cape

Iconic globe, Nordkapp, Norway

On this trip I would forgo the tour, and instead walk about the town.  The town that was a nothing but a tiny fishing village when Grandfather Einar was a little boy.  The town has grown, but is still primarily a fishing village.  Often when our ship is approaching a city, a paper map is made available.  There wasn't one for this town however, so I found this one on the side of a building.  As you can see, everything is uphill from the harbor.  A sliver of the church I was seeking can be seen on the far right edge of the photo.

The day that I visited Honningsvag, there was a little more than four hours of daylight.  Today, Novemmber 21, it has entered the Polar Night period, meaning that the sun will not rise above the horizon.  This period will continue until January 22, so for two whole months it is quite dark outside.  Thus it was not surprising to see a store displaying what I call "happy lights", or lights to provide needed vitamin D. 

One thing that occurred to me as I walked the main street of Honningsvag, up the hill towards the church, is that everything seemed very utilitarian, and about survival.  No fancy architecture or trimmings.  They had, however, put up a few Christmas decorations in an attempt to brighten things up.

Honningsvag, Norway

I followed the winding road through town, and then up a hill.  Along the way I found this charming phone booth.  It still has a working phone, but also is full of bookshelves.  

Back in the 1500s there were a total of six churches on the island.  But in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the population moved more towards Honningsvag, which had the best harbor.  This church was consecrated in 1885.  In 1945, when occupying German forces retreated, they burned the whole Finnmark area.  This whitewashed church, however, stood undamaged, giving the returning population hope and encouragement.  It was initially used to house and feed people until the town could rebuild.  Perched on the hill, and next to an elementary school, the church was lit from within, and very welcoming looking.  However, when I tried the door, I was disappointed to find it locked.  

Honningsvag Church

The cemetery was fenced, but accessible.  There were several graves of my grandfather's family name but it's hard to know if they are related in any way.  There were many other familiar names, as I've grown up around many Norwegians.  

Note that there are multiple names on the tombstones.  My understanding is that after a certain period of time, more people are buried in the same place.  I don't understand how this all works, but I believe the families are responsible for ensuring the names of the deceased are inscribed for posterity.

There was no snow on the ground, but bright orange, meter-high stakes were marking the sides of the road through the cemetery, indicating that they would have plenty of snow in the months to come.  When I visited in May of 2019, they still had a lot on the ground.

I neglected to take note of our ship's departure time, so I didn't dare dally at the cemetery too long.  As I made my way back down the hill, I had nice views of the harbor.  The photos below are taken just after the sun had set, shortly after 12:00 noon.  

On my way, there was a store with these cute reindeer stools.  The hides on them were soaking wet so I hadn't planned to try them out, but a couple walked by and the lady pantomimed that she'd take my photo.  I was wearing some weatherproof pants over my regular ones, so I took her up on it. 

Down near the harbor was a charming, though large, Christmas shop.  It was two cozy floors of everything Christmas, with Bing Crosby was crooning away through the sound system.  Since I was pretty close to the ship, I took a chance and went in.  The shopkeeper assured me that I had plenty of time, so I was able to browse.  From upstairs I could look out the window and see the ship at dock. 

After I had my bag of goodies, I climbed back on the ship to continue our journey north.  As I looked towards the harbor and the town, I could imagine away the many buildings, and see instead, the small, wooden boats of the Karlsen family, anchored here and there in the cold, steel gray water.

 And as we pushed away, I could see the tiny tip of the church steeple, pushing up into the clouds, as seen on the far right in this final photo.