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. 

Day Five ~ Harstad to Tromso

 November 9, 2022

As our ship left from one of its brief stops, I made my way out to the deck to find a brilliant, crisp morning.  Again the moon hung low in the bluest of skies.  Snowy peaks came into view.  So far on this trip we'd seen little of the expected wintery weather. 

The sun glowed lemony behind darkened peaks.  Day was getting a late start at around 8:30, but it was promising beautiful clear skies for the day ahead.

On the other side, a pink blush draped gently over the snowy mountains, and the moon still hung there, a small yellow disk.  

Nearing the town of Finnsnes, we passed under the Gisund Bridge, that connects the island of Senja to the mainland.  All along the coast there are many such bridges.  One tour guide told us (not sure if it's true or not) that Norway is so rich, they put in bridges even if only a few people need one.  

Though not a small town, we would only stop in Finnsnes for a half hour.  

The sun just popped over the mountain as we stopped at the small arrival port in Finnsnes.

This picture was taken at 11:52 am, so it's obvious they have pretty short days in the winter.

We arrived in the city of Tromso shortly after 2:00 pm.  A university city, Tromso is the largest in northern Norway.  It's known for the striking-looking Arctic Cathedral that can be seen in the pictures below.  We would be docked here for four hours, but as I had no excursions booked, I would just wander around a bit.  

Tromso has a large arrival hall with a fair amount of up and down escalators to get out to the street.  I had asked at an information booth for a map and suggestions of where to go, thinking to possibly walk across the big bridge to the Arctic Cathedral, but I found this beautiful church instead.  Painted a soft gold color, it seemed to glow from within where it sat in a little park in the middle of town.  Built in 1861, right as the American Civil War was beginning, it is thought to be the northernmost Protestant church. It has the distinction of being the only wooden cathedral in Norway.  Not the only wooden church, but a cathedral, as belonging to a diocese. 

Situated right in the middle of the city, it is said that there has been a church on this site since the twelfth century.  Though the church currently holds 600, the pastor that I chatted with briefly said that only 70-100 attend there on a Sunday morning.  He said that most people still want to have their funeral there though, whether they attended during their life or not.

The interior wasn't without embellishment, but understated compared to many ornate stone churches and cathedrals.  Most of it was softly painted wood with fancy cutout designs.

The altar had an amazing painting of Jesus Christ's resurrection from the dead, showing him bursting forth from the grave, and the soldiers falling away in terror.

There was this moderate size organ up front.  Note the ladder leaning against it, where a repair man had climbed up and was inside working on it.

In the choir loft there was this massive organ.  Regrettably I know nothing whatsoever about organs beyond their appearance.

By the time I came out of the church it was about 3:30, and already dark.

Leaving the church I just wandered through the streets, making sure not to get lost.  It was dark enough that it seemed like stores should be closing, but it was only afternoon so everything was open.

Trolls seem to be everywhere in Norway.  Some are cute and silly, others a bit creepy.  I know that most of them come from tales of Norwegian folklore.  Besides the little ones for sale in gift shops, there are larger ones on display.  Here's one out on the sidewalk that was almost as tall as me.

This display was in the middle of a sporting goods store.  The goat was a real stuffed goat.

There were lots of other stuffed animals throughout the store.

One of the shops I went to was a woolen shop.  I bought a nice had and neck warmer, but spent some time looking at all the lovely yarn.  

Keeping an eye out for icy patches, I walked down to the harbor and out onto a floating dock. The city bustled around me, but it was so quiet and peaceful out there as all the boats were at rest.

Below is a beautiful vintage boat.  I know less about boats than I do about organs, but I know it was made out of lots of well-loved and cared for wood.  I love its reflection in the black pool.

Here's the bridge I was going to cross over.  I'm guessing it would have been terribly cold and windy, but probably an amazing view.

Though I still had a couple of hours before we had to leave, I headed back to the ship.  The moon rivaled the city lights on this beautiful clear night.