MS Midnatsol

We strategically positioned ourselves for breakfast with a view overlooking the harbour so that we could watch the MS Midnatsol sail in...she was quite a sight

A bear with a sore head

After lunch, we decided to drive out to Pasvikdalen (the Pasvik valley) initially to find the viewpoint Høyde 96 from which the ugly Russian mining town of Nikel, some 40kms away, can be seen.

A whale of a time

We drove a slightly different route on the way back to Kirknes so that we could drive over the bridge which marked the spot at which Norway is at its narrowest (the distance between the sea and the border being only a couple of kilometres.

...With Love

We were just taking the scenary in, and building up the courage to dip our little fingers in the Barents Sea (it was freezing!)

when all of a sudden a platoon of Norwegian soldiers turned up out of the blue. Could Andy's stone throwing really have caused a diplomatic incident?

From Russia...

After leaving the harbour we headed 60 kms east of Kirkenes to the small village Grense Jakobselv. Here the border with Russia is marked by a small river with yellow Norwegian border posts on our bank and red/green Russian border posts on the other bank.

MS Lofoten

Our first task was to explore the harbour to find out where the MS Midnatsol would be located and the latest time we could board by.

As it happens, another Hurtigruten ship, MS Lofoten, was currently docked there. This was Hurtigruten's second oldest ship and it certainly looked as if it was made in a different century

Kirkenes

Today it is sunny and 10oCs which is 2o hotter than Kirkenes' average june temperature!