31-Dec-2009 -- We took the opportunity to travel along the Norwegian coast by Hurtigruten ferry, to celebrate New Years eve at the North Cape. This trip was special in many cases, one of them was the discontinuation of the otherwise all year round reliable ship route from Bergen to Kiruna and back again.

We finished the north bound trip at Honningsvåg , close to the North cape and stayed there until 2:30 a.m. new years day then heading south bound again. We were a bit in a rush after arrival close to noon, because from 21st of November to 21st of January you have polar night. Fortunately it was a clear and crisp day so we had some kind of daylight to find our path upwards into the mountains right behind the coastal stripe of land where most of the houses are located.

Due to good reception for the GPS and snowy but not very slippery ground we were able to find the confluence taking an almost direct way. The outlook was gorgeous with the snow scattered mountains and the bay with its rocks in the water which looked like forgotten toys of one of the innumerate Trolls inhabiting this part of the country.

We stayed for a while to take our pictures and enjoy the moment but in the end had to leave due to fading daylight. 30 minutes after we had left the confluence we were back in civilization with the street lamps already shining again its warm yellowish light onto the city and the mountains in complete darkness again. Our watch showed 2 p.m. and we made our way back to the ship Richard With.