Norway - North of the Arctic Circle and a lot of snow

Snow, snow, everywhere snow… and slippery ice; our trip to Norway was nothing but snow and ice. It was very beautiful, very cold, very serene, very stormy, very dark… It is very difficult to use extremes to describe being here.

Gorgeous fjords, snow, and very little sunshine

Landing in Bergen one quickly discovers that it is an almost cashless country and all transactions, big or little are done by card (and no, there is no GPay or other UPI app), so make sure that one’s credit or debit card is valid for international travel. 

I couldn't stop taking photographs, when the light was good with my camera and in poor light with my mobile.  I had earlier discovered that wide-angle pictures in low light are better on my mobile than on my camera.

A city tour of Bergen takes us to the touristy places, Fantoft Stave Church, the Royal Gamlehaugen Palace with its beautiful scenery, the Funicular to the top of Mount Floyen, and the Bryggen. Everything wears a Christmassy look, lights and stars over all the streets. 3^rd Jan at about 4 pm sees us on board the Hurtigruten ship MS Nordlys.

The Fantoft Stave Church

A view of Bergen City from Mount Floyen, notice the candles, probably for the Christmas Look

Gamlehaugen, the official residence of the Norwegian Royal family when they are in Bergen

Bryggen, an old fishing village, see the the lights as Christmas and New Year had just gone by

Norwegian fjords in winter, here we come. At Alesund we take a ‘cultural’ trip to Hjorundfjord, it is an excursion organized from the ship, in which we board a smaller boat, MS Brevik, and it’s a two-hour trip each way.  At the end of the fjord we have lunch at a homestay and return.

On the way to Hjorundfjord there were many boathouses in different colours, at this time only the most intrepid boatman ventured out, though there were some.

Two Santa effigies in a traditional bedroom at the place we were going to have lunch. 

At Trondheim we decide to see the Nidaros Cathedral by ourselves.  It is breathtaking, the organ cockpit is in the center of the floor and there is an organist playing gently right through.   The Cathedral is so lovely that we lose track of time and have to run back to the ship for half an hour for fear of not making it on time.

The Nidaros Cathedral

The Arctic Cathedral, it is a long structure of glass and concrete

Candles at the Arctic Cathedral

At Tromso (the Arctic Capital) we sign on for an excursion and see the Arctic Cathedral, which is very unusual in that it is a long glass and concrete structure.  Then we take a ride up a cable car (Fjellheisen) and get to the top of Storsteinen Mountain ledge (adult return 415 NOK, I told you that Norway was expensive!)  From here we could see Tromso by night.

Tromso at night from Mount Storsteinen

A weak sun barely rises above the horizon after a snowstorm

We pass many ports by day and by night, at some we stop for four to five hours and at some for 10-15 minutes.  We cross the Arctic Circle (66⁰ 33’ N) just before Bodo, and we are awarded with a certificate and also with the sun not coming above the horizon.  It was a light grey in the day and pitch-dark at night.

The snow storms get stronger and it gets very cold, though we are told that Oslo is much colder.  It is academic
 as -2 ⁰C seems as cold as -12 ⁰C. 

The northern most point in Europe is Honningsvag, it is also referred to as the north cape. Here it was pitch dark and a snow storm was in progress, so after going out for 15 mins, we came back.

….And finally on Day 7 we cruised into Kirkenes from where we flew to Oslo.  In Oslo, quite in south but -12 ⁰C, our hotel was in the center of town so we walked on the main road before our guide came at 12 noon. During our walk we saw the University and the Royal Palace among other sights.

Life size statues of Norwegian explorers outside the Fram Museum.

The guide took us to the Fram Museum, a real-life sailing ship of the polar exploration era.  Fridtjof Nansen and Roald Amundsen, both Norwegians  were famous polar explorers and the ship belonged to them at various times. The Kon Tiki expedition museum (Thor Heyerdahl was another Norwegian explorer) was nearby but time was running out so we couldn’t visit it.

A life size (or is it bigger than life size?) statue of Mother and Child at Vigeland Park

On our way back We went to the Vigeland (Gustav Vigeland) Park, the man really made a lot of statues in his life, the crowning glory being this Park.

The monolith, it is a carved stone giant totem pole in the Park 

A full wall mural in the Council Hall

View from the fort

The ceiling of Oslo Cathedral (or church?)

The next day we went to the Council Hall, which is also the venue for the Nobel Peace Prize. The hall was breathtaking, not only was the main hall painted from floor to ceiling, but the side rooms too. While ambling along, we saw Oslo fort from outside, Oslo Cathedral and finally had lunch at a restaurant on the main road near our hotel.

Norway in winter is so, so icy, snowy and bare, it has a soft but rugged beauty, it is a country of polar (pun intended) opposites, long and narrow, with many fjords and spanning the Arctic Circle. A country which epitomises the saying that "there is no bad weather, only bad clothing" or "if you are feeling cold you haven't worn enough". A country of compromises, we could feel nature here, stark and beautiful.

A precious gem of history - the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

The Bible, crusades, castles, history spanning thousands of years; Nabateans and even before them, right up to modern times; this is a little gem of history - Jordan. I use the word 'little' not because the history is less, because it has huge dollops of it,  but the country is relatively small.

The old Roman Theatre and the new buildings side by side.

A drive around Jordan reveals this crucible of history, Ibrahim and Abraham; Zeus and Jupiter are the same gods but by a different name. 

A city tour of Amman brings out the melting pot of days gone by, the highlights are the ruins of the ancients, mainly Romans and Byzantines. Now a sprawling city spread over seven hills, it is a sight to see when the sun is setting.

What was once a tall castle still stands, but with one tower remaining only.

...in ruins but still proud Karak Fort

Many castles made by both the Crusaders and those opposing them dot the landscape. Time permitted us to go to only the more prominent and those in better condition. Most of these are in ruins and an avid follower of history may make sense out of them.

Pomegranates of different types...

...Who will buy my carrots? and radish...

It is not a big country, one can drive north to south in about 5-6 hours, the and the roads are good. Driving north of Amman, there are many fruit and vegetable vendors by the side, farmers who sell directly to consumers. Fresh carrots (and lots of carrots), brinjals, radish, tomatoes, oranges, olives of various types, pomegranates, pickles, all line the road.

The main gate of Jerash

The Romans and the Byzantines made many cities in the land, some of which are in good repair and others in ruins. One would see many common features in Roman cities, though varying in size, the layout was nearly identical and almost always had a theatre, main street, shops, and a temple.

a huge dish of Mansaf, and there was one dish for each person

Eat Jordanian food, mansaf, magluba, Sajiya and barbeque; the Jordanians eat a lot of goat, sheep, beef and chicken. In a little lane of Amman there is a tiny but busy shop selling the  famous Kunefe, there are two types soft and crisp; and foodies that we were, we went at it with gusto, standing in the long queue and when our turn came we requested for both. People came and took it home or ate it there at the shop.

Tomb of Obelisks at Bab-al-Siq at he beginning of the walk in Petra

The first glimpse at the Khazneh from the Siq 

Petra is a "rose-red city, half as old as time”.  A city state, complete with piped water, and of course the Al Kazneh (the Treasury). It is Jordan’s most visited tourist site, and is the confluence of many cultures through the ages. Approached by Al Siq (the Shaft). There are many remarkable aspects to Petra, most of which can be found by a search of the internet.

erosion led to these beautiful designs in the sculpture

natural waves in stone caused by the wind and the water

Much of what is overlooked by the harried tourist is possibly the sandstone eroded by wind and water, making fantastic shapes and designs. No picture does justice to this.

graffiti in the Greek Orthodox Church

There is graffiti in most places, can we not avoid defacing historical monuments with 'been there, done this' kind of sayings?

some of the fantastic erosion of the Dead Sea...

...and getting back to sea level

The Dead Sea, named as nothing survives in it, is said to be the lowest point on land earth, it is arguably between 380 and 430 meters below sea level.  In fact, one has to climb a fair bit in one’s vehicle to reach sea level. That’s Israel across the Sea, but worth looking at are that the wind and water give the shores very attractive shapes.

at the viewpoint at Umm Qais 

From Umm Qais one can see Israel, Palestine, Syria, along with the Sea of Galilee of the Bible.  And of course, no military man (and I am one) could say that he hasn't heard of  the Golan Heights which you see in front.   

These and many other memorable sights made Jordan very special to us, passing many places which until then were merely stories, now come to life. A land of wonders, blessed with history and graced with monuments to the past and to nature.