20260610 Wednesday, June 10, 2026 Narvik, Norway

20260610 Wednesday, June 10, 2026 Narvik, Norway

Yesterday’s “scenic cruising” continued through the night as we are now subject to the midnight sun, or the situation where the sun never sets below the horizon.  At this latitude, the sun won’t set until August.  It can be a little disorienting to pull open the curtains at midnight and be blinded by bright daylight.  The rugged Norwegian coastline is quite stunning, even after midnight.  

Midnight Sun

Still scenic even after midnight

Just outside Narvik

When we did officially wake up at 7 a.m., the ship was still sailing into Narvik.  We had breakfast in the world café as the ship approached its mooring in Narvik.  Narvik’s waterfront is notable for the huge iron ore transshipment terminal. Our ship tied up across the harbor from this massive facility.  

Most of the iron ore facility is either painted or stained barn red, but there are areas where a whitish material has spilled near the rail lines.  This is bentonite, which is a claylike material used to form pellets with iron ore fines.  The processed iron ore pellets arrive from Sweden and are loaded onto bulk ore carriers, while the emptied rail cars are then filled with imported bentonite and sent back to Sweden to repeat the process.

Bentonite headed for Sweden

We were able to arrange it so we could be on the same excursion bus as Mark and Jan, and Doug and Sandy.  The included excursion drove us up a hillside to see some older homes and a view of the town and surrounding fjord and mountains.  Narvik will be hosting the World Downhill Skiing championship for the first time in 2028, so the city is gearing up for this.  They are upgrading their competitive ski venues and installing larger gondolas to transport crowds to the ski areas. 

Our guide provided narrative with insights into local cultural pride and the industrial history of Narvik.  She made repeated references to “Navvie Men” who were strapping young and strong men who provided labor for construction of the Ofobanen Railway connecting Narvik to the iron ore mines in Kiruna, Sweden, and who were frequently immigrant workers from Sweden. 

Naavie Man Statue

We made a photo stop at the Narvik train station, which provided a bit of a view of the fjord and a steam engine on display.  Our guide told us the story of Svarta Bjorn, a legendary figure in Narvik who was a cook for the rail workers. She was given the nickname Black Bear by a Sammi shaman who peered into her soul and saw the spirit of a bear, combined with the fact that she had a mane of black hair and dark eyes.  

The bus continued uphill, stopping at the Ankenes church, which afforded views of the fjord and a community choir performance of several songs.  Our guide was both a singer and organ player for the group.  Samples of lefse, which is a traditional Norwegian flatbread made with potatoes and flour, were handed out after the performance for a treat.  

The last stop on the tour was at the top of a hill with a view of the fjord and ongoing construction related to a new larger gondola system for the upcoming 2028 World Skiing Championships.  

After returning to the ship, we grabbed a quick snack at Mamsen’s and then did a 4-mile walk through and around the town.  

At one point, we were trying to find our way through a park next to the local high school, but the trails were poorly maintained and poorly marked, so we weren’t confident of finding our way through the park.  We ended up bushwacking a bit to find our way onto an adjacent roadway where we could navigate with more confidence.  

The rest of our traveling party had chosen to tour the Narvik WWII museum, which proved to be a combination of fascinating and sombre.  The general consensus was that the exhibits ended up a bit on the dark side, but WWII and the Nazis were a very dark period in our history to be sure.

 
After returning to the ship for good, we got lunch at the poolside grill.  Then we hit the spa for a good soak in the hot tub, showers and naps.

Janet managed to get us bookings for the Chef’s Table, which was featuring a Korean-inspired menu “Yumi’s Corner: Voyage to Korean Cuisine”.  This started with an amuse-bouche that was like a small bowl of savory custard with the consistency of soft tofu, with a thin layer of umami bonito flake and kombu broth with small bits of smoked eel and octopus.  This was called Eel Chawanmushi.

The “appetizer” was a salad with crab, scallop, mango, and soba noodles called “Ocean Party”.

This was followed by a soup presented initially as diced ingredients in the bottom of a bowl, into which was poured a spicy hot broth at the table.  This was a bit like a deconstructed hot pot.  

The main course was Korean BBQ beef short ribs which were falling off the bone tender, served with kimchi fried rice and a lettuce roll.

The dessert was a deconstructed matcha cheesecake with tart yuzu gelato.

Dinner was quite good and finished up early enough for us to be able to catch the evening show, which featured the ship’s vocalists doing a medley of duets from the 60s through the 80s.  It was another decent show with lots of energy and talented singers backed by the live band. 

 
Tomorrow we arrive in Leknes in the Lofoten Islands, which are an archipelago stretching 118 miles into the Norwegian Sea from Norway’s coast.  These are most famous for their production of “stock fish” which is air-dried cod, a commodity that even got 3 major ships built after WWII.