Showing posts with label Travel Norway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Travel Norway. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
When travelling on the HURTIGRUTEN Travellers BEWARE…
Courtesy of the Norwegian Cruise liner the Hurtigruten……
Thank you, thank you very much, i’ll be here all week :-)
Peace
Sunday, January 18, 2009
BERNA TO THE RESCUE - RICA HOTEL, HONNINGSVAG
After we went to the Nordkapp we came back to Honningsvag dreading the thought of having to find somewhere to sleep without having booked anything. None the less we got back on the Hurtigruten to pick our bags up in storage and for the last time bid farewell to the boat. We felt a little sad because the boat was just awesome… he he he..
Honningsvag isn’t a very big town in winter, there are about 3000 or so permanent residents here but in summer the population quadruples with seasonal workers and thousands of tourist coming here. Talking to the locals, the place sounds like one big party in summer, with the endless sun, warmer weather and thousands of tourist, it sounds like Dubrovnik of the north. There can be over 200,000 people coming to Honningsvag in summer and all visitors come here to visit the Nordkapp and arctic surrounding countryside.
There is a micro brewery in town with it’s own local brew (our tour guide to the Nordkapp was funny when she said, ‘the people in Honningsvag don’t drink much, they only like to drink when the sun sets.’ very amusing). The northern most brewery in continental Europe is back down in Tromso (the Mack brewery) but Honningsvag like to claim that they have the northern most ‘micro’ brewery, go Honningsvag.
The people here are friendly and very helpful, I guess they are use to tourist coming in and out of there town during the year, but I’m not sure many come here in winter time, like us :-)
So, from the boat we headed out to find a place to stay, we end up visiting the brewery for food and something to drink, we saw a sign outside saying Internet so we thought we could log on and find some where to sleep for the night. The internet wasn’t working so we couldn’t log on, luckily for us the locals came to our rescue. The Rica Hotel, which is a hotel chain in Norway, Sweden and Denmark has three hotels here in Honningsvag but in winter only one of them is open. We called up to find out about room availabilities and prices, the conversation didn’t last very long as the price for a hotel room was way too much…
After having some dinner, I had pizza and B had a chicken taco (yup, pizza and chicken taco’s in the arctic, GOLD!) and having no other options with accommodation, we thought we would try again at the Rica. Success, B worked her magic and got us a discount with the hotel room for the night, thanks to Steina our soon to become Honningsvagian friend. We had a place to stay in Honningsvag.. Yay!
We arrive at the hotel and we see that the lady B had spoken to on the phone Steina, was the same girl we had met earlier in the day up at the Nordkapp working in the souvenir shop. We where like, ‘man, your everywhere’ and had a laugh. Steina, was really nice she helped us out with accommodation, there was actually only 3 people in the hotel, 5 including us two.
It was all good, we settled into our room which was AWESOME…It was huge, better than the hotel room we stayed in at Tromso, which was in the Thorn Polar Hotel. The thing you gotta love about staying in the north and arctic is that the bathroom floors are heated. It’s awesome, even on the Hurtigruten the bathroom floor in our cabin was heated. Love it!
We had planned a big night out in the town, but the room was so cosy, B passed out on the bed after 5 minutes, and I mad videos… Great day, so glad we found somewhere to sleep, cause it’s freezing outside.
Peace
Honningsvag isn’t a very big town in winter, there are about 3000 or so permanent residents here but in summer the population quadruples with seasonal workers and thousands of tourist coming here. Talking to the locals, the place sounds like one big party in summer, with the endless sun, warmer weather and thousands of tourist, it sounds like Dubrovnik of the north. There can be over 200,000 people coming to Honningsvag in summer and all visitors come here to visit the Nordkapp and arctic surrounding countryside.
There is a micro brewery in town with it’s own local brew (our tour guide to the Nordkapp was funny when she said, ‘the people in Honningsvag don’t drink much, they only like to drink when the sun sets.’ very amusing). The northern most brewery in continental Europe is back down in Tromso (the Mack brewery) but Honningsvag like to claim that they have the northern most ‘micro’ brewery, go Honningsvag.
The people here are friendly and very helpful, I guess they are use to tourist coming in and out of there town during the year, but I’m not sure many come here in winter time, like us :-)
So, from the boat we headed out to find a place to stay, we end up visiting the brewery for food and something to drink, we saw a sign outside saying Internet so we thought we could log on and find some where to sleep for the night. The internet wasn’t working so we couldn’t log on, luckily for us the locals came to our rescue. The Rica Hotel, which is a hotel chain in Norway, Sweden and Denmark has three hotels here in Honningsvag but in winter only one of them is open. We called up to find out about room availabilities and prices, the conversation didn’t last very long as the price for a hotel room was way too much…
After having some dinner, I had pizza and B had a chicken taco (yup, pizza and chicken taco’s in the arctic, GOLD!) and having no other options with accommodation, we thought we would try again at the Rica. Success, B worked her magic and got us a discount with the hotel room for the night, thanks to Steina our soon to become Honningsvagian friend. We had a place to stay in Honningsvag.. Yay!
We arrive at the hotel and we see that the lady B had spoken to on the phone Steina, was the same girl we had met earlier in the day up at the Nordkapp working in the souvenir shop. We where like, ‘man, your everywhere’ and had a laugh. Steina, was really nice she helped us out with accommodation, there was actually only 3 people in the hotel, 5 including us two.
It was all good, we settled into our room which was AWESOME…It was huge, better than the hotel room we stayed in at Tromso, which was in the Thorn Polar Hotel. The thing you gotta love about staying in the north and arctic is that the bathroom floors are heated. It’s awesome, even on the Hurtigruten the bathroom floor in our cabin was heated. Love it!
We had planned a big night out in the town, but the room was so cosy, B passed out on the bed after 5 minutes, and I mad videos… Great day, so glad we found somewhere to sleep, cause it’s freezing outside.
Peace
Saturday, January 17, 2009
The Nordkapp (North Cape) and back again….
Today was a truly an awesome day, one that you can look back on and say, ‘bloody hell it was windy’. My sisters birthday today so I was thinking of her when we made our trip up towards the Nordkapp here in Norway. We made our way up from Tromso last night on the Hurtigruten boat named the MS Midnatsol (Midnight Sun), awesome boat ride. We we’re originally only going from Tromso to Hammerfest (the northern most city on continental the Europe) but getting off the boat at 5:15 am in the morning wasn’t very fun. Bernadette haggled us a ride on the boat to Honningsvag from Hammerfest. The plan was to catch a bus from Hammerfest to Honningsvag (cheaper) but Berna got the boat ride price down to the same price as the bus ride, so it was back on the boat we go, which was awesome cause the boat is so comfy and brilliant.
We signed up for the excursion Hurtigruten offer to the Nordkapp (not the cheapest thing on the planet, but then again, when you come to Norway, expect to pay) and off we went to 71 degrees, 10 minutes and 21 seconds…
The boat cruise was brilliant, the boat was immaculate and the services we’re of the highest standard, we both loved it. The Hurtigruten is highly recommended for seeing the the beautiful coastline and islands of Norway.
Check out our trip from Honningsvag to the Nordkapp below:
Peace
We signed up for the excursion Hurtigruten offer to the Nordkapp (not the cheapest thing on the planet, but then again, when you come to Norway, expect to pay) and off we went to 71 degrees, 10 minutes and 21 seconds…
The boat cruise was brilliant, the boat was immaculate and the services we’re of the highest standard, we both loved it. The Hurtigruten is highly recommended for seeing the the beautiful coastline and islands of Norway.
Check out our trip from Honningsvag to the Nordkapp below:
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Tromso Lights
Thursday, January 8, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHBAY B :-)
This is for you Bernadette Marie Kennedy :-)
Bring on
NORWAY – Tromso, Hammerfest, Alta, Oslo
THE NORTHERN LIGHTS,
SNOWMOBILES,
A BIG A$$ BOAT,
REINDEERS,
ICE HOTELS,
COUCH SURFING,
THE NORDKAPP,
SKIING,
and anything else anyone wants to throw our way :-)
As long as I’m with you i’ll always be smiling :-)
Happy Birthday Silly Girl
Love you always
Silly Boy
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
There's no other way to put this.... WE'RE STAYING ON AN ISLAND IN BERGEN, NORWAY
SUMMER TIME ON THE ISLAND
WINTER TIME ON THE ISLAND
Seriously, we're staying on an Island..Couch surfing to the extreme, the man owns his own Island... Nooice...
Monday, July 14, 2008
IT'S PAUL's PLANET......AND IM JUST A SQUIRREL TRYING TO GET A NUT..
Couch surfing has brought me an B so many wonderful experiences... So many beautiful people around Europe and the world, from Switzerland to Slovenia to Austria to Germany to the Czech to Hungary.
We have had such a great time with all the people we have met... We love you all...
But then....... we met Paul......
There's no words to describe this guy... actually there probably is and probably best to read berna's blog for a description worthy of the man... But I shall do my best.....
PAUL IS, HOW WOULD YOU SAY.....
THE NORWEGIAN BUSH TUCKER MAN
THE LONE LEYLAND BROTHER OF THE NORTH
If Adventure ever needed a friend then Paul is the man knocking on his door.....
THIS MAN IS A DEAD SET GUN!!!!! I KID YOU NOT!!!!
If there was ever a person everyone in this world should ever have a beer and a yarn with in this world it should be PAUL....
Indeed it is your PAUL it's your PLANET and I'm just a squirrel trying to get a nut...
A pleasure to have met this man and couch surfed his couch...
Check out his website, so that you can get a feel for who this man is.....totally awesome..
CARLOS GARCIA IS LIVING IN PAUL'S PLANET
Peace
Sunday, July 13, 2008
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR... THE ICE BEARS SHALL WAIT.....
NO SVALBARD FOR NOW... But the dream of the great northern adventure lives on and there is hope...
Below is my correspondence with the SVALBARD TOURISM DEPARTMENT earlier this week...
Everything you need to know can be found below...
So who's up for SVALBARD?
Hello Leover
The easiest way to get to Svalbard is by plane. Most of the year, there are daily flights from Oslo Gardermoen directly to Longyearbyen or through Tromsø by ‘SAS Norway’ and Norwegian. For prices and booking, please see their websites http://www.sas.no/ or http://www.norwegian.no/.
There are three different guesthouses in Longyearbyen. See the following list for accommodation:
GUESTHOUSES
Gjestehuset 102 http://www.wildlife.no/
Phone +47 79 02 57 16 / E-mail 102@wildlife.no
Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg http://www.polarriggen.com/
Phone +47 79 02 37 02 / E-mail post@polarriggen.com
Spitsbergen Guesthouse (mars – september) http://www.spitsbergentravel.no/
Phone +47 79 02 63 00 / E-mail spitsbergen.guesthouse@spitsbergentravel.no
HOTELS
Basecamp Spitsbergen http://www.basecampexplorer.com/
Phone +47 79 02 46 00 / E-mail bookingsvalbard@basecampexplorer.com
Spitsbergen Hotel http://www.spitsbergentravel.no/
Phone +47 79 02 62 00 / E-mail spitsbergen.hotel@spitsbergentravel.no
Radisson SAS Polar Hotel http://www.spitsbergentravel.no/
Phone +47 79 02 34 50 / E-mail sales.longyearbyen@radissonsas.com
APPARTMENTS
Svalbard Snøscooterutleie http://www.scooterutleie.svalbard.no/
Phone +47 79 02 46 60 / E-mail post@scooterutleie.net
Poli Arctici – phone 79 02 17 05 / stefano@poliarctici.com / http://www.poliarctici.com/
HUT
Arctic Adventures http://www.arctic-adventures.no/
Phone +47 79 02 16 24 / E-mail info@arctic-adventures.no
CAMPING
Longyearbyen Camping (June – September) http://www.longyearbyen-camping.com/
Phone +47 79 02 10 68 / E-mail mail@longyearbyen-camping.com
You do not need a weapon in the settlements. For all guided hikes, boattrips and other organized activites you don`t need any weapon. Weapon is only required if you plan to go on any hikes by yourself. Due to the polar bear danger it is not recommended to go outside the settlements without weapon and knowledge of how to use it. To rent a rifle, most of the letters will ask for weapon license.
In Longyearbyen you can rent a rifle through:
Arctica: Tel. 79 02 25 40 Fax 79 02 37 40
Ing. G. Paulsen: Tel. 79 02 32 00 Fax 79 02 18 10
Svalbard Arctic Sport: Tel. 79 02 32 90 Fax 79 02 32 95
Svalbard Reiser: Tel. 79 02 56 50 Fax 79 02 56 51
Svalbard Snøscooterutleie: Tel. 79 02 16 66 Fax 79 02 17 71
Flare guns can be rented through:
Ing. G. Paulsen: Tel. 79 02 32 00 Fax 79 02 18 10
Svalbard Snøscooterutleie: Tel. 79 02 16 66 Fax 79 02 17 71
Welcome to Svalbard!
Regards,
Pernille
Svalbard Tourism
_________________________________
Svalbard Reiseliv AS * Svalbard Tourism
Postboks 323
N-9171 Longyearbyen
Tlf +47 79 02 55 50
Faks +47 79 02 55 51
E-post: info@svalbard.net
Internett: www.svalbard.net
Dagsturaktiviteter kan bestillles på www.svalbard.net
Daytrips are bookable on www.svalbard.net
P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail
-----Opprinnelig melding-----
Fra: Leover Polestico [mailto:info@svalbard.net]
Sendt: 7. juli 2008 16:56
Til: info@svalbard.net
Emne: Contact form from web site
Name: Leover Polestico
contactemail: polestico_leover@hotmail.com
Message: hello,
Please help us, we have read so much about your beautiful place in the world and would dearly love to visit. We are from Australia and have managed to make it all the way here to Copenhagen and now would love to spend 10 days in Svalbard.
I have some questions I would like some help with, if you dont mind.
How can we get to Svalbard from Oslo? Also what would be the cheapest way to get to Svalbard?
WHat kind of accomodation is available, are there hostels?
Will I have to hire a gun at the airport?
Your help would be greatly appreaciated.
Cheers mate
Leover Polestico
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