Remembering Norway - Trollfjord

The ship's blast still rings in my ears as the Hurtigruten cruise ship leaves the port of Bergen, Norway. I am in Norway again. I can’t believe my luck! The last time I bid farewell to the Hurtigruten was in Svolvaer, Norway on June 19th 2011. It had really hurt at that time to see the ship turn around, leave the port, leave us and disappear into the fjords (the bodies of water between mountains, formed from the melting of glaciers). It had left a sinking feeling in me, as if a dear friend had left my side. A friend I wasn’t sure I would get a change to meet again. But here I am, reunited with my friend again.

On a different ship of course, but it is the same old Hurtigruten. It is the same familiar cabin, the familiar passages, the decks, and most of all, the same Norway I fell in love with 2 years ago. And I am back to the place where it started- Bergen. It all comes flooding back and I am experiencing the same excitement I had experienced a year ago, when I boarded the Hurtigruten ship for the first time- the familiar sensation of passing through never-seen-before sceneries, the anticipation of what is to come and the happiness of travelling.

As the ship leaves the port and embarks on its journey through the mountains, my past life - the thoughts, worries, London, Delhi, all gets left behind in the city of Bergen. I shall only reunite with you when I come back, I say. As for now, I belong to Norway. Even the rain that is pouring continuously cannot scar my happiness.

23^rd August, 2012, 00.10 a.m.

A lot has happened since I boarded the ship. It has been an amazing experience so far but nothing can beat the feeling that I just experienced. Today we went through the Trollfjord again. The first time I was lucky enough to come here, I was spellbound by the beauty of the place. Trollfjord is not just another fjord. It isn’t even heaven. It is something much more. If you ask me, I feel that place is alive, and that it has got an enchanting feel to it. It is a narrow fjord that you enter through a very small opening between through mountains.

My very first time in Trollfjord

As you sail through it, giant mountains stare at you and make you feel like you are the tiniest thing ever! The mountains have a strange enchanting and mysterious feel to them and as you sail across them, you can hear the sound of the gushing water falling down from the high mountains into the deep green water of the fjord. They are beautiful. Just when you are lost in the mountains, maybe climbing through the green forests (virtually of course), Sea Eagles swooping over you can totally steal your gaze away.

 

 The last time I came through Trollfjord, we were on a Sea Eagle safari and the weather was amazing. We saw quite a few Sea Eagles (and plenty of Sea Gulls attracted to the bread our guide threw in the water, mostly to lure the Sea Eagles, to tell them- Hey! Here is food, you better come and show yourself!). But more than that, it was the feeling of sailing in that tiny boat in the midst of the giant snow-capped mountains that took my breath away. Coming back to now, the weather wasn’t perfect. It was cloudy. And most of all, there was the darkness of the night when we appeared in Trollfjord. What could we see in this darkness?

Our ship was in the fjord through which you enter into the narrow Trollfjord. The night was just falling even though it was 11.30 p.m., as Norway is so far in the north. The sky was a dark inky blue and the mountains by our side appeared dark as if they were hiding secrets from us. I could already feel enveloped by their height. It was freezing cold. Yet, we remained on the deck wrapped in blankets, waiting for Trollfjord to come. Some snow still remained, which had a ghostly white glow in the night. And then, we reached the entrance to the Trollfjord. The ship stalled and turned around to face the entrance. We couldn’t enter it of course, since it is so dark.

I could feel the giant, dark mountains staring at me in the darkness. With no sound coming from the ship’s engine it was eerily quiet. This beautiful feeling of being in that place, of feeling the beauty of the mountains set against the dark blue sky was enough in itself for me. But then suddenly, a strong ray of light lit up the side of the mountain that opened the gateway to the beautiful fjord. I looked up to search for the source of the light and saw- a huge searchlight had been lit on the ship. And then, the virtual exploration started. Hypnotised by the beauty of the mountain under the artificial light, I couldn’t move my gaze from the mountain. My eyes followed the light as it explored the dark edges, the peaks of the mountain, traced the tiny waterfalls that slid down its side. And then it illuminated the dark green water. It was like being there, in those places high up in the mountain, walking past those waterfalls. It was exploring Trollfjord like never before. And even in the darkness, the place couldn’t scar its own impression it had left in me a year ago. In fact, Trollfjord became even more mysterious for me.

25^th August, 2012, 3:00 p.m.

We are on our way back to Bergen (still on another Hurtigruten ship of course – MS Vesteralen). In 4 days, we will be back again to where we started from. I cannot believe yesterday I was in the sea, on a tiny boat riding through the huge waves, chasing what? Sperm whales. And even through the sea-sickness and the rough ride in the angry sea, that feeling of being so close to a 20 m long whale cannot be described in words.

And now we are about to enter the Trollfjord - again. You might think a place would lose its charm for me, given that I have been here not once, but twice! It is raining and the huge mountains are now covered in a mist – the rain. It is impossible to go out on the open deck and take pictures, yet I cannot stop clicking (and getting my camera lens wet). Our ship creaks as we enter the narrow Trollfjord - this time on our huge ship. This might scar the impression that Trollfjord has left in me, I think. But as soon as I say that, I am taken aback by the giant mountain, just about a meter away from us. The sides of the rocky mountain are left wet by the rain, interrupted by the tiny streams of water that find their way through the paths carved on the mountain into the green fjord below. This time, the mountains are so close, that you can just lean and touch them and I could only gasp and say one word – WOW.

The tiny safari boat visible amongst the massive mountains

This time the feeling is different, we are close to the mountains like never before. The sound of the waterfalls is much greater, owing to the rain that has been falling all this time. We are sailing past the rocky, majestic mountains, green velvety grass covering them at places, and bits of snow covered the peaks. It is a no man’s land as it should be. Only nature rules this place. And the Sea Eagle that suddenly appears for the Sea Eagle safari boat that’s also following us. The ship turns around as we reach the end and even through the rain, the place doesn’t lose its magic. The thousands of waterfalls down the green mountains, and the snowy peaks in their background make me breathless and spellbound. I have forgotten the cold, the rain, the mist. The only thing I know right now is nature.

Soon, we will be leaving the Trollfjord, just in a matter of minutes. And like every good thing that comes to an end, this will too. I keep exploring Trollfjord through my eyes and think with a smile, this place didn’t lose its charm like I feared it would. Bad weather, rain … even the darkness couldn’t steal away its beauty.

Leaving Trollfjord

You know, it’s a myth that the Trolls (mythical creatures – they look like monsters with long noses!) were turned into stones and that formed the Trollfjord. Is that why I get the mysterious feeling when I come here every time? As if the mountains are staring at me?

***

My eyes open as the alarm rings. Was it all a dream? Was I not in Norway all this time? Then my eyes fall on the Hurtigruten ID card for MS NordKapp and MS Vesteralen. It most definitely was not a dream...

These days will never come back but they will always remain carved in my memories like the carvings on a rock. Years will pass, storms and hurricanes will try to wash them away, but they will remain... forever carved in the rock. And for me, Trollfjord shall always remain as mysterious and enchanting as it was the very first time. The most beautiful place in the world.