A Spectacular Voyage on Highway No. 1

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN NORWAY

EVERY evening, year-round, a ship leaves the city of Bergen, on the southwest coast of Norway, and heads north on an 11-day voyage of about 2,900 miles [4,500 km]. It sails by thousands of islands and through numerous fjords and sounds as it visits the cities, towns, and villages along Norway’s rugged and beautiful coast.

Although the sea route of the Norwegian Coastal Express is considered by many to be the most beautiful voyage in the world, the Coastal Express has a utilitarian role​—that of ferrying goods, mail, and passengers as far as the terminal port at Kirkenes, well inside the Arctic Circle.

How do ships navigate those polar waters, especially in winter when ice closes off much of the Arctic to shipping? Because of its position, Norway comes under the influence of the warm waters of the North Atlantic Current and the temperate westerly winds. Both of these moderate Norway’s climate, making it milder than the high latitude would suggest. Indeed, Norway’s ports are virtually ice-free, even in winter.

 A Sea Highway Is Born

Late in the 19th century, when consideration was being given to linking the country’s coastal populations by road, rail, or sea, the scales tipped in favor of a sea route. Back then, however, even that route presented problems, for although the sea would not freeze over, sailing at night and in bad weather was dangerous.

Thanks largely to the imagination and determination of sea captain Richard With, a regular shipping service was inaugurated on July 2, 1893. On that day, the first Coastal Express left Trondheim, ultimately bound for Hammerfest, the northernmost city in Europe. Despite gloomy predictions, the service proved successful. In fact, it was later expanded to include 34 ports from Bergen to Kirkenes​—the terminal points to this day. Perhaps the greatest testimony to the success​—and importance—​of this maritime highway is reflected in the unofficial name the people living along the coast gave it, that is, Highway No. 1.

Nowadays, Highway No. 1 is serviced by a fleet of 11 modern ships that sail 24 hours apart. But because of a much improved road-and-rail network that services many of the towns along the coast, the function of the Coastal Express has increasingly become slanted toward tourism, which is reflected in the design of the ships.

An Unfolding Panorama

The ships navigate a course that takes them mainly through sheltered waters. Hence, passengers are treated to 11 days of some of the best vistas that Norway has to offer​—cozy hamlets set in lush pastures, seaside fishing villages, glaciers, fjords, snowcapped mountains, cliffs peppered with countless seabirds, majestic waterfalls, and even whales.

As an added bonus, passengers are free to disembark for some sightseeing when the ships berth. The town of Molde, for example, affords a magnificent view of the 87 snowcapped peaks in the Romsdal Alps. At Ålesund and Trondheim, visitors may even have time for a short excursion, which can include a stroll along streets lined with distinctive local architecture. At some towns passengers hire a car and then rejoin their ship at its next port of call.

After departing the town of Bodø, the Coastal Express passes the Vest Fjord and heads for the Lofoten Islands, a 110-mile-long [175 km] archipelago with numerous mountain peaks and cozy fishing villages. Some of Lofoten’s outermost islands are little more than reefs, rocky islets, and cliffs jutting up from the ocean​—in some cases marked by a lighthouse or a beacon. The archipelago is also home to some of the world’s largest colonies of seabirds, including gulls, terns, eider ducks, puffins, murres, cormorants, Atlantic kittiwakes, razor-bills and, occasionally, storm petrels. The birds number well into the millions.

Every winter the sea around Lofoten comes alive with fishing boats out to catch skrei, a codfish. This area is also known for whales. How thrilled passengers are when these giant mammals breach and spout within viewing distance of the ship!

In summer, the Coastal Express takes a detour into Troll Fjord. The entrance to this fjord is so narrow and precipitous that you feel as if you could reach out over the ship’s railings and touch the sheer rock face. Here the man at the helm does not sound the ship’s horn, lest he trigger a rockslide! Set against a backdrop of snowcapped mountain peaks, this section of coast is a photographer’s dream!

After calling at several more cities and fishing villages, the vessels turn eastward, heading for a section of coastline that to many is the highlight of the voyage. From the port of Honningsvåg, for instance, passengers may take  an excursion to North Cape, where the cliff rises almost vertically from the Arctic Ocean for about a thousand feet [300 m], affording spectacular vistas.

The Coastal Express docks at Kirkenes, its northern terminal, for only a few hours before casting off for the return trip to Bergen. The voyage south enables passengers to enjoy scenery they may have missed while sleeping on the journey north. At the Arctic Circle, for example, one can see the mighty Svartisen ice sheet, which covers about 140 square miles [370 sq km]. The ships then cruise by the beautiful mountain range named the Seven Sisters and by Torghatten, a squat, bulbous mountain with a large natural tunnel cutting right through it, so that it looks like a hat with a hole in its crown. Between the towns of Måløy and Florø, the express skirts the Hornelen, a 2,800-foot-high [860 m] mountain that rises so steeply from the sea that here too the helmsman does not sound the horn for fear of causing a rockslide.

The Midnight Sun and the Polar Night

Tourists who make the journey in summer can experience uninterrupted daylight for virtually the entire voyage. In fact, much of Highway No. 1 is in “the land of the midnight sun,” north of the Arctic Circle.  Here the summer sun shines through the night. At North Cape, for instance, the sun does not set for almost 12 weeks!

Winter travelers experience the opposite​—a long polar night. But winter has its own beauty when sky, ocean, mountains, and snow are bathed in the soft colors of twilight as the sun nears, but fails to rise above, the horizon. Moreover, winter skies furnish the perfect backdrop for one of the grandest shows of all​—the famous aurora borealis, or northern lights. When winds of electrically charged solar particles penetrate the polar skies, green and yellow-green lights, sometimes including shades of red, dance across the star-studded sky in awe-inspiring bands and curtains that arc, flicker, and undulate to their own cosmic rhythm.

Of course, you do not have to be on the Coastal Express to enjoy many of these magnificent sights. Thanks to an expanded road-and-rail network, much of Norway can also be enjoyed through the window of a car or a train. For those who are on a tight budget, these modes of transport may be more economical. Nevertheless, whatever route you choose, one thing is sure​—you will never tire of the unfolding vistas that change with every mile and every season along Norway’s spectacular coast.

[Map on page 13]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

FINLAND

SWEDEN

NORWAY

OSLO

Sea route

▿ ▵ Bergen

▿ ▵ Florø

▿ ▵ Mȧløy

▿ ▵ Ȧlesund

▿ ▵ Molde

▿ ▵ Trondheim

ARCTIC CIRCLE

Monument at the Arctic Circle

▿ ▵ Bodø

▿ ▵ Lofoten Islands

Troll Fjord

▿ ▵ Tromsø

▿ ▵ Hammerfest

▿ ▵ Honningsvȧg

▿ ▵ Kirkenes

[Credit Line]

Based on map: Hurtigruten

 [Picture on page 15]

In the Troll Fjord, surrounded by alpine peaks

[Credit Line]

TO-FOTO AS, Harstad

[Pictures on page 15]

The Lofoten Islands are home to many seabirds including gulls, thick-billed murres, and puffins

[Picture on page 16]

Highway No. 1 starts at Bergen

[Picture on page 16]

Monument at the Arctic Circle

[Picture on page 16]

Midnight sun

[Credit Line]

TO-FOTO AS, Harstad

[Picture on page 16, 17]

The Seven Sisters

[Credit Line]

Per Eide

[Picture on page 17]

Coastal village in dark wintertime

[Picture on page 17]

Aurora borealis, the northern lights

[Credit Line]

© TO-FOTO AS, Harstad

[Picture on page 17]

Voyage ends at Kirkenes

[Credit Line]

Hallgeir Henriksen

[Picture Credit Line on page 13]

Nancy Bundt