6.9.18 Day 7 - Hurtigruten- Yurke and Ålesund

Sailing overnight on our Hurtigruten ship, the MS Nordkapp. 

As I said our room is quite amazing - not tiny at all. 

Forgot to take a pic BEFORE we moved in. Tracy on the right, me on the left. Tom, one of the staff who does our room and serves us dinner, made my bed and put it back to our couch. 

Whilst sleeping, with a slight rock n roll we actually made very short 15minute stops at Florø and Måløy. The ship is a working ship, it is a ferry with capacity for 24 cars and also for freight. I did hear the ropes going out at Måløy, but otherwise slept soundly. 

I got up had my shower and went out on a cold and windy deck to watch us dock at Torvik. We were due at 7.15 but we are running a bit behind schedule, something to do with the conditions sailing overnight. 

Sunrise on the Fjiord. Sun rising 7.00 in the morning. 











There are people getting on and off at the stops and just under 600 passengers on board. The crew also have loaded/unloaded freight at our short stops. 

We have been sailing mainly within islands, so the sea is pretty calm. 

We stopped at Alesund for 45 minutes this am and some passengers left the ship for shore excursions.

A village along the way. 



Getting ready to dock at Ålesund. The man is wearing a machine on front that controls all the levers and ropes, he just guides the rope to the right place. 

Coming into Ålesund to dock for a short while.  Some passengers doing tours etc. 

Throwing a lighter rope over the rail to attach to big rope and enable man on dock to pull the big rope down.  

A much younger kid now wearing the controller and his hi vis Hurtigruten gear 



Passengers coming on board. People use Hurtigruten to move between the many ports we dock at. Also unloading freight. 

Ålesund dock. 

Playing with reflections. 

The rest of us sailed on up the Hjørundfjorden (pronounced Uren-Ford-n) Fjiord which was lovely. We anchored off the tiny little town of Urke (pronounced Yer-Ck-a.  A sound a bit like clearing your throat) 

Sailing up the Fjiord - Hjørundfjorden 

The cloud was hanging low. 

There was a tender boat from the town ferrying those with booked excursions, then others who wanted to visit to walk around. We had a couple of hours. 

Here we are ready for our first disembarkation to Urke. 

It’s a bit of a running joke that Urke has a Downtown - the place is tiny. 

The MS Nordkapp waiting patiently at anchor at Urke. 

Met by a town host at the dock with a brochure/map. The town has 32 permanent residents and is a popular weekend getaway with many holiday houses and camping and cabins. He also explained that there are two mountains to climb here - one called Stolen had about 7000 climbers last year, the other 8000 is called Saska and means Sister. He also explained that they recently had some steps cut into the mountain by Sherpas from Nepal which was very expensive, but they are the only ones with the expertise. 

It was a beautiful town with a pub/cafe - Kaihuset, shop - Urke Landhandel, a mill - Kvernhuset, storage house - Stabburet, A power plant - Det Lokale Kraftverket and a most captivating farm and house and barn. 

Postboxes on the Ivergarden barn. 

Tractors look the same. 

One of two old mills for crushing grain. They were tiny. I love the green roof. 

These were headbands for sale in the shop. They have the name and height of the two mountains that people come to hike to. 



I guess the eat the meat, wear the fur, may as well use the head/antlers for something too. 

This is a storage house. Evidently using rocks for stumps prevented rats and mice entering the building and ruining the stores. 

We saw one house with what looked like a birdcage on the side, on closer inspection it had fish drying in it. 

Fish drying cage. 

The fish-drying

Ivergarden Farm. House with stunningly beautiful garden both in front and on the roof. Barn to the right. 

The garden and house - sensational. 

The pub and coffee house. 

The other side of pub. 

The views of the fjiord,ship,mountains and township were just fantastic. The best part is that Hurtigruten is the only ship that visits. 

Reflections at the pier in Urke, while waiting for the tender boat back to ship. 

Reflections. The weather has been amazing to date, warm and sunny. 

Townsfolk are pretty reliant on boats to get around. There must be road access as for a small town we had to get off the road for several cars during our short visit. 

Back on ship for lunch and a bit of free time, before a short lecture about Norway, then not long before we were sailing back to Alesund. We have an organised private walking tour. 

We walked off the ship to see a sign with Ms Sloan on it and we met our yellow jacketed tour guide Monica, born and bred in Alesund. 

She showed and told us many things including:

• That Alesund means Eel Strait 
• The town was destroyed by fire in 1904 and rebuilt in Art Nouveau style for which it is now famous. 
• The town is made up off several islands. There are three tunnels connecting islands which run beneath the sea floor. 
• We were lucky that it’s Thursday as the museum closes at 5 everyday except Thursday. 
• Today was also the last tour of the season for Monica’s company. So we were very lucky. 
• The canal after which Eel Strait is named has beautiful buildings lining it, once used for fish storage etc. they have narrowed the canal and built a road and piers on one side. 

At the museum we entered a time machine which took us back to 1904 to experience the fire that destroyed the town. 

• There were 10 000 people left homeless in freezing conditions and only one casualty. 
• There was help provided from around the world, and the town was rebuilt in 3 years. There was a decree that no buildings could be built in timber, so all the new buildings were built in much more expensive stone and brick. Architects came to help and the Art Nouveau town took shape. 
• Alesund has the second ugliest building in Norway - the town hall 
• The Ålesund area produces 50% of The country’s furniture and fishing is an important commodity. 
• The town also provides services to the oil fields. 

Ålesund also has the iconic storage houses on the water.  They are original on this side. Where we are walking they have reclaimed canal and built over it to enable pedestrians and vehicles to accesss. 





An old Art Deco cash register at the museum. The museum is housed in an old pharmacy - and still retains all the original shop fittings. 


Having been taken back in time we are sitting to watch and hear stories of the horrendous stormy night where fire raised the city to rubble, leaving 10 000 inhabitants homeless in the dead of a Norway Winter. 


Listening intently to Monica from the comfort of heated park bench. The city kommune (council) burns rubbish to heat water that runs all year round through the pipes of the seat, a bit like a towel warmer. 

There’s Monica enthralling is with her tales. 

Oh and just to prove I was there and listening also. 

Fire hydrant in Ålesund 

Pano view from the car park of a wealthy man who allows tour guides here to share his view. 

The narrowest building in Norway. It has no stairway either in or outside. They had arrangements to use neighbors stairs and had a doorway entrance at each level. 

The stonework and paint detail on this building was intricate. 

All in all a great tour in a short 90minutes or so. 

Back to the ship at 6.45 and sailing by 7pm. 

Dinner for us at 8.30 sitting. 

Next stop is Mølde where we collect the Taste of Norway excursioners and continue to sail overnight.