cruise – Candle in a Cave

What an amazing trip along the coast aboard the Vesterålen.

I thankfully did not have any issues with sea sickness, but it sure feels strange being back on dry land! I’m on the third floor of a hotel and it feels as though it is rocking more than the boat. I’m guessing it’ll settle down this evening.

Just more amazing sites here.

We made a stop in Ålesund. There was a devastating fire in 1904 that destroyed most of the city.

We were back to sea at 8 p.m. for the remainder of the voyage to Trondheim.

I waited for the sun to peak out from behind the mountain on the left and then tried to catch it in the center of the valley before it went back behind the mountain on the right. It was less than a minute.

I got up at 12:30 a.m. in order to get these next photos. Learned that this is nautical twilight.

In general, the term nautical twilight refers to sailors being able to take reliable readings via well known stars because the horizon is still visible, even under moonless conditions. Absent fog or other restrictions, outlines of terrestrial objects may still be discernible, but detailed outdoor activities are likely curtailed without artificial illumination.

If I understand it correctly, when there is a nautical twilight from sunset to sunrise, it is called a white night, which this was.

A short ways off the dock in Trondheim is Munkholmen (Monk’s Island) and it has colorful history.

Munkholmen Island was Trondheim’s execution site in the Viking era. Benedictine monks built a monastery on the island in the early 11th century, probably one of the earliest monasteries in Scandinavia. In 1658 it was converted into a prison and fortress, and later a customs house. Its most famous inmate was the Danish Count Peder Griffenfeld, who spent 18 years as a prisoner there.

And then there is Trondheim.

I’ll tell more about the city tomorrow, but since I arrived at 9:45 a.m., my hotel room was not yet ready, so I made a visit to the National Cathedral where St. Olaf is buried. I want my first experience of the interior to be tomorrow at the Mass, so I wandered around the grounds. The pictures do not do it justice. I am very thankful that the reformers didn’t destroy it during their iconoclastic madness (although they did do some damage.)

The detail is stunning. Here is a closeup of one small piece.

I plan on spending most of the day here tomorrow, between the Mass, touring the church, museum, and climbing one of the towers. Hopefully there’s a quiet corner to pray the Rosary.

Fiddled with the lighting on the camera with this one.

That is all for now. Pray you all are staying safe back home with all the storms.

Still no need for another haircut.

Just a brief update here and maybe it will post. The Internet connection is not all that great. Not necessarily a bad thing.

The boat trip is amazing. The food is… I will have gained 10 pounds in 30 hours. This morning we left the safety of the fjords and entered the Norwegian Sea. For about an hour, we became the ayatollah of rock ‘n’ rolla. There were very few people at breakfast.