In search of the Northern Lights

Thursday was departure day and of course I forgot somethng - specifically the notes so that I could write up the BCWAC meeting of Wed evening.
Dudley was collected and I got the bus to Cardiff and had an unsatisfactory Subway lunch before getting the train and bus to Heathrow. Also forgot a plastic bottle but someone had left one lying around so I was able to slake my thirst.
Thought I had forgotten my foreign Credit Card so paid for bus to hotel on Nationwide. It will be interesting to see the difference as I found it and paid for the trip back to the Airport on the Halifax.
Restless night - eventually got to sleep with phone playing tunes.

Friday

Woken at 5am by the telly, as I had messed up setting that alarm. Shower, breakfast - didn't really take advantage. Back to airport and usual hassles, at least the gate was quiet and I got on the plane early and didn't have to struggle to get to my seat down the back.
The bus was waiting and took us to the port very efficiently and, unlike the airport we strolled on board.
  Lunch was fun finding a table and we are allocated seating for dinner. Boat is very intimate. Retreated to cabin for a siesta and when I got up it was dark, 4pm back to winter.
Saturday
I don't remember. We must have visited Hammerfest. The most northerly town, and the most
destroyed. Visited the museum. Most impressed by their display of mangles - reminded me of
mother doing the washing in the 1960's.

Sunday
Is today. The Dawn or morning light as we left Harstad was beautiful. Called on Stokmarknes, I think there was a dredged channel to get in - but it wasn't impressive. Visited the Museum dedicated to the Hurtigruten Fleet. We only had an hour, which was enough I guess. The scenery
around dusk was spectacular, as we threaded our way through a narrow, winding channel with snow covered mountains on each side. Then the snow came in and we cancelled a visit to a famous steep sided Fjord.

I skipped dinner and dedicated myself to sorting out travel to Villamora. Seems I will be home for less than a week before I am off again.

Monday
Stayed upto see Bodo. The place where we disembarked in 1972. 2.30am. Nothing looked familiar.
Morning shower and loos were occupied, I had to go upstairs. Weather was showers.

Radio 4 programmes seem to whiz through - half hours pass very rapidly, but I am getting Cabin
Fever. or is it.Boat Fever. Sit upstairs and watch the scenery go by.
We left the  Arctic Circle today - I have the photos - no photos of the mountain with a hole in
it as it was getting dark but it was also very dull.

Seems tonight was a special dinner - I guess we will lose some guests at Trondheim. I didn't attend, Lunchtime dessert was superb - I had all four - Chocolate Mousse base, Ice cream on top surrounded by strawberries and raspberries and topped with surprise tart. With a fish starter the middle course of pasta and veggy stuff was dissapointing. I do like the potato salad. On top of a 3 course breakfast I don't need to eat.

I guess I had better not mention my failure to notice the arrival time in Bergen and the need to purchase a new ticket back to Oslo.

Malta 2019

Two weeks was a mistake - and while I thought half board would be OK the Coral Restaurant is getting boring but I would need to pay for a speciality burger.
   That's not to mention the fact that this "Fully air conditioned" Hotel switches the air conditioning off in the winter. Had to open the patio door to stay cool, but there was an irregular squeek from somewhere so I changed to a 6th floor room from second and now I have the traffic noise at 6am. At least I feel more secure.
Other moans include advertising dog walking every Thursday - only this week it is Friday and they couldn't be bothered to tell anyone. I love getting up at 7.30am when I am on holiday!

Still it started OK. Got my bus pass - 12 journeys - sailing in the middle meant the 7 day unlimited didn't make sense and popped

into Valetta to get the walking tour pamphlets - which they had. As I was there I took the ferry over to the Three Cities and wandered around there including the Maritime Museum. Its in an old bakery - but look at the way those were built! Inside they had gutted an old steam dredger for half of the museum but the other half was OK. Not a lot about WW2 though.

Day 2 and I walked to the Gozo Ferry and went out to see what remained of the Azure Window.

Before (from 2016) and after!

Amazing that there was no trace of the thing. I expected a sea stack or something but there was no trace of it. Walked back from the ferry and the Red Tower in the red sunset was good.

Wednesday I walked about 8 miles via Popeye Village and down the coast ending up at Mgarr where I was able to catch a bus back.

Euromed took up the next 4 days. Not really part of the team, although the two Peters seemed friendly enough. As pin end finish I didn't have the responsibility of doing everything and I had a really nice boat once we had worked out how to get the anchor down.
Photos can be seen at:-
https://photos.app.goo.gl/wt4dK3xGDsDm27cm7

The weather got really windy on Monday so I took the 221 into Sliema, to see Valetta from the other side. Modern shopping centre at The Point and a nice walk northward through St Julians and St George's Bay. Thought about a cinema visit. (then I heard a review of Cats and decided against it)

Christmas Eve I took the bus back to Mgarr with the intention of getting to a walk a bit further south but the footpath shown on google seemed to be washed out and I found myself on the Victoria Lines which seemed clearer than the map so I followed them back to the middle of the island and the bus back to hotel. Spectacular views but the phone camera totally failed to capture them or even give any expression of them.

Wed Christmas Day I did the Fortresses walk around the penninsular's just north of here - took the other camera but have yet to try and do the photos. It was enough of a problem re-naming them so that they follow the same format as those taken on the phone. It was fun having three screens running (2 Computers and phone)

Not making good progress with The West Wing.

Thursday got up early for the non dog walking. On bus to Mdina by 10am. Transfers worked! Wandered around the fortress wondering how it came to be. Little mention of the Arabs in the Natural History Museum. Normans were built up.

Have to work on drinking Guinness and The West Wing,