Just got back after an 11-day trip on one of the Norwegian Hurtigruten coastal
ships from Bergen round the top of Norway to Kirkenes and back. Furthest north
was 71 deg 01 min. It was a trip that exceeded all the superlatives. Absolutely
stunning.

Meteorologically, it was very interesting. We had a spell of 8 days with the
temp continuously below zero. The coldest was -11 at Kirkenes last Tuesday and
-10 at Trondheim on Saturday on our way back south. We had 2 gales. One of
these was a severe gale with the temp at -6. That put a new meaning on the word
'bitter'! Enormous amounts of snow, both lying and falling. If snow was a
tradable commodity Norway would be a very rich country indeed. Despite the snow
life there seems to go on with no problem. The roads are left with a covering
of hard packed snow, sometimes with stone chippings added to give a bit of
grip. Most cars seemed to have studded tyres. Also had some spells of fine
weather and saw the aurora borealis on 4 evenings. Nothing very spectacular but
my wife was particularly pleased as it was a first for her.

Because we enjoyed the weather so much we have brought it back to Tideswell
with us!

--
Norman Lynagh
Tideswell, Derbyshire
303m a.s.l.