Almost There - Narvik to Andenes

I haven’t slept this good in a while. No wonder with the night train yesterday and all the nervousness before I left for the trip.

With a cup of black tea and a piece of polarbröd topped with vegan cheese, I get back to work. I finish reading my thesis for the last time and resubmit my paper. It’s kind of annoying to go through the whole process of filling in the forms and uploading the documents again, but at least I don’t have to make any changes to the manuscript itself.

At 11, I have to check out of the apartment and find another place to wait for the bus. The weather has changed a lot since yesterday, and it is nice to see the city in a different light. Narvik might not be the most beautiful place due to the railway tracks in the middle of the city and the industrial port down at the fjord, but the sunlight and the view of the mountains all around give it its own kind of charm.

Today is a public holiday, and while all the stores are closed, I’m lucky to find a café with a nice indoor seating area and spend another hour writing the abstract for my thesis, the final touch, with a cappuccino at hand.

Over and over, I’m distracted by all the Germans entering the café. I guess there is a cruise ship in the port that spits out too many tourists for this small town. Did they really just ask if you can pay in euros? I try to refrain from laughing. It’s crazy how adamant most Germans are about cash. You could simply use your card. It’s that easy. I learned this in the three months in Trondheim last year. I didn’t exchange any money beforehand, and I never ever missed it. This experience also changed my behavior when I returned to Germany. I barely use cash at all anymore. However, to all the non-Germans reading this: Be prepared if you ever come to Germany. You will find quite a few places where you still can’t pay with a card.

The next customer asks „Sie sprechen auch Deutsch?“. Bold of you to assume so…

But in between all these interruptions, I truly manage to finish my thesis before heading to the bus stop and into the last leg of my trip. I don’t really know what to expect from this bus. According to the app, there are 58 intermediate stops on the way, but I doubt the bus is really going to stop in all those places. So, how am I supposed to know when to get off? According to the duration of the travel, I expect it’s going to be a proper touring coach. Do I have to place my big travel backpack in the luggage compartment, or will the bus be so empty that I will be allowed to take it into the passenger room with me? But wouldn’t it take too long for the bus driver to open the luggage compartment at every stop? It is at least reassuring that I am not the only one waiting at the bus stop.

In the end, however, everything is not as bad as I always fear. The luggage compartment opens automatically when the bus drives up, and the ticket I bought in the app works perfectly. Within the bus, I even manage to grab a window seat that I have to myself for the first few stops. In the front of the bus, a monitor is announcing the next four stops with the approximate time of arrival, and every double-seat has its own stop button.

In the first few minutes, I snack on some polarbröd and watch the scenery passing by. We drive over the Hålogalandsbrua, and suddenly I’m almost happy that I didn’t catch the bus yesterday. The view of the fjord and the partially still snow-covered mountains is simply breathtaking in sunshine. After a while, I put my headphones on and try to focus on Mark Carwardine’s Handbook of Whales, Dolphins, and Porpoises.

Inlets in the Northwest of Senja

However, I’m constantly distracted by the beautiful landscape all around us. Most of the tundra is still covered in half a meter of snow, and the mountains are white all the more.

We reach Buktamoen. The young man next to me stands up and says goodbye, not knowing that I will get off the bus here as well. I shouldn’t have worried so much about the transfer. The bus takes a short break of 15 minutes here. A lot of people exit. My connecting bus arrives within minutes, and this one as well takes a short break.

On the bus, I again meet the man who was sitting next to me before. He asks me if I am also going to Senja. Not exactly, I say. I am going via Senja, but from there I will still have to take the ferry. It’s a different route than I would have taken yesterday since some of the buses are not running due to the holiday. However, I am looking forward to seeing Senja again.

I take a seat on the sunny side, but again, I have underestimated the Norwegian sun. Who would have thought that after the rainy and grey welcome yesterday, today I’m getting grilled and I’m even feeling too hot in a t-shirt?

After half an hour, we reach Finnsnes. My new travel companion gets off the bus with me and we talk for a while. He is from France and came here for two weeks of hiking. He originally planned to hike from Norway to Sweden, but that area is still very snowy and less accessible than expected. Instead, he will stay in Senja for a week and then go to the Tromsø area afterwards. Sounds amazing, although I would always be a bit scared of bad weather and I have never really understood the romanticism of camping.

When he goes searching for a place where he can buy cigarettes, I go into the terminal building of the ferry quay, watch the passengers who arrive with Fjordprinsen, and wait for the next bus. This one takes us over the beautiful island of Senja. I’ve already fallen in love with this place last year. Now, most of the trees are still bare, and the whole landscape has a stark, deserted flair. Here and there, you can spot reindeer between the remaining fields of snow. I even see a little one. It’s so cute!

As we reach the northwestern part of the island, the bus drives right next to the turquoise-blue water of the inlets. Soon we arrive at the Ferjekai in Gryllefjord and I made it to the very last hop of my trip.

On the ferry, I would usually stand outside with the wind blowing around my face in the hope that a group of killer whales would appear in sight. Last year, when we were traveling Lofoten, Vesterålen, and the Tysfjord, which is renowned for its orcas, I never missed an opportunity to look out for these animals. But today I’m just too tired.

My boss for the next four weeks, picks me up at the ferry station in Andenes and takes me to the staff accommodation. Here, I enter into the remains of a pizza party and meet my new colleagues.

Soon after, they all go to bed. But I don’t mind, I’m rather thankful for that. That leaves me with some time to myself after the long journey and allows me to finally unpack my backpack for good.