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NORWEGIAN FJORDS....the highlights.

Snow, blue skies, sunshine, freezing temperatures whilst wrapped up warm, stunning scenery and the beauty and peace of a remote unspoilt environment.....this to me is heaven. Add to that the company of my lovely mother and sister, much laughter and delicious fresh seafood, and you have the recipe for a wonderful few days away!

Travelling via Hurtigruten as passengers on one of their working post boats, it was the perfect way to travel up through the northern part of Norway's coastline from Tromso to close to the Russian border. An area so remote and uninhabited, that even trees are scarce to find in parts! If you are in search of peace and quiet and vast stretches of untouched beauty, then this is the place to be....

The boats take varying numbers of passengers, but ours took about 500 people...many of them keen photographers, hoping to catch a glimpse of the famous 'Aurora Borealis' or otherwise known as the 'Northern Lights'.

"The Northern Lights are actually the result of collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth's atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere. Variations in colour are due to the type of gas particles that are colliding."

IMAGE VIA GOOGLE IMAGES

Sadly the night skies were not quite clear enough to see this spectacular sight, apart from our first night, when two feint streaks could be seen across the night sky....nevermind, there was still much to see and enjoy!

One highlight was a visit to the fabulous 'Snow Hotel' in Kirkenes....

Made for just the winter season, entirely from snow, it is filled with beautiful ice sculptures....even the bar and chairs are all carved out of ice....no need to chill that glass of white wine!

Beautiful snow carvings on the walls...

Each of the bedrooms has a their own individual theme...

....and if you don't fancy sleeping in sub zero temperatures, albeit in an insulated sleep suit, then there are a number of cosy, centrally heated log cabins to stay in!

We just popped in for a tour and a coffee, but I quite like the idea of spending the night in such a magical place! How about you?

The few people who live in this extraordinary area all year round mainly work in the oil and fishing industry. With barely three hours of daylight in twenty-four hours in the depths of winter, it is not for those who crave the sun....

MY MOTHER ENJOYING THE RARE SUNSHINE AT NORTH CAPE...

....we were lucky to be blessed with sunshine midday when we visited 'North Cape', the most northern point in Europe. My goodness it was freezing though! Hot soup after this photo in the warmth of the visitor centre was seriously welcome!

This chap was enjoying a dose in the rare morning sunshine....

Without a doubt though, my favourite part of the trip was a visit to a Husky dog centre.

At first glance, I wasn't too sure whether I was happy to see all these poor dogs sleeping outside, and tethered up but it was soon obvious that they were so well looked after, and perfectly happy to sleep outside in temperatures as low as -50 degrees! Friendly and affectionate, these beautiful dogs were fascinating. They truly loved the sleigh runs they went on several times a day, and howled the place down, when it wasn't their turn to go out!

Different dogs are chosen for different positions....the brightest two are positioned at the front, the noisiest and most excited and enthusiastic in the middle, and lastly the largest and strongest at the back closest to the sleigh.....

My mother above, quite rightly enjoyed the joy of being driven by an experienced 'Musher', as the driver is called.....whereas my sister and I boldly (or naively?!) volunteered to drive our own sleigh, taking in turns to drive the other. I unfortunately don't have any photos of this, but let's just say that we could probably do with a little more practice.... in spite of ending up in several snow drifts, it was one of the most fun experiences ever!