Reservations for our trip to the Norwegian Fjords and Sweden are complete.  I am certain that January will be cold.  We plan to dress accordingly with no plans to freeze.  I hope the Northern Lights are aglow for us.  We loaded up on cruise ship daytime excursions and we’ll take two activities while at the Ice Hotel: a night-time Northern Lights photography outing and a visit with reindeer (thanks to Cynthia for this suggestion)

Now I can “relax” and “simply” plan an RV excursion to Yellowstone NP, Montana, Idaho, Washington State, and an excursion into Canada for this fall.  At some point ahead of our RV trip, I do need to plan out our trip to Europe in the Spring.  With the Blue Danube river cruise prepaid, we’ll shift our attention to Eastern Europe and book-end the cruise with time in Croatia, Slovenia, and perhaps Berlin.

This year (2018) we installed a solar system and that put a crimp in our travel plans.  We’ve talked about an RV trip to Montana, Washington, and Victoria BC, but have no solid plans as yet.  I have to get that planned out or it may not happen.

Bergen, Norway

Last year we took a very inexpensive trip to Vietnam through Gate 1 Travel.  To our surprise, we thoroughly enjoyed that trip.  Since then Gate1 has regularly sent teaser brochures advertising their “specials” for the week or the quarter.  Most times we glance through them thinking some would be fun to do in the future.  Last week Ellen pointed out a Northern Lights cruise offered by Gate1 in Norway.  It is unusual for Ellen to get excited about trip planning in the early stages.  Further research was in order!

Trondheim, Norway

The “Gate 1” cruise would be on either MS Richard With, MS Nordlys, MS Nordkapp, or MS troljiford in a standard inside cabin.  Look up any of these ships and you’ll find they are operated by Hurtigruten.  Hurtigruten is a Norwegian cruise line that operates a fleet of ferries that plies the Norwegian Fjords.  All are working ferries that make numerous stops up and down the coast.  They feature stops at a few ports of call with excursions.  A few of their cruises are billed as “Adventure”,  “Northern Lights”, or “Astronomy”.

I got all excited that I could book directly with Hurtigruten, get an outside berth, and opt for excursions at some of the destinations.  Great.  Now for the logistics: which destination city should we fly into: Bergen, Oslo or Stockholm?   What time of year is best to go? Some research showed that Stockholm is located on islands and is much more picturesque than Oslo.  Bergen is the port of departure and a direct flight there with an overnight might be preferable.  There are regular flights from Stockholm, Sweden to Bergen, Norway where we would board a Hurtigruten ship.  There is also a flight from Oakland Ca to Bergen with a stop over in Paris.  Cool.

Northernmost Tram Ride in the World, Trondheim Norway

During my research Ellen mentioned wanting to visit the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden.  This complicates things.  We now have three legs of a potential “Northern Lights” vacation: 1. Stockholm, 2. Hurtigruten Cruise, 3. Ice Hotel.   In which order do we do this and during which month?  If we save the Ice Hotel for the last “leg”, do we fly to Bergen and do the cruise first or fly to Stockholm and spend a few days there before taking the cruise.  Do we do a round trip cruise.

Arctic Ice Park, Kirkenes, Norway

Initially I thought we’d visit the IceHotel in November and actually booked a warm and cold room and a few excursions. Then I realized that there would be little snow on the ground for dog sled rides and a November cruise would push our return up against  our prior plans for Thanksgiving.  On Monday of this week (6/25) I called the Ice Hotel and cancelled our reservations with no penalty.  The fellow I spoke with was most gracious stating because I called within the two week window after booking there would be no problem with a full refund.

The Northernmost Town in the World, Hammerfest, Norway

My thinking now is to book the Ice Hotel in January after our “Astronomy” cruise on Hurtigruten and either before or after spending a few days in Stockholm. Also of interest is a side trip to lulea, Sweden.  Lulea is the most northern city in Sweden.  It lies on the coast and is becoming a tech hub for the country.  We’ll most likely fly from Stockholm to Lulea and take a train from Lulea to Kiruna and the Ice Hotel the following day.

Art Suite 365, Ice Hotel Jukkasjarvi, Sweden

Today it looks like a round trip flight Oakland to Bergen, overnight Bergen, take a 12 day Norwegian Fjord cruise with a zodiac trip in the arctic for the Northern Lights. Then we’ll fly from Bergen to Stockholm and tour Stockholm for a few days before flying on to the Ice Hotel.  We’ll stay first in a warm room, then in an “Art Suite 365”, a new addition to the hotel.  It is a cold room with an attached warm bathroom and seating area. A warm room right off the Ice Room?  It seems far to civilized!

All arrangements are now booked except a hotel for an overnight in Bergen and one in Stockholm for two nights.  We’ll be in Trondheim on new years day!