We went to Grip Island in July this year, when we took a tour from Kristiansund.
The boat ride from Kristiansund is about 45 minutes, and a little bumpy!!
Here's the boat at the harbour before we got on:
The island itself is not very large and you can easily visit the church, the shoreline, harbour etc within minutes of each other. This is a picture from inside the church.
There are lots of birds on the island, and as you go into the harbour there were many nests in the tyres hanging on the harbour wall.
The houses themselves are very pretty to look at, they are brightly painted wooden houses. The island closes over the winter months but residents can live there the other times within the year.
Klip fish is everywhere on the island. With some residents hanging the fish from their homes.
I would recommend going to the island for a visit. We were lucky as you can see from the pictures, the weather was nice and sunny. I am not so sure how much I would have enjoyed the island if it was raining.
Happy sailing
Ann
Less than 60 days to go before I set sail again. We have booked onto the Black Watch with Fred Olsen, and we will be visiting the baltic capitals.
We visited the baltic last year and had a fantastic time, so we thought we would try it again and do the Christmas markets.
REF: Fredolsencruises.com
The schedule is great. We havent done the Kiel Canal, Warnemunde or Helsinki before and I cant wait to visit them. Subject to wifi connection, I will post on my blog as much as I can, or send some pictures to my twitter account.
Black Watch is a great boat and was the very first one which we went on when we started cruising. We have had cabins on the lowest floor and suites - and I am happy to say that all are great.
So what is the outside of the Black Watch like?
It's quite impressive and there is lots of space to move around. There isnt a crowded feeling. The walk ways round the boat are quite wide and there is plenty of room for chairs and people to scroll round and take in the sea air.
Inside is cosy. The neptune lounge is a large area but not too overpowering. They do the nightly shows in here and the guess speakers.
Plenty of space to have a glass of wine or two...... :-)
The observatory lounge / bar is a great place to watch the world go by and meet new people or just have a drink or read your book / kindle. The view outside is great and if you dont feel like watching the arriving into port from the outside, this is a nice warm place to go.
I'll post more about the Black Watch during my holiday.
Happy sailing
Ann
Hi
I have just started my new twitter account.
Follow me: Ann Williams @AnnsFoodBlog
Kristiansund in Norway is a favourite port of mine and my husband. Although there isn't a hive of activity in the port, there is enough to keep you occupied without having to go on a tour. The first time we visited Kristiansund we stayed in the port and this year when we visited we did a walk around the harbour area and a tour to Grip Island.
I hope you enjoy the pictures below which are located in the port.
The first 2 pictures are of Black Watch. As you can see you dont have to walk very far from the boat. This area is relatively flat, but once you leave the front area it becomes quite steep.
This is the main port area which again is very close to where the boat docked. There are a few seats, for those who wish to watch the world go by.
There are lots of things to take pictures of and the tourists tend to group around here.
Besides this small port area there is a small shopping mall. This includes a mini supermarket, alcohol store, clothes stores, and kitchen store.
I bought a norway apple liquor and a vase the last time I visited. The apple liquor is quite strong tasting and is an acquired taste, but it is nice over vanilla ice cream. The vase is great for smaller flowers like sweet peas, the overhanging lip is great for resting flower heads on.
Just a small way out of the key area is a Spar shop. We didnt buy much but I did get some norwegian packet soup (I really enjoy fish soup) and a norwegian hot chocolate tassimo pack (my husband is a hot chocolate fan). We normally pay around the £3 to £4.50 for tassimo packs at home, but in Norway they are about £6. The hot chocolate is however very nice and does have a different flavour to cadbury or suchard.
I will blog about Grip Island next and my pending trip to the Baltic.
Until then..... happy sailing
Ann
Where to start? This was a fantastic cruise which I will remember for a long long time. So I guess I should start with what was my favourite bit which was crossing the artic circle at midnight. I'll do some more posts in the coming weeks about the other parts.
I was surprised to find that there is a marker on a small island which shows where the artic starts or indeed ends. I managed to take a few pic's but some were a little blurry.
As you can see it's quite easy to miss this if you dont know its there.
I did manage to get a close up pic, where you can see that its shaped like the world.
Not long after we passed this, the sun started to set then rise very quickly. This made for a lovely orange sky, and I had great fun taking photo's inbetween having a glass of wine.
This photo is at the start of the midnight sunset.
This one a few moments later.
Luckily I have a very good zoom on my camera and I managed to take these photo's a little while later.
All of the above photo's were taken from the front of the boat. The night sky from the back of the boat was totally different.
If you ever get the chance to go over the artic circle by Norway then go. You wont be disappointed.
If you are wondering where I was this is my husband's tablet with the details.
Happy sailing
Ann
I hope that you enjoy reading about my recent Fred Olsen cruises and my pending Baltic cruise which is planned for November / December 2013.
I hope that my photo's give you some idea about the ports and the ships - and that it helps you to plan your own travels.
Happy sailing
Ann
