Husky Sledding in Kirkenes

This was one of the highlights of our trip and one of the most eagerly anticipated excursions. The excitement built up as we drove through a white winter wonderland on our way to the husky venue at Kirkenes, only 10 kilometers from the Russian border with Norway. It was fascinating to see road signs in Russian as well as Norwegian, as there is a large Russian community in Kirkenes.

When we arrived at the husky camp we could hear the dogs howling long before we saw them, as they were eager to be running.

The sleds were for two people, one sitting almost on the ground (husband was "volunteered" for that position) and the other passenger sitting on a seat behind with legs stretched out in front and wrapped round the hips of the front passenger (not entirely comfortable when you have short legs, as I discovered!) The "musher", a young girl on our sled, stood behind and drove the team with long reins.

We were introduced to the seven beautiful Alaskan Huskies and then we were off at a great rate of knots, flying across the deep snow and admiring the Arctic landscape from between the dogs' ears! It was just magical and we could have stayed all day, but the ride was over all too soon and we said goodbye to our team and grabbed some quick photos in the fading light.

We also visited the reindeer kept at the venue, including a beautiful white stag and some husky puppies a few months old, who were adorable. We even managed a very quick visit to the famous Snow Hotel, with its fabulous ice sculptures and beds, chairs and a drinks bar made from ice. You can pay to stay the night in one of the icy beds, but you'd have to be a hardy soul to enjoy that!

It was soon back to the ship and a quiet night in, except for the few volunteers (madmen?) who decided to go Ice Dipping in the Barents Sea at Vardo. Rather them than us!!

Other ports visited for short times included Batsfjord and Berievag, but we'd had quite enough excitement for one day, so we were fast asleep by then.