The ship has docked, and we went down our long hallway. Our key has a barcode on it that we scan when we leave. It says, “Goodbye”, each time that the scan works!! Imagine hearing that hundreds of times.
We have reached our final northbound stop so we have a few hours to explore.
In Kirkenes, there is an ice hotel that is open all year round, and every hotel room is different. If we’d had another hot day, we might have scheduled a visit.
Kirkenes is farther east than Istanbul and is on the same latitude as northern Siberia.
During WWII, Kirkenes was heavily bombed. In 1944 three thousand residents took refuge in one of the tunnels belonging to a mining company. This tunnel was well suited to house a large number of people since the temperature never dropped below freezing. People organized tents and constructed small shelters. A stream of drippings from the ceiling provided some water. Many feared that the Germans would blow the entrance and trap everyone inside.
Midwife Nelly Lund established a small nursery inside. She clad the 12×18 foot walls with quilt and blankets to keep out the cold and provided four beds for the laboring women.
John Savio was a Sami artist known for his woodcuts. He was self taught, and his art is of beautiful scenes of this region and its nature.
We started back on the southbound voyage and stopped in Vardø.
Vardø has Globus 1&2 radars to monitor space. One time during a strong storm, the covers blew off and revealed that the radars were actually pointed toward Russia.
Long ago Vardø in Finnmark was considered the gate to hell since darkness was prevalent, and storms were violent. It was thought that the Devil lived here.
The Steilneset Memorial was erected in memory of the 91 victims who were convicted of witchcraft and burned at the stake in Finnmark in the 17th century.
Translation:
- Anne, Laurits Pedersen’s wife
- Brought to trial at Kjelvik courthouse on July 13, 1610
- ACCUSED OF
- Practice of witchcraft
- Passed the water test and could not sink at all
- This was considered a sign from God and a testimony of witchcraft
- Found guilty of witchcraft
- Half of her and her husband’s joint estate was to go to the King
- All legally declared debts of the joint estate were to be paid before the King’s right was exercised
- Sentenced to be burned at the stake
Often, the float test was used to see if a woman was a witch. Her hands and feet were tied and if she floated in the water, she was a witch and burned at the stake. If she sank, she was not a witch … but she likely drowned.
Mehamn is the northern most harbor in Europe.
Below are creative play structures for children:
when fire was used.
In the even farther north Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard on the island of Spitsbergen, they are not allowed to lock their doors. If a polar bear comes after you, you can run into any house.
If the cold don’t get cha, the polar bear will!!!!!
Leave a Reply