I’ve not really spent much time anywhere else than home on my birthday, except the odd visit to London, or my 21st in Amsterdam. I never would have expected to wake up on my birthday, on a ship sailing down the beautiful Vestfjorden area of the Norwegian Sea.

We passed some very dark and brooding mountains shrouded in low cloud on the way to the port of Reine, in the Lofoten Islands. It was raining at this point, not too heavy, nothing a sturdy jacket couldn’t handle. We went for breakfast before leaving the ship. Tina, our waitress, wished me a happy birthday and offered buck’s fizz as a birthday treat. Claes then came up all excited because it was my birthday and handed me a Norwegian flag. He kept hold of it after we’d eaten because he wanted it to continue the birthday celebrations later on. Yesterday, he had invited us both to afternoon tea in the restaurant. This was booked at 3pm when the ship would be sailing again today.

Once I’d eaten my omelette we grabbed our jackets from the room and left the ship. We have ID cards with our name and room number on, and when we leave the boat they check us out electronically. This obviously gives them a record of who has left and, more importantly, who has returned.

The rain had got heavier when we left, and I thought I should go back to the room to get my brolly. However, when I saw the wind I thought better of it. It was roughly a ten minute walk to the fishing village that dates back to 1743. We used one of the maps provided by Hurtigruten to find our points of interest.

We passed the wooden racks that are built to hang fish wheels. Sverdrup, a family business now run by the 4th and 5th generation, own these racks. The wheels are used to dry the fish naturally outside, and they are also naturally salted from the sea air. The end result is stockfish, which is actually cod that has been hung around the village in February or March. By the time June arrives it is dry. Stockfish is sold to Italy, Nigeria, Croatia, USA and Norway and we ate it as part of our meal last night. In Reine, fishermen’s’ cabins called “rorbuer”, noticeable by their red painted timber frames, are now rented out to tourists for a traditional experience. Many of them have fabulous views over the Reinevågen and Gravdalsbukta bodies of water with a backdrop of mountains of the Moskenes municipality. There was still a feint whiff of fish in these areas as the wooden racks are everywhere.

Fisherman’s Cabins – Reine Rorbuer

Reine rorbuer

Our next destination was the Reinehalsen, which is a pleasant walk from the village. It is here that you can get a beautiful vista of the whole of Reine, with the mountain ranges and the entrance to Reinefjord in the background. Reinehalsen is located at the foot of the mountain Reinebringen, which is a popular hiking trail. It was around there that an American woman started moaning at us because some local workmen had told her not to go up the Reinebringen. I have since read that the hike is too dangerous as it is worn out and steep, with rockfall being a constant danger. There is apparently a sign warning you that the hike is done at your own risk. The trail is currently being renovated so it won’t be so dangerous. I wouldn’t see any point going up even if we could, as the mountain was covered by low cloud.

Reinebringen mountain on the right, rorbuer (former fishermen’s cabins) in the foreground

We spent about three hours in Reine before heading back to the ship. The rain in Reine was relentless and although we were dry, we had seen pretty much everything we needed to see. The final thing I wanted to look at was the lighthouse that was close to the MS Trollfjord. Here there was a nice view over the ocean with a chance to see the rugged mountains that surround the village.

After relaxing for an hour or so, it was time for afternoon tea. We were at the Røst Restaurant again. We were seated at a window seat, so could see the brooding mountains as the ship sailed by. Claes brought the Norwegian flag back to the table which attracted the attention of some of the other staff, and they wished me a happy birthday. We had a choice of tea – black tea with seaweed, or tea with herbs, flowers and plants from the Lofoten hills. I managed to taste both throughout our sitting, I preferred the former myself. A round wooden tray was brought out with different savoury and sweet treats. We had two different types of savoury: toast with iberico ham, porcini mushroom and tomato, or toast with prawns and dill in a marie rose sauce. For the sweets we had cranberry and chocolate scone with butter, jam and vanilla cream, chocolate brownie, lime pie, lemon cheesecake, chocolate truffle and a macaron. This was all washed down with the local sparkling wine by Havets Bobler, that is made with grapes from Sussex in England, and aged in the depths of the Norwegian Sea.

We went back to our suite and just chilled out for the rest of the afternoon. We sat in the bay window of the room and saw some pretty amazing scenery: the looming mountains, lighthouses, low dark cloud, calm waves dancing around.

We had an announcement whilst we were in the suite, saying that the Hurtigruten MS Nordkapp was coming towards us in the opposite direction. It was actually heading for Svolvær, a destination for us on our southbound journey. The horns on the ship were blowing and some of the staff were waving flags across to people that they know on the other ship.

MS Nordkapp

We headed back to the suite and changed for our evening meal, which we had pushed back a little later to 7:30pm because of afternoon tea. Once we were in the restaurant, the staff again were effortless in making our meal the best experience ever. I cannot ever think of a time when people in hospitality have ever made it so personal and special.

Claes offered his arm and he walked me to the table, where the Norwegian flag had pride of place. I saw that some of the food on the set menu would not be suitable for me, but they already realised that. They had even printed out a menu so that I could see it, and that I could keep the menu as a memento.

The menu went as follows:
First course – Sugar-salted dry age halibut, onion cream, chive, mayonnaise and fried yeast;
Second course – Cod fish croquette with lovage mayonnaise and crispy fried parsley;
Third course – pork belly, variation of carrot (roasted, pickled and pureed);
Fourth course – cow cheese, plum chutney and rye bread;
Fifth course – should have been an apple dish but the staff came up with a strawberry and chocolate cake and sang to me in Norwegian for my birthday.

Claes then came up to me to chat about how things were going on the ship. We said that we were so pleased with the food, the suite, everything. He was very grateful for our comments.

I have never felt so special as I did tonight. The staff made the best effort to allow me to enjoy my birthday. I shall remember this for a very long time.

Update: Since writing about the events of 10th September, I went to bed and was well into a deep slumber when we were woken at 23:25 by a woman over the tannoy saying that the Northern Lights were on display outside. I quickly dressed, grabbed my coat and went up onto deck 9. There was probably a bit too much light from the ship, but I managed to capture the small aurora. My birthday wish had come true, not only had I been in Norway, but the aurora borealis gave a display that I shall never forget. Apparently there is more to come over the next couple of days, so I will wait to see what happens.

Lady Aurora flirted with us