October 7th - Kirkenes, Norway

October 7 - Kirkenes, Norway

The northern coastal area is also known as Finnmark.  With the exception of the Cold War years (1945-1989), the border areas in eastern Finnmark have been a place of trade and cultural exchange between Norway, Russia and the Sami population.  

We were off the ship by 9 and on our way to the tiny airport in Kirkenes.  We were the first of several buses there, so we were able to drop off our bags and get through security pretty quickly.  Jackie had been trying to get a hotdog since the day after we arrived - and luckily they had them at the airport.  We shared one since we had just had breakfast.  

After a two hour flight, we arrived back in Oslo, found our bus and drove the 45 minutes to our final hotel - which was the sight of the ski jump during the Oslo winter Olympics.  It was a beautiful hotel with stunning views from the top of the hill.

We had our farewell dinner there at the hotel and lingered in the lobby with our traveling sisterhood (Jo, Noeleen, Cathy, Birgette and Jackie and I).  It was hard to say goodbye.  Jo and Noeleen were going on to Iceland for a week of more fun, Cathy, Brigitte and Jackie would all be going their separate ways and I was heading to London the next day to visit friends.  It was such a great trip - I’m so glad Jackie had this on her bucket list - made even better by the people we met along the way.