Saturday, 7 January 2017

Finland & Norway Trip Day 8 - Hammerfest

After breakfast, we made our way to the city centre for our journey northwards to Hammerfest, touted as the northern most town in the world. We took bus 62 then changed to 63 at Skaidi, passing through the Finnmarksvidda mountain plains and partially frozen rivers along the way.

Skaidi

Skaidi

After a 4 hours bus ride, we finally arrived at Hammerfest.

Hammerfest

The first attraction that we went was the Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society as it was just next to the bus terminal, which is a small museum which showcase how hunting & fishing activities takes place in the arctic conditions. For a minimal sum, you can also choose to sign up for the membership of this exclusive club to "prove" that you've travelled to Hammerfest.

Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society

Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society

As we stepped out, we saw the Hurtigruten at the dock, waiting to sail off.

Hammerfest

Hurtigruten

We walked into the town in search for a place for lunch, and settled down at a Kebab shop.  



After lunch, we explored the town by foot, stopping first at Church of Hammerfest, then to the zigzag path where we trek to the highest point in Hammerfest for a bird's eye view of the town, and then to St Michael's Church. It is a relatively easy climb up the the zigzag path, and we took about 20 mins to trek up as we kept stopping along the way to take photographs.

Hammerfest

Church of Hammerfest
Church of Hammerfest

Church of Hammerfest
Interior of Church of Hammerfest

View of the sea behind the Church of Hammerfest

Hammerfest zigzag path
Trekking up the zigzag path

Hammerfest zigzag path
View of Hammerfest town at the top of the zigzag path

Hammerfest zigzag path
View of Hammerfest town at the top of the zigzag path

St Michael's Church
St Michael's Church

St Michael's Church
Interior of St Michael's Church

St Michael's Church
Interior of St Michael's Church

There is also a big supermarket and various shops in Hammerfest and we spent some time looking around. Soon, it was time for us to take travel back to Alta. We headed to the pier as we are taking the express boat instead of travelling by bus, with the hope to see the coastal lines. Unfortunately, the sky has already turned dark even though it is only late afternoon, and there is nothing much to see.

Hammerfest

Hammerfest

Hammerfest

Express boat from Hammerfest to Alta
Express boat to Alta

Express boat from Hammerfest to Alta
Inside the express boat

While on the boat, we make use of the free wifi to message Jon from North Adventure to help us call for a cab to pick us up from Alta pier to our hotel. It was a rainy night, so we did not stay up to wait for the aurora.

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