Archive | M/V Dirona RSS feed for this section

Trondheim was Norway’s capital during the Viking era and currently is the country’s third-largest city with a population of just under 200,000. Our arrival there represented the mid-way point of our six-month trip through Norway, where we would return to Seattle for a couple of weeks before continuing south to explore the rest of the…

Svartisen Glacier is the second largest in mainland Norway, after Jostedalsbreen, and one of the most dramatic sights on the coast. Ending at only 65 ft (20m) above sea level, it’s the lowest of any mainland European glaciers and among the most accessible. And if spectacular glacier views aren’t enough, nearby is the trailhead for…

Bodø, Norway was the ultimate destination of American pilot Gary Powers’ ill-fated U2 flight that garnered international attention in 1960 when he was shot down and captured over Russia during a high-altitude surveillance pass. The exceptional Norwegian Aviation Museum there has a vast collection, including a U2 spy plane, that we’d been looking forward to…

The Swedish town of Kiruna, with a population of about 17,000, made headlines in 2004 when it was announced the center would need to move 3 km east due to ground settlement resulting from mining operations nearby. The mine, operated by LKAB, is the largest underground iron ore mine in the world and has a…

Narvik is ice-free year-round due to the warm waters of the Gulf Stream that run along the west coast of Norway all the way to Svalbard. This makes it an ideal shipping port for exporting Swedish-mined iron ore. The scenic Ofotbanen railway that transports the ore from Sweden to Narvik is one of the reasons…

The Hurtigruten (meaning ‘Express Route’) is a system of coastal ferries, founded in 1893, that run between between Bergen in southwest Norway and Kirkenes in the far north near the Russian border. The ships operate as both cruise and local supply ships, making nearly 70 stops on their 11-night round trip to transfer cargo and…

Svalbard, lying 600 miles from the North Pole, is about as far north as a person is likely to get without being a polar research scientist. Despite the thousands of visitors who arrive annually in cruise ships and by plane, the area still has a real wilderness feel. The scenery is spectacular, with little evidence…

1,381ft (421m) Mt. Storsteinen dominates the skyline east of Tromsø. An easy half-hour walk from the guest harbour leads to the cable car Fjellheisen, where we rode to the top for sweeping views of the area. Below are trip highlights from June 13th, 2018 in Tromsø, Norway. Click any image for a larger view, or…

Most battery manufacturers specify battery life expectancy in terms of number of cycles at a certain maximum discharge level. Transforming this data into the expected or remaining battery life for a house bank is challenging. In measuring the number of cycles, for example, what depth of discharge qualifies as a “cycle”? Our house bank consists…

Tromsø was the starting point for many polar research expeditions during late 1800s and early 1900s and the Polar Museum there has excellent displays on the topic. On our second day in Tromsø, we spent the afternoon at the Polar Museum and explored the town more on foot, both from high above and along the…