Globetrotters often say that when traveling, the route matters more than the goal.
The adage is true on the coast of Norway, during a cruise to the North Cape.
Reaching by sea to this northern end of the European continent is a dream for many travelers.
But the magic of this adventure is due more to the majesty of the Scandinavian fjords and archipelagos than to the mineral austerity of the famous promontory.
On board the Hurtigruten coastal express, the navigation between the port of Bergen and Kirkeness, the last town before Russia, is a spectacle of every moment.
Ravaged by numerous fires, Bergen retains some rare evidence of its Hanseatic past.
- Jean-Claude Urbain
From the deck of the ship, everything varies, in all seasons: the reflection of the colorful houses, the glow of the lighthouses, the shadows of the decks… Beyond the Arctic Circle, while nature is adorned with dazzling colors, on nights of autumn is already shrouded in the Northern Lights.
This period, as brief as it is intense, is that of berries and mushrooms that can be picked during an excursion.
It is the "ruska", short blazing agony of the arctic summer.
Beyond the Arctic Circle, the Northern Lights come into the picture.
- Jean-Claude Urbain
As far as the mountainous islands of Lofoten, the dance of waterfalls tumbling down from their vertiginous walls is daily.
These leaping waters everywhere sing the memory of ancient glaciers.
Those who completely covered the country in the Quaternary have deeply torn its reliefs.
When they retreated, the sea invaded these gigantic gashes for miles, giving rise to the fjords.
Geirangerfjord, the most spectacular of them, is a 15 kilometer long corridor, only 600 meters wide in places, and enclosed between mountains exceeding 1,800 meters high.
Each season offers a new face to Norway's fjords.
- Jean-Claude Urbain
Arctic Finistère
Through the window, the clean silhouette of the Ice Cathedral already announces the arrival in Tromsø.
The economic and cultural capital of the North was the base of the northern expeditions of the Norwegian Roald Amundsen, whose legend accompanies the cruise.
Headquarters of the Polar Bear Society, to which every visitor can join, Hammerfest has proclaimed itself “the northernmost city in the world”.
A title contested by Honningsvåg, certainly a little further north, but which cannot claim the status of "city" with its 2,500 souls.
Yet it is in this small town that the passengers of the Hurtigruten coastal express stop to finally reach the North Cape.
The North Cape is a bare cliff, the interest of which is more symbolic than aesthetic.
- Jean-Claude Urbain
The long-awaited stage is only an arid plateau, often topped with a thick mist.
Falling steeply into the frozen Arctic Ocean, its 307-meter-high cliff has the power to ignite the imagination.
In the past, you could only access the cape from the sea, by a very steep path.
The journey was then reserved for an aristocratic elite.
The Duke of Orleans notably came to wander the area during the French Revolution, long before becoming King Louis-Philippe.
But since the opening of the road in 1956, the tourists transported daily from Honningsvåg no longer have to make the slightest effort to take their picture under the metallic globe which symbolizes the end of the land.
However, despite this frequentation, the feeling of reaching the end of the world here is very real, at the end of an unforgettable navigation.
Go
The low-cost airline Norwegian offers direct flights to Bergen from Paris, Nice, Montpellier and Corsica.
For the return from Kirkeness, it is necessary to transit through Oslo.
Boarding
Cruises on the Hurtigruten Coastal Express connect Bergen to Kirkeness in six days.
Normally, departures are daily in both directions, but it is also possible to board from any port of call.
There are 34 in total.
Some ships allow you to travel with your car, but places are limited, so you are advised to book in advance.
Jean-Claude Urbain for 20 Minutes