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I really enjoyed my visit to Nordkapp, to reach the north end of Europe was special, it was very busy though, perhaps more so because there was a Christian concert that evening and that had attracted more people who had been in Honnisvåg at a Conference, so we had the pleasure of listening ... Read review
Advantages: Beautiful views, educational Disadvantages: Cold, winding road to reach the Cape
...really enjoyed my visit to Nordkapp, to reach the north end of Europe was special, it was very busy though, perhaps more so because there was a Christian concert that evening and that had attracted more people who had been in Honnisvåg at a Conference, so we had the pleasure of listening to the group members singing in the large hall with people sitting on the steps down to the entrance overlooking the Globe and standing where they could find room. more
During our cruise to Norway we stopped one afternoon at Honnisvåg, it was a Saturday afternoon and although there werent many shops all but 2 were closed! Thousands of people wanting to spend money and no where to go, but the cherry on the cake was to be a visit at night to the northernmost part of Norway called North Cape or Nordkapp. If you are interested the latitude reading is 71°10'21Ë.
We chose to leave the ship at 8.30pm after dinner, although there were coaches leaving until 10.00pm.We travelled to the North cape, stopping en route at a hut selling local crafts and to see some reindeer and a Sami (the man who looks after them and he was traditionally dressed), we had already had to stop the coach because reindeer were walking all over the narrow road. The road was twisty and there were many scary parts with steep drops, I can imagine in snowy conditions it would be a real white knuckle ride! But the view was spectacular too, the 21 miles took about 1 hour. This road was opened in 1956, when the original centre opened but the newer much larger centre was built in 1989 and is open all year.
The huge car park at Nordkapp already had numerous coaches and cars, and as this was June we were hoping to have a beautiful sky, but sadly the Midnight sun was hiding, although it stayed light all night as we were in the Arctic Circle. There is 24 hour darkness here from November to the end of January. Braving the cool wind we explored the waste land outside and went to see the circular monuments created in 1989 by 7 children from different parts of the world called Children of Earth. They are round stone with bronze centres and each one symbolises something different, cooperation, friendship, hope, and joy across all borders. There is also a sculpture of a mother and child by Eva Rybakken which is looking out to sea and at the monuments.
From there we crossed the barren arctic wasteland to the Globe, which was very popular for photographs. Never did we see it on its own to take a photo without people!
We made our way indoors as we were cold and time was limited, the visitor centre was huge and thousands of people must have passed through it that evening. I dont think there was a charge for entry, but Im not sure, but if you bought anything at the inflated prices then that would help run it! The shops had beautiful goods but very overpriced, there was a Post office too where you could get a special frank on your post cards.
There were cafes and a 360 degree restaurant but we had already had a lovely dinner and didnt try them. There was also a large bar downstairs looking out to sea called the Grotten Bar, but this wasnt open for drinking but you could sit and enjoy the view. The door from here was locked so we couldnt go out to the Kings View as the snow hadnt melted and it was still quite deep and obviously too dangerous, but it is recommended for people with vertigo, as it is a steep drop to the sea.
We walked downstairs and along a tunnel hewn out of the cliff, along the way were little niches displaying the history of North Cape. There was also a Thai Museum opened in 1989 in memory of King Chulalongkorn of Siam and his visit to North Cape in 1907. We also found the little ecumenical chapel called St Johns chapel, it was the smallest I have ever seen, but very peaceful.
The toilets were very clean, although busy with the number of people there.
We spent about 15 minutes watching the Supervideograph, a wide screen 225° panorama film showing the landscape around North Cape through the four seasons. It was a lovely film, but scary as you raced along in the speeded up snow plough! We were treated to the Aurora Borealis on the film which is only seen normally during the winter.
I really enjoyed my visit to Nordkapp, to reach the north end of Europe was special, it was very busy though, perhaps more so because there was a Christian concert that evening and that had attracted more people who had been in Honnisvåg at a Conference, so we had the pleasure of listening to the group members singing in the large hall with people sitting on the steps down to the entrance overlooking the Globe and standing where they could find room.
