When I was a little boy, I adored books about The Moomins, where wonderful and charming stories unfolded in a beautiful valley, right next to the seashore and majestic fjords. The narrative was so full of naval terminology, sea vibe, and adventure that I was completely taken away by it. Although The Moomins were actually Swedish-Finnish, the setting, in my opinion, matched the Norwegian landscape much better. So it was only natural that visiting Norway became my dream since childhood.
I could not take this trip in 2025 due to personal circumstances, which's why I was pushing for it in Summer 2026.
And finally, the time has come.
Booking a ferry
The ferry was booked in advance in Spring, when discounts were still available. We chose the Fjordline ferry company because the route from Hirtshals to Bergen worked well for us, and also the ship itself looked quite comfortable.
The price was biting, being about 700 euros for 3 passengers and a car, and honestly we hesitated at first. An alternative would be to drive all the way through Denmark and Sweden, but then what good would this vacation be if we arrived in Norway angry and tired? So in the end we've decided the experience and easy start of the trip were worth the money spent.
We deliberately excluded Stavanger at that time, because the city was too far south. I am hoping to make another trip to Norway during Winter in order to visit two major places we skipped: Oslo and Stavanger. Then the Nordic experience would be complete.
Sleepover in Geesthacht
The road from Berlin to Hirtshals was almost 900 km long, so obviously we could not cover that much in one day. Since we departed on Friday evening, we could only realistically make it somewhere to Hamburg, so we booked a hotel in a small town called Geesthacht.
We arrived around 22:00 and went straight to bed.
The sun was shining in the morning, and we decided to sleep a bit longer than usual, and upon awakening, started gathering for breakfast. I dressed up quickly, and thus got an extra 15 minutes to explore the lovely neighbourhood around. Next to our hotel stood the Jugendzentrum. Something felt off and oddly familiar in the building's design, until I realized it was actually an old repurposed railway station.
A cracked and discolored info stand pitched the idea of visiting the town as a tourist, advertising a bunch of interesting places such as the railroad museum not far away, the historical havens and the navigation lock.
Some other time, perhaps.
The railroad branch itself was closed a while ago, and then in 1976 restored by enthusiasts as part of the museum. It also stated they even had a working steam powered locomotive they actually roll out for a ride once or twice a year.
There I've noticed interesting railway sleepers made of steel, something I was certain I haven't seen before.
ChatGPT told me such sleepers were mostly used for industrial railroads, due to their durability and capability to withstand extensive load.
So. After breakfast we have suddenly realized, that it would take another 6.5 hours to reach the ferry terminal in Denmark, and since it was already almost 11:00 o'clock, and the departure was scheduled for 19:00 (but there was a deadline for registration), we quickly wrapped up and hit the road.
The roads in Germany, as usual, were partially under repairs, so traffic congestions were a thing. It made us extra nervous, but on the Danish side it suddenly turned much better, even though the speed was now limited to 130 km/h.
At the terminal
I had no prior experience with ferries at all, I didn't know what to expect and what to do. So let me tell how loading on a ferry went for us.
Upon entering the terminal, one must drive through the access control checkpoint. The driver follows the signs for the destination or the company name, and wait there in the line.
When one reaches the point, the operator asks for IDs of all passengers, and the tickets of course. If you carry flammable materials, such as gas cartridges for a camping stove, it makes sense to inform them. They will give a flyer and a security seal that must be put on top of the vent (if there is one).
Then they give you the boarding pass. Funny, but that evening the system went kaput right in before our eyes, so the workers had nothing left to do but to fill our data in on a piece of paper, and ask everyone else who stood behind to do the same. Well, guess it was their "lucky" day.
After the checkpoint there was again a number of lines, some of them reserved for our ship. I asked which line to take and went through. Normally there is another queue of cars waiting to come aboard. They all wait for a green light to appear, and then every line moves in, one after another: line number one first, then the second, and so on.
Since the time was already running out, there was nobody waiting, and we were asked by another crew member to board the ship at once. So we drove in really carefully, constantly looking at other members of the crew who signaled us where exactly to park. The ship must remain in balance, that's why you can't really leave your vehicle anywhere you like.
The ship had two car desks. The bottom desk was reserved for trucks and campers, whereas the upper desk for personal vehicles exclusively.
The crew gave the passengers some time to gather things and leave the cars locked, on a parking brake and with alarms off. The car desk won't be accessible during the voyage, so this is something to keep in mind.
After we went in, we had to stand in just another line to get the cabin number.
The interiors were pleasing the eye: floors covered with carpets, wooden wall panels and brass parts all over the place. One of the two stairs that connected the decks reminded me of the Grand Staircase of Titanic. In the lobby there was an automatic grand piano playing for everyone's amusement.
Well, I am a man easy to impress, I guess. This level of cuteness wasn't a rule, but an exception. Other ferries we took later during our trip were nowhere near as fancy.
The cabin was quite spartan, however. It was an inner room without windows, the cheapest option we could book.
It was fine, we were only going to drop there for a night anyway.
Since we were driving like crazy to arrive on time, we couldn't stop for a proper dinner, so we booked a table in a restaurant on board. In fact, there were several options to dine in, starting from a simple cafeteria, and ending up with the "Captain's restaurant" (or something like that) where we've spent the evening. It was damn expensive, but it was a buffet with a variety of decent meal.
Heck, there were even a Starbucks and a duty-free shop aboard.
About that time the ship departed, and I started sensing subtle vibrations and sways of the hull. The ferry wasn't that big anyway, so I kind of expected that.
Since I've never travelled with a tent before, the contrast between the current condition and the one that was awaiting us was a bit unsettling: tonight we dine in on a luxury ship, and where will we end up tomorrow? Under the bridge, perhaps? We had no hotel booked in advance, no idea where to camp for a night.
I guess that is what people call "an adventure".
I also started to worry if I may develop sea sickness. I didn't know what to expect, my other experience was related to a small passenger-only river ferry in my hometown in Russia, many years ago.
See? I worry too much about many things.
Speaking of sea sickness, the crew gave people a way to avoid complete misery:
The ship also offered an open promenade for people who wanted to enjoy the sea breeze and sunset, or simply have a cigarette.
In the main party hall people gathered to have a drink and entertain themselves with music.
While walking up the bow staircase, I suddenly stumbled across a picture hanging on the wall. At first I thought it was some kind of cheap wallpaper, but it turned out to be a real authentic painting.
The painting was called "Drømmenes reiser" ("The voyage of dreams"), authored in 1956 by Per Krohg, a famous painter of that period. A huge 4x7 meters tall canvas was originally created to decorate the interiors of a transatlantic liner. After that ship was decommissioned and scrapped for nails in 1971, the painting ended up in a warehouse, where it kept collecting dust for about 40 years. Then finally it was discovered, repaired and in 2012 installed on the "Bergensfjord" - the ship I had an honor to voyage on.
I wonder where it ends up next? Hope not on the ocean floor... 😬
On the ship's upper desk the children playground was conveniently combined with a bar, so both parents and kids can entertain themselves.
There was also a place to walk your dog.
The stern of the ship was occupied with a helicopter pad, which gave almost 360 degree view of the sea around.
In the open sea there was obviously no network reception. The wifi was available at exorbitant prices, but as soon as the ship came closer to the shores near Kristiansand, the national network operator of Norway - Telia N kicked in, and the internet returned, with free roaming, as if within the European Union.
My family called it a night, but I've decided to enjoy the ship a bit longer. Luckily it was the 2026th World Football Championship night, England was playing against... Norway! So the performing musicians gave way to big plasma screens with the live feed of the play. Many people had painted the banner over their cheeks, wearing funny hats, drinking and cheering.
I was never a big fan of soccer, so I left shortly after. Norway has unfortunately lost the game that night, so people abandoned the halls and went to beds wearing sour faces 😔
Meanwhile I grabbed one of the now free chairs next to the window, and decided read a bit, but soon I've admitted that I could read any time later, and now must seize an opportunity to explore the ship a bit more. So I stood up to pay the upper desk a visit one more time.
On the upper desk there were almost no one. A storm was roaring in the distant, right above the shores of Norway, sending flashes of lightning every other minute. Cold North Sea wind was biting, and the yellow desk illumination induced an eerie and mysterious feeling of loneliness and isolation: a tiny ship amidst the all-mighty sea.
Finally it was time to head back to the sleeping cabin and join my family.
At 6:30 the ship's speaker loudly announced the arrival to Stavanger. I turned on the other side, cursed under my breath and went back to sleep. The call was not meant for us.
It was a lovely sunny morning! The upper desk was full of people, there were hardly any free chair or a sofa near the restaurant and the kids playground, so many of passengers enjoyed sun laying straight on the decking, enjoying sun while keeping low profile to the still strong sea breeze.
We were no longer sailing in the open waters: the ship was now passing right between many small islands of Norway, so both sides of the ship presented an amazing opportunity to enjoy seashore vista.
To the left and right countless villages, small towns and havens were scattered among the slopes of nearby hills and mountains.
Numerous marine buoys popped out of the water showing the correct fairway through the quite narrow strait with harsh bottom full of treacherous rocks. Fish farms were seen here and there.
The strait was swarming with yachts, small motor boats seldom changed their course to temporarily sail next to our ferry, people were waving hands to each other and acting friendly.
And not only small boats.
The further we sailed, the more developed the area became. Majestic car bridges spanned above the water, high enough to let the passenger and transport ships through. One bridge was still under construction.
Our voyage was slowly coming to an end as we approached the shores of Bergen.
The speaker announced the docking in 15 minutes, so the passengers were kindly asked to proceed to the car decks. Shortly after, we were allowed to drive out.
A border guard was checking the inbound cars. Norway isn't part of the European Union, so certain control however formal was still officially required.
The guard quickly decided, that a car with a German license plate, lots of dead bugs on the bumper and sleepy family inside doesn't pose any threat, so he just let us through without any questions.
And with that, we have set our feet wheels on Norwegian shore.
