D/S "Nidelven" of Trondhjem, Nordenfjeldskes first ship
The coastal express to North Norway was established 107 years ago. On 2 July 1893 a flag-bedecked Vesteraalen sailed out of Trondheim harbour with Captain With - a farseeing and experienced man - at the helm on course for Hammerfest. The arrival of the elegant white ship, with a blue band on the funnel, was celebrated as a national event along the coast. Allied with the legendary pilot Anders Holte, With had made plans for sailing in the dark using compasses, maps, lighthouses and carefully noted obervations. The authorities considered the plans to be pure madness, and no insurance company could be found to insure the ship.
There has always been a constant and regular traffic between Bergen and the north of Norway. The sea route was one of the easiest and most practical in a country seamed and cleft by deep fjords and impassible mountains. Ships would sail south laden with dried cod, and returned northwards with cargoes of such necessities as salt, sugar, flour and household articles. During the 1830s the first steamship, Prinds Gustav, began to sail up and down the coast, to the dismay of traditionalists and the great satisfaction of those who believed in progress. Gradually a regular traffic grew up along the northern part of the coast, with scheduled arrivals and departures, but since the steamers put into port at night, the journey took very long time, and even in the summer the boats only called once a week.
But with the start of the Coastal Express, new activities and business were introduced in the northern regions. Originally serving the dustance from Trondheim to Hammerfest, the line was gradually extended. The Express now covers the 12, 500 kilometres from Bergen to Kirkenes. During the past fifty 35 ports along the coast have been served in each direction, most of them daily.
In addition to the pioneer Vesteraalen S. S. Company, several other shipping firms joined the service - the Trondhjem Nordenfjeldske, Bergenske, Stavangerske, Nordlandske, Ofotens and Troms Steamship Companies - and the Coastal Express developed steadily until the end of the interwar period.
Unfortunately several ships were lost during World War II. Immediately after the war ships or inferior quality had to compensate for lost tonnage. Around 1950, however, an extensive renewal program of the fleet was carried out. Modern vessels began to replace ageing ships and the diesel engine was introduced. But a few old steamers - some of the very fast - continued to sail until the late fifties.
The farther to the north, the greater is the importance of the Coastal Express. As a continuous means of communication, it is usually called "Norway`s National Highway Number One". After the maiden voyage in 1893, it was predicted that the Coastal Express service would attract tourists. Time has shown that this prediction was realistic, and the shipping companies have fully utilized the possibilities. Although the ships do not pretend to be cruise vessels, they provide high standards of comfort, excellent cuisine and service equal to that of a first class hotel. No wonder they are sometimes called "floating hotels.
The Norwegian coastline is unique. The fairway is famous for its skerries - thousands of islands, holms and rocks which provide shelter from the ocean waves. The shipping land changes from a broad and spacious seaway to a narrow channel between rows of snow-clad peaks, glaciers, nesting cliffs aswarm with birds, reindeer herds and fisheries. Only rarely does the ship leave the sheltered and protected water to sail in the open sea. Year after year an ever increasing number of tourists have taken the pleasure trip to the wonderland of North Norway. Half the voyage is north of the Arctic circle, where the sun does not set in the summertime.
The voyage along the coast from Bergen to Kirkenes and back is an eleven day trip. For many people the North Cape is the high point of the voyage, for others the western fjords. But each part of the coastline has its own special charm, and each port of call its individual attractions. Many would agree, however, that few experiences can match passing through the narrow sound of Rørvik and into the channel of Nordlandsleia where one enters a land of fairy-tales and trolls.
Every evening throughout the year the Coastal Express sails from Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. En route, it passes the westernmost point of the country just outside Sognefjord, it crosses the Arctic Circle at Hestmannøy (Horseman Island), and passes the northernmost point at the North Cape and the easternmost point at Vardø. The route goes past eight of Norway`s twenty counties, with a total poulation of nearly one million. Leisurely reclining in a comfortable chair on the sunswept deck, one can enjoy the health-giving breeze and watch the breathtaking scenery. In addition, one can take part in the life on board and experience for oneself how postal services and transport of goods are carried on in a country with a scattered population.
The itinerary has been arranged so that the ports called at during the night on the way north, are visited during the daytime on the way south. Trondheim - Norway`s third largest city and an important communication centre - is visited during the morning in both directions. On the way north, the ship stops long enough for an excursion by bus to the Museum of Music History at Ringve Manor, the birthplace of the Norwegian naval hero Peter Wessel Tordenskiold. On the way south, the tourists usually take a sightseeing and shopping tour of the city and visit the 12th century Cathedral.
In Bodø, the capital of Nordland County, there is time for shopping or a trip to Mount Rønvik with its marvellous view of the Lofoten Wall. Passengers desiring to see a little of the Lofoten and Vesteraalen Islands can leave the steamer at Svolvær or Stokmarknes and board one of the local vessels. Through the narrow fjords and channels, the journey continues to Tromsø, the largest town in North Norway and gateway to the Arctic Sea. Optional sightseeing tours here will include a trip by cable car to Mount Storstein or a visit to the Lapp Museum.
After the stop at Hammerfest, where passengers are initiated into the International Polar Bear Club, the voyage continues to Honningsvaag. Coaches are waiting here to take the tourists to the North Cape Plateau. In the past, the ship used to anchor in Hornsvika Bay at the foot of the steep cliff, and passengers had to scramble up to the plateau. A monument has been erected here to commemorate the visit of King Oscar II in 1873. The King was accompanied by politicians, journalists, authors and scientists, and accountrs of the journey were published throughout the world. This event made "The Land of the Midnightsun" famous as an international tourist attractions. Most foreigners prefer to see North Norway in the summer. A voyage outside the peak season, however, has many advantages to samplers of attractions - the mysterious glow and flimmer of the northern lights, a forest of masts belonging to the fishing fleet around the Lofoten islands, sparkling white peaks against an icy midwibter sky. Many travellers swear by their own ship, and always take care to make the journey on that particular steamer.
"It could be interesting to spend a whole winter in Svolvær or Kabelvaag," says Dudley Vaill Talcott, an American artist who has travelled between Bergen and Tromsø several times, made studies of everyday life and published an entertaining book: North Cape II of Tromsø. When the northbound steamer called at Rørvik on the coast of Trøndelag, he was surprised to see the ship take in quantities of fresh herring. He asked why it was sent north instead of south, and was told that the fishermen would use the herring as bait.
In 1935, the famous Czech author Karel Capek and his wife took a trip on the old steamer Haakon Adalstein. Their impression are described in his book Travels in the North. When the ship crossed Folla, and the author was enjoying the morning silence on deck, he commented: "Only ship and sea and nothing else. Here man does not need to wage war to be a hero. It is enough to keep alive." In the chapter "North of the Arctic Circle", Capek is surprised to find a landscape "as green and smiling" as the one he had seen in Molde.
The Norwegian coastal steamer has also appeared in international fiction. Life on board is the framework for the action in Georges Simenon`s The Passenger on the Polarlys.
In the 1920s and 30s, the Express often carried celebrities on board. After their flight across the North Pole in 1928, Wilkins and Eilson travelled south from Tromsø on the coastal steamer. They became fond of the comfortable ship . - "I wish I scould have sailed to America on this ship", said Wilkins. Some years ago the future of the Coastal Express service was seriously debated. It is uncertain whether the service can be maintained in its present form and extent. The decicion to cut down on the aid was received with regret along the coast where people regard the Express as an indispensible ally.
