Day 3: The Globe

This was the big day. We would be traveling to Nordkapp. Our day officially began with an elaborate breakfast that was provided by the hostel. I had been to breakfast buffets at hotels in the U.S. before, but this was nothing like them. There were different kinds of bread, meat, cheese, fish, seafood, cereal, yogurt, and condiments to put on everything. I could not believe the amount of variety we had to choose from. My favorite was the cereal with cold milk. I also enjoyed the toast with cream cheese and raspberry jelly. The breakfast was delicious and we all took advantage of the free meal.

Once we had all finished breakfast, we journeyed to the city to pick up our car rental. Nordkapp is the northernmost point of Europe, but unfortunately it is not a town. There are no hostels around the area, thus Honningsvåg is the closest city that we could have stayed in. The distance from Honningsvåg to Nordkapp is around 34 km. It was too far to walk so we had made arrangements for a car.



Our rental car, the driver Emely, the front seat navigator Antonia, and the back-seat bums Callie and I



Now most people in Europe if not all drive manual cars. I know how to drive a manual car, but I do not feel comfortable starting on steep hills. Since there are many steep hills in Norway, I was very glad that Emely was willing to drive since she had more experience than me. Our car rental was from AVIS and the guy was so nice. It seems like everyone we have met so far has been very welcoming and friendly. We had originally booked a tiny car (not sure which one), but the guy had decided to give us an upgrade to an Audi at no extra charge. All four of us were excited to ride in this extremely nice car for the day.

As mentioned, Emely was our driver for the day. In the car we listened to a mix CD that one of Antonia’s friends from Germany had made. I loved the songs on the CD and hope to get them from Antonia later. Some songs were mellow and were perfect for the cloudy and rainy day. The weather outside was cold and windy and there were scattered showers, however, it didn’t stop us from traveling to Nordkapp. We didn’t let the weather affect our wonderful day.

While driving on E-69 to Nordkapp we stopped at a few towns along the way. The towns were Skipsfjorden, Kamøyvær, and Skarsvåg. The drive through the first town only took a few minutes since it was so small.



Reindeer practice fighting on the road



Between Skipsfjorden and Kamøyvær we came across reindeer on the road! The reindeer were absolutely stunning and I loved getting a close up view of them. While in the car my whole body was basically out the window to get a better view of the herd and to take pictures. This moment reminded me of driving in Theodore National Park and seeing buffalo from the safety of the car. Even though the reindeer are probably one-tenth the size of buffalo, it was still a great experience to have a herd of reindeer crossing the road in front of us. While crossing a couple of male reindeer were practice fighting. This was one of my favorite moments of the trip.



A typical harbor of a small fishing community in Norway



Once all the reindeer had crossed, we headed to Skarsvåg. Since it had stopped raining, we decided to get out and explore the tiny harbor town. This town was a typical fishing town. There were many ships both docked in the bay and along the docks. Additionally, buildings that stored fishing equipment lined the shore. We walked through the town and came to a piece of land that jutted out into the bay. All four of us walked to the end of it, trying to avoid stepping on sea urchin and sea shell remains from the seagulls. At the end the view of the harbor and sea were gorgeous. We captured the moment and then swiftly receded back to the warmth of our car because it was windy and cold.

Visiting the little town was a treat since this is a more genuine picture of the traditional Norway. I also enjoyed driving through the countryside. The scenery was beautiful and I loved the freedom of the ride. Thus far we have been limited in our transportation to buses and class trips so it was a pleasure to be able to decide where we wanted to go and when. It was also a joy to ride in a car!



Panorama view from the shore of Skarsvåg

After about an hour we had finally reached Nordkapp. We paid the entrance fee and then walked around the parking lot while we waited for the main building to open. Originally we were going to hike to the true Nordkapp point which we could see from the parking lot; however, we decided not to since hiking for three hours in the rain and cold would not be a good idea. The true Nordkapp point is in the background of the picture with me on the fence below.



Me standing on the fence at Nordkapp



In the parking lot we ran into another group of international students from the university. This was the group that Callie and I were originally going to join, but after I found out it there were 17 people in the group, I decided it’d be better to make our own plans. It was a pleasure to chat with the group while waiting.

Finally the main building opened. Inside there was a souvenir shop, a café, a restaurant, a theater, a mini museum, and tons of seating here and there. Outside it was still raining so we explored the souvenir shop and the mini museum downstairs. We also sat through an amazing 15-minute panorama film. The film takes you on a journey through Norway’s countryside revealing its magnificent beauty through the four seasons. The film’s footage and music were breathtaking.

Outside was the world famous globe. The globe is an iconic image of Nordkapp and it was exciting to see it in person. The globe reminded me of the cages motorcyclists would ride around at the circus. Of course we all had to take pictures with the globe. Even though it was absolutely freezing, I had a blast taking the photos and goofing around.


The group with the famous Globe at Nordkapp



Also outside at the front of the main building is the “Children of the World” monument. The monument was constructed in 1989 and consists of seven stone slabs that depict seven children from different parts of the world to symbolize cooperation, friendship, hope, and happiness. In the front of the seven slabs is a statue of a mother and child which were sculptured by the artist Eva Rybakken.


"Children of the World" monument


We spent the whole afternoon at Nordkapp. Once we had explored everything that there was to explore, we headed back to our hostel. At the hostel we were still cold from standing outside while taking pictures by the globe. Additionally, we were cold so we curled up on the couches and watched a movie with Harrison Ford and Rachel McAdams in it.

While on the couches the lady who ran the hostel walked by. Later she came back with a bowl of peanuts and a bowl of chocolate. She said that we looked exhausted and needed an energy boost. The chocolate tasted delicious; it has been a while since I’ve had chocolate. The chocolate was of good quality and started to melt in my mouth. The lady was an absolute sweetheart and we appreciated the gift she gave us.

During the rest of the night we made dinner in the hostel kitchen, showered to warm up since we were still cold, and then headed off to bed.