Sunny day in Marguerite Bay.

We started early in the morning with landing at Stonington Island. Greeted by hundreds of Antarctic terns which built their nests here, we were slowly walking between two bases located on the island. American Base East and British Base E, both abandoned since many years, gave us an opportunity to see how humans lived in Antarctica in mid 1940s (Base East) and mid of 1970s (Base E).

Afternoon we were at Horseshoe Island. Also here, an old and now abandoned British Base Y is situated. The small bay inside the island is still frozen and many seals were sunbathing on the ice.

Some of us enjoyed snowshoeing, Polar Cirkle Boat cruising, kayaking and camping.

Our first penguin rookery.

Today in the morning we landed on Danco Island. The island is a home to almost 1000 pairs of Gentoo penguins. First time during the cruise we were able to see how penguin nest is constructed and how penguin nestlings look like!

 Afternoon we were in Neko Harbour. It was our first, but not last, landing on Antarctic Continent itself. Also here  we meet with few hundred of Gentoo penguins. Most of us went high up, in to the view point, to see beautiful glacier scenery of Antvord Bay.

But the day is not over yet. After dinner kayak trip and camping on the Antarctic Continent will take place.

The southernmost city in the World.

Ushuaia  welcomed us with overcast although warm weather. After stroll through the town and purchasing first few souvenirs we embarked MV Fram. It’ll be our home for the journey to the land of penguins.

 When all embarkation formalities were completed we received our blue expedition jacket and then we were ready to explore our new cozy home.

Before we sailed away from the Ushuaia harbor we have to attend the mandatory emergency drill for passengers. Towards the end of the drill the last moorings  were cast off and MVFram set sail for calm waters of the Beagle Channel.

A capital in a glorious landscape

During the night and the morning we were sailing along the Greenlandic South West Coast northward. Our next destination should be Nuuk, Greenland’s capital. The weather has been amazing again and we enjoyed the view over the snow and ice covered mountain ranges in the distance.

At the same time we had lectures again. It was difficult to make the right decision. Should we listen to a lecture to be well prepared when we reach Nuuk or should we stay on the open decks or in the Observation Lounge to enjoy the nature? But then suddenly there have been creatures that made the decision for us – whales. At least seven Humpback Whales showed up in front of the vessel. Our captain slowed down the ship and gave us so the best possibility to watch these huge animals. It was unbelievable. They did not feel disturbed by us. Especially the giant flukes have been an imposing picture.

Photo Klaus Kiesewetter

In the early afternoon we reached Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The town is with app. 15.000 inhabitants the largest city of this icy land. The Paleo-Eskimo of the Saqqaq culture settled in this area already 5000 years ago. The city was founded as Godthåb in 1728 by the royal governor Claus Paarss. Hans Egede, Greenland’s first missionary founded his mission colony on a small island directly in front of the area, where Nuuk is located today, in 1721. But only some years later he moved to the new founded colony of Godthåb on the mainland. The old colonial part (Godthåb) is still an important historical part of Nuuk.

Nuuk is a very modern city today, with modern inhabitants, modern buildings and a modern “way of life”.

During our time in Nuuk we could explore both parts of this amazing town, the historical part, the present part and perhaps even a little bit of the future.

And our hikers on board even enjoyed the fantastic surroundings of Nuuk.

In the evening we relaxed in the panorama lounge. The crew invited us to a fruit and ice carving show and Mikki, our Greenlandic artist, played his guitar. The day could not end in a better way.

Let’s go West!

Our next two days we will spend at sea. The Denmark Strait between Island and Greenland can be very rough, but it looks like that we are travelling with lots of angels as the sea is totally smooth.There is nearly no wind and only a little bit of swell. Best weather conditions for whale watching as you can see nearly all movements at the sea surface.

And we have been successful. Several times during the day we could spot some whales, most of them have been Sperm Whales; one we saw in the distance seemed to be a Seiwhale. For a while we have been accompanied by a small group of dolphins. Small crowds of Northern Fulmars and Kittiwakes followed the ships. As we had so less wind we could not expect so many sea birds because they need the wind to fly. But it has been worth to stay on the open decks; there was always something to see. Even the flat sea looked nice in the sunshine, especially in the later evening during the very, very late sun set.

The morning program started with our first bridge visit tour for our chinese guests. Tomorrow the other nations will have the chance to see the working area of our officers.

Of course there was a lot of time for reading books and dreaming.

 

During the day our international lecturer staff has given many lectures in German, English, Norwegian and even with a translation into Chinese. A sea day is always a good possibility for lecturing and teaching the passengers. The lecturers want us to be best prepared when we reach our destination we dreamt of for such a long time – Greenland.  

We are on the same route like Erik the Red more than 1000 years ago. But times have changed. He went over the Denmark Strait in open rowing boats; we have our wonderful ship FRAM. We can be relax, our officers on the bridge are doing a wonderful job for us, we have not even to think about it. After only one day we feel like home on board. During the night most of us will sleep again very well. The soft movement of the vessel gives us the feeling of sleeping like a baby in a cradle. Let’s see what kind of surprises the next day will bring to us.

At Sea

Although we are whole day at sea it doesn’t mean that we are bored. Few lectures before lunch, few after the lunch and bridge visit kept us busy.

The vessel was surrounded by sea birds and many of us spent some time on the outside decks, taking photographs of gliding gannets, kittiwakes and fulmars.

Today is also our last day on board so packing the luggage and securing purchased souvenirs inside suitcases also took some time.

In the evening we had captain farewell. Captain Arild Hårvik briefly summarised our trip, thanked his crew for work good done and expressed the hope that we had good cruise. Truly – indeed we had excellent cruise on the unique waters.

Kirkwall Orkney

“A sure cure for seasickness is to sit under a tree.“

Spike Milligan, Irish Comedian 1914 - 2002

Kirkwall Orkney

At 07:00 we could feel Fram shuddering as we approached the pier in Kirkwall Orkney. Our thrusters struggled as they slowly pushed Fram broadside into the pier against a thirty knot wind. When you live on board Fram as much as some of us do, you can tell by that particular vibration, without even getting out of bed, that it’s a breezy day outside. Gone was our warm sunny weather from Edinburgh and Aberdeen. Today was largely overcast with 25 knot winds and the temperature hovering around 10˚C.

We had three different excursions on offer. Those interested in birding set off on a bus tour at 08:30 while the folks interested in the Vikings and pre-viking history of Orkney left on a bus tour to Skara Brae at 08:45. The final tour of the day went to the Italian prisoner of War Chapel at Lands Holm by Scapa Flow and then on to Highland Park Distillery and St. Magnus Cathedral.

Earl's Palace, Kirkwall Orkney

By all accounts, all three of the tours were first rate. Whether you went on an excursion or not there was plenty of time to explore Kirkwall. From Fram to the centre of town was a mere 10 minute stroll. Orkadians refer to Kirkwall as a city but with only 8,000 inhabitants, no offence Orkney, but that seems a tad boastful. But perhaps it’s all relative as Kirkwall is the largest town/city/metropolis in Orkney and the administrative centre.

Italian Chapel, Lands Holm, Orkney

While Kirkwall is short in population the quality of the shops is high. Indeed I would say of a much higher standard than the average souvenir shop in, oh, say Edinburgh for example. Lots of us returned to the ship with souvenirs of Orkney.

Skara Brae, Orkney

The overall impression of Orkney was of a peaceful, green, rolling, very fertile farming landscape. Sheep and cattle dot a landscape bereft of trees. It is not difficult to imagine the best land being farmed for several thousand years.

Time to relax, explore and learn.

As our first destination, Leith, is almost 500 nautical miles away from Hamburg, the MV Fram needs two nights and one day to reach it.
It was time to relax and the slight rolling movement of the ship made some of us a little tired.

It was time to explore the ship’s interior, as well as the outside decks, to find the best places for wildlife watching.

It was time to learn by attending the lectures, which covered places we are going to visit. So, we learn about first Shetland and Orkney residents, Viking exploration and life in the Polar Seas.

Late afternoon, the MV Fram had also few wildlife companions. Kittiwakes, Northern Fulmars and Northern Gannets were flying around the ship. Also dolphins were checking the vessel from below the water surface. So far, the weather is good, although the sky is overcast but mostly dry.

After dinner, we enjoyed the fashion show. Officers, including the Captain and Expedition Staff, presented the newest clothing collection on sale in the ship’s boutique. It is really worth to pay a visit to the shop.

Welcome on board!

Sometimes the check-inn can become very hectic but today everyone was relaxed and we left the harbor in Hamburg-Altona in time. Before the departure was the safety-drill and we received our blue jackets. That’s the obvious starting of the trip.

During the first nautical miles we listened to the explanations about Hamburg, the nice district Blankenese with its beautiful houses and the huge area of Airbus. Unfortunately it was a little rain, so most of us stayed inside.

After the dinner there was the warm and friendly welcome by Captain Arild Hårvik and his crew and also by the Expeditionleader Anja Erdmann and her staff. Around 11 pm most of us were tired. Tomorrow we’ll have a tough sea day.

Farewell!

 Our last day of the voyage “Pearls of the Baltic Sea” and even the sky sent some tears to us. We have to say “Good Bye”, but again the day on sea was quite busy. In the morning and in the afternoon two lectures were given; one about the history of the old FRAM built by Colin Archer for the Nansen-Expedition to the North-Pole 1893-1896 and the second about the voyages of FRAM from Arctic to Antarctic.

A highlight was Benno’s reading of the short story of Siegfried Lenz “Die jütländische Kaffeetafel” and Antonio’s musical accompaniment.

At 3 pm Captain Arild Hårvik invited us to his Farewell Cocktail. Most of us will agree we spent a wonderful time in the Baltic Sea visiting eight harbors in six countries or – if we count Åland as an independent country – seven.

After the nice dinner it was time to pack and start planning the next voyage. Good Bye and see you soon on FRAM.

Kalmar – history, art and nature

Our day started with a relaxing morning at sea which was packed with a lecture, an historic walk through Fram’s own little museum (there are several items of the original Fram exhibited in the vitrines on board) and a radio feature focused on St Petersburg. As scheduled, we reached the last destination of our cruise at 2 pm in the afternoon. Kalmar in Sweden was waiting for us. From the thirteenth to the seventeenth centuries, the town was one of Sweden's most important cities. Today, the cathedral and above all the castle remind of previous times. Many of us enjoyed a guided tour during which we appreciated incredibly elaborate intarsia and learned about the dining rituals at the court.

The other excursion crossed the 6 km long bridge to the island of Öland. We saw charming windmills and numerous flowers including delicate orchids. The ruins of castle Bornholm was a highlight for the history lovers while for those who like art, the culmination of the tour was a visit of the Vida-Museum. This composition of glass, concrete and wood is embedded in wonderful landscape and contains paintings, ceramics and impressive glass sculptures.

The plain, simple and sober forms and lines encountered during these last excursions and also in the wooden houses of Kalmar pose a strong contrast to the opulent buildings of St Petersburg. But they help us to come back to our own time and reality and make a perfect finale for this great and intense voyage.