Back home from our epic eclipse cruise on Boudicca, to Norway and the Faeroes.  We saw the Aurora Borealis and the total solar eclipse.  We lined up in the ocean beside two other ships from the Fred. Olsen fleet, Braemar and Black Watch.    We went to a concert in the Ishavskatedralen in Tromsø which was world class.   And while the eclipse itself eclipsed everything else in terms of excitement levels, the whole experience was rather good.  Pictures below, hundreds more on my iPad.

One place we visited was the Tirpitz museum near Alta – Tirpitz was a German battleship which played hide and seek in the Norwegian fjords for a lot of the Second World War and was a constant threat to the Arctic Convoys.   The museum had a fascinating collection of German memorabilia.  For all the films I have seen, and archive footage, it’s the first time I have come face to face with a real German uniform.  The guide had taken her mother there, who had vowed never to return as it brought back so many bad memories of the occupation.   One item which touched me hugely was a folded paper bird, made by a captive Soviet soldier, to barter for food, because they had nothing.   The guide told us that the Germans used to turn a blind eye to Norwegians who left out food parcels for the POWs.  I hope that’s true.

But life moves on, inexorably; as we were queuing to leave the ship one of the entertainment staff (who work incredibly hard, 24/7) asked us where we were going,. “Oh Tirpitz, what is that, like the Muppets?”   You had to laugh.

Boudicca in port, Ålesund.