Hurtigruten Day 6 - Kirkenes

We landed in Kirkenes at 9:30 in the morning to finish our Hurtigruten journey. We were about half an hour late due to the bus breakdown on our birding outing. A shuttle delivered us to our hotel where we were three hours early for our rooms. After storing our luggage, we decided to walk up to the local museum. The walk turned out to be harder than expected because it was an uphill climb of about a mile. No problem as we had lots of time.

The museum tells the story of this transborder region of the north. Until 1825, there were no borders here and the majority of the population was the Sami who regularly herded their reindeer across the region. But in 1825, they were forced to choose a nationality among Finnish, Russian, or Norwegian. The majority chose Russia and a minority decided on Norway. But it was a difficult adjustment for them as they were no longer able to move about freely as they had. Still crossing those borders was easy at first. Things would get more difficult. Norway worked hard to get more Norwegians to live in the region by paying people to move north. It was a tough life with little infrastructure and many returned south. A big population boom came in 1905 when iron ore deposits were discovered. The mine and processing plant brought about 3000 people to fill the jobs.

The museum

Two world wars and other border conflicts made life difficult for all the inhabitants. World War II was especially difficult as the Germans occupied the territory. They feared an Allied invasion and wanted to cut off Allied materiel support for the Soviet Union through the port of Murmansk. Kirkenes was one of the two most heavily bombed cities of the war, the other being Malta. Most of the town was destroyed by those Soviet bombing raids. Many of the residents left town for the duration. Much of this story is told through personal accounts and pictures. A monument commemorates the date the Soviets finally liberated Kirkenes in 1944.

The end of the war brought major border changes and the Soviets took a large chunk of Finland. Finland had collaborated with Germany during the war and the Soviets wanted the territory to put more distance between Norway, a part of NATO in the new Cold War, and Murmansk, their only open ice free port. Crossing the border was now much more difficult as well and both nations guard their border with tenacity.

Several of these panels of old photographs graces the square

A few locals hanging out in the public square

With the end of the Cold War and the development of the European Union, the borders have opened considerably. The crossing between Norway and Finland is totally open and the Russian border is now relatively easy to cross. Russians come to Kirkenes regularly to purchase things they can’t get at home and Norwegians cross into Russia to buy gasoline at one-third the price. Still, the border is closely guarded by both Norway and Russia. Russia has even created a military zone up to one kilometer wide along the border.

This has brought a new kind of prosperity to Kirkenes and its hinterland. The mining operation closed early in this century, but tourism has risen exponentially both in summer and winter. Kirkenes actually gets more visitors in winter when people come to see the Northern lights, take dog sled rides, and stay in the snow hotel. Kirkenes is the only place in Nordland that can guarantee snow during the winter. It gets cold and stays that way from November to April with the average temperature often below freezing. Kirkenes also enjoys the Russian need for ship repair. About 90% of the repair work done in Kirkenes comes from Russia. There is talk or reopening the mine, but that is controversial now with a heightened concern for the environment.

I should have known it was too cheap to be real.
Look at the alcohol content on the label.

We stayed two nights in Kirkenes so we could experience a part of life here in the far north so close to Russia. We chose to take a tour that would put us on the Pasvik River which serves as the border between Norway and Russia. Our guide exemplifies the new Kirkenes as she moved here from Germany 17 years ago with the intent of staying only a short time. She loved the place so much she decided to stay, got married, has a family, and is in the process of taking over the tour company as its present owner and founder retires.

One of the lakes in the area

We drove to the river with a couple of scenic stops along the way. Fellow guests included a guy who had gotten into trouble the day before at the border. On a different tour he had hiked about six kilometers to the Three Borders monument where Russia, Finland, and Norway meet. While there he laid his jacket over the chain marking the border while taking a picture. This put part of his jacket in Russian territory creating an international incident. The fine for this could reach into the thousands of dollars, but he thinks he will not be punished. Still, we learned how seriously the Norwegians take border security.

A natural area created by the park headquarters.

Our first stop was at the National Park Visitor Center with nice displays about the flora and fauna of the area.

We were on the river for an hour. We saw a few birds, but most interesting was the difference between the Russian and Norwegian sides of the river. The Russian side is empty except for a few watch towers. Meanwhile, the Norwegians build right down to the river so they can fully enjoy their access. Most often the saunas are built closest to the river so the users can finish with a dip in the river.

Norwegian homes next to the river

The sauna at the riverside

An unusual site according to our guide was the Russian Zodiac floating the river, its occupants fishing. It looked like they had some success. Our river guide said he had caught a six kilogram trout the evening before. At the end of our ride, we were served lunch at a rustic resort built to serve those wanting a sled dog ride in the winter. The have a restaurant where we were served lunch in a building reminiscent of Northwest Coast Indian longhouses. We sat on benches on either side of the building with a fire pit between us. Instead of a simple hole for the smoke, the roof is constructed so that one side of the roof extends over the other side allowing the smoke a passage to the sky without letting in any rain or snow. Our tasty meal of moose burgers in gravy accompanied by lingonberries, carrots, and new potatoes followed by a cloudberry flan more than satisfied our hunger.

Russian soldiers fishing

We did NOT cross the line marked by these poles.
Notice that there is no evidence of civilization by the river

After lunch we were taken across the street to meet the 45 sled dogs. These friendly animals have a lazy summer as they wait for their fun pulling sleds for guests during the winter. The ride is highly recommended, as the snow-covered landscape is beautiful and might be lit by the Aurora Borealis. No more than eight guests share a single tour, so the isolation adds to the joy of the ride. I was a bit later getting to the dogs as i was sidetracked by the bird feeding station. It’s just fun watching the little guys flit in and out of the area as they fill up for the winter and fight over the access. I saw greenfinches, redpolls, and tree sparrows among the crowd. The dogs were fun, too as they begged to be petted and pampered.

Waiting at the dock for lunch

 

On the way back we stopped at ‘96 Height’, a watch tower abandoned by the Norwegian military several years ago. They had been using it to watch the Soviet, now Russian, military camp across the river until the trees grew too tall and they had to move it some distance upstream. Today, it is open to the public with a small restaurant and great views of the area for only 30 kroner, about $3.50. None of us chose to make the climb. The location is 96 meters above sea level, thus the name.

Midnight Sun

We went back to our hotel for the rest of the afternoon and watched the World Cup Finals. We only got to watch the first part of the game and missed all the goals. A lightning storm travel through the area which seems like a good culprit we can blame for knocking out the cable system in town. Later, we ventured out to dinner at an excellent Chinese restaurant in town. Tomorrow we head to Helsinki to begin the Finnish portion of this trip.

A few wild reindeer on our way to the airport