We returned in January to the beautiful city of Bergen, made even more so with a fresh coating of snow. While there, we enjoyed several walks through the winter landscape, particularly at dusk and dawn. We also refueled, restocked and learned about an awesome new piece of winter gear, shoe grippers, a wonderful invention that puts studs on the bottom of your shoes.

Below are highlights from January 10th through 14th, 2021. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to view the location on a map. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.

1/10/2021

Indre Steinsundet Position: 61°4.26’N, 4°49.75’E Approaching the bridge over the channel Indre Steinsundet at Hardbakke at 6am. The channel is relatively narrow with several unmarked hazards, and bends at the bridge, so it was nice to be reasonably familiar with the route after passing through in the tender yesterday.

Indre Steinsundet Bridge Position: 61°4.02’N, 4°49.53’E Passing under the bridge over Indre Steinsundet.

Fish Farm Position: 60°59.02’N, 4°52.24’E The individual pens of this fish farm off the island of Hille show up remarkably well on RADAR.

Mjomnesundbrua Position: 60°54.32’N, 4°54.26’E Snow falling as we pass under the bridge Mjomnesundbrua.

Kilstraumen Position: 60°48.04’N, 4°56.17’E Approaching Kilstraumen, near where we met the high-speed ferry Solundir in the video Traffic in Kilstraumen Narrows.

Gasoline Position: 60°47.88’N, 4°56.46’E We stopped again at Kilstraumen to top up our gasoline supply. We’re still using the tender a ton despite the colder weather.

Dog Island Position: 60°34.40’N, 5°13.78’E The metal sculpture of a dog on Hundeskjeret (loosely translates to “Dog Island”) is a famous landmark in the scenic channel Alvaestraumen.

Alvaestraumen Position: 60°34.40’N, 5°13.78’E Wonderful winter scene reflecting into still waters in the channel Alvaestraumen not far from Bergen.

Vesteralen Position: 60°24.06’N, 5°18.51’E The Vesteralen, one of seven Hurtigruten ships currently in storage at Bergen due to the COVID-19 shutdown.

Bergen Position: 60°23.78’N, 5°19.27’E Bergen is a beautiful city, and even more so with a layer of fresh snow.

Bergen Moorage Position: 60°23.79’N, 5°19.43’E Our berth at Vagen Harbour in Bergen, with 2 16-amp shorepower outlets available. The freshwater supply is turned off for the winter.

Bergen Views Position: 60°23.78’N, 5°19.43’E Views from our berth at Vagen Harbour in Bergen (clockwise from top left: forward, aft, starboard and port).

Furuno BBDS1 Position: 60°23.79’N, 5°19.43’E Our Furuno DFF1 fish finder that we use as a depth sounder failed recently. Of the two likely components at fault, replacing the computer module is much easier than the transducer, because the latter requires lifting the boat out of the water. The Furuno DFF1 no longer is in production, so we ordered a computer module for the compatible Furuno BBDS1 from the local Furuno dealer. Frode Skaar of Bergen startup Invy generously accepted delivery for us, and just dropped it off at the boat tonight.

1/11/2021

Fueling Position: 60°23.78’N, 5°19.43’E Taking on 1,394 gallons (5277 L) of diesel from Oljeleveranddoren. We used the for the first time on our previous visit to Bergen and were again impressed with their responsiveness, flexibility, service and price.

Engine Oil Position: 60°23.79’N, 5°19.43’E Oljeleveranddoren also delivered 4x 20 L pails of Shell Rotella R4 L 15w40 (ACEA E9) and took away our waste oil. They are great to work with.

Vagen Position: 60°23.68’N, 5°19.38’E Dirona moored at Vagen in Bergen on a beautifully clear day. The red bow of the Hurtigruten coastal ferry Nordnorge is visible at left.

Shopping Position: 60°23.79’N, 5°19.43’E Stocking up our beer and wine supply in Bergen.

Fish Finder Position: 60°23.79’N, 5°19.43’E Today we installed a new Furuno BBDS1 to replace our faulty DFF1. It corrected all the depth sounder problems: it’s now reading depth, the signal is far stronger, and as a bonus, the water temperature is now reading correctly again as well. We were expecting that the transducer was likely at fault for the temperature problem, so solving them both with the single replacement was nice.

Meny Position: 60°24.00’N, 5°19.54’E Buying a second cartful of groceries at the nearby Meny, our favourite Norwegian grocery store chain.

Nordnorge Position: 60°23.79’N, 5°19.42’E Stian Opedal sent us this photo of Dirona moored in snowy Bergen off the bow of the Hurtigruten Nordnorge.

Repacking Position: 60°23.79’N, 5°19.42’E Repacking the produce in freshness-preserving green bags to extend their life and reduce on-board garbage.

Vagen Position: 60°23.79’N, 5°19.43’E The lights around Vagen in Bergen reflecting into still waters.

1/12/2021

Meny Position: 60°23.37’N, 5°19.90’E Our third grocery shopping trip, this one to another Meny that for some reason has a better selection of coffee than the one closest to the boat.

Lille Lungegardsvannet Position: 60°23.44’N, 5°19.82’E Ducks swimming in an unfrozen portion of the lake Lille Lungegardsvannet, with a Christmas tree standing where the fountain flows in the summer.

Groceries 3 Position: 60°23.79’N, 5°19.44’E Jennifer returning with our third load of groceries. We buy produce and bread at smaller towns along the way, but are stocking up on staples, meats, and wine in Bergen.

Groceries 4 Position: 60°23.79’N, 5°19.44’E Returning from our fourth and final Bergen grocery trip with our folding cart.

Shoe Grippers Position: 60°23.60’N, 5°19.61’E We’d mentioned to Frode Skaar of Invy how slippery some of the trails on our hikes had been and he recommended we try some shoe grippers. These rubber devices have spikes in the bottom and fit over footwear to provide traction on ice, sort of like studded tires for your feet. Despite living for years in the Canadian cities of Toronto and Ottawa, we’d never heard of them. But, wow, they really work. Picture here are Kahtoola NANOspikes.

Powdered Wasabi Position: 60°23.63’N, 5°19.40’E One recipe we make frequently is Seared Wasabi-Glazed Salmon. We were running low on the powdered Wasabi the recipe calls for, and normally buy powdered Wasabi in 25-gram tins. We’ve been unable to find it locally, so were excited to find it in Bergern. However, the smallest bag was 1kg, or roughly 40 times larger than our normal purchase size. This should last a few months :).

1/13/2021

Shoe Grippers Position: 60°23.79’N, 5°19.77’E Testing out our new shoe grippers, Kahtoola NANOspikes on a hike to the top of Mt. Floyen. The grippers work astoundingly well on even the slipperiest ice. We’re really impressed.

Skaters Position: 60°23.85’N, 5°19.85’E Ice skaters on the pond next to the old Skansen Fire Station.

Floibanen Position: 60°23.74’N, 5°20.23’E Floibanen, the furnicular railway to the top of Mt. Floyen. We rode it when we were here in 2018.

Fjellveien Position: 60°23.79’N, 5°20.26’E It was a fabulous clear day to be out for a hike in snow-covered Bergen. This is the view looking back down the path Fjellveien, as popular in the winter as it is in the summer.

Mt Floyen Position: 60°23.67’N, 5°20.58’E Enjoying a hot chocolate and the view from the top of Mt. Floyen. We weren’t the only ones who had the same idea of coming up here—it was really busy.

Lille Lungegardsvannet Position: 60°23.67’N, 5°20.56’E View to the lake Lille Lungegardsvannet in central Bergen from Mt. Floyen.

Vagen Position: 60°23.67’N, 5°20.56’E Looking down into Vagen and beyond from Mt. Floyen. Five of the seven Hurtigruten ships stored in Bergen are visible to Jennifer’s right.

Dirona Position: 60°23.65’N, 5°20.61’E A glimpse of Dirona moored in Vagen from Mt. Floyen.

Sledders and Skiers Position: 60°23.74’N, 5°20.65’E The whole area around Mt. Floyen was fill of people enjoying the sunny winter day, many on sleds or skis.

Snow Cat Position: 60°23.97’N, 5°19.81’E Our cat Spitfire decidedly does not like cold weather, but snow seems to be no concern for this Bergen native.

Happy Hour Position: 60°23.78’N, 5°19.43’E Happy Hour in Bergen with the temperature just above freezing.

1/14/2021

Skansen Fire Station Position: 60°23.83’N, 5°19.80’E The old Skansen Fire Station viewed on a pre-sunrise walk into the hills of northeast Bergen.

Floibanen Position: 60°23.76’N, 5°19.94’E Train heading up to Mt. Floyen on the furnicular railway Floibanen.

Bergen Position: 60°23.70’N, 5°19.95’E A snowy Bergen in the early morning, taken from a construction site on the road Fjellien. What a fabulous view that house will have (click image for a larger view). Dirona, not visible, is moored in Vagen at upper right.

Statsraad Lehmkuhl Position: 60°23.87’N, 5°19.23’E The shchooner Statsraad Lehmkuhl moored in Bergen harbour. We chatted with the crew a bit, who earlier in the week had stopped by to talk at Dirona.

Nosefo Position: 60°24.16’N, 5°18.99’E Liferaft in the pool at maritime training center Nosefo in Bergen. We participated in similar training last summer at the Aland Maritime Safety Center.

Dumping Snow Position: 60°24.15’N, 5°19.09’E An easy solution to accumulating snow piles in the city.

Hot Chocolate Position: 60°23.67’N, 5°19.64’E Enjoying a cup of hot chocolate and a treat after our morning walk.

Digging Position: 60°23.78’N, 5°19.43’E James digging out our shorepower cables in preparation for our departure tomorrow morning. The streets and sidewalks were plowed after the recent snowfall, burying the cables. Sections were underwater for a period, and that has since frozen, so chipping them out is a lengthy process.

Mt. Floyen Position: 60°23.69’N, 5°19.36’E View to Mt. Floyen northeast of Bergen harbour on an evening walk.

Dirona Position: 60°23.73’N, 5°19.28’E Dirona moored in front of historic Bryggen in Bergen.

Vagen Position: 60°23.98’N, 5°18.72’E View to Vagen from the mouth of the harbour.

Seawater Pool Position: 60°23.95’N, 5°18.18’E We were wondering the source of all the voices and steam as we passed behind the Bergen Aquarium. It was the Nordnes seawater pool. The majority of the patrons were enjoying the heated pool, but we saw quite a few take a dip in the harbour. Brrrrrr!

Click the travel log icon on the left to see these locations on a map, with the complete log of our cruise. On the map page, clicking on a camera or text icon will display a picture and/or log entry for that location, and clicking on the smaller icons along the route will display latitude, longitude and other navigation data for that location. And a live map of our current route and most recent log entries always is available at mvdirona.com/maps.