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STEP ASIDE BEAR
GRYLLS: WHEN YOU’RE IN
NORWAY, YOU CAN GET SURVIVAL
TIPS FROM THE WRAPPER OF A
DELICIOUSLY CREAMY KVIKK
LUNSJ, A CHOCOLATE BAR
REMINISCENT OF OUR OWN LOCAL
KIT KAT BUT UNMISTAKABLY
BETTER IN FLAVOUR.
I peel back the bright red, green and
yellow wrapper to reveal tips from
fjellvettreglene, the local mountain code
that symbolises a world almost every
Norwegian relishes – one of sausages
sizzling over an open fire, of hunkering
down in a cosy hytte (cottage) and of a
wilderness that leaves you wondering if
you’re the lone lucky soul left to enjoy this
irresistible vista you’ll never get used to.
Only in Norway would something as
frivolous as a chocolate bar double as a
guide on how to survive in the wilderness,
but it’s indicative of the Norwegian
desire to reconnect with nature and the
outdoors that permeates their everyday
life. They call this Scandinavian philosophy
30 // MAKE MEMORIES FOR LIFE
friluftsliv, and as we boarded Hurtigruten’s
MS Polarys that spring day, I was ready to
embrace it in abundance – even if it was
only 5° C.
As we emerged from the tranquil waters
of Bøkfjord into the Barents Sea, I was
even more grateful to the Kvikk Lunsj
for the helpful advice, “Pay attention to
weather warnings”.
Winds of over 100 kph and waves up
to eight metres dwarfed the expedition
ship, but, like any good Norwegian, she
held steady and persevered with admirable
determination despite the punishing
conditions of the characteristically fierce
Finnmark storm. Polarys was bound for
Båtsfjord, her first stop after docking near
the Russian border in Kirkenes.
It certainly wasn’t Polarys’, or
Hurtigruten’s, first rodeo. The Norwegian
cruise, ferry and cargo operator has plied
these waters for 125 years, starting its
legacy as a service connecting the isolated
villages of northern Norway to the rest
of the world when nobody else thought it
possible to sail through these proverbial
dark and stormy winters.
LIFELINE TO NORWAY’S ICY NORTH
These working ships, which to this day
ferry local passengers and freight between
the 34 ports from Bergen in the south to
Kirkenes in the north, are also expedition