The real name of this town is #…..

Okay, so the locals spell it HARSTAD, but they pronounce it so swiftly in Norwegian that it sounds like they’re saying “Hashtag.”

So a reasonable short-hand version would be to call it….#.

A funny thin happened on the way to #…. the sun tried to set in the west last night.. but it barely went down and, for sure, it never stayed down.

At 10.15 pm last night… THIS is how the sky appeared from our ship:

Speaking of ship, some readers have inquired about our ship.. the food … and the background of how Carol and I came to take a cruise, because we don’t seem like typical “cruise people.”

Six years ago in our travels, we met a Norwegian couple, Helge and Nina, and struck an instant, immediate, and lasting friendship. We try to get together once every year, or two.

On a get-together two years ago, Helge said that one of the best cruises they’d ever taken (of 46 cruises they have taken to date!), was one that visited the fjords of western Norway.

Helge and Nina….

At the time, Helge said that if we would join them, they would take the Norwegian cruise again, mostly just to be able to hang out with us for 16 days.

So that night, two years ago, and after too many bottles of wine at dinner, we pulled out our respective phones… and actually booked the cruise we’re on today. That was before dinner was even over! (This is a strong indication of just how much wine we must have consumed early in the meal!)

And now, here we are traveling with Helge and Nina, who are interpreting for us, sharing stories, and generally acting like sherpas for us on our Norwegian cruise.

We are on the Azamara line. The ship is Journey (above). There are 650 passengers and nearly as many crew members, one per guest.

There are numerous dining rooms on the ship and I have grown particularly partial to the curry, which changes daily, served in one of the daytime restaurants.

Some of you have asked about food on this trip. There is only a minimum of what might be considered “Norwegian fare,” and unlike our recent month in Japan, where we dined two, three, and even FOUR times a day to experience the local cuisine, our cruise is not meant to be a gastronomic tour of Norway, but rather one of geographic interest.

Norway is considered one of the most beautiful countries in the world and we’re here to see it, not eat reindeer!

’Nuf said?

A few curious things about the town I’m calling #…..

The town has 25,160 residents.

OOPS! This is an All Points Bulletin! Be on the lookout for five mannequins, recently escaped from a major downtown # store window.

Last seen wearing no clothing and sporting a dark, Mediterranean bronzed tan….

Another curious thing about #….

If you’re short of cash, you don’t go to the bank, here… you go to the….

Finally, I’m drawn to the parking lot that is adjacent to Hashtag’s (#’s) downtown shopping mall… kind of makes you yearn for the old days…

That’s it for now. More when it happens.

Jim