Loved this video so much--enjoyed the spectacular scenery--the homes, church, the Christmas market, the ship. Everything was so colorful. You guys did a great job with narrating and filming. I can't wait to see the Arctic Circle!
I did the whole trip of Bergen-Kirkenes v.v. in the beginning of May 2016. We were very lucky with the weather, only one afternoon with some drizzle. When we travelled the days were getting longer and nights with total darkness were short. Nice to see you travel in December. I will definitely watch your other videos of your trip.
It is spectacular that Poppy gets to see so much of our world at such a young age. I love that you bring her along on many of your adventures. Thanks for sharing her with us. She is such a joy. Love the video, what a wonderful time. And I love you choose to share this as Christmas in July.
Nice tour of the ship! We're heading for our 3rd Havila trip next week and can hardly wait. Also, we'll be in Bergen at the end of the trip so we'll be able to experience the Christmas market and gingerbread city - thanks for the previews. I hope, though, that we're able to get on the boat in Bergen instead of having to traipse up to Trondheim!
@@lindsayslivealittle Then I think it is better to go in the opposite direction (Trondheim - Bergen). If I remember correctly you will then get to see more (path somewhat different). North of the polar circle I can recommend Tromsø - Bodø, including the fantastic Lofoten area. Two best train tours: Bergen - Oslo and Rauma (Dombås - Åndalsnes).
At 2:19, regarding the great Pepperkake conundrum, which you pointed out: a Norwegian Pepperkake is named so because of the black pepper in it, even if there are about equal measures of ginger and black pepper. The recipe may vary, but a traditional Norwegian Pepperkake recipe typically (they vary slightly, so I just picked one) has these spices: 2 teaspoons (ts) ground black pepper 2 ts ground ginger 2 ts ground cinnamon 0.5 ts ground cloves There are also recipes in Norway with ginger and no black pepper, but those recipes are often called "Ingefærkjeks" (Ginger bisquits), "Ingefærkake" or "Engelsk ingefærkake" (English ginger bread), and are typically shaped as small, round bisquits. Because of the variation in ingredients, presentation and taste, this may explain why we have chosen to use a different name for each.
Google says yhe reason they're called "pepperkaker" is that in the old days, seasoning food was referred to as "peppering" the food. And since pepperkaker contain spices, they were given the name "pepperkaker."
@@Styrestian Yes, I saw that. Google have indexed that claim from a recent article in the magazine Klikk,no. Documentation or background source for the magazine article is unknown. But if we look for documentation further back in time, there is some interesting info: it is documented in official customs logs at Norway's main import harbour during the Hanseatic Age, city of Bergen, that "Pepperkaker" was imported in considerable quantities during the 1600s. A Swedish source tells about the Swedish King Gustav Vasa's customs logs in 1534, and Danish King Fredrik II for Christmas 1580. All three customs logs specify Germany as source of origin for the "Pepperkake" goods. (Sources Bergens Tidende, and Sveriges Bagare & Konditorer Sweden, archived). I checked if any reference in German sources today, they too ask about the origin (quote from German Reader's Digest source): "Warum Lebkuchen auch Pfefferkuchen heißen? Die Lösung: Die Würzmischung gab den Ausschlag für den Namen Pfefferkuchen. Weil sie im Mittelalter neben Zimt, Ingwer, Anis und Koriander auch mit Pfeffer gewürzt wurden, heißen Lebkuchen bis heute auch Pfefferkuchen". So, it looks like the name stems from the recognizable spice (pfeffer, pepper) used as ingredient of what we can assume is the medieval German recipe for Pfefferkuchen/Lebkuchen (two names) from Nürnberg. Various sources claims that Germany got the recipe or idea from maybe Franconia, Belgium, Poland, Greece, ..., or even back to the ancient Egypt. Who knows...?
My daughter spent a lot of time criss-crossing Europe & she expecially loved the ferry crossings whether it be Nth France, DFDS to Netherlands or Scandinavia. I now live in Norway so ferry travel is frequent
These ships are only called Hurtigruten in Norwegian. Meaning The fast line. They were very important ferries for many years, before traveling with planes became common. Havila might be the name of a company who bought the line. There are 14 ships, so every harbor is visited by 2 ships every day . One going north and one south. Or this is what it used to be before this Harila happened, they might have changed it.
You have put a bit to much of your own fantasy into the story posted. For a starter there are 11 ships serving the route....not 14. The ship route (that started in 1893) along the coast was called hurtigruten/hurtigruta. It was started by VDS and later came a number of other Norwegian companies that have operated ships on the route. In 2006 was the two remaining companies OVDS(the original one) and TFDS merged into one company which they named Hurtigruten. They simply stole the name of the ship route. The Norwegian authorities that own the rights to the route didn't react at all and just renamed the route to kystruten. Something I'm not specially impressed by....since the name of the route (hurtigruten) was iconic....but what can you expect from Oslo that is remote from anything that has to do with the coast ...it's culture and it's history. So NO the Havila ships are not hurtigruten (the ship route) and specially NOT "Hurtigruten"(as you call it) which is the name of the company that runs 7 of the 11 ships on the route. There is not a "might" to the name of the Havila company. The full name of the company, that run 4 of the ships, is Havila Kystruten. Havila have around 3000 employed ....500 in the coastal route. They have also been into operating 60-70 car ferries on the coast (Fjord1) and than operating 14 supply ships in the North Sea for the oil and gas sector. Nothing has changed when it comes to the ports served or daily call of both north and south bound ships. Havila has not "bought" a line...as you claim. They operate their own new build ships according to the contract with the Norwegian state. They were bidding for a contract in competition with Hurtigruten ....and the result was that Havila got 4 and Hurtigruten 7 of the 11 available slots. The contract has a duration of 10 years (if I remember correct).
@@lindsayslivealittle we will be watching. Do you have any ideas for getting deals from them? I would ham it up if I went on one of those. Growing up on Long Island we never did cruises for whatever reason but now my wife and I love cruising.
Would suggest signing up for their email updates as that may help. The main difference here is with this being a ferry, the costs are relatively flat and just change during seasonal times.
Just curious, was this trip just 2 months ago or last year's trip due to Christmas time and decorations? I'm asking because I plan to take a trip with Havala and just wondering. Thanks
How fun. I really want to try out a Havila trip myself after watching some YT videos on it. It seems so new and clean. The soap goody bag shown at 13:24 comes from my neighbour city Fitjar. I did not know they delivered goody bags to Havila. I know some people who work there, and I used to live in Bergen for three years. It is an absolutely stunning city. Trondheim is such a beautiful city to. I do sometimes take Norways beauty for granted since I have lived here almost my whole life. Like someone else commented Christmas in July will be: Jul i juli. We actually used this concept to last year because much of my step family celebrated x-mas in Texas, so we decided to have an extra Christmas celebration in July. The kids loved it, but it felt kind of crazy sitting on a sunny cabin with a x-mas three up eating traditional x-mas fun in July. It was fun nevertheless and maybe it felt more normal for you guys with all that snow around xD
We unfortunately did not! Because we hit a lot of weather! But since we did north and south bound they did honor giving us a free trip to try again! It was a great trip we really want to go back!
Hello! I'm also boarding the ship from Trondheim this December, can I know how do you get to the port from the city centre? Is it walkable during winter? Thanks in advance!
We would suggest a taxi or Uber/lyft. It is a walk from the city center to the dock especially with a suitcase and during the winter can be very slippery. It is probably a little over a mile walk so just depends on what kind of luggage you have and how much snow there is!
6:01 Why not take the train? 14:47 The "e" in the "nes" part of "Kirkenes" sounds a bit different from what you pronounced. Ask someone local to pronounce it. ;-) 24:07 That railway bridge is almost unique. There's just two of that design in the whole world, one in Trondheim.
We didn’t take the train because we were still jet lagged and wanted to get there as fast and easy as possible. (Lots of luggage) Thanks for letting me know I tried looking it up but I am not great at pronouncing Norwegian words I tried my best with my American accent! Thanks for watching!
@@lindsayslivealittle Considering sleeper trains. Saves you on hotel expenses, gets you where you want to go, gives you a room with privacy for the family, and usually is quite comfortable. I'll have to admit that I haven't tried it out after the privatization... But give it a try sometime in Europe. Trains are usually a relaxing experience in Europe.
This is true! Now that I think about it more. We actually did look into the train. And at the time the price was double (if not more) than a flight for 3, and you had to transfer and it was 15-16 hours! At that point we would have probably just taken the free bus that was offered. For this trip a flight made more sense for our family!
Because the train ride would be Bergen - Oslo (~6-8 hrs) and then Oslo - Trondheim 6.5 hrs, with a 1.5 hour layover in Oslo before just about anything had opened. It's just not a good deal for them with the little one. The airfare + hotel would likely be cheaper too.
Haha good spot! This was actually filmed a week after the MSC trip! So same injury. We went a little out of order because I wanted to get Explora (new line) out quick! And we thought Christmas in July would be fun!
@@lindsayslivealittle You’re welcome, not everybody is cut out for what you were trying to do. Outside the deeply dysfunctional U.S., it’s not normal behaviour to shout at others.
@@lindsayslivealittle I couldn’t bear to watch for long but you were certainly shouting in what I did see. Do you eventually become immune to your own volume? I didn’t get far enough to see the daughter being a nuisance.
Sometimes YT recommends really fun channels... your little poppet is so fun and full of energy. You are great parents.
Thanks so much. That is one of the nicest things anyone could say.
Lucky you to be the only ones. Such a treat. We are booked in 6 days. Looking forward to it.
Have an amazing time! It was such a unique trip!
Loved this video so much--enjoyed the spectacular scenery--the homes, church, the Christmas market, the ship. Everything was so colorful. You guys did a great job with narrating and filming. I can't wait to see the Arctic Circle!
Thanks so much! This comment made our day!
I did the whole trip of Bergen-Kirkenes v.v. in the beginning of May 2016. We were very lucky with the weather, only one afternoon with some drizzle. When we travelled the days were getting longer and nights with total darkness were short. Nice to see you travel in December. I will definitely watch your other videos of your trip.
It is spectacular that Poppy gets to see so much of our world at such a young age. I love that you bring her along on many of your adventures. Thanks for sharing her with us. She is such a joy. Love the video, what a wonderful time. And I love you choose to share this as Christmas in July.
Thanks so much. We love being able to show Poppy our amazing country and world.
Nice tour of the ship! We're heading for our 3rd Havila trip next week and can hardly wait. Also, we'll be in Bergen at the end of the trip so we'll be able to experience the Christmas market and gingerbread city - thanks for the previews. I hope, though, that we're able to get on the boat in Bergen instead of having to traipse up to Trondheim!
Have an amazing time!
"What are we doing?" ... "We're going to have some beer" ... YES!!!
Thank you for sharing this lovely video and I am very pleased to learn that you liked my hometown, Trondheim ! :)
Thanks so much. We will definitely be back!
@@lindsayslivealittle Perhaps in summer next time? (It is also my hometown)
We have been to Bergen in the summer! I would love to do this trip again in the summer! Would see more! Thanks for watching!
@@lindsayslivealittle Then I think it is better to go in the opposite direction (Trondheim - Bergen). If I remember correctly you will then get to see more (path somewhat different). North of the polar circle I can recommend Tromsø - Bodø, including the fantastic Lofoten area. Two best train tours: Bergen - Oslo and Rauma (Dombås - Åndalsnes).
The little peekaboo session on the empty vessel was so cute. I’ve lived here for years and still never gone to see pepperkakebyen.
It was so much fun and unexpected.
At 2:19, regarding the great Pepperkake conundrum, which you pointed out: a Norwegian Pepperkake is named so because of the black pepper in it, even if there are about equal measures of ginger and black pepper. The recipe may vary, but a traditional Norwegian Pepperkake recipe typically (they vary slightly, so I just picked one) has these spices:
2 teaspoons (ts) ground black pepper
2 ts ground ginger
2 ts ground cinnamon
0.5 ts ground cloves
There are also recipes in Norway with ginger and no black pepper, but those recipes are often called "Ingefærkjeks" (Ginger bisquits), "Ingefærkake" or "Engelsk ingefærkake" (English ginger bread), and are typically shaped as small, round bisquits. Because of the variation in ingredients, presentation and taste, this may explain why we have chosen to use a different name for each.
Thank you so much for sharing! We will have to make these at home.
Google says yhe reason they're called "pepperkaker" is that in the old days, seasoning food was referred to as "peppering" the food. And since pepperkaker contain spices, they were given the name "pepperkaker."
@@Styrestian Yes, I saw that. Google have indexed that claim from a recent article in the magazine Klikk,no. Documentation or background source for the magazine article is unknown.
But if we look for documentation further back in time, there is some interesting info: it is documented in official customs logs at Norway's main import harbour during the Hanseatic Age, city of Bergen, that "Pepperkaker" was imported in considerable quantities during the 1600s. A Swedish source tells about the Swedish King Gustav Vasa's customs logs in 1534, and Danish King Fredrik II for Christmas 1580. All three customs logs specify Germany as source of origin for the "Pepperkake" goods. (Sources Bergens Tidende, and Sveriges Bagare & Konditorer Sweden, archived).
I checked if any reference in German sources today, they too ask about the origin (quote from German Reader's Digest source):
"Warum Lebkuchen auch Pfefferkuchen heißen?
Die Lösung: Die Würzmischung gab den Ausschlag für den Namen Pfefferkuchen. Weil sie im Mittelalter neben Zimt, Ingwer, Anis und Koriander auch mit Pfeffer gewürzt wurden, heißen Lebkuchen bis heute auch Pfefferkuchen".
So, it looks like the name stems from the recognizable spice (pfeffer, pepper) used as ingredient of what we can assume is the medieval German recipe for Pfefferkuchen/Lebkuchen (two names) from Nürnberg.
Various sources claims that Germany got the recipe or idea from maybe Franconia, Belgium, Poland, Greece, ..., or even back to the ancient Egypt. Who knows...?
You three are an awesome travel company! It is delightful to see my "rugged and weathered" land through your happy-go-lucky minds and eyes.
Thank you so much! We absolutely love Norway. Hope you enjoy the rest of the series.
Emma & Jack
"Rugged and weathered" is in fact in the national hymn ("furet, værbitt") by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson.
Tusen takk for reisen med dere, var der også. Håper Poppy har det bra.
We had an amazing time. Poppy now says she is from Norway and wants to go back!
My daughter spent a lot of time criss-crossing Europe & she expecially loved the ferry crossings whether it be Nth France, DFDS to Netherlands or Scandinavia. I now live in Norway so ferry travel is frequent
Pretty cool for also being a ferry. Food looks amazing. Having a ship all to myself is a fantasy of mine. haha. I'm guessing no casino..??
It is such a unique experience. No casino though.
@@lindsayslivealittle Casinos are illegal in Norway.
Interesting. Thanks!
These ships are only called Hurtigruten in Norwegian. Meaning The fast line. They were very important ferries for many years, before traveling with planes became common.
Havila might be the name of a company who bought the line. There are 14 ships, so every harbor is visited by 2 ships every day . One going north and one south. Or this is what it used to be before this Harila happened, they might have changed it.
You have put a bit to much of your own fantasy into the story posted.
For a starter there are 11 ships serving the route....not 14.
The ship route (that started in 1893) along the coast was called hurtigruten/hurtigruta. It was started by VDS and later came a number of other Norwegian companies that have operated ships on the route. In 2006 was the two remaining companies OVDS(the original one) and TFDS merged into one company which they named Hurtigruten. They simply stole the name of the ship route. The Norwegian authorities that own the rights to the route didn't react at all and just renamed the route to kystruten. Something I'm not specially impressed by....since the name of the route (hurtigruten) was iconic....but what can you expect from Oslo that is remote from anything that has to do with the coast ...it's culture and it's history.
So NO the Havila ships are not hurtigruten (the ship route) and specially NOT "Hurtigruten"(as you call it) which is the name of the company that runs 7 of the 11 ships on the route.
There is not a "might" to the name of the Havila company. The full name of the company, that run 4 of the ships, is Havila Kystruten. Havila have around 3000 employed ....500 in the coastal route. They have also been into operating 60-70 car ferries on the coast (Fjord1) and than operating 14 supply ships in the North Sea for the oil and gas sector.
Nothing has changed when it comes to the ports served or daily call of both north and south bound ships.
Havila has not "bought" a line...as you claim. They operate their own new build ships according to the contract with the Norwegian state. They were bidding for a contract in competition with Hurtigruten ....and the result was that Havila got 4 and Hurtigruten 7 of the 11 available slots. The contract has a duration of 10 years (if I remember correct).
What a unique experience for y’all. Norway is on of list. What a beautiful ship. Those beers looked great!what a beautiful church. Stunning.
It is truly an amazing experience. Hope you enjoy the rest of the series.
@@lindsayslivealittle we will be watching. Do you have any ideas for getting deals from them? I would ham it up if I went on one of those. Growing up on Long Island we never did cruises for whatever reason but now my wife and I love cruising.
Would suggest signing up for their email updates as that may help. The main difference here is with this being a ferry, the costs are relatively flat and just change during seasonal times.
Glad you got the iconic Trondheim weather while visiting.just wouldnt be the same without the sleet and cold rain!
We had a fantastic time in Trondheim! Sleet and all! Thanks for watching!
Wonderful video! Just became a Subscriber.
Thanks so much and welcome to the channel!!!
Just curious, was this trip just 2 months ago or last year's trip due to Christmas time and decorations? I'm asking because I plan to take a trip with Havala and just wondering. Thanks
This was during Christmas. We were actually on board for Christmas. It came out late. Thanks for watching! It was a great trip.
2:10 it is actually the same amount of pepper and ginger in the dough, depending on the recipe ofc. So technically we are right.
How fun. I really want to try out a Havila trip myself after watching some YT videos on it. It seems so new and clean. The soap goody bag shown at 13:24 comes from my neighbour city Fitjar. I did not know they delivered goody bags to Havila. I know some people who work there, and I used to live in Bergen for three years. It is an absolutely stunning city. Trondheim is such a beautiful city to. I do sometimes take Norways beauty for granted since I have lived here almost my whole life. Like someone else commented Christmas in July will be: Jul i juli. We actually used this concept to last year because much of my step family celebrated x-mas in Texas, so we decided to have an extra Christmas celebration in July. The kids loved it, but it felt kind of crazy sitting on a sunny cabin with a x-mas three up eating traditional x-mas fun in July. It was fun nevertheless and maybe it felt more normal for you guys with all that snow around xD
We had such an amazing time!
Bergen and Trondheim are MAJOR enemies! When it comes to fotball (or soccer) as you call it! :D
We did not know that. Glad we didn’t buy any jerseys while we were there!
I dont know if you saw a lot of nature, but would you agree Norway looks a lot like Alaska?
On other trips to Norway we saw more of the interior and remote sections. It was kind of dark this time :)
It could have been named pepperbread as it contains the same of pepper and ginger...
Thanks for the help.
Are you trying to cool us off in the hot summer? Well, it's working!
Glad it is helping. We are trying to bring a bit of Christmas spirit to July!
@@lindsayslivealittle Christmas is called "jul" and July "juli" in norwegian. So Christmas in July will be: Jul i juli 😉
@@titteifilm haha love this! Makes it even better! Thanks! We saw signs saying Jul everywhere!
Trondheim is like 1 hour away from where I live damn! 👀👀
I think we have fallen in love with Norway and would move there in a heart beat!
@@lindsayslivealittle y’all should! Norway is a great country 💖
I bet you used all your money in Bergen, it's very expensive! :P My hometown!
We really liked it. But for costs we lived in New York City for about 10 years so the prices weren’t too much different from the city.
Did you guys get to see the northern lights while on board the ship?
We unfortunately did not! Because we hit a lot of weather! But since we did north and south bound they did honor giving us a free trip to try again! It was a great trip we really want to go back!
very cool(d)video, 😀
Thank you!
I got married in the Nidaros cathedral 😊
I'm sure that was beautiful!
Hello! I'm also boarding the ship from Trondheim this December, can I know how do you get to the port from the city centre? Is it walkable during winter? Thanks in advance!
We would suggest a taxi or Uber/lyft. It is a walk from the city center to the dock especially with a suitcase and during the winter can be very slippery. It is probably a little over a mile walk so just depends on what kind of luggage you have and how much snow there is!
30 meters is a hair over 98 feet. It sucks that it couldn't dock, but it's is unfortunately what it is.
Yep things happen and it made for an unexpected but fun experience.
Hello, question can I connect my amazon fire stick to the room TV?
Not 100% sure but typically ships deactivate the HDMI ports. Worth a try though.
In the Norwegian recipe, there are equal parts pepper and ginger. So it makes sense.
6:01
Why not take the train?
14:47
The "e" in the "nes" part of "Kirkenes" sounds a bit different from what you pronounced.
Ask someone local to pronounce it. ;-)
24:07
That railway bridge is almost unique.
There's just two of that design in the whole world, one in Trondheim.
We didn’t take the train because we were still jet lagged and wanted to get there as fast and easy as possible. (Lots of luggage)
Thanks for letting me know I tried looking it up but I am not great at pronouncing Norwegian words I tried my best with my American accent!
Thanks for watching!
@@lindsayslivealittle
Considering sleeper trains.
Saves you on hotel expenses, gets you where you want to go, gives you a room with privacy for the family, and usually is quite comfortable.
I'll have to admit that I haven't tried it out after the privatization...
But give it a try sometime in Europe.
Trains are usually a relaxing experience in Europe.
This is true! Now that I think about it more. We actually did look into the train. And at the time the price was double (if not more) than a flight for 3, and you had to transfer and it was 15-16 hours! At that point we would have probably just taken the free bus that was offered. For this trip a flight made more sense for our family!
Because the train ride would be Bergen - Oslo (~6-8 hrs) and then Oslo - Trondheim 6.5 hrs, with a 1.5 hour layover in Oslo before just about anything had opened. It's just not a good deal for them with the little one. The airfare + hotel would likely be cheaper too.
This is the second video you’ve had a hand/arm injury!
Haha good spot! This was actually filmed a week after the MSC trip! So same injury. We went a little out of order because I wanted to get Explora (new line) out quick! And we thought Christmas in July would be fun!
The usual inane commentary expected from average U.S. Americans. We gave up trying to listen to them within minutes and downvoted this nonsense.
Ok thanks.
@@lindsayslivealittle You’re welcome, not everybody is cut out for what you were trying to do. Outside the deeply dysfunctional U.S., it’s not normal behaviour to shout at others.
@ well if you actually listened to what we said we didn’t scream at anyone! Someone yelled at our daughter!
@@lindsayslivealittle I couldn’t bear to watch for long but you were certainly shouting in what I did see. Do you eventually become immune to your own volume? I didn’t get far enough to see the daughter being a nuisance.
@ wow you really have a deep seeded hatred for Americans! Maybe your volume was too loud if you thought we were yelling when we were talking!