Tuesday, 1/22 - Narvik & its battles in WWII

We are beginning to hum (VERY softly) "Homeward Bound."  We arrive Narvik around 9AM, but only one of us can work up the energy to get moving at 11:45.  It is, for better or worse, another little town on a fjord, where the steep cliffs surrounding provide panoramic views.  It has a charming, old white wooden church (this one octagonal in honor of the eight beatitudes).  Its future was determined when the railroad arrived, bearing high-quality iron ore from nearby Sweden (where the port was NOT ice-free all year).

octagonal church

View of Narvik from across the fjord

Route E-6, dubbed the longest road with a single route number for its entire length, runs through the town (and all the rest of the places we visited).  They  boast the second-longest suspension bridge in Norway and the 22nd-longest in the world, which replaced ferry service in 1964.

There are three types of stone carving currently pursued, and Narvik is the only place where you can observe all three in use!

As we've seen frequently, many apartment balconies are glass-enclosed.  Single-family homes, most of which have working fireplaces, have a ladder up the side and then across the roof to enable the chimney sweeps to have easy access.  There's a hospital & a university (focused on concrete & space technologies).  The town is lobbying to host the world ski championships in a few years, but this year was a low snow year and the ski trails are being covered with artificial snow.

Ski trails, well-lit

We heard many tales of WWII here, including a stop at the top of a hill where the driver's father had been part of a partisan attack force fighting to take down the German installation at the top.  A tough assignment.  The guide's home was taken over as the British officers' quarters.  Tales of derring-do by the fishing fleet, under the direction of a Brit who served with Ian Fleming and who seems to be much of the inspiration for James Bond's resourcefulness.  (Someone else would have been the model for the seducer side, we were assured.)  The British had given specific orders NOT to evacuate the town, but the fishing fleet did so.  Ultimately the Norwegian king issued an order to the fleet (and the organizer) to do just that, to protect him from any court-martial action in Britain -- after all, he was following the King's orders!  Didn't find confirmation of all that in Wikipedia, but it's a nice tale:  https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battles_of_Narvik

In addition to battle stories, there were very sad tales of Russian & Jugoslav prisoners of war working under fatal conditions, as well as mass executions of the populace.  Difficult times indeed.

The Germans never quite had time to torch the town as they did others nearby, so many original homes survive.  Again, there's a "Swedish town" with pre-fabricated homes built from lumber generously donated by Sweden once peace was returned.

A typical house at the shoreline

 

Back to the ship for dinner and an 8P departure ... the long run south.