caesar novus Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 (edited) Norwegian TV provides free coverage of their most famous scenic sea and rail journeys in http://www.nrk.no/hurtigruten/?lang=en and http://nrkbeta.no/2009/12/18/bergensbanen-eng/ which you can download instead of traveling there. They are 134 and 7.5 hours long respectively, and have the creative commons share alike license. Maybe you know of some similar offerings? The rail trip over the glacier is most manageable as a 22gb download, in reduced 720 resolution which they offer thru a torrent as well as a huge 245gb version. I found only the latest VLC tool will render the dark tunnels right - quicktime makes a blocky mess. It is a bit unfortunate the trip was made in bleak late November, and that only the train front camera scenes could be offered free. The coastal ferry trip just ended but the full delightful version can be accessed via a map or random toggling within the link above. I think their server is quite confused and will jump you around randomly, but take a peek into the little towns they hit near the end and the very festive reception they give the camera folks with dancing and such. You can pipe this into a high def TV and get full resolution of fjords under midnight sun, etc. Click on the downloads button, and you are offered a list of ship front camera segments which unfortunately are in full resolution and not only will comprise maybe 3 terrabytes but may drive your pc to about melt down just in the process of rendering. I hope they offer a lower resolution or better hardware becomes available soon. P.S. They have "cultural" encounters with reconstructed viking ships and chats with Saami representatives, etc. Edited June 24, 2011 by caesar novus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medusa Posted June 24, 2011 Report Share Posted June 24, 2011 In 1999 I had been on a trip with the Hurtigruten but only in one direction from Kirkenes to Bergen and yes it's expensive but definitely worth it. Because the Hurtigruten are still used as a freight steamer and post ship they call frequently at sometimes very tiny ports, also they are traveling nearly always close to the land, so there is always something to see. At larger ports you have enough time to go on land and have a stroll through a nice village or visit a local museum. They even organize trips like to the Nordkapp. Unfortunately back then I had not the chance to see the reconstructed Viking houses in Borg on Lofoten. Mystical was the side trip to Trollfjorden where the large ship fitted into very closely. It was very foggy and you could imagine trolls sitting on top of the mountains and watching the fjord. In Trondheim I stayed overnight to visit Nidaros Domen (cathedral)and a museum and to enjoy this city. The next day I continued on an old ship whereas I went from Kirkenes to Trondheim on a new ship which resembles a lot like a modern cruise ship. The old ship of course wasn't as comfortable as the new one but had a certain charme. All in all a very interesting trip to a fascinating country (mountains and sea close together) and friendly people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
caesar novus Posted June 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2011 (edited) I just went Trondheim->Bergen as a non stateroom passenger in 2003. Staterooms were chronically sold out even one could cope with their cost. My trick was to stop overnight in pretty Alesund and catch the opposite direction Hurtigruten which went into Geirangerfjord (maybe over rated in spite of Unesco listing), then catching the next southbound ferry continuing to Bergen. From this documentary, I feel I missed the best scenery that was north of Trondheim. But this documentary is even better because the northern towns were breaking out into festivities. I really like how this captures the feel of the voyage, including the soothing hours of how the hull just rhythmically hisses thru the swells. Reminds how I watched bronze summer sunrises among still snowy peaks from a deck vacated by people more interested in breakfast. How it feels to see deep blue sky and green coast after umpteen hours of grey drizzle... wouldn't it be nice to have this constantly running as a screen saver or on a tablet device on a bedstand to lull you to sleep. I think it will be a couple of years for hardware to be capable of handling the size/complexity of these files, or for Norway to condense them. P.S. In some lectures tracing Norwegians before vikings, I seem to recall the only early written record was of a Greek traveler reporting to Rome. I cannot find more mention of this, and anyway they couldn't tell at all how far along the fjord coast he got. Edited June 25, 2011 by caesar novus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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