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"Tthis is not a cruise ship, this is a 'spend all your money on some crap' ferry!" (Kristian, Denmark)

In spite of that very critical statement of young Danish, who I was sharing my cabin with, the passage on the M/S Nörrona from Iceland to Norway can be a quite amusing thing.

Clear and brief

Shipping company "Smyril-Line"

Route (winter): Wednesday: Seydisfjördur (Iceland) - Thursday: Torshavn (Faroe Islands) - Friday: Bergen (Norway) - Saturday: Hanstholm (Denmark) 

Return trip: same route, arrival in Seydisfjördur on tuesday

More information and booking:

• http://www.smyrilline.com

 Squeezed: the "Couchette"

As a poor student who cannot blow his money (like me) you want to travel in the cheapest category of course ("couchette").That means: You will be sleeping on deck 2 (of 8), below you there's only the swimming pool, the fitness area, the engine and the sea.

In a room that is separated from the corridor by a swinging door you will find nine of these couchettes, always three on top of each other, parallel to the three walls, while the fourth wall is the door. 

It is restrictive. And very social. My room mates and me called ourselves the "basement-dwellers", as you will never see any daylight down there.

Cat and trailer decks are situated above the couchettes, from where we heard a loud cracking from time to time - we unfortunately weren't able to figure out what was happening there.

Top Things to do:

• The passage to Bergen takes about 48 hours, that can become very boring, whereas it can be funny to get a table on deck 5 next to the so called "Shopping Arcade" and the gaming machines and watch the vibrant life aboard. If you do so, you will notice that some passengers are wandering up and down the corridor more than five times in no more than ten minutes! Obviously they feel like you.
• Make a few friends on the cruise and go to the bar to have a drink with them and fill up the glasses with stuff from the duty free shop again and again. (It really works! Thanks for the funny evening, Kristian!)
• Buy some schnapps in the duty free shop and have a little from the bottle's coverage - right after you paid next to the cash desk. (Thanks for the good idea, Kristian) 
• Buy some food in a supermarket before boarding the ship and borrow some forks, spoons, knifes and plates from the cafeteria and enjoy your meals in the cabin with your new friends. You can even get an official permission to take away the dishes, that's usually not a problem.
• As everybody is using the elevator, the staircase between deck 1 and 6 is not that busy, it is a perfect spot to organize a running competition and loose some weight.
• Get seasick (as most of the passengers will do) stagger through the floors and tell everybody: "No no, I am fine, I am just a little drunk."
• Tell your cabin mates that you like the swinging, but it could be a little more. (They sent me to deck 8 after I told them that.)

 The Faroe Islands

During summertime the vessel stops here for two days before it proceeds to Iceland or Norway and only a few hours in the winter (that starts on September 1st). But anway - the colorful capital of Torshavn is really worth a short visit.

We recommend you to pop into the tourist information: Ask the young girl behind the counter, who will be open for your questions after you have been trying to get her attention for ages, what you should definitely see in a few hours in Torshavn. I was probably the first one who asked that, as she looked at me as if I were coming from the moon!

 Anyway, she didn't have an answer for me.

The end

It is like a release when you are allowed to leave the ferry's microcosm. Kristian found the perfect words when I said good bye to him:

"Wish you a good trip back home, Jörg! I have to stay another 25 hours in this prison until I am back home in Denmark."