Nordic Norway

Well… you can’t fight the weather as we found out upon landing in Tromsø from Vienna. Our initial plan was to fly into Tromsø (about ¾ of the way to the top of Norway), then to “bunny hop” up to Kirkenes on a local flight. Well, after landing (and several delays) it seemed that would not be happening. The weather was so bad they cancelled ALL flights out of Tromsø for the day, and we were rescheduled for the next, this meant getting to the cruise we were scheduled on the following afternoon was looking very unlikely. With nowhere to go, we started looking for accommodation but it seemed EVERYONE was in the same boat with every hotel booked out! We luckily found a 3 bedroom AirBnB and made our way over there. Upon arrival we were all starving. Doug and I (the heroes that we are) hiked through a genuine snow storm in search of food and came back with the biggest pizza’s you’ve ever seen in your life and some Norwegian sweets to get us through the night. A restful night's sleep was well deserved (although it was somewhat broken by the world's noisiest clothes dryer) and we all went into the next day fresh for this adventure.

We were hoping for better news but unfortunately, our flight was delayed once again meaning that meeting the cruise would be impossible. We called Havila who advised us to stay put as the boat would be docking the next night. We checked out of our AirBnB and found another more central for our second night in Tromsø. Knowing we’d be there for another 36hrs meant we had some planning to do! First stop of course was to source some hot chocolate and create a plan of attack, we then walked across the bridge where we could see the entire town from above which was gorgeous. The streets were incredibly icy, and we only had 2hrs of daylight, but we went to almost every tour shop in the city trying to get on any activity to make the most of our time. Turns out the week between Christmas and New Year is the busiest period all year so the only space was for 3 on a Reindeer tour the following day, Doug and I bowed out and booked Rob, Wendy and Russ on this. We still had the afternoon to fill so after buying some Ice Cleats for myself (they’re metal spikes that you attach to your shoes, it made walking INFINITELY easier), Russ, Doug and I jumped on a bus to Tromsøbadet, a public (heated) pool that also has an outdoor swimming area. It was definitely not that easy to locate the pool in a blizzard with us almost walking straight past it due to a white out! We hid out in a hall and did a quick google only to realise it was right in front of us! Shows how strong the blizzard was haha, probably best we didn’t fly in it! We decided we needed some comfort food so off to the local Chinese we went, let me tell you the language barrier between English, Mandarin and Norwegian made for a very interesting dinner! Once home we started working on logistics for the next day as our boat wouldn’t arrive until 11.50PM!

Rob, Wendy & Russ had an early start as they ventured into the forest to play with Reindeer and experience the Sami Culture. Doug and I had a sleep in before dropping our luggage at a storage facility in a 7Eleven (random!?), we then headed over to the Tromsø Cathedral where we started our walking tour in the dark and snow. It was ambitious by us, we lasted about an hour before tapping out due to the wind, snow and freezing weather. A hot chocolate and regroup was well deserved, we warmed up and decided to head to the Arctic University Museum of Norway where we got to see Norway’s biggest diamond (about 0.1 carat! haha) as well as learn all about both the scientific and mythological details about the Northern Lights. After a few hours we ventured back into the city for lunch and a bit of a pub tour. In an effort to stay up until midnight, despite it being pitch black since 2pm, we all decided to meet at the cinemas and watch Zootopia 2 (screening in English, thank god!), afterwards we went bowling and finally had a 9pm dinner to get to the final stretch! Come 1am we were checked into our rooms on the boat and off on another adventure.

The next four days on the Havila were heaven, cue hours of relaxing, watching snow dusted fjords drift by, and indulging in incredible food. We also learned a crazy Austrian pickle/bean game which kept the family entertained for hours! I hadn’t realized this route was nicknamed the 'third most treacherous cruise voyage,' so I did turn a little green in parts, but we powered through!

New Year’s Eve was the highlight with fancy dinner in the main restaurant followed by champagne on the upper deck as we pulled into a tiny town (Bracken) that put on a fireworks show just for us. We kicked off 2026 in the hot tub as the snow was falling and some lucky Northern Lights sightings that evening, then capped off the voyage with an epic seafood feast. After docking, it was time to transit to Bergen Airport for the flight to London!

Schnitzel in Vienna

Getting off the plane in Vienna meant only one thing… Schnitzel. After landing, we raced to our hotel to dump our bags then walked to find Vienna’s best schnitzel. We had a booking at Lugeck who’s owners first started serving Weiner Schnitzel in 1905! I’m unsure if it was the BEST Schnitzel I’ve ever had but at 10pm post 11hr flight it was much appreciated.

A cold and drizzly start to our first day in Vienna was not a deterrent for us, we set off on a free walking tour to fill our morning we immersed ourselves in the city's history, walking from the famous State Opera to the imperial Hofburg and eventually finished up at the iconic St. Stephen's Cathedral. After seeing the sights Vienna had to offer it was time to eat the food! I’d seen a famous Viennese “coffee house” dessert on Instagram and finally it was my time to try it! We lined up for around 30 minutes to secure a table at the famous Demel Kaffeehaus in the centre of Vienna and finally were seated and got to try Kaiserschmarrn which is a fluffy pancake that is shredded and topped with rum-soaked raisins and stewed plums. Demel is renowned for having the best rendition and let me tell you, they did NOT disappoint! That afternoon it was time for yet another schnitzel of course, this time at Meissl and Schadn, the sister restaurant of one Doug and I discovered two years ago in Salzburg and spent Christmas at. Of course the schnitzel was AMAZING but also HUGE so we shared one between two and had all the trimmings (Austrian potato salad, yum). Afterwards the “kids” decided to do a bit of Christmas shopping so we headed over to Belvedere Palace Christmas Market where I strongly hinted at what I would like Santa to bring me. We then finished the evening at a mall shopping for board and card games so that we’d have something to keep us occupied on our upcoming cruise.

Austrian Christmas (aka Christmas Eve) had finally arrived and the first snowfall as well! The “kids” got a bit of a sleep in while Rob and Wendy headed to a tour of the Schönbrunn Palace. The kids then decided to head to the Museum of Illusions, where we spent the morning taking hilarious pictures defying logic and gravity. We then headed to the Imperial Treasury at the Hofburg Palace, where we got to see impressive jewels and even part of the tablecloth from the Last Supper! Speaking of supper, we were getting hungry so we headed over to meet the parents at a snowcovered Schönbrunn Palace and strolled the Christmas markets there looking for something to nibble on! Sausage in hand we then headed to something VERY cool on the palace grounds, a ZOO! The Zoo was massive and took us 3hours to get around, we saw everything from Cows (okay, probably didn’t need to go to a Zoo to see those), Kangaroos (again, probably could have seen them more locally but not with snow), but also met some very friendly elephants, hungry giraffes and one very happy panda! Exhausted from a big day of exploring, our day wasn’t quite finished yet, it was time for… MORE SCHNITZEL… but with a twist, we would be making it! Nabeil shared his secrets on how to make Schnitzel, crispy as hell and fluffy as heaven and let me tell you, THIS was the best Schnitzel we had in Vienna and probably my life! The key is to get the veal super thin, flour and egg wash TWICE before crumbing and then fry in deep oil, we aren’t winning any health awards here. The result was a super puffy, fluffy, crispy crust and amazing tender Schnitzel 10/10 in my books. Our dessert was Apple Strudel which, despite me learning in Salzburg, still did not go to plan! After being told off for not cutting the apples thinly enough I bowed out, sipped some Austrian sparkling wine and left the prep to the experts before digging in. It was time for bed, and to see if Santa came!

Santa came and so did MORE SNOW! Well, the first snowfall in 28 years on Christmas in Vienna to be exact (it was short lived and melted upon touching the ground, but I’ll take it!). After a late brekky, I took advantage of the fact that I had already done my Christmas shopping so popped my pyjamas on, watched the snow and watched my favourite Christmas movie, Four Holidays. Everyone else's morning looked a little different with them running around to buy their presents and of course, a tree to put them all under! Well, somehow we ended up with TWO makeshift Christmas trees in our hotel lobby but that was okay, we all exchanged gifts, some sentimental and some very practical. As it was Christmas, not much was open for the day so we headed over to some very touristy but fun attractions, the first was Sisi’s Adventure which was essentially a virtual reality short history about the Empresses life. We then went across the road to Vienna Time Travel, which encompassed 10 or so rooms, taking us through the history of Vienna from the Roman Empire to WWII. We all then split up to go our different ways, with Doug and I ending up at a traditional Viennese pub, drinking Radlers and learning how to play Yahtzee (which will feature heavily from here on out). We then met the entire family for a traditional Austrian Christmas dinner where we had all the traditional English style foods like roast beef but also some Austrian delicacies like roast goose with potato dumplings (was okay) and an amazing beef broth and pancake soup (my favourite). We finished dinner off with Gingerbread (of course) and Vanillekipferl which always reminds me of Christmas as my Oma makes an extra big batch every year just for me. Our final stop of the night was a spectacular light show “Lights of Creation” within the Votive Church. While it was freezing, it was absolutely stunning with lights bouncing off of the ceilings and alter, depicting the story of creation, from the Big Bang to the development of life. It was the perfect way to end Christmas.

Our final day in Austria had arrived, but the kids weren’t spending it in Vienna, it was time to hit the slopes! It was quite a trek to get out to Stuhleck but VERY worth the trip. The snow was incredible and runs so long they took half an hour each (or maybe that was just my slow skiing, haha). Several hot chocolates were had and after a very quiet train ride home it was time for a big sleep in preparation for a big day of travel to Norway!