To Tromsø with Style

by ChessBase
6/5/2014 – Norway's coastline is spectacular. As has been noted by thousands of tourists and by Douglas Adams in his classic "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy". But what does this have to do with chess? Well, if you want to visit the Chess Olympiad in Tromsø in August and experience the beauty of Norway's coast there is an opportunity to combine both.

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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams is set in space but has a lot to say about earth. Thus it is no coincidence that Slartibartfast, one of the inhabitants of Magrathea, received an award for designing the coastline of Norway. As is well known, the Magathreans designed planets which were actually supercomputers. One of these planets was the earth, which, however, in the course of the novel was blown up by the Vogons to make room for an intergalactic highway - only five minutes before a program to calculate the meaning of life on earth would have come to its end.

Finding the meaning of life might be difficult, but enjoying the beauty of Norway's coastline is relatively easy. For example by traveling to the Chess Olympiad in Tromsø on the Nordstjernen.

The Nordstjernen was built in Hamburg by Blohm & Voss as one of three ships ordered from 1954 to 1956 for the Norwegian mailboat line Hutrigrouten. The other two were the Ragnvald Jarl and the Finnmarken. The Nordstjernen was launched on 26 October 1955, and on 24 February 1956 the ship was given to the shipping company Det Bergenske Dampskibsselskab (BDS). Before the Nordstjernen was decommissioned in 2012 it had only sailed the Hurtigruten.

The Nordstjernen can harbour 290 passengers

On 28 July the Nordstjernen will set sail in Trondheim for a five-day-cruise to Tromsø (6.000 crowns, about  750 Euro. A single cabin costs 400 Euros extra per day). In Tromsø it will serve as a hotel ship in striking distance to the playing venue. This offers you an unique opportunity to visit the Chess Olympiad in style - and you can even stay on the ship during the Olympiad. Which is good to know because it's getting increasingly difficult to find a room in Tromsø at the time of the Olympiad.

Lounge

Restaurant

Itinerary:

Day 1, 28 July, Depart Trondheim at 17.00

The spip will sail out of the Trondheimfjord and take a northerly course across Folda towards Helgeland and Vegaøyan..

Day 2, 29 July, Morning arrival in Vega

In 2004 Vegaøyan was inscribed on UNESCO’s List of World Heritage Sites. On Vega you may join a hike in this unique egg and down site and also visit the ‘E-house’, a museum and documentation centre for eider ducks. Depart Vega at 15.00 The ship will sail across the Vestfjord to the Lofoten Islands and Reine.

The isles of Vega

The beach of Vega

Day 3, 30 July, Reine-Henningsvær (Lofoten)

Morning arrival in Reine. Reine is a beautiful fishing village comprising 350 inhabitants in Moskenes municipality. You may join a guided coach tour from Reine to Henningsvær, an idyllic fishing village in Vågan municipality. The ship sails to Henningsvær in the afternoon. Overnight stay at the dockside in Henningsvær.

Reine

Exhition in the Galleri Lofotens Hus

Day 4, 31 July, Henningsvær-Trollfjorden

Depart Vega at 13.00. Before departure a visit to Galleri Lofotens Hus, which houses the largest collection of paintings from North Norway, is recommended. The ship sails from Lofoten and Henningsvær through the Raft Sound, where the highlight of the day is the Trollfjord. This fjord is 2 km long and scarcely 100 metres wide. The Trollfjord is renowned throughout the world as one of the most beautiful fjords along the Norwegian coast. The voyage continues north towards Tromsø.

Trollfjord

Day 5, 1 August, Tromsø

The ship sails along the outer side of Senja, Norway’s second largest island, towards its destination, Tromsø, where it will arrive at 07.00. In Tromsø, the MS Nordstjernen will function as a hotel ship during the Chess Olympiad from 1 – 17 August.

Brochure...

Contact information:
VIA Egencia - Meetings & Incentives
E-mail: meet.tromso@viaegencia.com
Phone: +47 77 64 80 09

Exhibition in the Galleri Lofotens Hus...

 


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