Harstad (Lat. 68.80 deg.) 北纬68.80度

June 13: Our ship arrived in Harstad, a mid-sized city in northern Norway with over 20,000 people. We decided to explore the town independently rather than join the ship's organized excursion.

The local bus transportation in Northern Norway is operated mainly by a single company, Fylkestrafikk, and the ticket fare is based on whether you are traveling within or between zones. The single ticket costs about 37 NKR within a zone; typically, traveling within a city or town falls within a single zone. Since we were familiar with the Norwegian bus system from the previous bus ride, we acquired the bus tickets through an app before leaving the ship.

Our first destination was the Harstad History Museum and Historical Farm, where we had the opportunity to delve into rural life from the past. At the history museum, we learned that the German forces occupied northern Norway during World War II, destroying many buildings. They also constructed a camp to detain Soviet prisoners of war at the location right next to the museum. We strolled through a park built on the former camp's site. Afterward, we continued our exploration and visited the northernmost medieval stone church.

Then, we boarded the bus back to the city center for a brief tour. It was a day filled with historical and cultural experiences as we immersed ourselves in the charm of Harstad.

Besides a few complimentary restaurants on the ship, several specialty restaurants on board require an additional fee to dine in. A meal for two in one of these restaurants would cost more than a hundred US dollars. Our cruise package included two specialty dining meals for two people at any specialty restaurant. To our surprise, the cruise line offered us two more specialty dining meals upon boarding and even gifted us a bottle of wine.

We decided to dine at the Italian restaurant on board for our evening meal and opted for a bottle of white wine, Shade of Blue, a Riesling from Germany. Since neither of us was a drinker, this semi-sweet wine with tropical fruit notes and a crisp citrus finish suits us well. We enjoyed our dinner, savoring the delectable food and the delightful wine. There was no way we would be able to finish the entire bottle. The server suggested saving the remaining wine for us, which could be used for our next visit to any restaurant on board. It was a smart trick we had just learned, allowing us to extend the enjoyment of that excellent Riesling. It was a fantastic dining experience with delicious cuisine and fine wine.

6/13: 北纬68.80度（Harstad)

第一站Harstad 实际上离Tromso不远，有二万多人口，按照挪威的标准，在北挪威也算是个中，大城市了。我们先参观了他们历史博物馆和历史农场，在那里可以体验一下当时的乡村生活。 从历史馆知道，二战期间德军占领整个北挪威，摧毁大多数建筑，在那里还建造关押苏军战俘的营地，我们在旧址上建的公园里走了一圈。然后去了最北的中世纪石头教堂。

下午在城中心走马观花之后就回船了。除了几个免费的餐厅之外，游轮上还有几个需要收费的特色餐厅，二人一顿饭大约需要一，二百美金。我们这次订的船票里包括了二顿特色餐厅用餐。上船后，发现他们又额外送给我们二顿特色用餐，还给了一瓶葡萄酒。今天晚餐去了特色餐厅吃意大利菜，在意大利餐厅里要了一瓶白葡萄酒，喝了一半，服务员说可以帮我们留着，我们下次去其它任何餐厅时再继续喝，这是我们刚学的小巧门。