Hurtigruten

June 16, 2011 11:08 AM

"People have travelled along the Norwegian coastline with "Hurtigruten" since 1893. The journey is known as "The World's Most Beautiful Sea Voyage". Now everybody can travel along in the world's longest TV program! Spectacular fjords, midnight sun and genuine Norwegian scenery make the setting for a trip from Bergen to Kirkenes. We broadcast the whole trip live minute by minute for 134 hours!" Watch the whole thing live here.

From the people who brought you Bergensbanen.

posted by sveskemus (26 comments total)

503 Error on the second link.

I did a Northern Lights cruise with Hurtigruten last February - it was a great experience and the scenary was beautiful (although sea / snow covered rocks motif did start to wear a little thin). Just about everything went wrong but Hurtigruten's customer service was brilliant.
posted by YAMWAK at 11:30 AM on June 16, 2011

Yeah it seems to be down right now. Let's hope they manage to get their website up and running again soon, the stream was pretty cool while it worked.
posted by sveskemus at 11:33 AM on June 16, 2011

And we're back!
posted by sveskemus at 11:34 AM on June 16, 2011

My parents are going on a Norwegian cruise in August. I don't think I'll watch this because it may result in my starting to throw bratty, jealousy-induced tantrums that I don't get to go.;-)
posted by orange swan at 11:41 AM on June 16, 2011

Service unavailable.

Alas.
posted by kinnakeet at 11:53 AM on June 16, 2011

Really? It totally works for me now.
posted by sveskemus at 11:54 AM on June 16, 2011

Error 503 Service Unavailable

Service Unavailable
Guru Meditation:

XID: 1891402346

Varnish cache server

Guru Meditation? If they're serving this from an old Amiga that might explain a few things.
posted by loquacious at 12:02 PM on June 16, 2011 [2 favorites]

Leaving on the 16th means they'll get to the Arctic circle at the equinox, right? Clever.

My girlfriend is Norwegian and her mum called us to tell us this was on. It's streaming for us, albeit with a little stuttering in the last few minutes... we must have got in before the heavy load.
posted by knapah at 12:06 PM on June 16, 2011

Looks fine to me. But then again, I live in Norway and my Amiga 500 works great, thank you.
posted by Dumsnill at 12:08 PM on June 16, 2011 [1 favorite]

Loads find for me, but my dodgy data connection doesn't have the bandwidth. After Bergansbanen, I want this so bad!
posted by Ahab at 12:21 PM on June 16, 2011

"Hurtigruten" is basically what I always imagine the Swedish chef saying.
posted by clockzero at 12:36 PM on June 16, 2011

This is what second monitors are made for. Wonderful and relaxing to watch.
posted by episodic at 12:42 PM on June 16, 2011

Nice boat.
posted by CaseyB at 12:55 PM on June 16, 2011

I hope they make a torrent of this available, like their wonderful train trips.
posted by spasm at 1:30 PM on June 16, 2011

Fantastic, thanks.

I did a partial trip (Tromsø to Bergen) in October 1992. I was on the oldest and smallest ship in the fleet, in a tiny cabin that opened directly on to the deck and whatever the weather was throwing at the ship at that moment. Partway through the journey there was a fire in the engine room and we were stranded outside a small port for about a day and a half. I was running out of money but a group of Brits on a package tour convinced the staff that I was part of their group, which meant free food and drink for the duration.

Eventually the next ship (much newer and bigger) came along and we were transferred to it, along with a large piece of ruined/burned/twisted machinery.

It's still one of the best vacations I've ever had and I'd go there again in a heartbeat.
posted by valleys at 2:31 PM on June 16, 2011 [1 favorite]

Thanks. Just watching the light fading this evening is compelling viewing. Did a few days on the Hurtigruten on honeymoon five years ago, would love to go back and go further North. Until then, this is good.
posted by unless I'm very much mistaken at 2:44 PM on June 16, 2011

I love those varnish errors. I laugh every time.
posted by mblandi at 6:37 PM on June 16, 2011

Hurtigruten is an institution and on many Norwegians' bucket lists. Fairly pricey, though (like most things over here.)
posted by Harald74 at 10:40 PM on June 16, 2011 [1 favorite]

This page is a great run down of what they're doing and why.

"Why are we doing this?

Primarily because we’re a publicly funded Public Service Broadcaster with a responsibility towards Norwegian culture; a responsibility for covering things important to the inhabitants of a small country, a country that in spite of, or perhaps because of, our significant oil wealth has a vulnerable culture. And programmes like this aren’t economically feasible for a commercial channel; to a large amount of the public it probably seems completely useless, but to some of our viewers it can have a very high value, be something they wouldn’t get in any other way, and in twenty or two hundred years, it will be a strange document of life at the edge of civilisation from a different time.

Also, there’s the NRKbeta Doctrine

The only way to control your content is to be the best provider of it.

It is only by doing this we can we be sure that the content is available to the public in the best possible quality.

And finally, we have to admit there’s an element of “because we can” – as Norway’s largest broadcaster, we have the experience, we have the personnel and we have the equipment to undertake productions of this magnitude, and marathon productions keep us on our toes. "
posted by knapah at 5:24 AM on June 17, 2011 [2 favorites]

This is so awesome. I <3 NRK.
posted by RedEmma at 10:04 AM on June 17, 2011

Now I am pining for the fjords.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:44 AM on June 17, 2011

Also keeping a lookout for any signatures in a glacier.
posted by Greg_Ace at 10:45 AM on June 17, 2011

(Minutt for minutt for minutt for minutt)
I'll be holding on
Oh no, oh baby
(Minutt for minutt for minutt for minutt)
I'll be holding on
Oh no, oh darlin'
(Minutt for minutt for minutt for minutt)
I keep holding on, with Hurtigruten
Oh baby
(Minutt for minutt for minutt for minutt)
posted by bwg at 5:56 AM on June 18, 2011

I popped in here to post this myself. Works great for me, seeing those cheerful Norwegian families waving and lovely sunny day makes me happy.
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 12:02 PM on June 18, 2011

A few minutes ago: "Borat" waterskiing in Lofoten.
posted by iviken at 2:38 PM on June 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

In case anyone hasn't noticed, you can click on the red dots marking the route to jump back to that moment of the voyage.
posted by knapah at 4:08 AM on June 21, 2011