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Kirkenes, White Sea Voyages of Discovery 2015

Very disapointing.   We did not get off the ship, but it seemed a very shabby place.   We were docked outside the town in some industrial wasteland and the walk to anywhere seemed very depressing.   I was expecting more, as this is the turnound port for the Hurtegruten line and even that does not berth in the town itself.   Still it will make Murmansk seem like Disneyland.   Looking at the map this may be a bit unfair as the town is quite a way from here and we are in the Industrial area.   Also the whole town was destroyed in the "scorched earth" withdrawal near the end of WWII and had to be rebuilt from scratch, thus losing all its history.   Later on the cruise we spoke to someone who had gone in to the town and they reported that it was much better than where we were docked, and they quite liked Kirkenes.

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