Return to Oslo

Hi All,

This morning we flew from Bergen to Oslo across the central mountains. After checking in to our hotel, we took the subway to Vigeland Sculpture Park. The 80 acre park contains 212 extraordinary sculptures by Gustavo Vigeland. Created between 1906 and 1942, the sculptures are an amazing display of intertwined human forms. The centerpiece, both literally and figuratively, is the obelisk. After the sculpture park we stopped for supper in a small Asian restaurant. Talk about hi-tech, the menu was displayed on an iPad like tablet, several languages available along with details and photos of each dish. We selected our dinners and ordered them right on the tablet. When we finished eating and were ready to leave, we pressed,"request check" and it was delivered promptly. Quite amazing. Our last stop was the Opera House, just a couple of blocks from our hotel. We were back to the hotel early since we have a long day flying back to Boston tomorrow.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Snow-capped mountains

Vigeland Park Sculpture

Some are quite strange

Distant Obelisk

Obelisk Close Up

Hi Tech Menu

Opera House

Opera House Intetior

Back to Bergen

Hi All,

We cruised our final miles into Bergen under bright sunshine. Once back at the hotel we did a little more sightseeing and ate an early dinner. Tomorrow we start the trip home.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Sunshine on Deck

Blue Seas at last

A small park below our hotel window

Back to Bergen

Hi All,

The sun came out for our final miles cruising into Bergen. After we were bussed back to the hotel, we did some more sightseeing, had an early dinner and settled into our rooms. We'll be up early to begin our trip home.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Sunshine along the Deck

A Blue Ocean at Last

Small Bergen Park seen from our hotel window

Sent from my iPhone

Trondheim, Kristiansund & Molde

Hi All,

We were up for an early breakfast before our 8AM walking tour in Trondheim. When we stopped here northbound we did a bus tour of major sights. This time we walked along the waterfront and Nid River, admiring how Trondheim has preserved many of the 100+ year old buildings and integrated new construction that blends in. 

Our afternoon stop was in Kristiansund. It was a short stop so we hustled to a local statue (see photo caption) and were back on board within 20 minutes.

After dinner we took a short walk in Molde, our last walking tour of the trip. Molde has none of the old buildings like we saw in Trondheim because the Germans carpet bombed the town in 1940, unsuccessfully trying to kill the Norwegian king and crown prince. They both survived and were evacuated to Britain on a UK destroyer where they remained for  the duration of the German occupation. Molde is also the home to an annual jazz festival that attracts performers and audiences from all over Europe.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Riverfront homes and businesses in Trondheim

Old machinery decorating the front if a mall built into a 100 year old building.

Old buildings line the Nid River

Busy harbor in Kristiansund

Clip Fish Woman Statue, honoring the women who processed the dried fish

More action on Kristiansund Harbor

Harbor Ferry crossing in Kristiansund

Traditional Norwegian costumes on a Molde shop window

Sax player honors the Molde Jazz Festival

Monument marking the spot where the Norwegian royal family was evacuated to England during WWII

Funny Signs

Hi All,

Taking a break from the coastal scenery, here are a couple of curious signs we've seen in Norway.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Trondheim harbor is apparently the gateway to heaven

Obviously translated by a non- native English speaker although a better choice of word is not obvious

Arctic Circle Again

Hi All,

The weather continued cold and overcast but the mountains had a mysterious look as the sun fought to break through. Mid morning we crossed the Arctic Circle headed south.  This time the ceremony was drinking a spoonful of cod liver oil. Sandy and Elliot tried it and got a souvenir spoon. Also out on deck is the fish drying rack that illustrates how commercial fish were processed for shipment to southern Europe starting in the 15th century. 

Axel led us on walks in two small towns today but the cold wind and sleet shortened all of our attention spans. The afternoon stop in Bronnoysund was more interesting when we walked to the marker indicating we were in the middle of Norway, 840 km north and south. Axel took out a bottle of aquavit, the Norwegian national drink and we toasted to our trip.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Arctic Circle Monument

The prize for drinking cod liver oil

Fish Drying Rack

More Churches & Fjords

Hi All,

At 8 AM our ship docked at Harstad and we were off on another excursion. First stop was the Trondenes Church, the northernmost stone church in Europe. While we were visiting the church, we watched our ship sail away. That seemed wierd but we will catch up with her at the next stop. 

We then visited a family farm called Rokenes. Starting 350 years ago, ten generations have grown up there. They previously grew grain and vegetables and raised dairy cows. Now they operate a cafe and guest house, telling tourists about their history. Our bus then continued across the island past beautiful farms and fjord scenery to a harbor where we boarded a ferry to the mainland to meet up with the ship. 

Our next port was Stokmarknes where we visited a museum depicting the history of coastal shipping in Norway. The biggest exhibit by far was the former MV Finnmarken, a ship built in 1956 to serve the coastal express. The tiny cabins and crude bridge instruments made us appreciate our current ship. The next planned excursion was  a Sea Eagle Safari. We were to transfer to a small boat so we could go deep into a narrow fjord in search of these huge fish eating raptors. The weather was horrible (32 degrees with horizontal rain) but we dressed in every warm and/or waterproof layer we had brought. We all looked and felt like the Michelin Man. At the last minute we were informed that the captain of the small boat had cancelled due to high winds. Since we were already dressed, we went out on deck to soak in the magnificent fjord scenery. In spite of the wind & rain we had a wonderful hour on deck.

Love
Sandy & Carl

Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone

Glad we didn't bring our motorhome

14th Century Altar pieces in Trondenes Church

The zebra and other Africa artifacts seemed out of place in the farmhouse but the owner had worked for NATO in Africa for 8 years

Rokenes Farm Building

More Beautiful Fjord Mountains

Our Ship has come in!

Along the narrow Trollfjord

Talk about a narrow fjord