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
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
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
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
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
Hi All,
We are now headed back to the starting point of our cruise in Bergen. We arrived back in Tromso at 11:45 PM. At midnight we were walking through freshly fallen snow to board a bus back to the beautiful church we visited a few days ago. There we enjoyed a wonderful musical concert. Then it was back through the snow to our ship.
Love
Sandy & Carl
Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone
Hi All,
After breakfast, our tour manager, Axel Leonhart, had one if our daily meetings to tell us about the places we were headed, the history and culture of the Norwegian people in the area and a special topic like Scandinavian history, local heros or the North Sea oil & gas production.
First stop today was Hammerfest where we toured the local church then shopped our way back to the ship.
We spent a quiet afternoon on the panorama deck watching the snow covered mountains slip past.
Love
Sandy & Carl
Photographed and sent from Carl's iPhone
