June 2012 Norway by Sea Part 1 of 3

The Ship

The main purpose of our trip to Norway was to take the Coastal Steamer (aka Hurtigruten ships) up the coast of Norway. The Coastal Steamer is what you get when you cross a small cruise ship with a large ferry. The interior of the ship looks like a normal cruise ship, but as a ferry it stops at all coastal ports delivering or picking up passengers, cars and cargo. Our ship was the Trollfjord. It carried 822 passengers.

Pat looking at Geirangerfjord

Nidaros Cathedral

Coastal Steamer dwarfed by the mountains

Map of Norway with port stops indicated

The Cruise

We opted for the round trip, 12 day cruise starting at Bergen. Although there are many routing options, this is the most popular. Our breakfast and lunch were buffets and open seating, dinner was a fixed menu and assigned table and time. Despite our initial fear that we would be eating pickled herring and smoked meats at each meal, we found plenty of options at the buffets and the Norwegian dinners were excellent. Except for daily excursions there was minimal entertainment on the ship. The best free entertainment was enjoying the scenery and the passing of the various towns along the way. This entertainment was available 24 hours a day thanks to the Midnight Sun! The docking and unloading was always interesting to watch. A forklift driver would be rushing to unload/load the ship while absent minded passengers/bystanders would get in his way and practically get run over.  After a while you started rooting for the forklift driver.

June 2012 Norway by Sea Part 2 of 3

Excursions

Usually there were several excursions offered every day. We tried to do one each day, either by boat or by bus. Here is a description of the tours we enjoyed:

We did a bus tour from the Geirangerfjord to Alesund with some great photo opportunities.

Another bus tour took us into Trondheim to see the Nidaros cathedral and the Ringve Museum of Music History. We had excellent guides at both locations and at our last stop our music student guide played several unusual instruments for us.

In Boda, we did a RIB (Rigid Inflatable Boat) trip where we crossed a fjord at 35 mph, powered through turbulent tidal whirlpools, saw three sea eagles, and some interesting rock formations.

After our excursion in Tromso, we were walking around town when Hillary Clinton’s motorcade drove right past us. We couldn’t imagine what she was doing in such a remote location above the Arctic Circle.

On another bus trip we joined a Sami (aka Laplander) family in their teepee. They explained their way of life which included herding reindeer. They use every part of the reindeer and showed us some of the items they made. Outside we practiced throwing a lariat onto reindeer antlers.

A Sami guide took us by motor boat to the Russian border. He warned us not to cross the border, not even with your hand. Of course several tourists over the years ignored his advice and were immediately arrested – not by the Russians but by the Norwegian Border Patrol.

Sami Couple

Reindeer

Our ship making a U turn in Trollfjord

Mountain tops lit by Midnight Sun

Our last excursion was a bus trip on the Atlantic Road. This road was voted the most scenic drive in Northern Europe several years ago. We stopped at a local restaurant and had a traditional dinner (a salted cod stew) which was delicious.

June 2012 Norway by Sea Part 3 of 3

Arctic Crossing

 On the fourth day we crossed the Arctic Circle (approximately 66.5 degrees, north latitude).  For this occasion, King Neptune appeared and baptized all willing passenger with a ladle full of ice water down your back. Pat and I were both baptized. On the return crossing there was a different ceremony. You drank a tablespoon of cod liver oil followed by a brandy chaser. Then you receive a souvenir spoon commemorating the Arctic Crossing.

Famous Arctic Explorer?

King Neptune

Pat gets a new friend

Arctic Circle marker - Vikingen island

Quiz Answers
1) False  The Latitude of the Arctic Circle = 90 degrees minus the tilt of the earth's axis (which does change).
2) B. Currently at approximately 66.5 degrees north latitude

May 2012 Norway Part 1 of 3

From all indications it was going to be a cold and wet trip. We had been tracking the weather before we left and almost every day was cold and rainy. So long johns, rain jackets, rain pants, fleece vest, and wool socks were all packed. When we left Dulles International Airport, it was a sunny and warm May day.  We changed planes in Iceland and the sun was shining brightly. Then it hit me, we should have made this an Icelandic trip. Well, I must say I was surprised to find that when we landed in Oslo it was not raining. We spent the next beautiful day at the Folk Museum in Oslo. It rained on our way to Lillehammer and the following day which was their National Holiday. The rain did not dampen the spirit of the locals who were dressed in their local outfits and marched in their parades. Then the rain stopped until the day we flew home!

Storage Building

Lom Stave Church

Mountain Pass

Pat in the mountains

The first two weeks in Norway we explored on our own. We had a rental car for nine days and spend five additional days in Oslo. In Lillehammer we visited the site of the 1992 Olympic Games; the ski jump was just above the town. We drove north, then east to Lom. We toured the stave church there and then headed into the snow covered mountains. We crossed Norway’s most beautiful fjord, the Sognefjord, in a ferry boat. At 127 miles long, this is second longest fjord in the world, and has a maximum depth of 4291 feet.  We continued to Vic where we visited a stave church and a stone church. 

May 2012 Norway Part 2 of 3

Tvindefossen waterfalls 

Tyssedal Hydro Museum

Working my way through Norway

Whaling statue and fountain

In Tyssedal we were given a tour of an old 100 MW hydro electric plant. The replacement plant was built inside the mountain. In Dalen, the owner of the B&B told us where we could go to see moose. We did see three moose but it was too dark for pictures.  We continued east to the historic town of Larvik, Thor Heyerdahl’s home town. In Molen, we found large mounds of rocks which were the graves of Vikings. We visited the Whaling Museum in Sandefjord.

May 2012 Norway Part 3 of 3

In Oslo we returned the rental car and visited several boat museums. We visited the Fram, Kon-Tiki, and Viking Ship Museums. The Fram was designed to float above the crushing ice flows, and it survived three major expeditions. It traveled further north and further south than any other wooden boat. The Kon-Tiki was made from balsa logs and completed the journey from Peru to Raroia Island, 4300 miles away. The reed boat Ra II is also on display. This boat traveled from Morocco to Barbados.  The three Viking boats at the museum were used as burial chambers and the clay they were buried in helped preserve them. All of these boats are the originals.

In the Resistance Museum, we learned how the Norwegians dealt with 5 years of German occupation. On a brighter note, the Nobel Peace Center gave us a chance to learn about the previous medal winners. Later we walked through Frogner Park, a park filled with human sculptures by Gustav Vigeland.

From Oslo we needed to travel to Bergen to meet the Coastal Steamer. The guide book recommended doing the Norway in a Nutshell tour. This consists of three train rides, a boat trip, and a bus trip. It was a very scenic trip, but it was stressful trying to make the connections. It was a 14 hour trip that we renamed the Norway in a Nuthouse tour.

 Viking Ship and a Submersible

                                                   

Kon-Tiki

                                                                       

Town on the Nutshell Tour

Bergen's Manhole Covers

                                   

Even though Bergen may be the rainiest city in Norway, everyone said that we would love it. Well we did luck out and get beautiful weather while we were there. Unfortunately the only days we had to explore the city were a Sunday and a Monday holiday. Most of the museums were closed the entire time we were in town.  With help from a student, we found the well hidden Leprosy Museum.  We walked down to the harbor to explore the Bergenhus Fortress.  In the 13 century, Bergen was a walled city and the capital of Norway and the home of royalty. In the 1560’s the Rosenkrantz Tower was added to the Bergenhus Fortress. We climbed the tower, enjoyed the views and learned about the history of the town. For an even better view of the city we took the Floibanen funicular 900 feet up Mt Floyen and walked back down. The following day we sailed through the Maritime Museum before boarding the Coastal Steamer for a 12 day trip up and down the Norway coast.

Trip Update March 2012 FL - MD

After our Caribbean cruise we headed south of Miami. We visited the Coral Castle while we were there.  The Coral Castle was built over a 26 year period by one man, yet only a few children reported seeing it being built. It’s an interesting place with a fascinating history. We finally stayed at our timeshare on the beach in Jupiter, FL after having owned it for 26 years. We loved it and will definitely go back! We did enjoy our visits with many of our friends and relatives in FL.

We headed back toward Orlando and picked up our canoe and trailer from storage. We went out canoeing in the Crystal River area, looking for manatees but they had moved into the Gulf. The last time we were here it was in January and dozens of manatees were enjoying the warm spring water in Crystal River. We also canoed the Ichetucknee River and went for a dip in the headspring. From here we went to the Okefenokee Swamp. Our first day there the mosquitoes were in a feeding frenzy. The breeze picked up and the next day in the swamp was beautiful and bug free. Next we explored the mountains in northern Georgia. We hiked part of the Appalachian Trail and met several hikers attempting to hike the entire 2174 mile trail.

Pat at Coral Castle in FL

                                                                Crested Caracara

                                             
                                                                           Barred Owl

                                             
                                           Canoeing in the Okefenokee Swamp in GA

                                                                   
                                                                        near Helen GA

                                                         
                                                           from Biltmore Gardens

                                                         
                                                                     Biltmore Estate

                                                                 Linville Falls in NC

In North Carolina we toured Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate (built before there was an income tax!). We took the free audio tour and walked the grounds and gardens. We moved to a timeshare in Boone, NC for a week and hiked trails along the Blue Ridge Parkway during a rainy week.  We returned to our place in Lewisburg and stored our canoe and trailer until the next trip south.  There were numerous wild fires to the east in VA, so we headed north and camped at Watoga SP for a few nights. We listen to the ranger at Droop Mountain SP describe the Civil War Battle that occurred there. We also spent a few hours at Manassas Battlefield and learned about the first battle of Bull Run.  We stopped in to see Tom, Marie and Nick, but managed to knock the refrigerator vent cover off the roof of the RV while negotiating a tight turn into a parking space. Tom repaired the cover to road worthy status. We watched as Nick led his basketball team to victory. Carol and Cordale arranged a cookout to welcome us back to MD.