The first stop was in the southwestern coastal city of Stavanger whose claim to fame is staging for the offsho
re petroleum industry. We were surprised to find it as attractive as it was. There was overall more graffiti and trash this Norway visit mister tells me. The weather was soggy and cool so we were pleased to not have purchased an expensive shore excursion, which would’ve had very poor visibility. We headed back to the ship for a change of clothes and rain gear so did a second round in the afternoon. There was a lovely fisheries museum – Scandinavia is so old and they’ve done such a great job of preserving their artifacts. Even managed to find some scrapbooking stickers of Norwegian flags. Prices were generally high at $120 each for a meal and $300 for a sweater but not to worry if you’re with the non-shopper I traveled with. All in all a good start to the ports.The second stop was in the UNESCO heritage site of Geiranger, which is at the head of a fjord. The scenery was breathtaking just getting to anchor in front of the small
village. We were tendered in which only took a few minutes and began to explore the waterfalls, snow capped mountains, quaint houses, church, winding mountain roads, fjord center etc. We elected not to take a package tour and are pleased with our wandering instead. The sound of the thundering waterfalls and cool spray overlooking the turf-roofed houses is so peaceful. As we head out of the fjord we stop in Helleyst and pick up the passengers who have headed down on a bus tour. It’s a quaint village nestled near waterfalls on the edge of the fjord. The trip out to the coast passes aquaculture sites, rustic homes and snow capped hills.
The third stop was Tronheim, which is a very old historic city, and mister was able to provide good navigation for finding our way around. It was still a bit cool but no showers so we put on a few kilometers checking out the sites. Even managed to spy a NS Duck Toller on the street so was able to add the photo to the presentation.
Kind of glad to have a sea day to unwind after all those port calls. The lobster presentation has gremlins as I’ve inadvertently saved the rehearsed timings, which are too quick. Will NOT be repeating that mistake again as I struggled to keep up or fill in for the advancing slides. The tech tells me he’s never seen anyone have this happen before so I explain I often fill the role of serving as a horrible warning vs. a good example. And to top it off the ‘renew your Norton subscription’ appeared in the middle of the screen. To think of having to see this over and over on the TV channel was more than I could bear.
The most northerly stop is the next day as we are tendered into Honnisvag the most northerly ‘city’ of 3000 Norwegians and a short trip to Nord Kapp (North Cape), which is th
e most northerly point of land at 71 latitude. We check out Honnisvag, especially the wharves and boats and then catch the local bus to Nord Kapp, which is a breathtaking ride winding around the mountains and overlooking the water. We see lots of reindeer along the way, hikers and campers and Sami settlements as the Lapps are now known. We are so fortunate to have a beautiful clear day, the first in some time for the area. North Cape is a busy spot as tourists check out the top of the world. Lovely bird display, fantastic panoramic movie and museum about the WW II battles fought near here and the most spectacular scenery from Kings View. We get a second glance later on as the ship slows for photos as we steam past while leaving.The following day
finds us in Tromso, which is a northern city with a history of fishing, whaling, sealing, launching of northern expeditions and now research and education for the marine industry. We explore the Polar Museum, which is a very thorough look at northern expeditions and life and well worth the time. We catch the local transit to the cable car and are able to have a panoramic view of the entire city, again with beautiful sunny weather with the highest temperatures they’ve had this year yet as it’s been a rough cold spring so still lots of snow capped peaks. Many of us actually end with some pink cheeks from waiting for the bus in the UV rays.The next sea day sees the presentation on Life in the Slow Lane go well and I’m surprised at how well the attendance stays up and questions are still asked. I’ve requested a tour of the bridge as a surprise for the shore captain and he sure is. We cancel the wine tasting we’ve signed up for without a second thought. The bridge is a pretty high tech and large version of his electronics so he feels quite comfortable. The first officer tells us they qualify on simulators for five days annually in Amsterdam to stay current. The security is very tight since 9/11 so this is a special treat.
The following day finds us in Flaam which is a small village nestled at the head of a fjord w
hich has developed as a tourist destination where the railway meets the water. We get a ticket for the run up on the railway, which has, is 1:18 so chugs up the side of the mountains. We get off at the final stop in Myrdal and walk back down to Vatnahalsen which takes about 20 minutes alongside glacial mountain stream, alpine flowers, farms and everywhere peaks, waterfalls, and mist. We catch the train back down and have a second view of Huldra the ‘troll’ who comes out to dance on the ruins to strains of Greig near Kjossen Falls when the train stops. A telephoto lens shows a summer student with a beard and the stationmaster tells us they switch every two weeks – likely a coveted position as they only work 5 min. per hour for 12 hrs a day.The final port
call is Bergen, which is a beautiful old city and apparently is much the same as mister remembers it. We only have five hours here so get an early start to fit in all our exploring. We manage to travel up in the funicular to the top of the city for some spectacular scenery, visit the fisheries museum, explore the old city and wander through the fish market where we find whale toast for sale as well as Canadian lobsters (at $45 per pound no less) and pick up a few souvenirs for the kids. We’re on one of the last shuttle buses back to the ship for sailaway.Between all the shipboard activities, formal night, photographs, movies under the stars and non stop eating there wasn’t much time for just hanging out but mister made a good transition from working to playing on the water. The final sea day brings a chance to do an additional presentation on NS Duck Tollers which goes well and the tech gives me a copy of the DVD as well so that’ll be good for an audition should I require it for freelancing in the future as Martyn does.
We’re disembarked uneventfully in Southampton and drop our luggage at The Star Hotel for storage then head over on the high-speed catamaran ferry to the Isle of Wight. This Channel Island is where the Whitbread races are staged and there is one amazing collection o
f yachts here. We stumble on the Sir Max Aitken (Lord Beaverbrook’s son) Museum, which has a collection of his priceless artifacts and was the former sail loft where the Britannica’s sail was made. We enjoy fish and chips (what else?) for lunch on a bench in a narrow cobblestone street. We catch the chain ferry over to East Cowes and spend the afternoon at Osborne House, which was the summer residence for Queen Victoria and gives new meaning to the phrase ‘over the top’. We finally make our way back to Southampton as the Grand Princess is heading out on the British Isles cruise and drag our carcasses out for supper at the pub and an early night. An uneventful breakfast, cab to the bus station and trip through Eastleigh to Heathrow, flight through Iceland and on to Nova Scotia with the three hour drive home putting us in after midnight so only Sunday as a recovery day.Today I was being sought by the entertainment agency as they were trying to convince me I needed to do destination lectures for Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL) this fall out of either Philadelphia or New York. I told the recruiter that for Sept – Oct. I’m busy with work, land travel to visit our western daughter and then the Sea Princess cruise. It’s 8 hr flying and $800 to Philly but New York would be more reasonable if it works. The NCL reviews aren’t great so I’m pleased the logistics don’t work on this. She was telling me that if I saw anything listed for 2009 with any cruise line even if it wasn’t posted on their listing to send her an email as they could likely put me on a ship so I said “keep your eyes peeled for South America if that’s the case as I have a friend to visit there” and signed off with a smile.
Speaking of social lives – we’re off to the Eagles concert this weekend so must go get myself in ready mode. Since this is a long weekend, expect an update by Monday.
