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| The glacier. |
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| Some scenery along the way. |
We had a leisurely afternoon while the boat sailed on to our next stop.
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| More scenery. |
Another wonderful dinner which included beef carpacchio.
That's it!
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Svartisen
On Monday the ship anchored off the shore of Svartisen and the tenders brought people back and forth. There was no town to explore; the main attraction was another glacier. I chose to stay on the ship and John and the others hiked to the glacier. Since we could view it from our room I really didn't see the need to hike again :)))) and I enjoyed some time alone without a group chattering loudly.
We had a leisurely afternoon while the boat sailed on to our next stop.
Another wonderful dinner which included beef carpacchio.
That's it!
We had a leisurely afternoon while the boat sailed on to our next stop.
Another wonderful dinner which included beef carpacchio.
That's it!
Monday, June 2, 2014
Mount Torghatten
Today (Sunday) we are in the town of Bronnoysund. Early in the morning it was foggy as we sailed in:
And then it cleared and we could see the bridge which joins the town with Torget Island home of the legendary Mount Torghatten which we could see from the water.
My pics do not show the hole in the mountain (stupid!) which is its claim to fame. The dark spot in the middle is the home of the hole which is quite large:
The trail up the mountain was a LOT more difficult than described in the marketing material...harder than the climb to the glacier the other day. Here are some pics:
The weather continues to be warm and sunny once the morning fog burns off. Before this climb the breeze had picked up and most everyone was in parkas and hats and a few even wore gloves. We were warned about how cold it could get. Of course, we ended up overdressed and HOT! John and I were dressed more lightly since we didn't bring clothes that warm and we still got hot. Forgot to mention that a few admitted to wearing long underwear.
Our intrepid friends didn't sign up for the sponsored excursion and chose to rent bikes and ride 9 miles to the mountain (over the bridge), climb it and then ride back to the boat, into the wind. I can't tell you how happy we were to opt for the bus ride to the mountain. On Saturday night we discovered the reason our friend has been so misguided in his planning of our day trips: he is a Democrat!!!! OMG!
Tonight around 2:00am we will sail north of the Arctic Circle. Another OMG!
And then it cleared and we could see the bridge which joins the town with Torget Island home of the legendary Mount Torghatten which we could see from the water.
The trail up the mountain was a LOT more difficult than described in the marketing material...harder than the climb to the glacier the other day. Here are some pics:
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| Norwegian "gravel" trail. |
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| This is NOT John but it is the hole at the top. |
The weather continues to be warm and sunny once the morning fog burns off. Before this climb the breeze had picked up and most everyone was in parkas and hats and a few even wore gloves. We were warned about how cold it could get. Of course, we ended up overdressed and HOT! John and I were dressed more lightly since we didn't bring clothes that warm and we still got hot. Forgot to mention that a few admitted to wearing long underwear.
Our intrepid friends didn't sign up for the sponsored excursion and chose to rent bikes and ride 9 miles to the mountain (over the bridge), climb it and then ride back to the boat, into the wind. I can't tell you how happy we were to opt for the bus ride to the mountain. On Saturday night we discovered the reason our friend has been so misguided in his planning of our day trips: he is a Democrat!!!! OMG!
Tonight around 2:00am we will sail north of the Arctic Circle. Another OMG!
Saturday, May 31, 2014
A Day in Aalesund
In any event this is what we saw:
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| Unknown fisherman. |
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| Pretty flowers on the canal. |
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| View from Mt. Aksla. |
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| John having fun. |
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| This is the view from our room at 10:30pm. |
Another good day. We travel all night tonight and arrive in Bronnysund at noon.
On Friday we were in Geiranger, Norway and took an excursion to Mount Dalsnibba. On the way in we saw the famous Seven Sisters Falls:
The sun had deserted us and as we started up, the mountains were hidden by fog. The bus proceeded up the narrow, switchback road through the fog and then burst into the sun. After a stop at a lodge for coffee and danish we rode up to the peak.
And here are some pics taken at the top.
And again we had another fun-filled evening;
As I have mentioned, dinner is usually over at 9:30 or so and there is always a show of some kind offered but John and I haven't stayed up to see one yet. I just read that tonight the sun sets at 11:10 pm and the sunrise is at 3:56. Can't get used to that.
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| This pic only shows five of the seven. My apologies. |
The sun had deserted us and as we started up, the mountains were hidden by fog. The bus proceeded up the narrow, switchback road through the fog and then burst into the sun. After a stop at a lodge for coffee and danish we rode up to the peak.
And here are some pics taken at the top.
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| People build cairns to bring them good luck. |
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| Snow trolls. |
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| Can't see the lake down there. |
And again we had another fun-filled evening;
As I have mentioned, dinner is usually over at 9:30 or so and there is always a show of some kind offered but John and I haven't stayed up to see one yet. I just read that tonight the sun sets at 11:10 pm and the sunrise is at 3:56. Can't get used to that.
BRIKSDAL GLACIER
As some of you may have noticed my days and dates are off by one. Seems like I skipped Monday--not our activity. I might get around to fixing it or maybe they are correct and it's just that I am tired. This is a post about Thursday, May 29th. I am posting it on the 30th--maybe it's the computer's fault. Actually I'm back on the 31st because of an issue with the photos. I just figured out the computer is dating my posts...not yet sure how to change that.
On Thursday we climbed the Briksdal Glacier which is the largest glacier on the European continent. The day was again bright and sunny and warm. After a leisurely morning we hopped on a bus at one and drove up to the mountain lodge and then had a 45 minute walk up to the glacier. On the way we traveled through Oldedalen Valley next to their beautiful lake:
The walk to the glacier was a little more demanding than the brochure or the guide described. Although there was some mention of it not being advisable for people with heart conditions. We passed a magnificent waterfall where we enjoyed cooling off in the spray because of the record breaking heat. We were so damn hot. Here are some pics of the glacier which has receded quite a bit over hundreds of years. The pics don't do it justice. To make it easier to do the blog we are using phone pics. We have many better ones from the big camera which we will share with y'all later :)))))
The glacier:
We were tired and sweaty after the climb down but after a rejuvenating shower we had another wonderful dinner which included this:
Some kind of zucchini appetizer.
A very good day.
On Thursday we climbed the Briksdal Glacier which is the largest glacier on the European continent. The day was again bright and sunny and warm. After a leisurely morning we hopped on a bus at one and drove up to the mountain lodge and then had a 45 minute walk up to the glacier. On the way we traveled through Oldedalen Valley next to their beautiful lake:
The walk to the glacier was a little more demanding than the brochure or the guide described. Although there was some mention of it not being advisable for people with heart conditions. We passed a magnificent waterfall where we enjoyed cooling off in the spray because of the record breaking heat. We were so damn hot. Here are some pics of the glacier which has receded quite a bit over hundreds of years. The pics don't do it justice. To make it easier to do the blog we are using phone pics. We have many better ones from the big camera which we will share with y'all later :)))))
The glacier:
We were tired and sweaty after the climb down but after a rejuvenating shower we had another wonderful dinner which included this:
Some kind of zucchini appetizer.
A very good day.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Bergen
After our usual sumptuous breakfast we disembarked at 8:30 and walked over to the funicular
(tram) which transported us to the top of the mountain. The view was spectacular:
In this picture our ship is the small one behind the HUGE one:
We hiked up the the pond:
Our group got misguided on the way down (not an official excursion just a group of friends who were not too sure about the trails even with a map and google) and did a little extra hiking; then took the tram to town to explore. We decided it would be easier and we would see a lot more if we availed ourselves of the sightseeing trolley instead of walking. And we did.
Came back to the ship for lunch and a nap (we hadn't slept well the night before) and then off to a cocktail party, chatted with the Captain and then we ate once again. Some of our friends stayed up to see the sunset but we went to bed. Well, it was 10:30!
(tram) which transported us to the top of the mountain. The view was spectacular:
In this picture our ship is the small one behind the HUGE one:
We hiked up the the pond:
Our group got misguided on the way down (not an official excursion just a group of friends who were not too sure about the trails even with a map and google) and did a little extra hiking; then took the tram to town to explore. We decided it would be easier and we would see a lot more if we availed ourselves of the sightseeing trolley instead of walking. And we did.
Came back to the ship for lunch and a nap (we hadn't slept well the night before) and then off to a cocktail party, chatted with the Captain and then we ate once again. Some of our friends stayed up to see the sunset but we went to bed. Well, it was 10:30!
Day At Sea
Our first day was all about relaxing while the ship made its way North to Bergen. It was breezy and cool and the boat rocked just the tiniest bit. I forgot to take the promised picture of out room but this is how windy it was:
Ahhh! Whitecaps. They don't look that big but:
And here we are:
The day was capped by the Captain's welcome dinner which was over the top. Four courses: soup, salmon, beef tenderloin and an array of desserts.
Dinner was over at 10:00 which you know is past our usual bedtime and way past our normal dinner time. Of course the sun doesn't set until close to 11:00. There was a performance of show tunes by talented crew members but we headed to bed.
That's it for now.
Our first day was all about relaxing while the ship made its way North to Bergen. It was breezy and cool and the boat rocked just the tiniest bit. I forgot to take the promised picture of out room but this is how windy it was:
Ahhh! Whitecaps. They don't look that big but:
And here we are:
The day was capped by the Captain's welcome dinner which was over the top. Four courses: soup, salmon, beef tenderloin and an array of desserts.
Dinner was over at 10:00 which you know is past our usual bedtime and way past our normal dinner time. Of course the sun doesn't set until close to 11:00. There was a performance of show tunes by talented crew members but we headed to bed.
That's it for now.
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