Scandinavia

 15 July 2018

We said goodbye to Frankfurt through the most disorganised, inefficient airport I had ever been in and landed safely in Copenhagen. After checking into our hotel, which is right on one of the canals, we set off for a bit of a walk around town. Very nice place and the locals are making the most of the good summer weather. Everywhere you look near the water people are either sunning themselves or jumping into the canals or puttering about in little rental boats.

We stopped in to one of the cafés beside the canal and had a beer. I may have to sell Pilba Street to pay for it. Things are very expensive here unfortunately.

This morning, we went for a walk around the old town of Copenhagen but most of the old buildings have been converted into shops and there is a fair amount of re-construction going on.

We also walked around to the Tivoli which is supposed to be the oldest amusement park in the world.

Main entrance to the Tivoli.

Tonight, we meet up with the rest of our tour group, so we’ll see what happens.

More later.

17 July 2018

We set off early with our local specialist for a tour of the city on the coach. We went down to the castle area which is opposite the Opera House donated to the city by Maersk, the shipping container magnate, at a cost of around 350 million euros.

Parliament House

We then proceeded to move into the castle area, unfortunately nobody as home so we had to go elsewhere for a cup of coffee.

The Queens Palace

Frederick and Mary’s Palace

No body home.

We then jumped back on the bus and drove around the harbour to where the statue of the Little Mermaid is sited. There where tourists all over it but Lady Tourist got a shot.

Little Mermaid - Hans Christian Andersen’s famous fairy tale.

From here we drove north up along the coast through Zealand where some lucky Danes have their summer homes. The beaches don’t compare to ours but it would be a very nice place to chill out after one of their winters.

From here we belted off to Fredericksburg Slot or Castle in English. Apparently, this is the place where the Queen likes to hang out most of the time, but once again there was nobody home so we could go in and have a look around.

Fredericksburg Palace - too big to get in one shot.

Chapel inside castle.

Princess Mary’s Elephant or Coat of Arms.

Back to the hotel for a bit and then off again for a cruise around the canals. This is the best way to see most of the buildings. It is very rare for the apartments to have balconies so as soon as the sun comes out everyone hits the canals for relaxation time which usually means drinks, swimming and BBQ’s.

They are like seals on the rocks.

Next morning, we are heading for a place called Renders which will be our jumping off point to Norway. On the way we had lunch at Odense which is the birthplace of Hans Christian Andersen.

House where Hans Christian Andersen was born.

More later

20 July 2018

We booked into our hotel at Randers which our tour director told us would be quaint and in travel terms this means small, old and cramped. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the hotel actually was quaint. We were left to our own devices for the rest of the evening and because the beer is so expensive, we had an early night.

Next morning, we set off for the port of Hirtshals to catch the ferry to Norway. The cruise takes about 3 hours. Soon as we hit Norway, we discovered that Norway is one solid rock and the home of fiords, tunnels and spectacular scenery.

We stopped for the night at Stavanger and were treated to a buffet dinner. Next morning we carried on our journey through tunnels, across massive bridges and the scenery just got better. Our next stop was Bergen where we were staying for 2 nights.

This place is a stopping place for cruise ships and there were 2 in port when we arrived, and the place was crawling with tourists - annoying buggers. We had the afternoon free and wandered around the town.

That night we enjoyed a Be My Guest dinner at a local farm where we were shown around then taken into the 400-year-old farmhouse for a 3-course meal made up of local fare - all very nice. After dinner the farmer and some of his helpers modelled the national day dress of Norway.

Next morning, we went on an excursion to the village of Televag which was destroyed in WW2 when the Gestapo discovered the villagers support of the resistance. The village was rebuilt and has a museum which shows a short video on the tragic events. Our session was introduced by a young girl whose great grandfather’s belt forms part of the display in the museum. It obviously still has a profound effect on the people of this village as the poor girl got quite emotional.

From here we went to a traditional fishing village where we were treated to coffee and local pancakes and a song from the baker - what a hoot.

Our next stop was at Fjell Fortress, a Nazi command bunker hidden inside the mountain. From here we had a splendid view of the coastline and apparently there was an artillery piece here that was capable of firing a shell 42 kilometers. Of course, there is not much left here expect a few bomb shelters etc.

The rest of the afternoon and night we had free time so we just wandered around town and watched all of the other tourists.

More later.

23 July 2018

It is time to say goodbye to Bergen and head to our next stop of Leikanger which is on the Sognefjord which is the largest fiord in Norway. Our first leg was on the coach to a popular ski resort - Voss. Here we jumped on a modern train and ascended 860m above sea level. Time to change trains onto a more rustic train called the Flam train which took us and stopped at a magnificent waterfall called Kjosfossen. Here a legendary forest spirit danced in front of the waterfall in an attempt to lure men into the mountains.

We were only supposed to stop for 5 minutes but some idiot pulled the emergency brake which delayed us for about 30 minutes. This delay sent our tour director into a spin because our next leg was a cruise on one of the fiords and the timing is very precise. To top this off signals on phones were nonexistent for most of the journey, so the tension was increasing. We arrived at Flam and were bussed to the ferry pretty quickly and arrived just as the ferry was about to pull out. Thankfully they waited for us and away we went on the cruise.

The scenery along the fiords and, in fact, the whole way throughout Norway is just magnificent. Every time you turn a corner there is another picture postcard. After the cruise we headed for our hotel at Leikanger then went to a local farm for a tour and to find out how they operate. On the way to our hotel, we had to go through the longest tunnel in world - 24 kilometers long. It is interesting that the Norwegians have done a lot of research into the effects of tunnel driving and every 8 kilometers they change the lighting to make the driver more alert.

The farms here are very different to the ones in Australia because they are not big enough to make a living, so the family members have other jobs to supplement their income. We were met at the front gate by the farmer’s daughter who took us for a bit of a walk up the back of the farm to have a look over the farm. We were standing on some mounds for a better look, and she informs us that the mounds are in fact Viking mounds where an important Viking was buried with a ship with a lot of goodies.

Viking mounds.

Next morning, we set off for Geiranger which is a small village at the head of Geirangerfiord with one main road and a handful of shops and when we arrived 2 cruise ships moored up and thousands of tourists. We didn’t stop for long as we had to go up to the Dalsnibba Pass for the views over the fiord. The drive up was a bit hairy as the road is full of hairpin bends and is just wide enough for 2 vehicles - worth the drive though.

Shot of the road.

Looking down at the village of Geiranger.

Back down the windy road then off for a cruise along the fiord. Great views.

Next morning we headed of for a drive along the Eagles Road - guess what another windy road, to discover the path of the trolls - Trollstigen. Unfortunately, when we got up to the top the cloud had settled on the top of the mountain and the views were non-existent. It was good in a way because it fitted in with all the troll stories we were told.

Stone trolls erected by visitors.

On the way back to the hotel we stopped at an old stone bridge which is said to be the trigger for the fairy-tale “Billy Goats Gruff”

We have the rest of the day off, so we are going to kick back. More later.

27 July 2018

Today we headed off to Lillehammer, the host of the 1994 Winter Olympics. The countryside slowly began to flatten out compared to where we had been previously. On the way we went through Lom which is the site of a 12th century Stave church which is a timber church held up by 4 staves (poles) in each corner.

Next stop was Lillehammer which is surprising small considering it held the Olympics. We went to the museum of Maihaugen which is a collection of over 200 different types of houses from around Norway and gave an indication of how people lived back in the day.

Inside an old farmhouse.

The lads lined-up in the old schoolhouse. 

Next stop was to the Olympic Arena where we could view the ski jump and take a ride on the ski lift. We were in luck because a couple of young fellows were practicing their jumps and was very exciting to watch - they have to be crazy!!!

Ski jump and ski lift.

Next day we headed for Oslo - the third most expensive city in the world. I’ve got to tell you that drinks are few and far between on this trip. On the we out of Lillehammer we past by the skating rink in Hamar that was used in the Olympics. This was the last place that Tonya Harding skated in an Olympics - just so you know.

We hit Oslo fairly early and were joined by a local specialist who took us for a drive to see some of the sights which included the medieval fortress, the Opera and the 19th century Royal Palace. We stopped at the spectacular Vigeland Sculpture Park which is basically one man’s lifetime work - well worth the visit.

Very popular sculpture.

In the afternoon we went to 2 museums. The first was the Viking Museum where 3 original ships and some artefacts are on display. These ships were found in different places around Norway and had been used as burial sites for what was assumed to be important people.

90% of this ship is original.

Our next museum was the Fram Museum which houses the ship that was used in the race to the South Pole. The was a short film and then we got to climb around the ship to see how the blokes lived in their years away on their adventures.

The Fram.

Clothing they wore. This skill was learnt from the Eskimos and kept the moisture out unlike the English explorers who wore woollen and cotton clothing that froze when it got wet.

Living quarters.

We had the evening at leisure which means we have to find our own food. We headed down to the harbour and the place was rocking. Found a pizza place and had a reasonable meal.

More later.

28 July 2018

Today we say goodbye to Norway and make the long coach ride to Stockholm. We checked into the hotel and had a bit of a break, then it was back on the bus for a visit to the old town and dinner at a restaurant that has been there since the 16th century. Where we had dinner was down in the basement which was once used as a mortuary. Found this fact out after dinner. The temperature was 32 degrees today and the basement felt like it was 42 - glad to finish dinner.

Our last day on tour and it was a big one. Up early with a local specialist who pointed out the older buildings in the old town. This guy was really funny and a pleasure to listen to.

Our first stop was at the City Hall where the Nobel dinner is held every 10th of December. A guide tells us that each place (1200 places) is set with 15 pieces of gold-plated cutlery. Apparently, several spoons go missing each year and about 2 weeks after the dinner a letter is sent to the person who was sitting in that seat - please return the spoon and we will send you a copy. It appears that each set has a small mark and is recorded to that person.

Next stop was out to the summer palace where the Royals live permanently and is situated on Lake Malaren. Here we had a tour of the gardens and were able to have a bit of a look at the palace.

From here we caught a cruise boat back into the city for a 50-minute look at Stockholm from the water. Next stop was the Vasa Museum which is a very ornate warship built in the 17th century and sank after about 12 minutes of sailing and was recovered after about 300 years.

We had about an hour's break for a bite to eat and then it was off to Kaknas Tower, Sweden’s highest building, to have a bird's eye view of Stockholm. Then it was off to the first ever ice bar for a cool drink.

Tonight is our farewell dinner and tomorrow we head for Helsinki to start our 3rd and final tour.

More then