Bronnoysund

Thursday, June 30

After getting up early to see the scenery as we came into Bronnoysund we went back to bed and got a late start. This place is called "the tiny town in the middle of Norway", and it certainly is! We had another warm summers day and enjoyed walking around without jackets on. There are only 2 main streets here with shops, so we headed to the local church, the old part of town and through the port - and that was about it! We chatted with some of the locals in the shops and they are very friendly.

We always get a coffee and cake when doing wifi in the cafés, and it usually costs about A$20, so Norway isn't a cheap place to eat or drink, but doing it on a cruise ship is highly recommended.

Day at Sea

Wednesday, June 29


We decided to take advantage of the day at sea with a quiet morning as we had a Mariner's Lunch to attend at 11:30am. After a glass of champagne with a 3 course lunch a lie down was required before our next appointment at 2pm. This was interrupted by the Captain announcing there was a pod of orcas near the ship. I raced up on deck and could see about 6-8 of them swimming about and leaping completely out of the water! However as we were steaming along and they were obviously eating a school of fish we were soon out of range to get a photo on the iPad, so it is just embedded in my memory. We didn't see any orcas in Alaska so this was a massive bonus.

After that excitement we enjoyed the rest of the afternoon before preparing for the formal dinner. We met Don & Norma for pre-dinner drinks, and then had the King Crab legs for entree that the Captain picked up from a fishing boat near North Cape, followed by lobster tails - another yummy meal.

The Captain also told us the scenery we would be passing between 4:30-6:30am would be worth getting up for. So we took his advice and
set the alarm for 5:30, and got some more amazing pics of the beautiful 
Norwegian scenery.

Honningsvag and North Cape

Tuesday, June 28

After seeing the North Cape from the ship at midnight with the sun still out, today was our opportunity to actually get on it and look out to sea towards the North Pole, which is still a long way away! We had booked a tour before we left home, and after finding Sven we set off from Honningsvag. It was sunny and mild - we are so blessed to have these weather conditions at the northern end of Norway.

The drive to the Cape took about 45 minutes, and the scenery was very interesting, including seeing the occasional herd of reindeer with their young ones. We arrived at the Cape in sunshine, took all the necessary photos and then watched a panoramic movie on the four seasons at the Cape. Why people come in winter amazes us when it is snowing, freezing and very dangerous on the roads because of the wind - Sven told us of a crash he had 5 years ago when the bus rolled in the snow and they had to get the Army in to rescue them! After coffee and cake (again) while admiring the views, we found it lightly raining as we returned to the bus. Again a reminder of how quickly the weather can change when on such an exposed piece of coastline.

On the way back to Honningsvag we stopped to visit a Sami herder with his reindeer, then onto Skarsvag, the northernmost fishing village in the world. We saw the huge king crabs that abound in these northern waters, as well as a Christmas shop and we also saw lots of stockfish drying on racks. This was a great tour and made for another memorable day in Norway.

Hammerfest

Monday, June 27

The ship provided a shuttle bus to get us into town, and it dropped us off at the Tourist Information office. In the same building was the Polar Bear Society museum, which traced the history of the pioneers who explored this area by ship, chasing the abundant fishing grounds and the animals like whales, walruses, polar bears and seals for their furs, oil and meat. It was very informative.

We then walked in the balmy sunny weather to the local church, which was unusual in its design both inside and out, but very beautiful. The old church in the graveyard was the only building left standing after the Germans departed, adopting the "scorched earth" policy in Northern Norway as well as many other places in Europe.


It was only a short walk to the Reconstruction museum, which showed how the people moved back into town even though there were no houses for them, and how over the years the state developed the town and its facilities. We enjoyed a lovely coffee and cake here before moving on.

There was a zigzag walking trail up to the lookout on top of the hill, and to save Noelle's knees I went the whole way to the top to get some great pics. She was happy sitting down for a while and chatting to people who passed her either going up or down! We also took in the Meridian Pillar which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, as it was one of many spots used in the 1800's to measure the meridians of the earth. 

At midnight we were up on deck in the sunshine while the captain slowly cruised past the North Cape, the northernmost tip of Europe. It was calm and mild on deck, and the sunshine was amazing!

Tromso

Sunday, June 26

Another beautiful mild Arctic day, with stunning scenery around us as we docked. Being a Sunday the shops and museums didn't open until 10 or 12pm, so we weren't in a rush to get off. We walked around town, taking in a lovely wooden church, the Art Gallery and the Polar Museum. It certainly is/was a hard life in the arctic regions!

We have seen the locals attending church in traditional dress, and the kids looked very cute. The people here are very friendly and obviously proud of their heritage. It was forecast to be 20C today, but in the shade with the breeze off the snow capped mountains it was more like 12-15C!

Still another day of exercise in the clean arctic air, and some culture thrown in as a bonus!

Narvik

Saturday, June 25

We walked from the ship and went straight to the cable car and rode to the top of the mountain above Narvik. The views were fabulous and it was so clear, and quite warm considering how far north we are. The sun highlighted the various shades of green, and the expanse of water was amazing and contrasted with the snow still on the hills.

After taking a lot of pics we descended and walked around town. We had a quiet day as some of the places we wanted to see in town were either closed or a bit far away. It was still lovely walking around in the clean air and getting in our 10,000 steps per day. This is necessary to help offset the lovely food and drinks we have access to on the ship!

Day at Sea

Friday, June 24

We enjoyed a lazy day at sea reading, eating, walking and attending a couple of lectures. Tonight's dinner was formal, so we dressed up and had a lovely meal with Don & Norma again. After the late show finished about 11pm we noticed the captain had stopped the ship. 

We looked across to where the sun was still fairly high (for this time of night), and discovered the captain was giving us the best photo op of all time! We had stopped opposite a large island with an unusual rock formation and profile, and with the sun just above it and the reflection on the water it was one of those fabulous memories you store forever. We waited until midnight and the sun still hadn't set, so we are definitely in the "land of the midnight sun"!

Geiranger

Thursday, June 23


We were awakened about 7am by the Captain saying the weather was just a bit cloudy, but provided a great atmosphere to see the highlights of the Geiranger fiord as we cruised towards the town. We jumped up and went and joined lots of fellow guests on deck and were wowed by the scenery. It was spectacular, and everything you imagine dramatic fiord views to be like. 

The ship docked in the fiord, and we used tenders to get to shore. Looking back at our ship it was dwarfed by the height of the cliffs along the fiord, and the greens were so varied, especially against the blue sky as the clouds cleared. We took the path along a waterfall, and climbed about 400 steps to get to the top, again stopping for rests as well as to admire the views.

At the top our objective was the Fiord Centre and Folk Museum, which was excellent. It had lots of displays covering the various aspects of life along the fiords, including farming, transport, fishing, geology, flora and fauna, and the history living along a fiord. The amazing thing to us was that when a big avalanche or rock slide occurs it causes a tsunami and some of the big ones in the past have killed many people. There was also a great slide show with beautiful  photos covering all the seasons around the mountains and fiord.

We walked down the road to town, had a rich hot chocolate and some samples at a chocolate shop, and caught a tender back to the ship. As we sailed out of the fiord we passed the Seven Sisters and Bridal Veil waterfalls again but in brilliant sunshine this time, then enjoyed a delicious meal at Canaletto restaurant with new friends Don & Norma from Adelaide. It was brilliant sitting at the back of the ship watching magnificent scenery while enjoying a lovely meal.

Bergen

Wednesday, June 22


Today started out cloudy and cool, but the forecast was for sunny breaks so we were hoping they were right. We set off from the ship and visited the Rosenkrantz Tower on the way to town, swinging by St. Mary's church, the Hanseatic building complex and the Cathedral before arriving in town. Bergen is Norway's second largest city, and is a World Heritage city, with lovely old weatherboard buildings, more modern brick ones and many others in the Norwegian style with a variety of roof lines and traditional colours.

The harbour is the real hub with lots of cafés, restaurants and shops, as well as the Fish Market. The produce here looked amazing, and we tried some Reindeer, Moose and Whale salami, but they all tasted like any salami! It was interesting seeing whale meat for sale too - it looked like it had been smoked as it was black.

The sun was coming out so we decided to take the Mt. Floyen Funicular to the hill top 320 metres above Bergen, and fortunately we picked the right time as there was no queue to board. It was a short but spectacular ride and the views were amazing, but from the peak they were even better. We walked around taking lots of photos in the glorious sunshine, and you could see for miles over the hills surrounding Bergen as well as the waterways that it is built around.

The ride down was fun, and from there we wandered back to the ship. The city was really buzzing now with lots of people enjoying the sunny afternoon at the outdoor cafés along the harbour, combined with the tourists from a couple of cruise ships. Back on the Prisendam we decided to sit in the Crows Nest (a lounge on deck 12 at the front of the ship) for the sail out, and it was spectacular!
Another memorable day in Norway.

Stavenger

Tuesday, June 21

Today is the summer solstice, and after yesterday's rain we were happy to see the sun. As we are still in Southern Norway there is only 19 hours of light at the moment, but we hope to hit the 24 hour mark in a few days when we're at the top of Norway!

Stavenger is another pretty town with lots of old weatherboard buildings around town, but also some modern buildings as it is the oil capital of Norway. The North Sea oil and gas fields are offshore from here, and a lot of the rigs and offshore platforms have been built here. To explain this history of exploration and innovation in the oil industry, as well as the wealth it has created for Norway, they have built a museum devoted to Oil here. It was very informative and interactive to make it interesting for the loads of school kids, as well as cruise ship passengers, who visit it.

We always love walking around these towns, checking out the shops, cathedrals, old buildings and just watching the locals go about their daily business. It looks like there could be a baby boom as we saw lots of young mums with babies in strollers - maybe the result of the long winter nights!!  

In the Petroleum Museum

Kristiansand

Monday June 20

Unfortunately we hit our first rainy day in this pretty little town, which has curtailed our walking greatly! However we can see how lovely it would be with the sun out, but we can't complain. We visited the Fish market, the cathedral with its nice Scandanavian timber instead of the dark wood of our English churches, and with the ship in town they put on an organ recital for us.

It was still fun walking around with our brollies up, and we did expect a few days like this, even though we're only one day away from the summer solstice! We got back to the ship a bit earlier than planned and dried off, as well as catching up on some reading.

Oslo

Sunday - June 19

This morning we cruised the Oslo Fjord - sadly in a heavy mist, however there is something majestic about these magnificent areas in such conditions.  We arrived in Oslo itself at noon and the weather was clearing.

Prinsendam docked in a prime location next to the old Fort and in close proximity to the city area.  When we last visited Oslo we were disappointed to be too late to see the Resistance Museum so it was first on our list of today's "Must Do's".  We walked through the old Fort area, complete with quirky statues, to the Resistance Museum - a building used to incarcerate prisoners during WW2.  We never cease to be amazed at the ingenuity of man, especially when under pressure and the museum displayed many examples of this.  We were particularly impressed with the diary of a prisoner made by piercing sheets of toilet paper with a pin to form each letter.  The sheets were then stashed below floor boards.  This particular prisoner was moved to Germany by a boat that was sunk and he lost his life.  Fortunately, the existence of his diary was known by another prisoner who revealed its location when the war ended.  We also saw crystal radio sets hidden in chair legs and other household items, messages concealed in a piece of wood that was hinged and hollowed out, etc.  The Resistance movement relied heavily on British radio for balance of information as radios had been outlawed by the Germans to ensure the people only heard their propaganda.

After several hours in the dark museum, we emerged into bright sunshine.  As Prinsendam was not sailing until 8 pm, we had time to join the locals strolling through this beautiful city, taking in all the sights, sounds, aromas, etc.  Oslo is a lovely city with lots of historic buildings, magnificent parks and gardens and some great shops (mostly closed for Sunday) and also a lot of electric cars. We stopped for coffee and cake and some good old people-watching as well as catching up on emails, FB, etc. before making our way back to the ship.  It doesn't get dark until 11 pm at this time of the year so we really have to keep an eye on our watches.

Recharging bays for the city's many electric cars

Oslo City Centre

The Resistance Museum

Log with secret compartment to carry messages

Crystal set concealed in chair leg

Al at the Fort with Prinsendam docked alongside

One of the quirky statues located throughout the Fort

Apologies

Hi everyone following our travels,

Unfortunately we have run into technical difficulties with loading photos into the blog posts. We will endeavour to correct this as soon as we can, but in the meantime you can see some on Noelle's Facebook page or my Instagram account.

Love to all.

Copenhagen

Saturday June 18

Having been to Copenhagen 2 years ago, we had one main attraction we hadn't seen yet, and that was the Rosenborg Castle, so that was our objective for today. We set off from the ship and walked along the dock, cut through the Kastellet which is an old fort with a moat around it and some lovely old buildings in the middle of it, and then wandered along the charming streets to the Royal Theatre. Opposite the theatre is the big department store Magasin du Nord, and we went there to change some money, have coffee and cake and catch up on emails, FB, the blog etc.

Rosenborg Castle

After this refreshment stop we set off for the Kings Garden which is where the Rosenborg Castle is. It was partly sunny, and warm when the sun was out, so there were lots of people in the Gardens. We bought our tickets and proceeded to the basement where the Treasury containing the Crown Jewels are, however, unlike the British Crown Jewels you can get up close and personal to them as well as take photos. They were spectacular!

The Danish Crown Jewels

There were so many gob smacking items in the basement area, made of silver, gold, rock crystal, ivory, enamel, precious stones and many other materials, that words don't do them justice, but there would be too many photos to include, so all I can say is don't miss this castle when you're visiting Copenhagen!

We continued looking at the various rooms over the different floors of the castle, and many of the items were just amazing. We spent a couple of hours here without any problem, and then finished it off with a lovely afternoon tea in the Garden cafe.

We headed back towards the ship, taking in the Nyhavn area which was packed with people enjoying meals in the outdoor cafés, listening to bands and shopping. From here we cut through the Amalienborg Palace but we didn't see Mary or Frederick as we walked through! We could hear announcements coming from the waterfront and crowds of people but had no idea what was going on. We found a vantage point above the crowds and realised it was the Red Bull Cliff Diving competition, and they were diving from the roof of the Opera House! This has to be over 30 metres tall, and was scary just watching the divers.

Diving from the roof of the Copenhagen Opera House

No trip to Copenhagen would be complete without a visit to the Little Mermaid, which we saw on the way back to the ship. Most people have seen her, and she was again surrounded by people jostling to get their photos taken with her. However as we kept walking we found her big sister, who wasn't popular at all so we were able to get a photo with her very easily.

 We were glad to get back on board and rest our feet after another enjoyable visit to Copenhagen.

Sailing towards Copenhagen

Friday June 17

We always like it when there is a sea day on the first day of a cruise. This gives you a chance to sleep in, explore the ship and its facilities, meet other passengers and attend special lectures. Today we chatted with 2 couples we hadn't met before and attended 2 lectures.

The first one was by a Norwegian guy who had been in charge of the National Maritime Museum in Oslo, and he spoke about the history of the first 4 ports we will be visiting. He was very good and has really whet our appetite for these ports. The second one this afternoon was by an ex US Navy guy on Communication at Sea, and again we found it really informative and interesting.

Today was sunny with no wind and calm seas, so we sat around the pool for a while and enjoyed the warmth of the sun - this is what cruising is all about!

IJmuiden - Day2

Wednesday June 15

After a glorious night's sleep, we surfaced to find IJmuiden bathed in sunshine but with ominous dark clouds around too. Al went in search of breakfast for us and returned with two fresh herring rolls - very Dutch and very tasty.

We had scoured the map of IJmuiden and decided there wasn't a lot to do but we wanted to go to the Bunker Museum. IJmuiden formed part of the "Atlantic Wall", a German defence that stretched from Nordkaap at the top of Norway, down to the the south of Spain. No fighting took place around IJmuiden - because if the locks here had been destroyed then Holland would have been flooded! Despite this, the townspeople have restored some of the bunkers and set up a museum with artefacts from WW2. As so often happens to us, we are in town on a day when their museum is closed and that was the case today.

Plan B - we set off on foot to explore the residential and commercial part of town as our hotel is located close to the Cruise Ship Terminal and therefore in a very industrial area. I enjoyed the stroll as the Dutch houses are located quite close to the footpath and they leave their curtains wide open affording a clear view of the living rooms and kitchens. After "sticky nosing", we found a coffee shop - no easy task here - and enjoyed the nicest coffee since home. As that seemed to "be IJmuiden", we headed back to our hotel to catch up on wifi, FB and reading, while dodging the showers that had now obliterated any sunshine.

The clouds cleared later in the afternoon and we enjoyed a sunny evening and a delicious dinner in the restaurant on the ground floor of our hotel. Tomorrow we board our cruise ship and head for Norway and the Article Circle - very exciting!

Melbourne to Amsterdam - Day1

Monday June 13

After a busy start to the year, and celebrating mum's 90th birthday over the weekend, we were finally ready for our trip. A big thank you to my sister Heather who picked us up and drove us to the airport. Being a public holiday we expected the airport to be busy, but we found it quieter than usual so we waltzed through customs and immigration and had plenty of time up our sleeve. Noelle got a phone call from her friend Jeanette Hardy (who had just returned from Europe) to say she had just dropped her sister off as Marg was flying to London with Singapore Airlines. You wouldn't believe who we were seated next to for the flight to Singapore - Marg!!

We said goodbye to Marg in Singapore, then took off again at 2am Melbourne time headed for Amsterdam. As soon as the plane had leveled off we put our eyeshades on and went to sleep, or as best you can do in economy! It was a 12 hour flight and we got some reasonable sleep, so we were in good shape when we landed. Again we were blessed with someone nice to sit next to, and so after collecting our luggage we had a coffee with our new friends Irene and Henk before we went our separate ways.

We travelled by train from Schipol airport to Haarlem, which is a very pretty town from what we saw, with bikes parked everywhere. The train doesn't go to IJmuiden where our cruise leaves from so we got a taxi from Haarlem, and were glad that our room was ready for us.

Noelle outside Haarlem station

 

Feeling refreshed after a good shower we enjoyed a big lunch, then headed for the locks that keep the North Sea from swamping Holland. The story goes that in WW2 the Germans told the Dutch to surrender or they would blow up the locks, so the Dutch surrendered! We could see how vital they are, and were fortunate to see them operating, including the opening of the bridge we walked across to let a yacht through.

Looking towards Bunker island and the North Sea

Yacht passing through the opened bridge

Lock gates open and barges head inland

 

An early night was definitely on the agenda, and being in a seaside port area we thought it was quirky how we had this picture to look at as we lay in bed - it was attached to the ceiling!

 

 

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