Archives | 9 Countries 90 Days

Norway in a Nutshell

by travel2022 | Jul 24, 2022 | Norway

By: Michael

I didn’t coin the phrase “Norway in a Nutshell” but it seems to be one of the most acceptable ways to experience the beautiful countryside and fjords of Norway. On Tuesday morning we got up early to catch a train to Voss followed by a bus to Gudvangen. We had an almost four hour layover in Voss, plenty of time for lunch and a gondola ride up a mountainside where we enjoyed watching numerous paragliders launch themselves into space. From Wikipedia: Paragliding is the recreational and competitive adventure sport of flying paragliders: lightweight, free-flying, foot-launched glider aircraft with no rigid primary structure. The pilot sits in a harness or lies supine in a cocoon-like ‘pod’ suspended below a fabric wing. If only we were a few years younger…

We spent the night at the Gudvangen Fjordhotel, an interesting experience as it prides itself on being a replica of a Viking Village (no devices allowed), where we witnessed men and women garbed in Viking attire. On Wednesday morning we went for a short hike along the banks of the Nærøyfjord Fjord, the largest fjord in the world, before boarding a boat that cruised the length of fjord from Gudvangen to Flam. The two-hour cruise stopped at several small hamlets along the way, some of which can only be accessed by boat or by an arduous hike. Can’t imagine what life might be like for those few folks who call it ‘home.’ Once we disembarked from the boat we jumped on a tour bus that coursed up a harrowing single-lane road to the Stegastienen Viewpoint overlooking the fjord. Amazing views but probably not worth the crazy bus ride! Once back on flat ground, one more long bus ride back to Bergen, and we can now boast having experienced ‘Norway in a Nutshell.’ Tomorrow, it’s goodbye to Norway and hello to Amsterdam. See you there!!!

Bergen, Norway

by travel2022 | Jul 21, 2022 | Norway

What a beautiful city! Even though it’s been cold and rainy we’ve thoroughly enjoyed our time here. Because of the unexpected colder weather I was forced into buying a new puffy LOL. But it’s super lightweight and stuffs into a tiny stuff sack.

Our small sweet B & B is in a residential neighborhood just 5 minutes walking into town. There are cobblestone streets with narrow little passage ways leading down to hidden coffee shops, cafes, boutiques and of course, excellent sporting goods stores. Bergen has a huge port and a start and finish for many cruise ships and the city swells from 10am to 3pm. Bergen seems to survive on the fishing industry with more kinds of fish than I’ve ever seen or heard of, and the lobsters and crabs are humongous.

After a historic tour of old town with a guide from the Bryggen Museum we rode up the 1000’ funicular for excellent views of the city and a hike around in the rain filled forest. We walked a little over nine miles today!

Leaving Stockholm

by travel2022 | Jul 17, 2022 | Sweden

As mentioned in pervious posts, I’ve been most intrigued by how progressive Stockholm is with its low-impact transportation. People of all ages are riding bikes, scooters and Segway’s in dedicated lanes clearly marked just for them. Of course we were on one of many islands and walked everywhere or took a ferry to adjoining islands where there were relatively few cars.

Stockholm is quiet, clean and beautiful. The Swedes aren’t particularly outgoing, but I wouldn’t say unfriendly, they seem to be just moving through life doing their jobs seemingly happy enough. I know that in the past decades they have graciously invited in immigrants from all over the world and that was somewhat evident, but society is still dominated by light-skinned blonds with blue eyes!

We did enjoy the Nobel Museum, learning about it’s history and founder Alfred Nobel, and his inspiration for creating the Nobel prizes was actually quite noble. As the inventor of dynamite he made large sums of money and was very impressed by people who were also inventors and innovators. He also greatly admired people around the world who sacrificed their personal well being to insure peace, equality and democracy for their countrymen and women. It’s amazing that Nobel’s legacy has been able to sustain these annual awards for over 120 years. Each laureate chosen is awarded approximately one million dollars.

Just a few casualties today— I forgot my hat (that was supposed to last me for the whole trip) at the hotel. Then, going through TSA they found a small scissors that has been through security more times than I can count and confiscated it. Bummer, I used that scissors a lot.

Next up . . . Bergen, Norway and the infamous Fjords! Stay tuned!

Old Town Gamla Stan

by travel2022 | Jul 15, 2022 | Sweden

Islands, Bridges, Boats

By: Michael

Geography is not our strong suit so it was more than surprising to us that discover that there are more than 30,000 islands in the Sweden archipelago beginning just a few minutes from Stockholm. This morning we enjoyed a short boat ride to Fjaderholmarna, one of the smaller inhabited islands. We walked around the entire island in less than 30 minutes including a stop at a blacksmith’s studio and a cappuccino at a cute little bageri (bakery). We caught another boat to Nacka Stand on the mainland when we enjoyed a wonderful visit to Fotografiska, a museum of photography that was featuring the works of Terry O’Neill’s Stars Exhibit (famous for his photos of celebrities from all walks of life) and Andy Warhol. We then walked back to Gamla Stan for lunch and people watching and a visit to the Nobel Museum. There are daily tours of this museum in English but they were sold out today so we will venture back tomorrow morning.

It was colder and windy today and we both found ourselves a little chilled with somewhat inadequate clothing. Having heard of all the problems with airlines and lost/ delayed baggage, we opted to travel with only carry-on luggage. Not a lot of room in that small a bag for cold weather gear when just packed for 19 days until we get to our apartment in Italy. Tomorrow is our last full day in Sweden as we fly to Norway early on Sunday morning. Tomorrow we go our separate ways for a day, as Betsy wants to do some shopping and I a longer hike in the countryside. BTW, the photo of Betsy lounging by the pool was taken at the Fotografiska in a setting staged to mimic a famous O’Neill photograph of Faye Dunaway taken the morning after she won an Oscar for her performance in Network. Betsy got an Oscar for best tourist of the day.

Stockholm

by travel2022 | Jul 15, 2022 | Sweden

Islands, Bridges, Boats

Arrived in Stockholm without any hiccups accept our own incompetence at how to exit the metro to get to street level. Just goes to show you, when you live in California with ‘0’ public transport those skills are relatively nonexistent. With the help of strangers who are somewhat friendly we found our way off the tracks and into our modest hotel room in the heart of old town Stockholm, otherwise known as Gamla Stan.

Our first venture out we took a ferry to the island of Djurgarden to visit the Skansen which is essentially an open air museum dedicated to the preservation of traditional architecture throughout the Scandinavian countries. It’s kind of a combination of preserved history of culture and buildings along with a zoo featuring Nordic animals such as moose, bears and reindeer along with a Nordic fox or two.

From there we went on to visit the Vasa Museum which for the Swedish is the equivalent of a “Titanic flop.” It’s a ship that took years to build and was launched in 1628. It was intended to rival it’s most powerful rival, Poland. However, seven days after it was launched, it sank due to moderate winds and faulty engineering. It has been painstakingly restored and the museum makes honorable tributes through films and tours that chronicle a time in history of a city committed to securing its safety and well-being.

Then it started raining . . but we were prepared with rain jackets and climbed aboard our ferry to get back home.