Day 12: fjords

It was an early wake up day since we had to catch the fjord cruise at 8am . . . you know the early bird gets the best seats . . . after seeing the massive chaos at the breakfast area we decided to grab something at 7-11; yes a real 7-11 . . . and a yummy mozzarella and tomato panini at 7am! We were the first to arrive at the ferry terminal . . . so hoped to have the pick of the seats. Of course you know how Europeans can be when it comes to these types of things . . . we boarded first and picked seats on the bottom level in the front . . . headed upstairs and found an even better view so staked claim on our space. One last shot as we parted Bergen . . . can you tell how much I loved this row of colorful houses?
So Bergen is proud to only have 60 days of sunshine a year . . . so you can guess how the weather was as we took off . . . raining! The travel book said that Bergen towns people cheerfully remind tourist, "There's no such thing as bad weather -- just inappropriate clothing." Well, so true but we were inside for the cruise so things were fine . . . of course there was no way I was staying inside because I wanted to get outside and see the fjords without staring through glass and smell the fresh air too. So while I spent a lot of time viewing the fjords from this view . . .
. . . nothing compared to being outside and seeing it like this . . . yes, the weather was just like that but you know when you travel and have limited time to see things . . . well the show must go on!
One of the weirdest parts of the trip was doing a transfer in the middle of the fjord . . . our ferry literally pulled up next to a waiting ferry . . . tossed the bags across and the people walked a small bridge . . . we were so close you could almost touch the other people.

The fjords are something that I have always wanted to see and now that I have had a small taste, well it is something I want to explore more . . . Norway is the most beautiful place I have seen . . . not to mention the most expensive too . . . so have not even looked at my online banking because I just know it will shock me, LOL! Oh well, it was vacation and one that I thoroughly enjoyed so I can always make more money.

As the ferry ended in Flam we caught the Flamsbana (train) to Myrdal. By this time the weather had cleared a bit and the views were again amazing . . . really it was that beautiful. This section of the trip was pretty interesting. It was only a 12 mile trip but took an hour . . . we started in Flam at sea level (0) and ended in Myrdal which is 2,800 feet above sea level. At one point the train stopped so we could get off and take photos of this waterfall . . .

At another point we had to stop so the reverse route train could pass . . . only one section has double tracks. We noticed a girl jump off the train and manually switch the tracks so the other train could pass . . . notice the waterfall above us . . . a lot of that in Norway and tons of bridges too.


Hmmmmm, the thought of a train full of several hundred tourist getting off to snap a photo and get back on in 5 minutes sounded sort of nightmarish but surprisingly it worked.

It was time to head back to Oslo so we could catch our flight back to Germany in the morning . . . hard to believe the trip was coming to an end. Glad I went and have no regrets!

Day 11: Bergen Norway

We only had one full day to explore Bergen so we headed out early . . . okay so 10 isn't early but nothing really opens until then so why get up early? Of course our hotel was full of those organized groups who were like scavengers at the breakfast buffet . . . I hate when people are like vultures at those things . . . by the way breakfast wasn't all that probably at the bottom of the list for the entire trip . . . but Stockholm had a great breakfast! Anyway . . .

Bergen is a small harbor town with very little to do but so full of tourist because it is where most of the fjords tours begin but there are several museums that we wanted to check out and were really good. One thing I really enjoyed doing was walking through the fish market in an area called Bryggen.

The first stop of the morning was the Mount Floyen funicular to get a bird's eye view of the city! After major renovations it just opened back up in May of this year and it was nice! Again my photos do little justice . . . hmmmm, think I need to buy a new camera!


It was so calming and peaceful to just sit around the harbor . . . watching people, great conversation, and seeing all the boats coming and going along the water.

Oh and if you are wondering, Bergen does have a TGI Friday's and of course for the fifth time we had to stop, LOL . . . come on one of us had a total craving for a little taste of America. And dinner was so good last night we made a reservation and had yet another amazing steak and real baked potato . . . with bacon bits and sour cream; hmmm, maybe this was a trip all about food.

Tomorrow the best part of the trip is waiting . . . I have it so built up in my mind so I hope I am not disappointed . . . hoping for decent weather.

Day 10: to Bergen Norway

This is the one leg of the trip that I have been most excited about . . . heading to Bergen, Norway which is considered the 'base' for most fjords tours. The train ride from Oslo to Bergen is suppose to be one of the most beautiful according to most travel books . . . well, they were right on target! A few shots through the train window . . .

Just beautiful and did I mention the weather is so cold compared to Texas . . . I am so loving wearing long sleeves and a jacket in the middle of July! Yes, that is snow in the photo above . . . it was part of a glacier . . . can't recall the name but the cold, brisk air was great.

The train ride can be summed up as waterfalls, glaciers, snow, rocks, valleys, fjords, very few cars; just amazingly beautiful and breath taking.

We finally arrived in Bergen a small harbor town; picturesque . . . can't wait to explore more tomorrow!

And my complaint of the day . . . we arrived at our hotel at 6:30pm only to be told the room was not clean and ready yet . . . they did have a higher grade room available be we only booked a lower category room so they could not give us those rooms. We were told to come back in 30-60 minutes and it should be ready. Now, I know this is Europe but if the clean room was not booked by 6:30pm then it more than likely was not going to be booked that night and management should have stepped up and given us a room that was ready . . . I mean it was over 3 hours after the published check-in time. We were hungry so headed here for dinner. YUMMY! We gave the hotel 2 hours and our room was ready when we returned . . . still was angry but said nothing, but I am so going to fill out a customer comment card.

Day 9: to Oslo Norway

We took a quick flight from Stockholm to Oslo. The best part was both bags arrived . . . YEAH!! I had my doubts and was beginning to think I was jinxed but hey third time is a charm. After hopping the high speed train from the airport to central station, we decided to make it a low key day. So where do we head? Just a few doors down to TGI Friday's! Hmmm, are you sensing some sort of pattern yet? LOL! After a couple hours of eating and watching people we headed to the harbor area to enjoy the fresh, crisp air.

And guess what we stumbled across later in the afternoon? You got it another TGI Friday's so we could not pass up a chance to sit and watch more people . . . and this one had a great view of the harbor area with many boats coming and going. Before heading back to the hotel, we stopped and had an amazing piece of turtle cake, yummy! The hotel we stayed in was a beautiful, historic building right in the city center but the atmosphere inside was a little too formal and stuffy . . . oh but it was a great price.

Day 8: Stockholm again

Another busy day in Stockholm . . . it is our last full day so had to take full advantage of our Stockholm Card and hit a few more museums. A few highlights from the day . . .

-yummy ice cream in freshly made waffle cone
-Stockholm Palace
-churches
-city hall . . . Nobel Peace Prize banquet hall
-Nobel Museum (wasted time)
-Royal Apartments
-Stockholm City Museum
-Crown Jewels
-Old Castle ruins
-yummy hot dog lunch in the park
-no TGI Friday's; too crowded
-dinner at Irish Pub . . . fish and chips
-oh and quesadillas with the best guacamole!

I guess it was a yummy day . . . hey food can be a highlight for the day.

View of the city . . . just beautiful city!

Riddarholmen . . . with the most beautiful iron spire

City Hall . . . where the Nobel Peace Prize banquet is held each year.

Tomorrow we change locations . . . still heading west!

Day 7: Stockholm Sweden

It was a beautiful day in Stockholm . . . sunny with a nice breeze. After another tasty breakfast, we caught the ferry to see the Vasa Museum . . . WOW, it is definitely a must see museum and the most visited Scandinavian attraction. We ended up spending 2 hours watching every video clip, reading every sign, and just looking in amazement at the detailed carvings of the actual ship. It is amazing that it was under water for over 300 years . . . and so much of it is original. Of course no picture I took can do it any justice . . . it is just that amazing.


A small reproduction model of what the ship probably looked like when it set sail back in the 17th century . . . very colorful.



And today after restoration . . . to show what was not original the replaced new boards are smooth and a little lighter in color . . . very few of them. This is the back view, same as above in the photos.




Of course we had yet another visit to TGI Friday's for wings; oh stop laughing! Before heading to dinner a quick visit to the Ice Bar . . . it was cold but nice to escape the warm afternoon for a little bit.


A view of my favorite part of the city from our hotel . . . taken through the window.

Day 6: Stockholm Wake-Up

Our ferry arrived early this morning. We set the alarm clock so we could be on deck early to watch this . . .



This is exactly what I thought Scandinavia would look like. We were at breakfast when it opened and back outside on deck . . . really beautiful and so peaceful too. Water always makes me relax and sort of realize that I sometimes take life a little too seriously. After arriving and being totally ripped off by a taxi driver, we dropped our bags at the hotel and headed out to explore the city. Stockholm is much prettier than Helsinki and much more traditional Europe with beautiful architecture. Oh and it was HOT . . . okay so not as hot at Texas but by Europe standards it was toasty! After a few hours of walking we ended up at TGI Fridays . . . okay so totally not Europe. We were going to just have a drink until we saw the Bacon Cheeseburger . . . oh and add in some wings and mozzarella sticks too; YUM!!! Finally made our way back to the hotel to check in and relax . . . nothing like an escape to a little air conditioning and snacks at the executive lounge.