Home!

Alan and I arrived safely home and well this morning!  I even stopped by and worked a bit before we headed to our house.  It is also safe and well, thanks to my wonderful friends who watered plants and brought in the mail.  My blue poppies are still blooming and my peonies are perfect. I certainly thought I would not see them at all.

A few things to mention about our first cruise with Fred Olson!  Apparently this company has the reputation of the passengers being "Newly weds or nearly deads".  Well, in our experience, this was not the case.  We made more friends and had much more fun than any other cruise we have been on!  We would never hesitate to recommend this cruise line or go on another cruise with them.  Don't get me wrong, the age range is on the upper scale, but not solely 70's and above!

And as for the problems with Norovirus.  I know that is always a worry on any cruise ship.  And if you read the passenger forums, it sounds really scary for this ship alone.  But when I mentioned we had no self service on the buffet, I didn't realize that was not meant for the duration of the cruise.  And I apologize for not coming back to that.  After leaving the ship for our first stop at Alesund, we arrived back to find a transformation - suddenly there were no holds barred at any of the self service places - whether it was the buffet or the 24 hour coffee.  We had access to everything!  After being so controlled for the first 3 days, I was feeling a bit confused.  I had accepted we would have to exercise restraint at the buffet, only to have this lifted.  What happened? 

What I did not realize was we were all under a sort of quarantine and after 3 days no one fell ill.  So there was no Norovirus to worry about!  This did not mean we didn't have to wash our hands or use the hand gel that is everywhere, but that is on all ships and we are used to that.  I have kept meaning to put this change in, but when on board, I had to count the minutes and always felt rushed when putting the blog together.  Now I have all the time in the world!  Trouble is, I am feeling terribly jet lagged.  Why?  Maybe the sleep deprivation from those wonderful sunny nights!

However, we would all have not embarked on our journey to Norway as passengers and then disembarked back in Scotland as cargo had they enforced the staff serving us all at the buffet for the duration of the cruise! 

Hail, Gastronome, Apostle of Excess, Well skilled to overeat without distress! Thy great invention, the unfatal feast, Shows Man's superiority to Beast. --John Boop”

Bergen – our last port in Norway

We were a bit disappointed when we learned that there was only a half day scheduled for Bergen – our last destination on this cruise.  I must admit though, we had wondered why there was one sea day going home when we had two on the way to Norway, so it did make sense.

 

Alan and I had a nice relaxed day in Bergen, mainly retail therapy and taking pictures of beautiful old buildings. 

Clothes in a shop window

 

 

Sunday market

 

 

 

 

 

We also visited a fish market and saw what whale meat looks like.  Not appetizing looking at all, black and thick looking.  Our table mate had found a place offering tastes of whale, moose, reindeer and other things.  We never saw that place and I really couldn’t see Alan or myself tasting whale, at least, anyway!

The other big cultural difference I observed is the abundance of fur clothing!  Oh, and the availability of purchasing seal, reindeer, goat and other hides, or a whole fox to use as a stole around your neck.  They were beautiful, but in the UK, and probably USA, wearing fur is so frowned upon.  I know it gets much colder here, so there would be a market for these. 

Bergen is Norway’s second largest city and had 3 cruise ships in on the day we were there.  One was the Azura, which was our last cruise ship, and might have been the one to take us to Norway this year.  The main argument that won our interest was not having to fly to Southampton to board a cruise, but rather to drive north for about an hour and a half to get on this one!  There is no comparison in cruises though.  One is a small, intimate, more old fashioned ship. The other is huge, glitzy, busy and amazing.  (Uh oh, that makes it sound as if I prefer the Azura!  Not true, they are both as good and as different as each other.)

If we had a whole day in Bergen, I would have liked to take the funicular to see the view, apparently that is quite striking.  However, we had loads of Kroners to spend and had not shopped much at all.  Plus, I just wanted to wander a bit and see the city on the ground.  Glad I did too!

Right off the ship, there were tall ships docked, plus a beautiful castle we had to walk by. This castle is very similar to the keeps in Scotland, and about double the size of Dean Castle in Kilmarnock (my favourite Scottish castle).  The castle was much grander than a regular “keep” though and it would have been nice to go in.  Again, IF we had been there for a full day!

Walking along the harbour, there are rickety old houses, leaning this way and that.  Reminded us a bit of the Shambles in York.  There were alleyways in between some of them, and going in – they were really ancient looking wooden structures.  I thought they were absolutely beautiful, but too close and too dark to get a good photo.  But again, it was like the Shambles, only with a Viking touch!

But it became time to return to the ship.  And there was a send-off party at the pool!  And it was very sunny, maybe not really warm – but sunny.  The myth around Bergen is it always rains, or as my Swedish friend told me-

A couple was visiting Bergen and it was raining.  They stopped to ask a boy if it always rains in Bergen and he said “I don’t know, I am only 10!”     So we were extremely lucky to see this beautiful city in sunshine!

 

Flam

 

Here is the picture of Flam as we headed for our dock after I had been awake since 4am watching the beautiful scenery pass by my window!

 

 

 

 

 

While Alan and I were on the Flam/Myrdal rail line, we saw darling villages and farms, plus spectacular waterfalls!

 

There was also a road with 21 hairpin curves on it.  This was originally built for the construction workers to get up to the area of building all the necessary tunnels for the rail line.  They would have been using horse and carts though, not cars.  And this road is no longer used, thank goodness!  Well, yes it is, but only for hikers and cyclists!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a 5 minute stop, both going up and coming down, at this huge waterfall.  While we were stopped, music starts and there is a Huldra singing to us.  (look closely, she is in an orange dress close to the ruined building.) 

Like I said in the previous blog – we heard her even as far as Flam and ran to buy our train ticket!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving Flam was even more spectacular than our arrival.  Captain Stein decided to take us on one of his favourite detours.  I had heard of this trip, but it was not meant to happen on this itinerary.  We were so lucky!  I do wish I had caught the name of the fjord he took us down, apparently it is quite famous because it is so narrow.   Captain Stein calls it the Narrow Fjord, but I don’t think that is its real name! 

Whether the ship is able to go on this or not is strictly dependent upon the weather.  He explained that there can be no wind for them to take the ship on this narrow fjord.

I really tried to get a photo that would catch the perspective of how close the ship was to the sides. Quite an undertaking since my camera battery died in the middle of this adventure. Then I just used my Ipad!  Nothing was quite good enough though.  Alan has given me some of his photos.  But they don’t really catch it either.

We would turn a bend and it would look like we could not go any further, but there would be a tiny channel in the distance. This went on for about an hour, until we really did have to turn around!  How on earth we did that is way beyond me.  This manoeuvre was more like being on a train turntable.  I would never have thought what Captain Stein did was possible in such a long ship.  At the point where the ship was perpendicular to each shore it appeared to us that the bow and the stern were only 30 feet away from the shore, each side.  In other words, he did a full 360 degree turn.  We actually missed our dinner seating to enjoy this experience!

I mentioned Captain Stein in passing before, but he is such fun as a Captain.  And he especially enjoyed himself on this detour.  The first time he sounded the ship’s horn, there were campers just minding their own business and not noticing this giant approaching.  We were on the deck above him when he told us to watch them!  He also sounded the horn to a lady on the other side waving a big sheet. He told us she is in her mid-80’s and never misses this event! 

If you look closely you can see the white sheet she uses. She is standing in front of the white building, between the small red and large brown buildings.  I also have a picture of Captain Stein waving to her, but thought this one is at least a bit clearer.  Other people came out and took their photos on shore with the Boudicca behind them.  So they must see the ship passing them as quite an event too!

 

Captain Stein is the living proof that, as Mark Twain said, if you find a job you like, you will never work again!

Wonderful day in Flam!

I was awake from about 4am just watching the scenery from our window as we got nearer to Flam!  It was just spectacular.  This is what I was waiting for; the fjord we were on was absolutely breathtaking!  It was really difficult not to waken Alan, but he was sleeping so soundly that I just couldn’t bring myself to.  However, my alarm was still set from the last time we went on an excursion, so he was wakened about 6am.  And, lickety split, he was on deck and taking photographs! 

The not so great news is it was raining, with drops bouncing off the street. So I am glad we didn’t book an excursion and we decided to just take it easy and enjoy this beautiful, small village, once we decided to go out….However, that is not what happened!  As we were walking into town, we passed the train station. Flam is famous for its scenic ride up the mountain.  And we congratulated ourselves on not having plans since the weather was so bad.  Then we realized the train left in 10 minutes, so we got tickets and were on it before we realized!

And it was so worth it!  Just an hour up and an hour down. They stop at a gorgeous waterfall, where a Huldra – or a dangerous mountain spirit – is shown as if from one of the local legends to lure unsuspecting people into the mountains.  Wait, isn’t that what happened to us?

They also give a bit of history and the whole trip is breathtaking. 

There is a coffee shop at the Myrdal station. And if you did book an excursion, this is where you would get off to change trains. But we were told, this was the highest point any of them got to.  Everyone on  a trip was away the whole day, but we got back to Flam in time to look at shops, visit the local brewery.  (unlike our usual routine – we did not partake!)  We were happy to sit in this old time feeling lodge and enjoy being there – before heading back to the ship for a rest. 

Poor Alan was a bit under the weather today.  He started this trip with a cold and has fared along pretty well.  In fact, I thought he was all better.  But the day in Flam was really hard for him, he was low on energy and very congested.  I am not used to Alan being less than 100% and was really happy we had nothing to do most of the day.  We both needed the rest!

I mentioned the fact I have 10 pairs of shoes with me. Well, I also have 3 coats.  No idea what I was thinking when I packed, but with the rain and changeable weather, I have benefitted from having all of them!  One is a heavy winter coat, one is a virtually a windbreaker and the other one is a heavier wind breaker – I had not used this one since my last trip to Switzerland with the Guides.  That was about 2008!  So far, it is my favourite!  The next time I have to go on a trip and worry about luggage allowance, I don’t know how I will cope!

Later that day we sat in the harbour station, where the crew all use the free wifi!  We try to find where the crew go whenever we stop at ports when on a cruise. But time in Norway has been at such a premium we have not done this until now.  It is fantastic that some ports put on free wifi so those people who are so far from home can stay in touch with friends and family.  All the languages in this room made it feel a bit like the United Nations!  However, there ended up being too much strain on the wifi and we couldn’t get through.  Since I did have access to wifi on board, I decided to leave and let these folks have a better chance to “phone home!”

Here are some pictures just for fun:

 

The Boudicca taken by a friend of our's as we sailed past!

 

Captain Stein is Norwegian and appears to both love his country and his job!  He has been such fun and is the most approachable Ship's Captain I have ever seen.  Here he is on the bridge:

 

 

 

Fjord Farm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                  The sun even came out one day!

 

 

    

sunset at Olden

 

 

Olden was mainly a village for herring fishing until the oil industry became such big business. 

 

 

that is it for now.  

Visiting Olden and Floro

 

Arriving at Olden 

We have been docked overnight in Floro!  When we arrived at 8:30pm, we felt we were given shore leave and left the ship to get an advance idea of what Floro would have to offer!  Well, it didn’t take very long……everything was closed for the night. We did find a few bars, but one felt much too local and the other would have cost us the equivalent of £50 or $75 for 4 beers.  With very little atmosphere, we felt that money would be better spent on the ship and just came back.  But we also felt tomorrow is another day and are looking forward to discovering this darling village when it is awake!

One very interesting about Floro is that it is the westernmost town in Norway and there is nothing between it and the Americas!  So I will look West and give everyone in Canada a wave hello!

Yesterday was one of those rare perfect days that will last a lifetime in our memory.  We docked at Olden, but once again, had planned a trip so did not actually see Olden.  It looked precious too, but such is life.  

We were the first group to be tendered off the ship so we could catch our bus for our walk to Briksdal Glacier. We were informed that this is the largest glacier in Europe.  So that means I have visited both the highest, in Switzerland and the largest in Norway!  Maybe I should start bagging glaciers like people in Scotland bag Munros!

When we booked this trip, I knew it was a walk to the glacier, and I really worried about how high it would go and how long it would take me.  We only were allotted something around an hour – that meant to leave time for cakes and coffee afterward.  My uphill muscles and not that dependable and when we first saw the glacier, my worries tripled! 

 

First view of the Briksdal Gladier

 

The walk was not unpleasant though, and I spent the whole time in deep conversation with the dance instructor!  We had never met before and by the time of reaching the top, we knew all about each other’s families and many other things.  So that is my way of bragging that not only did I make it to the end of the walk, but I was able to walk, talk and breath at the same time. And in all honesty, we only went to  the base, not the top.  (Thank goodness!)

Alan and Pat at the Briksdal Glacier

 

The lake at the base of the glacier was so cold it had bits of the glacier floating about in it!  One of our group decided to suck an ice cube and she said it tasted like mineral water.  I was not brave enough to do this!

 

Briksdal Ice!

 

The other thing, I don’t think the camera could catch, was the color of the glacier.  It was that lovely blue you see in photos from Alaska.  Here is the picture, you might have to use your imagination to see the blue though.

 

 

 

On the way up and the way down, we saw these beautiful goats.  One had such amazing markings that made it look more like a small deer than and goat.  But it never cooperated for me to get its good side!

For some reason, I can't access the picture of the goats to post, sorry! Will try another time.

 

AND I made it down in time for cakes! 

 

Alan and I walked into Floro this morning and found  a more vibrant town than last night!  The buildings are really cute and the harbour has loads of private boats, plus the most modern ferries I have ever seen.  But from what I understand, at least this part of Norway had very few roads until recently.  Everyone depended upon ferries to get anywhere.  Now there are roads, although many look like single track roads, and loads of tunnels as well.  But there are still many, many ferries too.  As dependent as we are upon our cars, I can’t imagine this way of life. But it must be more relaxed and pleasant that what we are used to! 

Floro also has a tourist information place with free wifi!  Alan and I sat there for a while checking emails, etc on our tablets. But to do this blog, I need my laptop so am restricted to doing this on board the ship, on their internet service!  Not ideal, but I like doing this blog, so worth the sacrifice of having to sit in the lounge or bar, having a drink to be polite! And catching up on the day. 

“Nature does great things without asking for reward”

Alexandri Herzen

Geirangerfjord Day Trip

 

 

Last night we attempted to get to bed early so we would be bright eyed and ready for an all-day bus journey to experience this UNESCO World Heritage Norwegian Fjord!  But the moon came out with the sun still up, it never got dark and we were afraid we might miss something!  As a result, both Alan and I slept quite a bit on this 8 hour trip, but we didn’t miss the important things! 

 

We docked at Alesund, sorry for the lack of proper Norwegian keyboard letters.  I know there must be a way to get them, but my time on both the laptop and the internet are very limited – after all there is a massive amount of scenery to see, so I hope you forgive me for not taking the time to investigate where to find the correct letters!

small farm on the shore of Geirangerfjord

 

This city is famous for its Art Nouveau buildings and we were lucky to see these on the way back to the ship. But we had to make a difficult choice to miss seeing this city and jump on a bus to see the fjord.  And it was beautiful!  There were 3 ferry journeys – one was the main trip down Geirangerfjord, and the other 2 were very similar to going to Millport (if you are not familiar with this – imagine a ferry to take you across a wide river or lake).  There were loads of tunnels too! 

 

The ferry journey down Geirangerfjord took just over an hour and we saw so many wonderful waterfalls and abandoned farms way up on cliffs.  At least one of these farms had to tether their kids so they would not fall!  From what I could gather, the farms all seemed to be abandoned in about the 60’s,  and I could only relate this to when the US bought the Current River in Missouri to protect it and allow everyone to enjoy it.  There were loads of abandoned summer homes on that when my Dad and I first canoed down the Current River the year it became the first National River!

 Geiranger, only 5 cruise ships area allowed here per day, ours' was not one of these today.

Not only was it really interesting to see these little farms all up and down the cliffs, but we also had the highlight of seeing the Hurtigruten ship.  When we originally talked about going to Norway, we intended to go on this ship.  It is not a cruise ship, but a working service ship, making deliveries on a daily basis all up and down the Norwegian coast.  They also take passengers…..this is not a grand cruise and proper dress for dinner might include hiking boots.  But it always sounded amazing.  (Obviously, we got a better offer….)  So it was like seeing an old friend when we spotted this little ship in the middle of the cruise liners docked at Geiranger.  The smaller ship in this picture is the Hurtigruten as it began its journey away from Geiranger. 

 

Before returning to the ship, we had a lovely 3 course lunch, then back on board virtually on time to sail away.   Without the detour the bus took through the area of Alesund that had been burned and rebuilt in roughly 1908, we would never have seen the Art Nouveau area this city is famous for.  But, I must admit, after seeing it, I doubt I would have missed it.  Sadly, I do not “get” Art Nouveau, so it was lost on me….

 

“The journey of a thousand miles must begin with one step.”  Lao Tzu

 

 

 

 

Sea Day complete with Helicopter rescue (drill)

 

 

Our second day at sea was very relaxing and easy….I attended  a craft class, no  line dancing today – although a really good class yesterday.  Met up with friends, sat out at the pool, with coat, hat and scarf…..ate a good lunch. What more could you ask for?

 

A helicopter rescue drill, that is what we needed!  And we got one, what a show that was.  The captain announced the Shetlands Coast Guard were coming to do a drill, so none of us was worried when they arrived and began their rescue mission.  The skill it must take for the helicopter to hover right in front of the ship and drop off a pallet to, in theory, collect a person in distress.  It was so impressive and fun to watch. Not to mention the most exciting thing that was happening all day today! 

 

Once the show was over, we all went back to sitting in the sun, reading, napping or whatever.  Life is good!



 

 

Seeing Scotland from a different angle

Boudicca Cruise – Trolls of Norway – June to July 2013

This cruise was really not supposed to happen!  On our anniversary in March, Alan and I went to the Carrick Lodge and had a fantastic conversation, which ended in an agreement to island hop this summer.  Our plans were to purchase the island hopper ferry pass and wander all over Barra, Uist, Lewis, Harris, Skye and anywhere else that tickled our fancy….

 

Then, Alan did his best to change my mind.  He kept finding cruise offers to all kinds of wonderful places, with all kinds of special deals.  No, I was having none of it; we were going to the islands…

 On Sunday June 23, we began our journey to the fjords of Norway on a Fred Olson cruise that left from Greenock, Scotland. I love how determined and stubborn I can be!

Not only can Alan be very persuasive, but this cruise offer was really good, and we only had to drive north about 45 minutes!  Added to this, the generous luggage allowance -90 kg per person (about the equivalent of 4 suitcases!).   Who could say no to this!  I am considering calling this blog the Divine Decadence tour since I had no limits in what I packed, including 10 pairs of shoes for 9 days.  Does travelling get better than that?

We did have some concerns though, this ship is known to have problems with the Norovirus and the average passenger age is 67.  So we really didn’t know what to expect, packing extra hand sanitizer just in case though.  And checking in, looking around, it is obvious this cruise caters to older folks, but there are also folks “our age” on board. Being a smaller ship, we have met so many more people in the day and a half here that we ever did on a giant ship like the Azura.  Things in general are more relaxed on this smaller ship.  I just might be a convert to Fred Olson cruises!

As for the Norovirus – who knows but you can catch that anywhere. And they have taken massive precautions to prevent this – such as no self-service on the buffet.  This is a strange concept, since many people love to go to a buffet and load their plates. Difficult to do when you are asking a server to do this….and the normal self-serve coffee areas – if you want a coffee, you wait until a server comes along to pour it for you.  I imagine the money they are saving on food waste from the buffet alone will more than cover the extra service staff they must have had to hire!

We have heard that the many Scottish passengers on board, who make up the majority of the passenger list, came along just to enjoy the picturesque Scottish coast.  It has been breath-taking, all day yesterday so many of us stayed outside or in the observatory bar just to see it all.  This country is beautiful.  And I did get to wave at Barra, Uist, Lewis, Harris, Skye……maybe not the same, but I am certain we will see them up close and personal another time.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed
by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do.
So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
Mark Twain