RandiPet

We left Dragsvik on the Sognefjord on Wednesday and drove to Bergen. Once again, the ride was beautiful. We drove through more valleys, more mountains then more valleys. And we drove through 39 tunnels, 6 of which we over a mile long. We took this route because the other route had a tunnel that was over 25 kilometers. After arriving in Bergen, we dropped off the rental car and hoofed it for 3 days. Bergen reminds me of a small San Francisco in a way. It's surrouinded by mountains and lies right where a fjord meets the sea. Our hotel is right on an avenue that used to be the docks and there are fresh fish markets close by. It was also where we tasted some of the best food on our trip. We found the ... read more

Today we crossed the country of Norway from east to west, crossing over it's 'spine'. It was a 6 1/2 hour drive which started in the valleys near Lillehammer, continued through the central mountains and descended to the base of the longest fjord in the world. The roads were winding and narrow and the pace was slow, but around every turn was a new magnificent sight. They say a picture is worth a thousand words - and I cannot attempt to put into words what we saw today. So I'll just post a few of the many, many pictures we took during the drive. ... read more

Our last day in Oslo was raining, so we went to more museums. I finally saw "The Scream"; in fact we saw 2 versions of it at two different art museums. Frankly, I think Munch's other paintings and etchings are better than the "The Scream", but that's just my opinion. I'll post some of my favorite art that we've seen so far on a later blog, rather than bore some of you who don't share my particular taste. Thursday, we picked up our rental car and headed out of Oslo to Lillehammer. It was an easy and scenic drive of about 2 hours. This is the furthest north either of us has ever been. It's the same latitude as Anchorage, Alaska. We arrived around 3pm yesterday, and spent the afternoon walking around the town, which is ... read more

We spent our last day in Copenhagen visiting two of the many art museums in the city. We narrowed our visits to the post Impressionist artists - Gaugin, Degas, Monet, Lautrec, Picasso, and Matisse, to name a few. Rooms and rooms of my favorite artists, and we found some new Danish favorites. Then packed our bags and headed to the port where we boarded the ferry bound for Oslo. After a very pleasant ferry ride and huge dinner in one of the restaurants on board, we went to bed and woke up just outside of Oslo. We then checked in at our hotel and boarded a sightseeing bus to get the general layout of the city. Our first impression is very positive - lovely old buildings mixed in with modern, but architecturally charming buildings. Like Copenhagen, ... read more

Ralph and I are off again - this time to Denmark and Norway for three weeks. Neither of us have been there so it should be a whole new adventure for us. And, of course, I'm combining my family research with our vacation. Last fall, I finally discovered the actual farms where my Norwegian great, great, grandparents were born. So now we have a reason to visit the Lillehammer area in the central mountains, and the fjordlands on the west coast. Fortunately, no volcanos have erupted recently so we're safe to fly! Our plane lands in Copenhagen Thursday afternoon, where we'll relax for a few days and get used to European time. Then we take an overnight ferry to Oslo, Norway. After a four day stay in Oslo, we'll pick up a car and drive into ... read more