Blogs from Lillehammer, Eastern Norway, Norway, Europe

Today we bid farewell to Sweden, the land of unisex bathrooms and over-groomed men, as we make our way over the northern route and on into Norway. Today was another traveling day, as Maja warned us about this trip, the journey is often better than the destination. After a delicious breakfast in the grandest hotel in Falun, we made a brief stop at the Falun Copper Mine. The Falun Copper Mine began production as near as they can tell around the 9th or 10th century, reaching its peak in the 17th century at about 3000 tons/year. In 1687, mostly due to inadequate records of the tunnels dug over the centuries, the myriad of tunnels collapsed. Fortunately, the collapse happened on Mid-Summers Eve, one of the few holidays where the mine was not in operation, so no ... read more

At the point that Bill and I were about to leave this Cosmos tour of Scandinavia, I thought it was only fair that we should talk with our program director to let her know about our dissatisfaction with the lack of information and the non-centrally located hotels offered on this trip. This was not a comfortable thing for me to do. She obviously knew about the hotel locations (and may have picked them herself), but seemed surprised when I mentioned that we had expected frequent commentaries during the bus rides; she said she thought no one was interested since no one was asking questions. We were sitting in the back of the bus, so it wasn't possible for her to hear us at all, but I felt it was up to her as the program director ... read more

Sunrise today was around 4:00 a.m. We just found out today that our room had room darkening shades on them, which we didn’t use so I was up for what was promising to be another outstanding weather day. We were all packed and had our bags out at 6:30 and then went down to our breakfast buffet which was delicious. They had a variety of meats, cheeses, fruits, breads, ingredients for muesli, eggs, sausages. Juices. I cannot believe the value of a Gate 1 vacation. We are traveling in a very roomy tourist coach. There are only 29 people, so we can spread out as we like. The tour director really wants us to be in our assigned seats, but some of the group balked a little bit, so we will see what happens tomorrow. Today ... read more

Pre-conceptions of Norway before boarding the Oslo-bound flight were of a clean, pricey nation blessed with awesome natural features, a high standard of living, a civilized society and the only existing country on earth with no external debt. Upon arrival in this Scandinavian country, it soon became apparent that all of these pre-conceptions were not only true, but palpably so, in the sense that you could actively 'feel' the shocking expense, the standard of living, the cleanliness and, surrounded by nature in the likeable ski resort town of Hafjell, the effects seeped into my system, in a way which made it hard to even contemplate how contrasting the place might have looked if the blanket of snow were removed. The ski terrain itself, while being relatively limited, was enough scope for a full 5 days of ... read more

Those 120 degree days and 85 degree nights seem a long way from where I am now. At 62 degrees north, I'm the same latitude as a point between Anchorange and Denali Nat'l Park in Alaska. Ironically enough, 62 degrees also happens to be the temperature up here as well - awesomely comfortable. My first day in Oslo, the 14th, I got a card from the tourist office which you can use to rent a bike. There are racks all over town, so when you get somewhere you just put the bike back, then get another one when you're ready to go. Only 3 gears, and not the fastest things on the road...but they definitely did the job! The main attraction here were the Edvard Munch collections, at the National Museum and the Munch Musset. Very, ... read more