Blogs from Norway, Europe - page 6

This morning we woke up in Tromso Norway. This is the 3rd largest city above the Arctic circle, with a population of about 77,000. Tromso is actually several hundred kilometers above the circle, but it has a comparatively comfortable climate because the Florida Gulf Stream pumps warm water up the east coast and across the top of the Atlantic, where is reaches Norway. Today we had delightful weather. It was sunny all day with only a slight wind. The ship's weather screen said just 51, but while we were on our excursion it seemed more like 60. But we could not have asked for anything better as far as the weather. Our ship docked at a pier in the deep-water channel, so the immediate surroundings were pretty industrial. There is another pier closer to the center ... read more

Hello from Olden Norway. This delightful town is located near the end of the Nordfjord, which is the longest fjord in Europe. it is 100 km in length, which is 62 miles. The fjord splits off into several small fjords at its inland side, with Olden being one of the towns. Anyway, we started sailing into the fjord from the North Sea about 4:00 in the morning and did not reach port until nearly 8:00 AM. Since the sun had been up for hours, it was easy to see scenery and take pictures along the way. David did not start until 5:30, but others were already snapping photos earlier. We got up and dressed, and then headed to the Horizon Court for a light breakfast. As our ship approached Olden, we saw another ship anchored in ... read more

Shelley and I woke up this morning in our hotel in Bodø and enjoyed another wonderful breakfast downstairs. The plan today was to collect my cousins Kjetil in town and bring him out to Fauske with us so that he could get a visit in with Kristine and also meet up with some of the other cousins he hadn't seen for a while. We drove to Kjetil's neighbourhood, but the GPS had us over shoot his location by a number of blocks. After a few Messenger phone calls, we got it sorted and he made his way to our car (we couldn't turn around on the one way street!). We then set off for the one hour's drive to Fauske. The drive to Fauske was nice. The roads were thin, as usual, and windy, as usual. ... read more

Today was the day we left for the Lofoten Islands. We arrived at the ferry terminal in Bodø and with our advanced reservation tickets, we were able to get into the proper line to ensure we boarded the ferry first. That was a smart move on our part having this all pre-booked. The ferry was packed with people travelling to Lofoten and beyond; many camper vans and RV’s in the line up. There were some people who were only walking on the ferry and it’s free for them to do so. Only vehicles are charged based on height and length. We noticed as we were being loaded onto the ferry that we were going to be heading ‘down’ into the ferry below decks, and that the deck above would be closed upon us as we entered ... read more

We awoke quite early this morning. Our flight from Oslo to Bodø on Norwegian Airlines was scheduled for 8:30 this morning. I woke up on my own at 20 mins to 5…..super early. Showered and ready, Shelley then got herself ready, followed by Kristine. We were downstairs and outside at the curb waiting for the shuttle bus to the airport at 5:55 am for the 6:10 shuttle. The shuttle arrived and we got on board. It didn’t take long to get to the airport. Our check in process was self-serve and pretty much seamless. We even had quick security screening access with our tickets. Wonderful stuff. Once we passed through security, we made our way towards our gate but stopped to grab a couple of items for breakfast. I had enjoyed a little package of Vestland’s ... read more