Tall Ships and Visiting voss

---

Hello There, We are now in England in the village of Corsham, not far from Bath and we have meet up with Pam and Warwick. Yesterday we left Bergen with a large amount of regret at leaving the kids but with the excitement off the next stage of our trip. The stay of 2 weeks in Spain and then 4 weeks in Norway with the kids was just brilliant and it is always very emotional when leaving them. The good thing is that we will see them at Christmas as they will be joining us down under for over 3 weeks. So that keeps us going and we can't wait to see Lilly and Stella together with their NZ cousins Holly and Ella as well as Chris, Hege, Amy and Jeremy being together again. It will be magic. Of course the language problem is not bad as Lilly's english is extremely good and I can't believe how much Stella was using by the time we left. At 3 years she seemed to pick it up amazingly well, with help from Lilly. Kids are amazing aren't they. They adapt to all sorts of situations and take on board so much in their formative years. To hear Stella say to me " Pops, come here" or Go away Pops" or "pick me up Pops" just blows me away. It will be a great Christmas. As I have said, the weather we enjoyed in Bergen was unbelievable. We only saw rain on one day early in the stay and then for a couple of days prior to leaving. It was magic. So, about the Tall Ships. This was a spectacle that I will probably never ever see again, and it was spectacular. It is a type of celebration race that covers Norway Denmark and the Netherlands. The ships are from many different countries and there were about 100 of them. We were in at the port for sometime on the day of their arrival and watched many arrive and even went on board to look around them. While on board a Russian ship we watched the Bergen Ship called the Statsraad Lehmkuhl arrive and all the crew were in the rigging and were singing as the ship came in. Very very emotional for every body that witnessed this. It sounded great and looked great. A very very memorable day for us all. A couple of days later we went up to Voss, about and hour inland from Bergen, and stayed in a cabin that Hege has access to through her company. It is an amazing cabin with a fantastic view and we had a great time for a few days. Voss is only 57mts above sea level but it feels as though you are on top of the world as it is surrounded by mountains, rivers and lakes. The cabin was over 200mts above the town which is well known for its extreme sports areas. We spent time walking swimming and enjoying the sun. Will fill you in on our last days in Bergen next blog in a few days. Catch you then Pip/Rod

---

Photos

Just one of the Ships.
They came in all shapes and sizes.

Tall Masts
So high, you wouldn't get me up there.

Rune in Control.
Rune takes over the sailing of a Russian ship.

The Old and the New.
A cruise liner at berth and a Tall ship coming in. Contrasting styles and sizes. Oh how times have changed.

Emotional Moment for Bergen.
The Ship called Statsraad Lehmkuhl arrives with the crew in the rigging singing. Absolutely an amazing sight.

Di on Board.
On board one of the tall ships.

The Singing Crew.
The signing came through load and clear.

Bergen Port.
Tall ships everywhere. Truly amazing.

Everywhere.
They were in all directions.

Great Looking Ship.
Some of them were huge.

Great View.
The view from the cabin we had at Voss.

Great Place.
Down by the lake with the mountains in the back.

Were's Di.
Diane hiding behind a tree.

There She Is.
Di not hiding behind a tree. The kids were hiding behind trees as well.

Walking.
Walking up a large chasm.

Lovely Spot.
A neat walk up the chasm above a lovely river.

Kids With Attitude.
Oh boy!!! I feel that they will get all they can out of life.

Here We Come.
Hege and Stella enjoy the slide at Voss.

Up Up and Away.
Going up in the Cable car above Voss.

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Tall ships
These are always so amazing.

[Hege]

Miss you guys!
Great pictures and great memories... Enjoy the rest of your holiday!