Beginnings and Endings

Hi everyone

I left you with a cliff-hanger about what was happening when we trying to get back to Germany, but first I have BIG NEWS!!!!!

Last night (Monday night), Norbert took me out to a really posh restaurant here in Frankfurt supposedly to celebrate the end of our wonderful trip.....but he produced a ring and asked me to marry him!!!!!!!!!! [wide eyes] Oh, and I said YES, of course. [grin] Here is a photo of the special night, and the ring. A funny twist is that apparently I brought the ring with me! He had been planning this all along but in the mad panic to leave Adelaide, forgot to pack the ring. Eeek! But in his usual "I'll work it out" way, he asked me to bring over a small package of shell casings which apparently were unique to Australia and he said he wanted to show them to his new mates at the shooting club in Fulda. Of course I didn't think anything of that as it is just the sort of thing he would do, and I happily brought them with me. Well, apparently the ring was taped to the bottom of the box!. [laugh] Very conniving, isn't he! ...Heh, heh...

And then he was planning the 'big event' for a night on the ship, under the midnight sun. Well the clouds prevented a clear night and then of course he got sick....so he planned it for our final night. I'm so excited!!!! [spins in a circle] No definite date for a wedding yet but plenty of time to think about it when we get home.

And speaking of coming home...today is the day! [big grin] (When I left you last, a small drama was evolving with the weight of our suitcases, and it got even funnier as the day went on.

Sunday, 29/6 - Getting to Frankfurt
Well, we had FINALLY gotten to the right airport...luckily with time to spare thanks to finding out early enough....and then we check in to find we are STILL more than 2kg over on each suitcase and Ryan Air don't have any tolerance levels....we got charged for the extra weight which added up to more than than another full-fare ticket! Grrrr....... Anyway, the flight was uneventful and we arrived safely in Frankfurt....at Hahn airport which is an hour and 45mins away from Frankfurt! [sigh] Lugged the suitcases and various bits of hand-luggage onto the shuttle bus and sat in the bus for longer than the flight to Germany. [grin]

And does the saga stop there? Hmmm....no....wait for it..... Arrived at the main train station in Frankfurt (which was the final stop for the bus), and the hotel was about a kilometre away. So we dragged the suitcases up stairs, across cobbled streets and over roads with high kerbs for about a kilometre, until we realised that the street we were looking for didn't seem to be where we thought it might be. So...picture this....we are standing on a corner of a street with 2 big suitcases and a multitude of handluggage strewn around, and the laptop open and balanced on top of one of the suitcases. Norbert had saved a map onto the laptop (in retrospect would have been more convenient on the PDA) but it revealed the ugly truth. We were going in the wrong direction! [pained laugh] So....turn around and walk the other direction until we finally found the hotel. Whew!

But does it stop there? Not quite. We checked in and were directed to a building out the back for our room....and discovered that the building has no lift! So Norbert had to lug the suitcases up a twisting flight of stairs. Thank goodness we weren't on the top floor! [laugh] But all's well that ends well, and after a late tea of take-away Thai, we tried out the comfy beds and slept solidly until morning.

Monday, 30/6 - Final day in Germany
One day to take in Frankfurt so we wandered around the old part of the city first and then headed for the river to indulge in one of my favourite ways of getting acquainted with a city....from a boat. Spent a relaxing couple of hours cruising up and down the River Main, getting slowly sunburnt and relaxed. No energy for much when we got back so sat at a little cafe in the main square and enjoyed icecream before walking back to the hotel. The weather here is lovely and warm....about 29-30degrees at a guess.....and I'm soaking it all up in preparation for the cold Adelaide winter to come.

The evening I have already described so I won't go into that again except to say that it was a magic night in the balmy evening air. We sat out on the balcony of the restaurant and drank champagne and toasted our future life together.

Tuesday, 1/7 - Home, James....and don't spare the horses
Final words on this blog before we head to the airport, and thanks to everyone who has valiantly hung in there and coped with my inability to write short blog postings. [grin] I've got an avalanche of clothing and other stuff which I have to get into my suitcase so I must go.

See you in Australia!

Yet another airport story

Hi everyone....bet you didn't expect to hear from me again so soon, but I must tell you about our latest 'airport story'. All travellers have them but this is one we'll probably use at dinner parties in the future. [laugh]

This morning in the hotel in Oslo, we were madly packing our stuff to turn 20kg suitcases into 15kg suitcases, because we had bookings on Ryan Air which has this restriction. This meant we left a bit behind in the hotel room but mainly we filled our jacket pockets with heavy stuff...I crammed my 'handbag' with heavier items like shoes and trackpants....and Norbert put so much into his backpack that he may have a lifetime back injury!

Anyway, we wandered down to the Reception and COMPLETELY ACCIDENTALLY ran into Klaars...our Globus Tour Guide. When talking to him about our baggage weight issues he questioned the airport that we were leaving from as he found it confusing that we were catching a Ryan Air flight from the main Oslo airport.

Quick check of the paperwork and we found that he was right!!!!!!!!! Eeeek!!!! We were actually leaving from an airport more than an hour and a half away!!!!!! Thank God for tour guides because he had all the info on the top of his head regarding how to get there and where we needed to go, and so our 'few hours of leisure' quickly dissolved into getting to the bus station and buying a bus ticket for Torp airport.

Whew! We made it but imagine what would have happened if we hadn't accidentally run into Klaars! We would now be sitting in the wrong airport with no time to get to the right one, and we would have lost our flight. Oh well....this is the stuff that travel is all about. [grin]

But we made it, and we're now sitting in the CORRECT airport waiting for the plane to Frankfurt.

BUT....drama number 2 is evolving as Norbert just came back from weighing out suitcases...and they are both overweight. [sigh] (Mental note to self.....the cheap flights might seem worth the saving from the money point of view, but I'm having serious doubts about the value from the broader perspective.) :-/

The Scandinavian tour rolls to a close...

Hi again everyone!

Back to 'normal' Scandinavian internet again....free, fast and wireless. [dreamy look] Lovely to hear from you Allison, and it must have taken more than a couple of glasses of beer to wade through all of the Scandinavian posts! [grin]

Our tour is almost at an end and tomorrow we fly back to Germany for a couple of days in Frankfurt before the long-haul flight home. We arrive back in Adelaide on Thursday, 3rd July....and will then probably SLEEP for the next 48 hours or more. :-D But to fill you in on what we've been doing since leaving the Hurtigruten Cruise.....

Thursday 26/6 - Back to dry land at Trondheim
Had to set the alarm again....not an easy thing to cope with after 4 days of being on 'boat time'. But we still had places to go so had an early breakfast (Norbert managed a cracker and some diluted apple juice) and then left the ship for the last time to be reunited with our bus...and Arne, our bus driver who had valiantly driven the bus all the way down to meet us.

Not sure what to write for the rest of the day as it was very much a 'bus day', as we had to get to Lillehammer before evening. It's ridiculous how one can get completely blase about amazing scenery if you see it day after day, but we all agreed that we were already saying "Ho hum...high mountains topped with glistening snow. (yawn) Cascading waterfalls of melting snow, rushing down high cliffs encrusted with dark fir trees. Hmmm...yet another green valley dotted with colourful little wooden houses." [laugh] I'm kidding of course, however ...[frowns]... do you know what I mean? Your brain just 'gets tired' of processing all the beauty and wonder around, and as each corner brings yet another beautiful view, each one dulls just a little more. A pity really, but I guess the only way around it would be to holiday for a couple of days, then take a break and go back to work for a week. [grin] Not really practical from far away Australia.

Norbert was picking up slowly during the day and by lunchtime was starting to eat more and laugh with the others. What do you think of his 'new girlfriend'? A little more 'well-endowed' than me, although I think the beer in each hand is the main attraction. [guffaw]

A couple we are getting on well with told this hilarious story I must share because I relate to it so much! [chuckles] HE was a snorer and suffered apnoeia and used to stop breathing in the night. SHE was always worried and used to nudge him to get him breathing again. Until one night when she was so tired that when she woke up and he was lying silently next to her, she said, "Oh well...dead is dead....nothing I can do until tomorrow anyway." And she turned over and went back to sleep! [laughs loudly] Of course he has never let her forget this! ROFL

When we arrived in Lillehammer (the place of the '94 winter olympics) we had a photo stop of the ski jumps. (Seen a lot of ski jumps on this tour!) But the best excursion was to the Maihaugen Museum....another one of those open air museums similar to the one we visited in the Black Forest, but this time showing Norwegian houses over the centuries. I took a photo of inside one of the farm-houses....can you see Norbert sitting in the back row? Really interesting museum but we could have spent the whole day there...and of course this is not possible on a guided tour so we unfortunately had to leave before we wanted to. We had arrived late anyway and the museum was closing. Oh well...put it on the list of 'things to see next time we're here'. [philosophical look]

Tea was a Norwegian buffet, and we got to try all sorts of interesting food. Admittedly a lot of it was fish which one would expect, but the desserts were all spectacular too! Reeeeeally need to get onto that diet as soon as we get home!

Friday 27/6 - From sunshine to rain.....and on to Oslo, our final destination
The day started out with blue sky and sunshine, and many of our group fronted up to the bus wearing shorts, thongs and T'shirts. Unfortunately this didn't last and a hundred kilometres down the road, one of the group asked (jokingly....I think) if the driver could pull over and wait for him to put his long pants on. [giggles] By the time we got to Oslo it was raining....and this didn't let up for the rest of the day. [sigh] Oh well...welcome to a Scandinavian summer!

Oslo is the last place we stop, and is a fairly large city. The tour guide confided that although he loves the place, the people are a little 'strange'...for example, they have a (very serious) morning paper that all the business people get. Except that it is called the 'Evening Post'. [laugh] They called an electric tram 'Trikk'...short for electric, of course! And a car is called a 'Bil'....short for automobile, naturally. [grin]

The afternoon was spent doing a city tour with another vivacious tour guide called Ann-Marie, who shared lots of interesting information including the fact that Oslo is currently hosting a homosexual convention. (We have spent the last day or so playing 'spot the gay' ...all in the best of taste and good fun, of course). Anyway...back to the tour.....she took us to the City Hall first which might sound a bit boring but was actually quite impressive as it is filled with the most e-n-o-r-m-o-u-s wall murals. Apparently the people of Oslo have taken a while to get used to them because they are quite modern, but as Ann-Marie said, it is important to not only preserve history, but to create NEW history. And I agree. I thought it looked great!

Then we went to a park called Frogner Park which is filled with the most amazing sculptures, all done by one man! Took him a lifetime and broke up his own relationship, but I guess the people of Oslo have the final benefit as it is really beautiful. Would have been more beautiful with blue skies and sunshine but by now the rain was coming down steadily so we saw it in the rain. One of the cutest statues was a little boy chucking a tantrum and Ann-Marie said that it is a favourite for all parents. What do you think? LOL

Dinner was an optional excursion, but the majority of us sauntered out to the bus at 6:30pm, dressed in all our finery. Mind you, a fair bit of the finery was a little creased from being crushed in the bottom of suitcases for so long, but we all had the same problem so nobody cared. I had my 'wedding outfit from the Berlin wedding still with me, so I wore this (see photo below). The restaurant was up in the mountains overlooking the city, so first our driver took us for a little tour of the 'Gin & Jag' suburbs, so we could see how the rich people lived. One thing I found interesting.....sod (grass) roofs were all the poor people could afford, but now it is something the rich people want! So you get these million dollar homes sitting high on the hill surrounded by generous gardens and with amazing views....and on the roof is grass and weeds!!! Give me a nice iron roof anyday, so I can hear the rain! [smile]

The dinner was a bit of a disappointment and in fact I thought the dinners on the cruise and at the hotels were generally better. But I did get to try Elk. (You know, that animal which is bigger than a deer.) Hmmm...nothing to write home about but it was OK. Which reminds me...there has been an ongoing 'debate' happening during this tour, originating from a Canadian on board who insists that it is called Moose. Back and forth the debate has been going until Norbert finally settled it by going onto the internet one night, and finding out that in fact they are the same animal, just called different names in different countries! So there....one learns something new every day!

Saturday 28/6 - Just looking around Oslo
Started the day with an optional tour....a trip to 3 different museums to see relics of Norway's glorious seafaring past including genuine Viking ships. Actually it was all quite interesting, but my favourite place was where they have the original, 100 year old ship which they sailed into the ice of the Arctic, and just allowed it to 'grab them' and move with the ice for years.....to prove that there is an ice-flow over the North Pole. You could even go on board the ship and down into the galleys and kitchen etc. Trust me Skye...even you would have found it fascinating. [grin]

Had the afternoon free to do what we wanted, so first we wandered over to the railway station to research how we were going to get to the airport tomorrow (its 35km away!) After deciding that the Express Train was the way to go, we checked out the new Opera House which has only been open a couple of months. Amazing structure! All white...like a snow-covered mountain....and all slopes and levels so you can actually walk right up to the roof for a lovely view out over the city. Not sure if I would say it is nicer than the Sydney Opera House, but it is very modern and different. Next on the agenda was the National Gallery, where I discovered another painter who I really admire...Johann Christian Dahl....as I just loved his paintings of Norwegian landscapes. Wish I could have one...but the travel budget is getting a bit low now. :-)

We thought we might blow the last of the Norwegian kroner with a bottle of wine, but were amazed to see that the ONE place you can buy alcohol here, closes at 3pm on a Saturday! And doesn't open at all on a Sunday! Its government run and you can't buy a bottle of wine absolutely anywhere else. [sigh] Boy...I miss the cheap Schnapps in Germany, available from every corner store. Don't get me wrong,...I'm no alcoholic but to be in a country where the government has complete control of the alcohol and decides on the pricing (its reeeeeally expensive) is not something I'm used to.

While some of us will see each other at breakfast tomorrow, the tour officially ended tonight with a farewell dinner at the hotel. There was lots of card-swapping, speeches and talks of 'who is doing what' tomorrow. And that's it!

Tomorrow we amuse ourselves in the morning and then get ourselves to the airport for our 4:30pm flight back to Germany. Not sure when the next blog posting will be as Norbert keeps referring to Germany as the 'black hole of the internet' so it will definitely be the end of the free and easy internet access. We might be able to buy some though.

Bye all!

PS: Heather, you asked about whether I've seen a polar bear....will this photo do? :-)

Over the top and back down the west side of Norway

Back again everyone!
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the internet connection again as it failed a few times last time and prevented me putting up a couple of the photos I wanted you to see. Oh well. When one is sending a blog from a moving ship at sea, one must be grateful for what one can get! I'm not complaining as I've had worse connections from some TAFE campuses. [cheeky grin] Do you like this photo I took yesterday?
Tuesday 24/6 - Stories of Midnight Music and Sea Eagles
But first let me tell you about last night. The afternoon 'Nanna Nap' helped because when the bus picked us up from the wharf just after midnight, I was bright, wide awake and ready to party! [laugh] Its a pity that the blue sky was so short-lived as I still don't have a picture of the midnight sun as such...however here is a photo of what the sky looked like at midnight, just before we left. And it didn't look a lot different when we got back just before 2am.

The midnight concert was just lovely. Only 3 people performing so it was more of a recital than a concert, but it was in the Arctic Cathedral which is a majestic church with white, sloping walls that soar high above and mimic the snow covered mountain peaks. The acoustics were amazing and no amplification was needed at all as the sounds of the instruments (piano, trumpet, organ) and voice (baritone) rang out clear and pure. The performance was of Norwegian folk songs, hymns and other traditional songs so we couldn't understand the language but it was quite ethereal and beautiful, made more so by the time, place and setting. I had one of those 'moments' one sometimes gets whenI thought to myself..."I am sitting in the Arctic Cathedral in a little town in Norway, listening to beautiful music at 1am...and it is daylight outside. Wow." Sometimes 'real life' seems so far away and I guess this is what makes a 'real holiday'. [smile]

Got up late the next morning but still in time for breakfast. We had booked a 'Sea Eagle Tour' for the afternoon so just before 4pm the Cruise Captain called all participants down to the hold where a door was opened in the side, and a small boat was attempting to match our pace and dock alongside the ship. Tentatively we stepped over to the little boat and took off for the Troll Fijord, leaving the Vesteralen to follow laboriously on behind. If anyone has cruised Milford Sound on the South Island of New Zealand you will have an idea of what the Troll Fijord is like....soaring cliffs, waterfalls cascading down the side and breathtaking scenery. The Troll Fijord is too hard to describe, and its definitely one of those 'you just have to go and see it for yourself' kind of places.

But we were there to see Sea Eagles too! A couple of crew hands began by throwing bread to the gulls as I think the activity attracts the Eagles. Now these aren't the same as your local sea-gulls although they come from the same family. They are larger, have dark-coloured backs, a hump on the top of their bills...and they fly silently. No silly screeching. This was a good sight in itself as the gulls kept up with boat, swooping and playing on the air currents as they expertly caught bread in the air or swooped down to take some themselves.

But then, everyone was pointing high into the air as the boat stopped and everyone watched a Sea Eagle gracefully circle around. The crew hands (two young girls) quickly swapped the bread for a fish and threw it out into the water. The Sea Eagle dropped out of the sky and swooped down to grab the fish before turning the manouvre into a vertical climb, back to the high cliffs above.

All together we saw 6 Sea Eagles but after a couple of hours were getting very wet and cold so headed to a small town where we were once again, reunited with the Vesteralen.....and hot coffee and dry clothes. [grin]

Wednesday 25/6 - More beautiful views but Norbert is only seeing the inside of his eyelids
Unfortunately, Norbert became ill during the night and has spent the day in bed today and missed seeing some of the lovely sights slipping by us as we continue to make our way southward, down the west coast of Norway. We have crossed the Arctic Circle again...marked this side of the country by a pillar of stone topped with a globe (on a small island), so although the sky is still cloudy and the wind is cold, we are slowly making our way back down to the lower latitudes again.

Norbert got up for breakfast but only made it for 20 minutes before retreating back to the cabin...and he has been there since. Not sure what it is but I'm crossing every finger and toe that it isn't contagious!!! Some kind of gastric bug I think...hopefully the 24 hour kind. At least he picked a good day because we had no specific activities booked for today and apart from the fact that he is missing the lovely scenery passing by the windows of the ship, he has the time to lie in bed and get well again. I'm spending my time enjoying the scenery for both of us, writing this blog and drinking tea. [grin]

I'm getting really used to the 'rythm' of this ship, so it will be a bit hard to leave it tomorrow morning. The day revolves around meals, meeting for coffee in one of the lounges, staring out at the amazing scenery that just passes by and enjoying walks ashore during the frequent port calls. The bumps and groans of loading and unloading are starting to become just normal background happenings, and one ceases to notice the feeling of movement underfoot. Mind you, its pretty calm as we sail between islands so even somebody prone to sea-sickness (like me) would have no problem.

Here's a photo of me sitting in the Panorama Lounge, just relaxing and looking out at one of the cute little villages. Are you jealous? [laugh]

Anyway, I'll try to hit 'Post' and pray that this connection doesn't crash again. I have to go and sort out accounts, get washing 0ut of the dryer and pack for both of us so I have a busy night ahead of me! We leave the Hurtigruten Cruise at 8am tomorrow and then its 'back on the bus' for the last leg of our trip....down to Oslo. Bye all!

In the land of the midnight sun

G'day again,
We're over the Arctic Circle and rounding the top of Scandinavia! I'm going to try and send this blog posting from a ship so although I have some photos ready, I may not be able to put them in as apparently the connection is very slow. But I'll do my best.

Thanks for your comment Heather, and no...only statues of polar bears so far. But we've seen heaps of reindeer so do they count? :-)

Anyway, to catch you up......

Saturday 21/6 - Visiting a reindeer farm and Santa's Workshop
Woke early and threw back the block-out curtains to find it was broad daylight....still......again...always. But more than that, it was pouring with rain. Not your light drizzle or occasional downpour, but the kind of steady, pounding rain that you just know will go on for hours and hours and hours and which makes one long for cosy log fires and hot chocolate. But today was the day we were visiting a real reindeer farm...by boat!

No problem. Two essential things to pack for any holiday are both a sense of adventure and a sense of humour, so we all walked down to the uninviting, grey river, donned absolutely silly looking ponchos, struggled into life-jackets then tentatively stepped into the waiting long boat. What a hoot! Before long we were absolutely saturated despite the ponchos...in fact water collected in a pool in our laps, and everytime you turned your head to look at something you were rewarded with a rivulet of cold water dripping down your neck. But we laughed and laughed! It all seemed so funny! The husky Finnish guy at the helm didn't seem at all perturbed however I guess he was quite used to it.

After what seemed like hours out on the grey water (but was probably about 20 minutes) the boat pulled up to a small landing and we were being shouted at by a Finnish guy dressed in national costume, talking ten to the dozen in his strange language. Soon after arrival he grabbed me and lifted me up, and he sort of mimed that he was taking me as his princess. He had a knife and waved it around at this point. (Pssst....actually, he was really cute so I was more than happy to play along [cheeky grin]) But then he indicated that we should follow him along some narrow boards which traversed the wet tundra.....we were such a wet, bedraggled looking mob! [laugh] Finally we arrived at a traditional home which looks a bit like an Indian tee-pee but oh, wonderful.....it had a blazing log fire in the middle of it! Won't go into detail about what went on inside the tee-pee but it involved reindeer milk, virility and preparation for the after-life. Trust me...you don't need to know the details but it was a lot of fun. [roars with laughter]


I got to pat a reindeer which was a highlight, and found out all sorts of interesting stuff about these lovely animals. Do you know there are no wild reindeer, even though they wander around freely? They are actually like cows and although there are thousands and thousands of them, every one is owned by somebody.....and they all have their own ear marking on their animals so they know whose is whose. Similar to the big cattle stations in Australia, they regularly do a round-up to tend to their herd.

Oh, what a relief to peel off wet jackets and climb into the warm, waiting bus to set off for our next destination - the Santa Claus workshop which is right on the line of the Arctic Circle. (Note: Actually, the Arctic Circle moves a little each year but lets not get too technical about this stuff [grin]) This is the 'official' Santa post-office too, and is the place where all those letters your children wrote to Santa get sent. It makes you wonder how some of them make it as the addresses aren't too clear, but make it they do! It is actually a real post-office so there was the opportunity to write a post-card and have it postmarked and sent from this very place, but I'm more into blogs than postcards, and I don't think Santa can deal with this yet. [laugh] Had a brief chat to a lady in one of the shops who asked where we came from - turned out she was not only Australian but used to live on Glen Osmond Road in Adelaide! Small world. It was all a great experience that I wouldn't have missed for the world, but unfortunately Santa's Workshop is more about souvenir shops than toy factories. A pity...but that's life. [sigh]

The rest of the afternoon we just drove, continually northward. The trees are getting thinner and smaller and there are increasing amounts of soggy tundra with less and less evidence of population. One still sees the occasional red house amongst the trees but as the day wore on, these got less and less. The Americans in the bus were marvelling on the fact that it might take an hour to 'go to the store'...[laugh]....didn't want to tell them that in areas of Australia it can take days to 'go to the store'! The scenery definitely had a sameness about it though, so we passed the time by playing 'spot the reindeer', and saw quite a few either grazing on the tundra, walking along or even lazing around in groups right next to the road!

Spent the night in Ivalo which is one of the most northern towns in Finland

Sunday 22/6 - All aboard for a Hurtigruten Adventure!
This morning we crossed over from Finland to Norway which was very much a non-event considering Norway isn't in the EU and therefore requires passport control. Klaars (Tour Guide) said it was very relaxed these days though and I would say this was evident by the fact that when we whizzed through the border, there was a guy lying on the bench out the front in the sun....and he just raised his head enough to see it was a bus, and waved to us!!! I'd say that was pretty relaxed, wouldn't you? [laugh]

Arrived at Kirkenes mid-morning, all excited and ready to embark our ship (the Vesteralen) for the Hurtigruten Cruise. This was a highlight for us and one of the main reasons we had booked this tour as the Hurtigruten trip is very highly recommended and is supposed to be an entirely different experience than 'your average cruise'. Basically, it began back in 1891 as a postal and delivery service to all the tiny, isolated villages along the north and west of the wild and amazingly beautiful coastline of Norway. It still is....except now they take passengers as well. The Vesteralen is a lovely little ship that only takes about 200 passengers (compared to over 2,000 on the last ship we were on) and has an 'olde worlde' feel and a sense of intimacy that isn't possible on the huge liners. There's no pool...no beauty salons...no line of restaurants...no helicopter pad. But one can sit in the 'Panorama Room' on the top deck and gaze out of the huge glass windows or glass ceiling, and stare in wonder as snow-covered mountains and barren, craggy cliffs tower high overhead. Breathtaking!

The first part of the voyage was a little rough and it was difficult to walk around without falling into the furniture. I took a Kwells just to be on the safe side but I haven't had a problem with sea-sickness so this is good as I was concerned it might spoil the trip for me. But since we started heading between the islands its quite calm and nobody seems to be suffering at all.

Because these Hurtigruten ships stop at so many little villages, there is the opportunity to go ashore to walk around and check out the cute little Norwegian shops, churches and other local sights. A short walk from the boat at Vardo brought us to an original old fort which is partly a museum but is still manned. Not sure what those guns were pointing too but I loved the old buildings with grass roofs. Imagine getting the lawn-mower up on the roof when the grass is getting too long! [laugh] Only kidding!!! ROFL

The 'land of the midnight sun' is a fantastic novelty, but you have no idea what you miss when you don't have it anymore. And we miss NIGHT! Everyone on our tour is saying they are waking a lot in the night to check the clock because it is always daytime here and our body-clocks are really thrown out. Its OK for the Norwegians as they are used to it buty for us visitors, its a bit difficult to cope with. So last night, my ingenious Norbert made it night for us. [chuckle] He never travels without basic essentials (like duct tape) so he taped a couple of black fabric shopping bags over the glass window in our cabin, then drew the curtains over it. And hey presto! We had instant night! Even had to turn the lights on to pull the beds out.

Monday 23/6 - Enjoying the Norwegian Fijords
Of course our 'fake night' meant we slept in till 8am, but gee, we were refreshed after a better night's sleep. [grin] After a leisurely breakfast (food is good) we took our second cup of coffee back up to the Panorama Room and watched the eerie scenery as fog swirled in and around the snow peaks and rolled down into the valleys. Just beautiful...but cold! We keep thinking...if this is mid-summer, what must it be like in mid-winter for the people who live here! And some of the tiny villages are nothing more than 2 or 3 houses with no access except by boat. When it is 50degrees below zero, and dark for 6 months of the year, it would take a different kind of person to cope with that level of isolation.

Just before lunch the ship docked at Hammerfest which is reputed to be the world's most northernmost town, and it reminded me of those TV ads you see for canned fish. You know the ones...husky looking Norwegian fisherman, screeching sound of sea-gulls, colourful houses like matchboxes, all in rows, with a backdrop of dark mountains patched with snow. Cute as a postcard! We went for a walk to get some exercise, and used the 'zag-zag path' to get to the top of the hills behind the town and admire the amazing view down into the fijord. Checked out the local Lutheran church which has a beautiful stained glass window, then back to the ship in time for lunch.

In the afternoon I had a 'Nanna Nap'. Actually, Norbert did too and this wasn't about being lazy.....it was a strategy to be able to stay up late tonight as we are going on one of the ship's excursions to a midnight concert in a church, at a small town where we are docking. Amazingly, when we woke up the fog had all cleared and it has turned out to be the most beautiful day with blue skies and sunshine. The plan tonight is to go to the concert at midnight then photograph and enjoy the midnight sun which will still be up when we get back to the boat at about 2am. How romantic! [silly grin] I'll let you know about it when I can get back to the internet again....hopefully soon.

Bye for now!

And on into Lapland and the land of Elk and Reindeer

Greetings from Rovaniemi in Finland!

Did I just hear you say "where the hell is Rovaniemi ?" [laugh] I didn't know either until today, but it is a reasonably sized town just south of the Arctic Circle. Did you know that Finland has 188,889 lakes? No...I didn't either until yesterday. And did you know that there are 5 1/2 million people in Finland, and 1 million saunas? Gee travel is incredibly educational, isn't it! [big grin]

Thanks for your comments, Cheryl and Amber... wonderful to hear from you!

Thursday, 19/6 - Heading North through the Lakes District
Not much to tell you about yesterday as it was another day in the bus, but we drove through some very beautiful country. What a pity I didn't see much of it! Let me explain.....first of all I didn't sleep that well the previous night as I'm finding it hard to get back to sleep when I wake in the night, as it is light all the time. I wish Finland would discover those amazing shutters they have in Germany but they depend on curtains just like in Australia....except we actually get a time of day when it is dark, and at this time of the year in Finland, it is just varying degrees of light. Also, we got off the main roads to meander through the winding roads and I got a bit of motion sickness as I couldn't see out the front of the bus. Oh well...I'm OK, but it meant that I spent quite a bit of the trip with my eyes closed. Can you hear those violins playing yet? [cheeky grin]

Anyway, enough of my whinging as I'm fine now and I need to tell you about Finland. If you have ever been to the Bay of Islands on the north island of New Zealand, you will be able to picture exactly what it looks like here. Water everywhere and thousands of little islands covered in trees and vegetation. Its just so green and fresh looking! And forget what I said about a lack of flowers as today we went past swathes of pink and purple Lupins that were lining the roads.....yep, just like in New Zealand.

Mid-morning we stopped at an international ski resort called Lahti and saw 3 absolutely enormous ski jumps! OK...there was no snow on them but the height that they towered above us...well...it scared me just imagining what it would be like standing at the top, just before throwing oneself down the precipitous slope at a dangerous speed. I took a photo of Norbert demonstrating how to do it, but during my last attempt at skiing I had decided that as a slope of 2 degrees scared me to death, that perhaps ski jumping at the next winter Olympics might not be for me. [laugh]

Heard another interesting fact today about the roads in this area. When it is winter, most of the lakes freeze over so they actually have 'winter roads' and cars can just take a short-cut straight across the lakes, across the ice. The local authorities first determine how thick the ice is and whether it is safe enough for cars (and sometimes trucks)....and then they just make new roads straight across! When the ice thaws they all go back to the original roads. Imagine having different roads for summer and winter! I bet it would confuse the GPS! [grin]

We spent the night in a nice town called Kuopio...check out the view from our window! Aren't you absolutely jealous!! [cheeky grin]

Friday, 20/6 - the Arctic Circle...almost there!

Another day in the bus as we made our way ever northward, bypassing towns with strange Finnish names such as 'Yli-ii' and Päättyy'. No idea how one would pronounce them!

W had a mid-morning break in a little servo which started to remind me of the ones back home. Up till now they have been the big, European 'truck stops' with their own McDonalds. But this was a tiny one on the side of the road with cheap coffee and a friendly face behind the counter. Just like home! As we forge further and further north I can see other changes too. The trees in the forests are getting smaller as it is harder to survive in the harsh climate, and some of the people in the bus saw a couple of elks (or moose) in the greenery next to the road. The little farmhouses are quaint though, and most of them are painted this brick-red colour. Apparently it was because originally the paint was made from a by-product of the copper industry and so it was really cheap, but now the colour is still used because it has become traditional. You can imagine these red and white wooded houses nestled in amongst silver birch trees....lovely!

Had lunch in a traditional market in a town along the way (Oulu, I think) and Norbert noticed that the beer he was drinking was labelled gluten-free! No kidding! Its made from corn apparently.

Can't complain about the gluten-free thing here at all...in fact I have been given gluten-free bread the last 2 nights for dinner. Tonight it was warm flat-bread which had been freshly made! It seems to be well understood in this part of the world.

While I was at the market I checked out the elk there. OK...he wasn't quite 'all there' but probably much easier to pat than the ones on the sides of the road.

Quick excursion when we arrived in Rovaniemi - to the Arktikum, or the Arctic Museum. Funny moment when we arrived because our bus driver passed by a sign that said 'No entry for cars' and squeezed the bus down this narrow road which was literally a walkway, and parked right in front of the front door! Klaars, our tour guide, was freaking out a bit and said that we all have to walk in limping so that he has an excuse. [laugh]

The museum was really interesting as it had lots of excellent displays and information of how people have lived in the Arctic over the years since the stone-age. Anyone who has been to Christchurch in New Zealand will know there is an Antarctic Museum there, but this one is more about the scientific exploration. Sorry, but can't show you any pictures as we weren't allowed to take photos. :-( Of special interest was info about the Northern Lights...unfortunately a winter phenomenon so we won't get to see it for real. Oh well.

Today we entered Lapland, and tomorrow morning we pass over the Arctic Circle. Apparently we get to meet Rudolph! Hang in there and I will tell you about it as soon as I can.

Stockholm to Helsinki...and the days are getting longer

Hei (hello in Finnish) from Helsinki!
It's been an amazing couple of days and I can't wait to tell you about it! But first, a special 'Hei' to Uwe and Skye...thanks for your comments. Its great when I get back to the internet and the blog, and see that somebody has dropped by....makes it all worthwhile! [grin]

Tuesday 17/6 - Stockholm to the middle of the Baltic Sea

The photo above is us in Stockholm where I last left you. ...as you can see by the sunnies, we had some sunshine after our rainy bus trip to get there so walking around and taking in Stockholm was a really pleasant experience. (Don't worry Skye...I always enjoy travel no matter what the weather is...but sunshine is extra nice.) [smile]

Started our day with a tour of Stockholm including getting to see inside some of the lovely buildings, and walking around the old city. Had a really good local guide again (Katerina) which always makes it fun. Even Klaars (our Globus guide) said quietly "I think she's started her day with at least 4 coffees." [laugh] She was incredibly bubbly and energetic and waved around this amazing 'Darth Vader' green plastic tube so that we would see her in the crowds. She kept threatening to use it to beat off other tour guides who were 'moving in on her space'. [giggle]

At one point when we were standing in a city square, Katerina mentioned that the King's son was currently at home. Because there was a flag flying above the building? Nup...because his car was parked out the front! The royal families in this part of the world are a lot more 'reachable' than the royal family in England. Katerina had us all in stitches when describing them because she said that "...the Queen is very smart but the King...well...the lift doesn't quite go to the top of him." [roars with laughter]

In the afternoon we joined an optional excursion to the WASA Ship Museum. Now...stop yawning everyone! This was definitely another one of those 'take your breath away' sights!!!!! This ship was built in 1628...and on her maiden vogage, she sank. In total, she stayed afloat for all of TWENTY MINUTES! But what is really amazing is that she sank in the Baltic Sea which has very little salt and no woodworm, so when they raised her in 1961 she was 95% intact. Unbelievable! And the ship is huuuuuuge!!!!! The exhibition is amazing and fascinating....and everything is translated into English.

Speaking of language, everyone here speaks English. Not like in Germany where the kids learn it in school and then forget most of it. I mean...EVERYONE we've come across speaks absolutely fluent English in Scandanavia. And I've found out the reason. In Germany, the TV programs are dubbed into German....and there is nothing funnier than watching an American sitcom like 'My Wife & Kids' with everyone talking in German! But here in Scandinavia, they aren't. Every English program is screened in English with written sub-titles in the local language. So.... you know how kids and teenagers love to watch TV....well to watch Sex and the City or something similar, they can only get it in English! And gee, it makes a huuuuuge difference!

And they are up to date with special diets too...had gluten-free bread in a basket served on the breakfast table. Norbert is absolutely amazing with supporting me with this diet...he spends ages scouring a city looking for gluten-free bread for me - and usually finds some! We finally found some in the basement of a shop in Stockholm. :-)


Here's a question for you. See the photo to the left? (You can click on it to see it bigger) What do you think it is? Perhaps the inside of a shopping mall....or maybe looking out from an upper floor of a large hotel? If you thought that, you are way out! [self-satisfied grin] It is where we spent Tuesday night - and it is the inside of a ferry! Not exactly the ferry at Cadell, is it...not even the SeaLink to Kangaroo Island! It was 12 floors of restaurants, shopping, gym, lounge bars...and of course, cabins. Here is a photo of Norbert inside ours - the second bed is on the left and it just folds down from the wall making 2 comfy single beds. There was an ensuite-bathroom and best of all, a changing view outside of the window.
Here is a photo of what it looked like sailing serenely between the islands on our overnight journey to Helsinki. First we entertained ourselves with a couple of drinks on the top deck, then went down to the 7th floor Promenade for dinner in a seafood restaurant. [sighs] Aaaahhh.....this is the life. Its going to be hard to go back to rushing home from work and throwing left-overs into the microwave. :-)

Tuesday, 18/6 - Short nights and exploring Helsinki

Woke up in the night to go to the loo..... (message to young people - this is something old people do a lot [grin]) ...except I first thought it was morning because it was quite light outside and I could see a ship passing by on the horizon as I climbed back into bed. Then I thought to check the clock....to find it was only 3:30am! We had watched the sun set just before midnight and gone to bed, but apparently night was finished by about 2:30am and it had started to get light again. Weird...but amazingly fantastic to experience!

By 10:30am we were back on the bus, ready for a tour of Helsinki. My impression? Hmmm....a modern city but the buildings tend to the functional rather than the elegant. Streets are small...but not quaint.

I took a photo of one strange thing I noticed...all the cafes line up their tables and chairs, and when people sit down on them to eat, they don't move them - rather, they sit side by side. [grin]

Our local tour guide (Christina this time) showed us around Helsinki, and one of the most fascinating places was the Lutheran Church. They held a competition years ago for architects to submit suggested plans for a site which was a rocky outcrop on top of a hill. The one that won was the only plan which suggested that the church be built INSIDE the hill...and so it was. There was already a cave there which was originally carved out as a bomb shelter, so they basically enlarged that.

When you go in it is very simple with little ornamentation because the impact is the rocky walls. When it is raining or damp, water trickles down inside the walls and is quite beautiful. While I was there I lit a candle for Rebecca, my niece who died not long ago. Rebecca was a vivacious girl who loved travel and standing in that church in Helsinki, Finland on the other side of the world from Australia, I felt sure that if she could have, she would have wanted to see it. So I left a lighted candle there for her.

We had free time in the arvo so Norbert and I just wandered the streets and local markets to 'soak up' the sights, sounds, smells and culture of this faraway place.

I took a photo of Norbert buying from a little stall....see the deer antlers? No...he wasn't buying any. [grin] And have a look at the photo below - what do you think I look like in this furry hat? I wonder about the reaction if I wore this in Tea Tree Plaza? [howls with laughter]

Anyway, must be off now as we have another early start tomorrow. So far, internet has been easy to get as WIFI is available (for free) at every hotel...lets hope that lasts!

Until next time....hei hei! (That means goodbye in Finnish)