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The only bad thing about traveling a long way from home to vacation is that you have to travel a long way from home.  The vacation was great.  Excellent in fact.  Travelling in an airplane for 7 hours is not easy.  I suppose it could be better if they didn't treat economy or coach passengers like cattle.  There are now two different types of economy seats on United Airlines.  Economy and Economy plus.  About 6 or 7 rows of seats get about 5 extra inches of leg room.  For that privilege the passenger gets to pay an extra $140 per seat per direction.  They got that leg room by taking it out of the other economy seats. 

For those of you who enjoy the bulkhead seats or the seats over the wings, forget it.  Those are economy plus.  There are even two different types of first class sections.  First class and Business class.  Tres expensive!

If the seats had a bit more leg room travelling for 8 hours in an airplane would not be as bad.  It might even be comfortable.  I say all this with full knowledge that operating margins for the airlines are small.  It seems like they make lots of money.  They collect lots of money but they also spend lots of money to stay in business.  They do not make lots of money.

We spent lots of time in London -- on our ship.  Truthfully we were only in England one day this trip, but our cruise ship was dominated by passengers from the United Kingdom, a first for us.  Two of our table mates at dinner were English.  Most people around us in line to get on board (or anything really) were British.  Our driver to the airport was British.

Some things we now know to be true.

They don't much like being part of the European Union.  If it were up to the public in the United Kingdom, and it may ultimately be just that, they would not be part of the EU.  They do not like being told what to do, especially as it relates to social policy in Britain.

There are just as many concerns about fracking in the UK as there are here.  The consensus is that it would be great to figure a way to get all that energy out of the ground safely, but it isn't as safe as energy companies want people to believe.  Not just yet.

NIMBY (Not in my back yard) is just as popular there as here.  Especially as it relates to wind farms.  A healthy section of British taxpayers are vexed by the idea that part of their tax dollars subsidizes a wind generator on someone's property and then that someone gets to sell excess power to the "grid" to further reduce that individual's energy costs. 

One interesting view from our driver to the airport concerns health care policy.  The United Kingdom has had what we call Obamacare for 50 years now.  His view.  It's not perfect, but it works pretty well.  He also said that the first 15 years everyone complained about it.  Now they'd never give it up.  Fortunate British subjects get a private health bonus as part of their employment benefits.  For regular care they use the national health system.  For discretionary medicine like a hip or knee replacement they use their private health plans.

Good to be home adjusting to Eastern Daylight Time.

Home

Great vacation.   Good to be home.

North Sea Sunrise

Port side balconies face east when the ship is travelling south.  At about 6 AM the sun began its sleepy climb above the ocean’s surface to illuminate the North Sea.  You can tell it’s the North Sea because an oil platform is clearly visible on the horizon as the sun pushes up above the fog layer.

 

 

 

 

Here are some fun facts about Norway.  A few are repeats.

·        It is roughly the size of New Mexico.

·        Population is 4.8 million people.

·        The form of government is a constitutional monarchy.

·        Their first king was “borrowed” from Denmark.  They picked the youngest son of the monarchy there and asked him to be king. 

·        Their standard of living is pretty high.

·        The North Sea provides plenty of oil to Norway, some of which they sell, but they keep quite a bit in reserve.

·        Hydro power is plentiful because there are waterfalls everywhere.

·        Every citizen gets free health care and a pension provided by the government.

·        Their effective tax on income is roughly 45%.

·        Their VAT tax (sales tax) on goods sold in stores is 25%.

·        Now you know how they pay for the health care and pensions.

·        There is a shortage of labor in Norway so they import workers, primarily from Eastern Europe and the largest percentage is from Poland.  Most can afford to buy a house back in their home country (in cash) after working in Norway for three years.

·        Norway is not part of the European Union though they have trade agreements with the EU.

·        Norway hunts seals and whales. 

·        The big cities, near the ports, experience a mild winter because the Gulf Stream keeps their harbors relatively warm.  Inland is a different story with cold and plentiful snow. 

·        Norway is having trouble keeping young Norwegians in Norway, especially those who grow up on farms.  There are many abandoned farm houses and farms.

·        It isn’t unusual to hear of a Norwegian who must walk ten or fifteen minutes from their parking space to their house. 

·        In the mountains they get so much snow that some of the ski places open in June because the roads aren’t passable until then.

·        You see Troll dolls, statue and souvenirs everywhere.  I think they are ugly but people must buy them.

·        1 Krone equals 18 cents U.S.

·        Gas is about 14 Krone per liter.  There are roughly 3.8 liters to a gallon.  That means gasoline is 9.50 per gallon but most of that is Norway’s revenue since they own their oil.  Because the standard of living is high gasoline is “cheap” in Norway economic terms.

·        Solar power isn’t a practical option in Norway.  Wind power might be.  Harnessing the motion of the ocean for energy is something they are developing.  They don’t really need to do that since hyrdo generates more than enough power for the country.

·        The handmade sweaters are expensive and very heavy.

·        Norwegians do cross country ski but they end up doing it in the dark or on lighted trails because from November until May they have far more darkness than sunlight. 

·        There are houses in the middle of nowhere with no other house for miles and miles.  There are no roads near those houses.  Sometimes there is no electricity.

·        Water from glacial streams is pure enough to drink without purification.

·        Glacial melt near Olden is from parts of the glaciers that are at least 5,000 years old.  A company in Olden bottles that water and sells it with a stale date stamped on the bottle.

·        Norwegian raspberries are very large and very delicious.

 

Stravanger

It’s our first, real, rainy day.  We had some overcast days at the beginning.  We had a little shower in Bergen, but we did not have continuous showers until today in Stravanger.  However, we took a boat ride into the fjords and the boat is enclosed unless you want to step outside. 

The fjords look different with the mist hugging them. 

 



 

One thing we’ve noticed so far in Norway.  Either their wildlife is very bashful or they are afraid.  When we cruised the fjords in Alaska we saw many, many whales.  Not here.  Not a one.  Of course in Norway they hunt whales and eat them.  The same is true of seals although we did see one today.  Whale meat is on the menu of some restaurants right next to steak and chicken.  However, we did see some mountain goats today.  I think these are AFTRA (American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) goats.  As soon as they saw the boat they ran down from their perch on the cliff to pose for cameras.  Or, it could be that a crew member threw two loaves of bread onto the shore.

 

Because this boat is smaller than our cruise ship they can maneuver it in very close.  At one point the front of the boat was under the waterfall. 

 

Tomorrow is a sea day as we head back to Southampton. 

Hellesylt to Geiranger

Up until Thursday our land excursions were independently set up by Jan using resources she researched online through Cruise Critic and other resources.  Our experiences in 10 cruises are that this approach not only saves money, but you get a better quality tour.  In Hellesylt there was no option for that.  It’s very small and the only way you can get off the ship is if you book an excursion through Princess.  In fact, Hellesylt is merely a drop off.  The ship drops anchor and discharges passengers.  Then it immediately sails to Geiranger where the tours meet it.  In Geiranger passengers can set up independent tours, but not in Hellesylt.

Based on information Jan received from other Cruise Critic passengers who previously sailed to our ports, in Hellesylt the Princess tour was thumbs up and not to be missed.  We can report that is true.  The sights you get to see are unlike anything else.  It was a long tour.  Departure at 8:15 AM and we joined the ship at 5:00 PM, but the time passed quickly.  The bus never drove more than 20 minutes before stopping.  This was not a shopping tour.  It is primarily a sightseeing tour.

If you sight see spectacular sights it helps if you earn spectacular weather and that was easily true of Thursday starting with sunrise in the fjord. 

 

Hundreds of other passengers also decided to do what we did, but it was well organized.  Within a few minutes of gathering in the ship’s theater our group made its way to our bus and we left Hellesylt.  I cannot show you everything we saw Thursday.  You will have to wait for the video for that.  Even with communications restored this morning there isn’t enough bandwidth to upload all the images.  There isn’t even enough bandwidth to tell you all the stories, but we started seeing beauty immediately upon departure.

 

 

As the tour winds on, and it definitely winds across many hairpin turns, the bus climbs.  The roads are narrow and the skill of the driver is an asset especially when we see another vehicle headed towards you, but eventually you are 4,900 feet above sea level at Mount Dalsnibba.  Yes, it is chilly.  It is crowded with other buses from our own ship and others, but still worth the view.

 

Even as the bus descends to Geiranger the views are still unmatched.

 

When the ship finally departs the Geirgangerfjord there are still things you will never see elsewhere.  This is called the Seven Sisters.  For those who are very precise you will only count six waterfall.  Either one sister had an argument with the others and moved away or during the summer, even in a land with millions of waterfalls (literally) one of them ran dry. 

 

There is still more to see.  This afternoon the ship arrives in Stravanger where it is already clear to us the weather will not be as beautiful as Geiranger.  No matter what sky conditions await we are certain to see things we haven’t seen elsewhere.

Sunset, Moonset

Does not need words.....

Those are images from last evening.  I haven't had a chance to deal with all of our travels today, but I can promise that by the time you wake up tomorrow you'll see some incredible images.

The bottom image is moonset.  The moon is setting about 10:45 PM currently.  You can see how much daylight remains.  We are headed to our last port of call and because we arrive after lunch we get to sleep in!!! 

Olden

Dee Steeley remarked that it looked cold in Norway.  It’s in the high 50’s nudging 60 and that’s about what the average is for a high temperature at this latitude during mid August.  That’s why Norwegians make those sweaters!

In Olden, one of the big geological features is the Briksdal Glacier.  We visited the economical way, by taking a city bus to the park.  Jan saw some concerns about where to find the bus.  It stops at the blue triangle, by the crosswalk in front of the berthed ship’s bow.  Only one ship can berth.  The others tender.  It isn’t marked bus.  It’s actually the sign for the crosswalk, but the bus stops there.  It’s just under 100 krone per couple and it is cheaper to buy the tickets in pairs.  The bus driver will radio back to get another bus if there are more passengers than will fit in one.  Also, when the ships are in port they send the bus to pick up the tourists early.  Then they send another bus for regular Norwegians on schedule.  The same was true at the Glacier.  The bus came about 30 minutes early and they sent two of them. 

Not an exciting picture, but some of our visitors want to know.  The bus shown here is one of the city buses.  They also have plain white ones.  It is on the opposite side from pickup because it just dropped us off.  That crosswalk sign is where they pick up cruise passengers that want to go to the glacier.  It's right near the crosswalk on the same side as the ships.

 

I think we waited about 20 minutes once we got off the ship before the bus picked us up.  At the glacier site we didn’t move at a glacial pace but we took our time.  We were in the troll car just before 11 and we were back at the bottom around 12:45.  The bus let us board at 1:15. 

 

Once at the park you can walk up to the glacier.  It’s probably about 1 3/4 of a mile and there is some incline.  Most of it is gentle.  Some of it is steep.  There is also a car that will shuttle people up.  They call it a troll car.  You can reserve those ahead of time online.  You pay when you arrive and they give you a break if you get the tickets for your entire group at once.  We took the troll car up but walked down.  Even if you take the troll car up you have to hike about ½ mile to the glacier face although you can see it from the drop point.  There are some wonderful vistas and features that make walking at least one of the directions worth it. 

 

Like most glaciers around the world the Briksdal is receding.  The amount it has shrunk is remarkable and alarming. 

 

This afternoon we are enjoying some sunshine, which is refreshing. 

In Transit

We are in transit from Vik (via Flam) to Olden where we will visit glaciers.  There is significantly less cloud cover tonight and we are hopeful that there will be more sunshine tomorrow.  Even in mid August, there is still light at 10:30 PM.  It will be disappointing to return to Albany where the sun will be gone by 8 PM. 

Incidentally, for those who cared, the civil authorities are working very hard to repair all the tunnel damage.  Of course, from our perspective it is inconvenient for touring that part of the country.  For the people who live here being without the tunnel is very disruptive.  It is also an economic hardship.  The guide in Bergen told us the contractors are working 24 hours a day to get the repairs made.

Flam

Flam is a tiny hamlet, nestled at the base of vaulting rock.  The fjords (Norwegian spelling) are beautiful and rival those we saw in Alaska.  One way to see the formations is by rail.  The other is by smaller boat.  We planned to do both.

For those who are planning the trip here on the September cruise booking the train ride directly in a group is an advantage from a time saving standpoint and from a cost standpoint.  If you want to book as a group it takes ten people, but Jan had no trouble finding people on our Cruise Critic roll call who wanted to join us.  We were given priority boarding.  Our coach was labeled and we had a great time. 

 

The scenery is spectacular even with uncooperative weather.  The train makes three stops.  The first is only to permit the other train to pass.  No one is permitted to get off the train.  At the other two stops anyone is permitted to get off.  The stop lasts 5 minutes.  The second stop is a must for picture taking. 

If you do book as a group see if you can get the seats nearest the doors that separate the coaches.  The top windows open which makes for better picture taking during that section of the trip where the train does not stop.  A couple of tips.  Turn off you flash and increase your shutter speed, especially if you are trying to take the picture through a window.

 

Yes.  You do see a woman in a red dress dancing on the rocks by the falls.

 

The trip lasted a little over two hours but it flew by.  When the train reaches the midpoint you can buy food or beverages.  There are bathrooms onboard the train.  The railway tour is not impacted by the tunnel fire.

In the afternoon our plan was to use a tour from Sognefjorden to look at the fjords from a smaller boat, which can get deeper into some of them.  However, a massive fire in the mountain tunnel in Flam makes those tours doubtful unless you book them through Princess.  The tour company cancelled ours today because they had no way to get us back to the ship from the end of the boat ride.  They gladly refunded our money although you have the option of swapping it for another one of the tours if you prefer.

To protect their own tours, Princess changed the time of our departure from 5 PM to 4 PM with all aboard at 3:30.  The ship sent tenders to Vik which is on the way to our next port and passengers on the Princess version of these tours will be taken by van from the end of their boat tour to Vik, where tenders will pick them up and bring them to the Crown Princess.

For the curious, a tanker carrying petroleum, tipped over and spilled a good deal of its cargo onto the roadway in the tunnel.  That caused a significant fire which superheated the tunnel and cracked some of the rock and the infrastructure.  It will take at least a month to repair.  For anyone thinking about taking the World Heritage Cruise Naerofjord which takes you from Flam to Gudvangen by boat and then back to Flam by bus, you cannot do it.  The tour company office is in the rail station in Flam and you can speak with them directly or you can email them.

Bergen

Bergen is the largest Norwegian city we will visit.  The entire country is roughly the size of New Mexico with a population of just under 5 million people.  As a port city it developed early into a center of commerce primarily for moving fish to other countries.  Dried stockfish became economic currency and until the development of the railroad, Bergen remained Norway’s largest city.  Now Oslo, the capital, is the seat of power.

Bergen is finding new life by using its port as a cruise ship destination.  Trying to maintain the balance of Nordic life and catering to tourists takes diplomacy and patience on their part.  We relied on the Bergen Guide Service to help us understand the city.  They are an “official agency” and the guides are certified for their knowledge and their language arts.  Ours, Solveig Mohr spoke impeccable English, including idiomatic expressions and sarcasm. 

During our 2 hour tour (which lasted more like 2 ½) we learned about Norwegian and Bergen history, economics, political science and cuisine.  It was very enjoyable and the time passed quickly.  One of the sites most tourists visit is the Floibanen Funicular which takes you to the top of Mount Floyen.  Incidentally, at the base of the mountain there is an organic bakery which serves a delicious lunch which is very reasonably priced.  Called Godt Brod lets you pick out your favorite bread and then custom makes your sandwich to order. 

We did dodge of few sprinkles in the morning and again atop Mount Floyen, but that isn’t unusual in this climate.  Solveig (pronounced Soul-Vay) says the residents of Bergen sing two songs.  “Here Comes the Sun” and “Singing in the Rain.”  It seems that often those songs can be sung multiple times in the same day. 

Climatology

When you hear the phrase “rain forest” it conjures images of jungles, thick with vegetation.  There are different types of rain forests.  The type we are headed towards in Norway is a temperate rain forest.  Much like Alaska it yields rain, typically light, in abundance.  In the winter it produces lots of snow, especially around the mountains, which ultimately forms the glaciers.

The North Sea earns a reputation for a choppy, inhospitable body of water from sailors, but the conditions during this time of year are considerably less fearful.  In open waters this morning the seas are slight as are the winds.  The way I know we are in the North Sea is the drilling platforms which appear like convenience stores, periodically interrupted by navigation towers.

 

These towers behave like advanced technology buoys. 

Bergen, Norway is our first port of call.  Currently the forecast is for temperatures in the middle to upper 50’s and a passing shower.  That is what made our trip a packing puzzle.  In Paris and London we needed warm weather gear.  Incidentally, I am happy to report that French and British males are finally breaking down and wearing shorts when it gets really hot.  I easily joined their cultural revolution.  In Norway we will need clothing that is suited to temperatures which are 20 to 30 degrees cooler and frequently damp.  Visiting Alaska so often provides a reserve of clothing options designed for this visit.

There is six hours time difference between our current position on the east coast of the U.S.A.  We will get one of those hours back when we leave our final Norwegian port.  The rest is eaten up in jet lag on the return trip home.  The computer clock reminds me that even though we are getting ready to enjoy a late breakfast most of you are fast asleep.

One thing I like about being on a cruise ship is the return of bar soap and wash cloths.  Europeans enjoy shower and bath cleaning gels.  Not me.  I like a good bar of soap and a wash cloth.  Often I end up designating the smallest face towel to be the wash cloth.  I know they think we shower too often.  Maybe we do.  I am not advocating a change in approach.  Monday morning’s in the classroom during the spring semester can be confusing enough.  “Did I get re-assigned to athletics?”  However, all is right again.  Clean wash cloths magically appear in the bathroom.

The Cruise

We stopped by Stonehenge on the way to Southampton.  It is a Neolithic site.  As near as learned people can determine it was constructed over a period of 1500 years starting as early as 3,000 BC.  The most famous part of it, the rock outcroppings, appear to be at the center of a much larger burial site.  Although controversial, some of the grave sites have been exhumed and the remains studied to get more information.  There is some indication that for a period of time the site was also used for potential “healing” properties. 

The site is getting a major facelift.  Not the rocks.  Those are staying the same.  A new visitor’s center is under construction.  It is about a half mile away from the site.  More parking will be located there.  Also, a light rail system is under construction.  The road between the new VC and the site will close and everyone who wants to visit will board trams. 

Because Europe is on holiday the site was mobbed, but, overall, crowds were managed.  You can wander the site freely and there is always space to move.

 

After Stonehenge our coach took us to the port and we are onboard the Crown Princess.  Today and tomorrow we are at sea.  We are looking forward to the downtime.  Jan is enjoying the weather on our balcony as we sail out of the port area.  There were five major cruise ships departing for a variety of destinations.  Given that, you’d think that someone would work on the cosmetics of the port areas.  Our ship was berthed opposite a garbage processing facility.  Another ship is near the refinery. 

Big ships attract attention and everyone likes to waive farewell from on shore or on other boats.  It’s a pleasant custom to waive back and forth.