Hello Friends!
We are off on a cruise around Norway with our good friends Tomi and Bryan. We flew overnight from Dallas to Frankfurt, then connected to Copenhagen to spend one night at the Marriott Copenhagen. And surprise, surprise — our good and well loved friend Amy Broemmel (whom we met in Nashville a few years ago at the CMA Fest) just happened to also be there. So we immediately met for a drink since she was leaving the next morning!
We thought the orchids in the lobby were amazing!!!
We walked to Strogut, the main shopping street and looked around, stepped into a Danish restaurant and then fell into bed.
In the morning we bought tickets on a Hop On–Hop Off Bus and followed it until we got to the famous Mermaid statue. It was absolutely mobbed, but we managed to get one person-free picture. We then got off at the Rosenborg Castle just in time for the changing of the guard…..also just in time for the huge storm. We huddled under the bus stop covering awaiting the bus but were somewhat soaked anyway!
Then it was time to board the ship — Seven Seas Endeavor. We really like Regent Cruises and this is a two year old ship — lovely!!! Just in time for a late lunch…..
.John took a photo of a very interesting bridge/tunnel from Sweden into Denmark. The bridge begins in Sweden and midway goes underground into a tunnel landing in Copenhagen. Also notice the many turbines.
NO CHANCE OF LOADING THAT VERY INTERESTING VIDEO — MAYBE LATER
We checked into our suite and — of course — had to take pictures for posterity — haha!
Our boarding date was August 8th — Bryan’s birthday…..so we had made reservations at their steakhouse, Bryan’s favorite food group!!!! Wow! An evening to remember: the food was great, the ambiance superb and the friendship marvelous! We all had a great time…
Our waiter did a little dance while presenting the cake — we loved it….
They brought Tomi a good port — actually TWO very good glasses of port — she was happy!
Next morning we had an early start — and were off from Kristiansand to see Lillisand by land and sea. We took a boat to see Lillisand and environs — the sun came out and it was lovely! Very scenic….
But I noticed that I was really tired in the afternoons; I took two LONG naps in the afternoons. Only later did I learn that there is so much oxygen in the air up here that it makes you VERY tired. If you move here it will take your body three months to adjust to the difference.
On August 10th we arrived in Bergen. The day started off lovely and we took a few pictures early. Then the rains came for awhile while we were on a bus tour — makes it difficult to get a good picture! The city has 280,000 and is the second largest in Norway; it rains 260 days per year — yikes! So, after the rain cleared — one more nice day — we were really getting lucky!!!
In the afternoon, Tomi and I took the tour to a stave church followed by a stop at the home of Edward Grieg (the composer and musician). A stave church is a church built only of wood; this one is covered in tar to keep it from decomposition. This type of church was typically built between 1150 and 1300’s. It was interesting!
Then we moved on to the home of Edward Grieg. I didn’t remember that I knew who he was until they played some of his music…..classical music that we have all heard!
And our way back to the ship we passed things we saw in the rain — only they looked better without it!
I’m going to try to publish this now. We are in Alesund — a pretty big city just before we enter the Geirenger Fjord. I’ll save the rest for later 🙂
The above paragraph was true when I wrote it. We get off the ship in the morning and have had horrible or no internet for a long time! More later…..
Enjoy!
Beth
