Waterfall amongst the fjords

 

Many of the the fjords are long and narrow. They are impossible for large cruise ships. The photo shows a sister ship to ours 

along side a common sight of a waterfall.

Uninhabited lighthouse in fjord, Arctic Circle, Norway

There are hundreds of lighthouses and signal lights

all along the path.

There to guide the ships and boats, the only connection for some.

 

The Spanish Windmills

I often say that the surprises are the best events from any trip. We went to the major cities in Spain and when done we rented a car in Madrid. Away we went on a circle of the country seeing the sites (sights). Almost done, the navigator was reading Lonely Planet and looked off to the west and saw something of interest. We had an encounter for lunch with people who spoke no English and we having spoken little Spanish and then it was up the hill to these windmills. What a great visit looking over the Spanish valley.

 

Bergen Norway is a great visit - don't listen to those who say it always rains

View of the famous shops of Bergen. They seem to pride themselves on the amount of rain they get. When we were there it rained one out of five days and it did not rain much. Do take an umbrella.

 

Tail camera: SAS A350 from SFO to BGO - lots of numbers and letters

I have taken planes of all sizes for the last 60 years. I do not relish the lines, the waiting, the possibility of a hijacking. I do like the fact that I can get to New York in five hours as opposed to five days by car.

I cannot remember all the airplanes like 707, 737, MD80, A380, DC10...

Yet, in recent years I have learn to enjoy two airplane types: A380 and A350:

In the early days I flew Pacific Southwest near and Jet Blue far. They were economy airlines and paid for by the church.

Today I fly Alaska several times a year and Air France overseas.

This last trip, however, I was booked on SAS. The photo above is a tail photo on the A350. While I like the two decked A380 it has been discontinued by most airlines and replaced with jumbos like A350. I like it. SAS does a good job with it.

Some note: I once flew coach because I was young and now fly business class.

 

How to get there

This is a photo of Bergen Norway from the tram to the mountain look out. The wires are those of the tram. At the top, after views, the lunch was fish soup and cinnamon rolls. (Fish soup is a acquired taste.)

We got there by having a friend tell us a story about a short trip made to Norway and taking a ship along the fjords. After doing research we decided on a 12 day voyage from Bergen to the Russian Border and back. In the process we would need the right clothes for the season (the shoulder season). We made reservations directly with the ship's main office and reservations for a round trip business class ticket for each of us at or bank's travel department. We had a connection flight through Copenhagen. We arrived in Bergen, had a one day rest and boarded the ship right after the tram ride. That is how things began.

The Fjords of Norway: I am back

Over twelve days we spent traveling northward from Bergen, Norway to the border of Russia. We visited some 60 small to large fjords. On a new ship set up to carry cargo to remote places that also was a Class-A hybrid vessel,  We saw what can not be seen from larger ships. Also, there was a dozen or more venues we were able to visit locals and see special properties. We went to the top of mountains by tram and small places by bus. We walked some as well. We stood at the border of the Soviet Union and waved to their employees. Before and after the voyage we stayed in Bergen for four days. It is the first stop on the way north. The fjords of Norway can be compared to my happy place of the Dolomites of Northern Italy. The following will be a view of both the fjords and other places in Europe.