Unmanned lighthouse in the islands of Norway

 

 

We were on the ship for 12 days going up the inland coast of Norway. The trip was to the Russian border at Kirkenes and back to Bergen. There were only a couple of places when we went into open sea. Most of the time it was in fjords and between islands. The channel sometimes became very narrow and with very little depth. The crew threaded a number of needles to get us to the small villages. Does this look close: it was.

Twilight over the Norway's Islands

It is the land of "the midnight sun" or the land that dwells in darkness in the Winter. We went on the shoulder season when we had lots of light and no snow.

The photo above is the last in a series of photos taken of the sunset.

The took a long while, but each drew something new out of the sky.

This shows the clouds and fog forming over the outer islands

along the coast of Norway. The are over 2,400 islands large and small.

 

Inside The Stave Church, Bergen Norway

Medial wooden churches in Scandinavia.

All wood made like a ship of the age.

 

 

The Normandy Beaches, France

After sailing down the Seine, we took a small antique military vehicle to the beaches at Normandy. It was quiet during the ride. Each of us knew what was up ahead. It was a gray day and we were all gray inside.

While we toured the various cemeteries laying a wreath at the American one, we came to the beach. Those of us that had seen "The Lonest Day" or "Saving Private Ryan" were taken by the silence. Those movies full of noise as it must have been that day, were drawn toward introspection. The beach was bathed in stillness...

 

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.