The Iceman of the Alps or of Bolzano is the remains of a hunter

 

Taking the road north from Venice you will arrive at Bolzano.

It has the remains of a hunter found frozen in the snow in a well done museum.

This has been featured on Nova and National Geographic.

But... Bolzano is more than that. It is a lovely town of the Italian Alps.

This is the creek you cross getting into town.

Church steeple outside Prague Castle

While Prague Castle is the home of the large and imposing St. Vitus Cathedral there is a pretty church with steeple clock just outside the walls.

I often wonder if tourists are so busy trying to see the sights from their guidebooks and miss other things of beauty,

 

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.