Ålesund is the first stop on the Norwegian leg of our cruise journey. Our cruises have been divided up into two-week chunks. About 80% of the people on the ship get on or off every two weeks. There are only a few of us left who boarded the ship in Fort Lauderdale. We had the …
From June 2024
Cycling in Scandinavia, The Normal Way to Get Around
One of the things Tom and I have loved about Scandinavia is all the cycling. Bicyclists are everywhere! It is the normal way to get around, especially if you live in a city. There are more bicycles than people in all the Scandinavian countries. Many people have a touring bike, for longer journeys, a commuter …
Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen, Denmark, was the last Scandinavian country capital that we visited. That is, if you count Norway, Denmark, Sweden, and Finland as the Scandinavian countries. There is some confusion about how many Scandinavian countries there are, you may recall. Copenhagen is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with 1.4 million people in the urban area. …
Lübeck, Capital of the Hanseatic League
We visited Lübeck, Germany, the day after visiting Ronne, which was quite a contrast. Lübeck had all the historical bona fides that Ronne lacked. Not only that, but Lübeck was the capital of the Hanseatic League and its most important city. In fact, the official name of the city is “Hanseatic City of Lübeck.” I …
Rønne, Denmark on Bornholm Island
One of our cruise stops was Rønne, Denmark. We had planned to ride bikes around Bornholm, but changed that shore excursion to a walk around Rønne. The Scandinavian capitals are huge on biking and there are plenty of bike trails in the countryside, but riding in the smaller towns with their cobblestone streets can be …
Visby, Sweden: A Medieval City
After the overwhelming size of Stockholm, it was nice to visit Visby, Sweden the next day. Visby is the best-preserved medieval city in Scandinavia. It was a Hanseatic town in the middle ages, and was very wealthy with access to trade goods from all over Europe. Because of this wealth, the people of the town …