On our full day in London before our tour starts, Tom and I headed to Greenwich to see the Royal Observatory and the Prime Meridian. This was a special interests of Tom’s, but I was eager to go as well. In order to get there, we had to negotiate the Tube and the DLR. We …
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London and the British Museum
After our great day at Hadrian’s Wall, Tom and I disembarked from the Nieuw Statendam. It was the end of our two-month cruise. We were a little sad, and it was hard saying goodbye to the crew who had taken such good care of us. But we are ready for the next part of our …
Hadrian’s Wall, An 80-mile UNESCO Site
I have always wanted to see Hadrian’s Wall and walk along it. The day after our disappointing trip to the Trossachs National Park I got my chance. Tom and I signed up for this shore excursion a while ago, knowing it would be our only chance to see Hadrian’s Wall on this trip. We just …
South Queensferry and the Highlands
After the two island groups, our ship arrived in South Queensferry on the mainland of Scotland. And not an island called Mainland, but the actual body of land that is attached to England. South Queensferry is the port for Edinburgh. It used to be a small fishing village, but got attached to Edinburgh as part …
Kirkwall, Mainland, Orkney, Scotland
The day after visiting Lerwick, our ship arrived in Kirkwall. Kirkwall is located on the island of Mainland. Mainland is one of 70 islands in the Orkney Archipelago. Twenty of the islands are inhabited and Mainland is the largest, while Kirkwall is the biggest town. Orkney is one of the councils of Scotland, part of …
Lerwick, Mainland, Shetland, Scotland, United Kingdom
Our first port of call for our month in the United Kingdom was Lerwick. The town of Lerwick is located on the island of Mainland. Mainland is part of the Shetland Islands. The Shetland Islands are part of Scotland which is a a part of the United Kingdom. So where were we? We were in …
Saltstraumen and the Norwegian Aviation Museum
At our next port, Tom and I took at shore excursion to see Saltstraumen and the Norwegian Aviation Museum. The ship docked in Bodø (pronounced like Buddha) and was our last stop in the Arctic Circle. We chose the Saltstraumen shore excursion because it is a 490 foot wide channel through which 110 billion gallons …
Harstad, Norway, A Beautiful Hike
Heading south again after North Cape, our next port of call was Harstad, Norway. Harstad is one of those medium-sized communities that Tom and I prefer. It has about 25,000 people, which makes it small enough but also means that it has all the stores and restaurants you want. The town was established as a …
North Cape and the Arctic Circle
Our ship reached its furthest north point, North Cape, Norway two days after Trondheim. We crossed into the Arctic Circle the next morning and are now experiencing continual daylight. The sun doesn’t set in this area of the world from May 12 until July 31. I got up several times during the first night just …
Trondheim and Bymarka Nature Preserve
Continuing north on the western coast of Norway, our next port was Trondheim. Trondheim is a much larger city than Alesand, about ten times the size, and is much older. The city was founded in 967 and became a seat of government early on. Today it is a university town with a bustling city center …