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 …
Ålesund, Norway, Start of a New Leg
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 …
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 …
Museums on Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden
If you only have eight hours to spend in a HUGE city, what do you do? Tom and I visited two museums on Djurgaarden in Stockholm, Sweden. Perhaps it wouldn’t be your choice of a great day, but Tom and I were happy with our choice. Djurgaarden is an island that houses pretty much all …