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 …
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 …