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From
June 16th through June 25th, 2006, we traveled to the cities of
Amsterdam, Oslo (Norway), and Bergen (Norway). I have always had a
penchant for wanting to learn more about Norwegian culture and the
language since a young age. I pursued learning Norwegian for
several months prior to our trip and I found it to come in handy while
traveling. I also brushed up on my Dutch to be better prepared
while traveling within the Netherlands. |
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We departed Seattle at 19:00 on Friday, June 16th aboard Scandinavian Airlines flight 938. I've really grown to love SAS and much prefer to fly this carrier when traveling to Europe. They still provide much more in terms of in-flight amenities than many other carriers - especially domestic carriers. The flight was very
punctual and its on-time arrival into Copenhagen afforded us some time
to walk around and shop a bit. I always enjoy some wine with my
meal on the eastbound flight to Europe as I'm generally able to get a
good amount of sleep. This time was no exception as I was able to
get about five hours of sleep. Timothy didn't get to sleep at all
but kept himself occupied with the in-seat entertainment system and with
the movies, including Nanny McPhee. |
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| Above : 'Toste Viking' waiting to board guests bound to Copenhagen. | Above : This looks really bad but Timothy was having wine as well and this is over the course of a couple of hours! | ||||
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| Above : The jet's cabin just prior to the lights going out for the evening. | |||||
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Left : Looking unusually awake after the nine hour flight, we passed a room for prayer and contemplation. So, we stopped, contemplated, and moved on . . . . . |
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| Right : After a long day of travel and nearly two hours of waiting for our hotel room, Timothy gets a little spacey! | ) |
After connecting through Copenhagen, we caught Scandinavian Airlines flight 1549 to Amsterdam Schipol. We then took a train transfer to Centraal Station. After a short walk from there, we arrived at the Renaissance hotel by about 18:00. We were advised that our room was not yet ready but it would be in about an hour. They provided us with a complimentary beverage certificate so we enjoyed a drink and appetizer in the hotel's restaurant. We were then told a few more times that it would be "just 15 more minutes". We finally got into our room by about 19:45. Believe it or not, after a shower we headed out into the city and actually enjoyed some beverages at a pub! |
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| Right : Bart de Boer and myself aboard Regatta. | ) |
Timothy and I were fortunate to be able to meet up with my friend Mr. Bart de Boer (webmaster of Ship Parade) on Sunday morning after a good night of rest. He hosted a visit to Oceania Cruises' Regatta. It was a wonderful tour and we had a fantastic lunch. I will provide a ship photologue of Regatta in the future on ShipCafe.net. |
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| Right : The Westerkerk along Keizersgracht. | ) |
Given that our last trip to Amsterdam was in the winter and it had been quite cold, we truly welcomed this visit in the sun and warmth. We were finally able to enjoy the city in its true, natural. |
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On Sunday we rented a paddle boat and floated along the canals of Amsterdam. It was a truly fun time and I recommend the experience to anyone. Seeing the city from the canals is a unique experience. The best part about it is that we were able to return the boat to a station near to our hotel. This allowed us to see a lot more than if we would have had to turn back around and return the boat to the originating station. This was just steps away from our hotel, the Renaissance Hotel Amsterdam. |
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The beauty of
Amsterdam's buildings and canals constantly provide a spectacular
background for photos. Again, we felt as though we needed to
duplicate all of the photos that we took in 2005 now that the trees were
in bloom, people were out, and the city was bustling. |
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Left : This is one of my favorite photos as it definitely captures a lot of what Amsterdam is all about. It consistently amazes me how these old buildings have so much history and yet host modern, current businesses. I love that old buildings filled with so much history are relished and maintained throughout all of Europe. |
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On
Monday we took a bit of a walk out to Vondelpark. It was a
spectacular day in terms of weather so this was a great idea. We
strolled around the paths, watched sunbathers, youth playing football,
etc. While it was great to get good exercise and sun, we decided to catch a tram back to our hotel. Our nightly routine in both Amsterdam and Oslo usually consisted of getting back to the hotel by about 18:00, maybe catching a nap, and then getting ready to head back out for dinner and visit some bars. Timothy had an interesting time explaining his drink of preference to the bar staff there : ginger ale and Jägermeister. |
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| Right : A resident was nice enough to take our photo but happened to get a bit more of 'us' in the photo than I expected! | ) |
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The time that we had in Amsterdam was just about sufficient. On Tuesday, June 20th, we found ourselves going back to Schipol airport to catch SAS Braathens flight 824 to Oslo, Norway. SAS Braathens is a subsidiary carrer from the SAS group and flies to, from, and within Norway. I also love the SAS livery on the newer 737 model jets. |
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One of my biggest priorities after getting to Oslo was to visit the Vigelandspark. We took the tram to Majorstuen and then walked a bit, passing through the Vestre Gravlund (cemetary). The Vigelands park is named after sculptor Gustav Vigeland and contains 212 statues representing humanity in all its forms. I've seen many photos from this area in travel guides, etc. but it is fascinating to see in person. |
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The main attraction
is a fifty-six foot tall monolith, is the highest point in the park, and
comprises 121 human figures, supporting and holding onto one another. |
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We had purchased a day pass for the city transportation system which consists of the subways, trams, buses, and the ferry over to Bygdøy. The ferry to Bygdøy is located just near Aker Brygge and lasts about fifteen minutes. From there, one can proceed to any number of museums. We decided to visit
the Vikingskiphuset (Viking Ship Museum). Here, we explored some
of the world's best preserved Viking ships from the 9th century.
One thing that I learned and had never realized is that these ships
acted as graves to many and also stored important artifacts. Among
the most impressive are the Oseberg ship and the Gokstad ship. |
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A
central icon is the Rådhuset, Oslo's City Hall building. It was
opened in 1950 to mark the city's 900th anniversary. The Rådhuset
is the administrative center of Oslo. Left Center : The Rådhus Hall contains an impressive oil painting by Henrik Sørensen. |
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The Oslo Konserthus has been a leading venue for Norwegian culture musical life since its opening in 1977. Just outside of the Konserthus are sculptures by Turid Eng. |
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I had always seen the
Akershus Slot as a prominent backdrop in many photographs of Oslo.
I was definitely interested in heading up there to get a first hand
view. The entrance to the fortress is a modest pathway from the
downtown area and we were soon headed up to the top for some great
views. For 700 years the Akershus Fortress has been standing guard
over Oslo to ward off all attempts to invade the city from the
sea. King Håkon V began building in 1299, since when the
fortifications have undergone many improvements and reconstructions. |
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The first couple of days in Oslo passed quickly and we were soon on our way to Bergen. I had read and heard so much about the Bergesbanen that I book an excursion taking us through the mountains and fjords on our way to Bergen. | |||
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We began our excursion early on the morning of Thursday, June 22nd from Oslo's Central Station. Departing from the Jernbanetorget, as traveling anywhere within Europe by train, is very efficient and organized. The train rides were a bit lengthy and consumed most of each day. While I wish that we had spent less time riding in a train, we agreed that it was really the only way to see the spectacular sites that we did. |
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The train to/from Myrdal had some nice sites but it was really aboard the Flåmsbana where we saw more of the wonderful scenery. The greenery and small villages were just beautiful and exceeded my expectations as to what we would see. |
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The railway is just over twelve miles long and has an impressive height difference of 2,835 feet between Myrdal and Flåm. The railway was opened in 1942 and there are twenty tunnels. Each time we emerged from a tunnel, a spectacular new vista greeted us. |
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After a quick bite to eat in Flåm, we boarded the Gudvangen for our cruise through the Sognefjord. This was truly a photographer's dream come true! Nearly everywhere I looked, there was another opportunity for snapping a breathtaking photo. I have always wanted to experience the Fjords of Norway and this was a wonderful introduction in doing so. We sailed from Flåm to Voss via the Sognefjord. As we sailed from Flåm, we passed Holiday Kreuzfahrten's Lili Marleen. She was formerly Cunard Line's Cunard Countess. |
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The Sognefjord is one of the world's longest and deepest fjords, measuring approximately 12.68 miles. | |||
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Along the way we also passed the Aurlandsfjord, Otternes (an old farm cluster), Aurland (village of about 1,200), Undredal (small village of about 100), and Stigen. In some of these villages, residents used to remain all year round but now return just for the summer. | |||
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One of the most impressive attractions on our journey was the Sagfossen waterfall. This waterfall measures approximately 1,640 feet and is one of the highest in the world. Our boat the Gudvangen was able to pull up right to the base of the river. The staff used a pipe and funnel to strategically capture a water flow and serve in cups for the guests on board. | ||||
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Left : I didn't miss the opportunity to taste some fresh water from the Sagfossen waterfall and it definitely was cool, crisp, and refreshing! |
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After pulling away from the Sagfossen waterfall, it was off for more cruising and sightseeing through the Sognefjord. One of the attractions therein was the small village of Dyrdal. Dyrdal has no road access but its quay was built in 1926 for sea access. No one permanently lives here and no farm activity takes place.The breathtaking scenery continued through to our arrival in Gudvangen. |
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We then took a motor coach up a very steep stretch of road, called the Stalheimskleiva. Among other things, we had a sweeping view of the Nærøydalen Valley. |
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The steepest gradient
along almost one mile of winding roads is 1 to 5 - or twenty
percent. This makes the Stalheimskleiva one of the steepest
stretches of road in Europe. On our way to the top, we experienced
about 13 sharp hairpin turns. The road was built by manual labor
between 1842 and 1846 to improve the post road between Oslo and Bergen.
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We stayed at a charming, typically European hotel in Bergen called the Augustin. We enjoyed only an evening in Bergen but it was enough to entice us to return in the future one day. Interestingly enough, we dined at Peppes Pizza which is quite popular in Norway and where we chose to eat again in Oslo. After a nice breakfast, where I was able to enjoy some pickled herring, we made our way to the rail station in Bergen for our return to Oslo. This was admittedly a very long day of sitting on a train. While I regretted losing a good day of touring Olso, I looked back at the impressive day we had just had. |
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| Above : Views of Bergen's harbor. | |||||
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We had Friday evening in Oslo to enjoy dinner and a night out. It was a bit more exciting now that we had been going to the pubs on a weekend. I had just a small list of activities planned for the next day and we both had a bit more shopping to do! |
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At the top of my list for Saturday was a trip to the Holmenkollen Ski Jump. We took the T-Bane to Holmenkollen and had an uphill walk to the museum. Many of the ski events took place here in the 1952 Winter Olympics. The jump has been renovated multiple times since and still hosts events to this day. Taking an elevator to the top affords some of the most impressive views of the surrounding area and downtown Oslo. A museum also accompanies the actual jump itself to educate visitors on the history and evolution of the jump. |
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The museum also focuses on Norway's prominent role in polar history and highlights impressive expeditions by adventurers such as Nansen and Amundsen. The jump and museum are open all year round. |
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Left : Trolls are very much an icon of Norwegian culture and we saw them everywhere! Needless to say, we felt the need to get our photograph taken with some of them. |
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Left : Some popular views and icons of downtown Oslo and how the areas bustle with the warmth of a much welcomed and coveted summer season. |
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Left : We just happened to be in town for Oslo's gay pride and were able to see their parade on Saturday, June 24th. The city hall's flying of the pride flag indicate that pride resonates farther outside just the gay community and is a welcome part of life. |
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Left : So very quickly came our final morning in Oslo and we found ourselves with just a little time to walk around the city prior to our departure after breakfast. Timothy stands near a sale ad of one of our favorite European retailers : H&M (Hennes & Mauritz). We also found ourselves frequenting Dress Mann. |
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Left : A partial view of Oslo's Gardermoen Airport. The airport was recently renovated and is quite impressive. We were unimpressed, however, with the chaotic system by which to check in. One large check-in area encouraged many crowds of people with very little direction to the exact, required check-in queue. |
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Left : We always find navigating through Copenhagen's Kastrup Airport to be a pleasure, however. We flew the same aircraft, 'Toste Viking' back to Seattle as we had flown out on the 16th of June. |
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Left : I remained awake for the entire flight so I was able to catch up on several magazines I had brought along. I was pleased to be able to enjoy a favorite Danish beer, Tuborg. In addition to a main meal, a pizza snack was served prior to our return to Seattle. |
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Left : We truly appreciate the Scandinavian Airlines provides personal entertainment systems in the cabin to be able to play games, watch movies, and listen to music. While I had some technical difficulties with my system for the first hour or so of the flight, the crew was able to rectify that by resetting the system. I noticed one or two others who were not as fortunate, though. We will most definitely fly Scandinavian Airlines again for our future trips to Europe as we still highly value their product and delivery. |
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