Norweign Fiords & the North Cape

In late May and early June 2012, Ellie and I cruised the fiords and cities of Norway from Oslo in the south to Honningsvag in the North, way above the Artctic Circle at 71 deg. N. Latitude. The cruise was on Holland America's Ryndam (1200 passengers), departed Dover, England with the first port of call the capital of Norway, Oslo. We had been to Oslo previously. The newest addition was the modern ski jump on high ground above the city and built for the 2011World Ski Championship. An amazing facility to see and very high tech.  Sensors imbedded in the track accurately measure the distance and judges have an enclosed viewing area to judge on style.  On the other side opposite the judges suite is the Royal Box. Also, there is a new Opera House in a very modern style of architecture that you'll either love or hate. The beautiful City Hall remains as it was with paintings or murals inside. An interesting site to visit is the Resistance Museum. Norway was occupied by the Germans in WW II and 400,000 German soldiers occupied the entire country.

From Oslo we cruised North to Stavenger.  A beautiful city with a 12th century Domkirche that is Norway's oldest cathedral. Unfortunately, it was closed the day we were there.  The city lies on the Lysefjord fjord, and has a beautiful "Old Town" with narrow cobblestone lanes and quaint wooden houses and shops.  It is also widely referred to as the "Oil Capital of Norway." From the town, we took a cruise in a much smaller vessel (one of the local passenger ferries) to Pulpit Rock, which rises 1500 feet above the sea.  On our way, there were several beautiful waterfalls with a stop for traditional Norwegian waffles with sour cream and jam.  We saw mountain goats on the rugged mountainside and the ship went up to the steep hillside and goats came down to be fed by a crewman!  We also stopped at one of the waterfalls and a brave soul (passenger) took a steel bucket and collected water (getting soaked in the process), and we all had a drink of very good tasting water.

Next stop was Molde.  We elected a shore excursion taking us over the Atlantic Ocean Road to a spot where we boarded a replica of a Viking ship, traveling to the Haholmen archipelago. Here we watched a fascinating movie about the three Viking replicas built by Ragnar Thorseth, which he sailed across the N. Atlantic to Greenland, Newfoundland, and America.  It was fascinating to watch the workmanship in building these vessels using traditional tools and methods.

After two days at sea, we arrived above the Arctic Circle to the town of Honningsvag, which is a fishing village of about 2500 and claims to be the northernmost city in Europe.  Critics say that claim depends on how you define a "city".  A bus from the dock took us the North Cape, 71 deg. n. latitude and the northernmost land on the European mainland. There is a lovely and comprehensive Visitor Center which has a wide screen 14 minute film (just music, no narration) of the town and the Cape.  There is also a coffee shop and very large gift shop with beautiful leather goods and knitted sweaters, gloves and hats.  As all things in Norway, very expensive, but very high quality.

To step outside and visit the globe monument was to be either very brave or very stupid, as the weather was awful; 60+ MPH winds, raining sideways, and about 40 degrees F.  No one stayed out very long!

After leaving Honningsvag, we sailed south for two days and the weather was challenging on the first day.  There is a TV channel which gives you meteorological information such as barometric pressure, winds, wave height, ships position and the like.  We had 62 knots of wind across the bow and 15 foot waves.  Even with stabilisers, the ship pitched and rolled about 10 to 15 degrees.  It was not enough to keep you awake at night, but walking got somewhat interesting.

Eventually, we arrived in Alesund which is known for its Art Nouveau district.  The town essentially burned to the ground in 1904, and was rebuilt between 1904 and 1907. After the fire, more than 10,000 people were left without shelter. We went up into the hills above the town where the views are spectacular.  You can see the 7 islands which make up the city.  The Germans built massive concrete fortifications from this high ground during the WW II occupation which you can see today.

We opted for a cruise on a passenger ferry to tour the 20 mile long Hjorundfjord, which provided absolutely priceless views of the surrounding mountains and small towns and villages and summer holiday properties.  At this time of year the snow is still on the mountains, and the waterfalls are simply monstrous and abundant.

From Alesund, we sailed down  Sognefjord 127 miles to Flam, a small town of 2500.  The fjord has a maximum depth of almost 4300', and is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway.  The main attraction here is the Flam railway, which passes through 20 mountain tunnels with a stop at the spectacular Kjosfossen Waterfalls.  We stopped at Vatnahalsen Hotel there for what else, waffles with sour cream and jam!  After the return trip, you shopped for Norwegian goods in several shops at the pier.

Our final Norwegian port was Bergen, the second largest city of Norway. There is a beautiful old part of the city right at the waterfront where merchants maintained their businesses and homes hundreds of years ago.  We opted for a bus tour which took us on a small vehicle ferry, then along the Hardangerfjord.  We stopped at the village of Holdhus and visited an ancient small church, (the Holdhus Kyrkje), begun in the 12th Century and was in continuous use until 1820.

Next stop - Kvamskogen, a ski resort for lunch at the hotel.  A traditional Norwegian buffet, with numerous types of fish and seafood like salmon and pickled herring. Back on the bus to the Steinsdal Waterfall, which was really roaring. You can walk up the hill and go behind the waterfall, but bring your rain gear!

From Bergen, overnight and the next day and night cruising on the N. Sea, we arrived on the morning of the second day in Dover.  Options were to take a bus to London for a post cruise stay, a visit to Bath, or drive straight to Heathrow and several other options.

Some interesting facts about Norway: Everything is very expensive, including the shore excursions.  Gasoline is $10.05/US gallon, the VAT is 25%, the lowest income tax rate is 28% and goes up from there.  A Big Mac meal (Big Mac, fries, and soft drink) will set you back about $16 US!  Many Norwegians have boats, from little rowboats to some very nice yachts and sailboats.  Passing a large marina, the guide said that a weekend activity would be to go to your boat, and socialize with your neighbor, and never leave the dock because the fuel is so expensive!  As mentioned the reindeer leather wallets and purses are buttery soft and very well made, but expensive.  Same for the knitted wear available.

Despite that, Norway is a beautiful country of mountains, fjords, lakes and thousands of islands with very friendly people.  If the opportunity arises, it is well worth the trip.

Scotland-London April 2010

Chicago, Springfield, Indianapolis, and Detroit

After passing through O'Hare Int'l Airport (ORD) many times over the years on our travels, we decided to actually visit the city itself. My Dad had taken me there when I was about 8 yrs. old and the only thing I remembered was the Field Museum and Natural History Museum and the dinosaur skeletons.

We took a shuttle into downtown and stayed in the heart of the Theatre District. It was convenient to get around downtown and to use public transport. Chicago is great city for ethnic food, and we overdid the pizza and hot dogs for several days. We did the usual city bus tour which is always a great way to get the lay on the land in a new city. For us, the highlight of the trip was our visit to the Museum of Science and Technology. It is a pretty long ride on the train, and transfer to a bus, or direct bus along Shoreline Drive, but well worth the effort. They have the only extant WW II German submarine which was captured off the coast of Africa! They towed it to America, brought it through the St. Lawrence Seaway and through the Great Lakes to Chicago! There is a wonderful time lapse video of how they trucked the sub to the site they had built to house it: The museum built a new wing and had dug out space for the sub. When that was complete, the brought the sub to the site and lowered it into its new home, and then proceeded to complete the building walls and roof over the submarine! Pretty clever and quite an engineering feat. The exhibit itself is very educational and if you desire, you can pay a small fee and tour the interior of the sub.

From Chicago, we picked up a rental car downtown and drive South to Salem, IL. It is a State Park and home of Abraham Lincoln as young man. Salem was a small town of a river which could not be used for navigation by the big paddle wheel steam boats which came along in the 1830's and early 1840's, and town slowly died. During the Depression, the town was rebuilt by the CCC, and it is intriguing to visit. They have docents in period costume who are very knowledgeable. It was an educational experience.

From there, on to Springfield, the state capital where Lincoln practiced law and from where he got elected President in 1860. There is a park where Lincoln's house if beautifully preserved, and several surrounding blocks have been acquired by the Park Service and it is now a true step back in time to the 1850's. There is Park Hdq. and Rangers put on educational programs. The Lincoln Presidential Library is located within a few blocks, but is mainly for scholarly research and not casual tourists. Across the street from the Library is the Lincoln Museum. It is a somewhat commercial operation, but is very interesting with some wonderful presentations on the Civil War, and many artifacts.

From Springfield, we drove essentially East to Indianapolis, IN. The idea here was to see the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Museum on the Speedway grounds. I'm a fan of auto racing and have never attended the race and this was a wonderful but short one day visit. The Museum is nirvana for fans of the Indy 500, and there docents ready and willing to help with any questions you may have. We opted to take the bus tour of one lap of the track with a recorded narration. To think the racers reach speeds as high as 230 mph is a scary prospect!

From Indianapolis, we drove to Dearborn, MI to visit the Henry Ford Museum. There is a complete complex collectively called "The Henry Ford". There is the massive Museum itself, the Village, which is an amazing recreation of America in the early 1900's. You can tour the Village on foot or you can also get a ride in a Model T, of which they have 13! Henry Ford's home is there, as is the Wright Brother's Bicycle shop from Dayton, Ohio. It is truly a wonderful historical re-creation. Adjacent to the Museum is an IMAX theater. From the Museum, you can proceed via bus to the Rouge Plant where they currently build Ford F-150 pickup trucks. Part of Ford's genius was to have a completely integrated manufacturing facility. Iron ore would arrive on boats on the Rouge River adjacent to the plant, and that would be made into steel for engines, frames, brakes, and bodies and other mechanical components. A very interesting tour which takes several hours. The only automated operation we saw was the installation of windshields by a computer operated machine. Five years ago, we toured the Mercedes Benz plant at historic Sindelfingen outside of Stuttgart as part of our purchase of new Mercedes and many of the operations there were computerized such as installation of dashboards, sunroofs and windshields. An interesting comparison of manufacturing techniques.

We flew home from Detroit Metro airport (DTW), which is very large and modern. An interesting trip through what is "flyover country" for a lot of travelers.

In Agra, we stayed at the Oberoi property which was luxurious as usual and only six hundred yards from the Taj. We proceeded to the property via electric buses designed to save the environment, and for good reason. The haze and smog was pretty thick in the area. Getting into the property requires two lines, one for women and another for men. I was told by our guide to not even bother bringing my Prosumer camera. I had a Canon GL-1 and I've had problems in other places trying to get this camera into some historic places. The powers that be think I am a professional photographer and they want you to pay a fee and do all types of other things, and of course I'm not a professional. I reluctantly left the camera and Ellie brought her Canon 35MM slr.

Having said that, it is worth the hassle! Up close it is a work of art. They have inset black marble arabic words into the white marble and you are left breathless by the workmanship. This is a MUST see if you ever get to India.

Glacier National Park

In early September of last year, Ellie and I accomplished one of the trips we have always wanted to take; Glacier National Park in NW Montana. As we fly AA most of the time, we flew to Seattle (SEA), connected to Spokane, near the Idaho border. From there we rented a car crossed the panhandle of Idaho and drove the balance of the day ending up at the western entrance to the Park where we stayed at the Lake McDonald Lodge in a shore side cabin. Very basic accommodations, (no TV etc.) but clean. This lodge is one of four lodges which were originally built by the Great Northern RR in the early 1900's. They were designed as places for passengers to overnight on visits to this magnificent region. The design of the lodges is basically the same: a massive open lobby with huge fireplace and completely open for as many floors of rooms in the lodge. No 2x6 or 2x8 wooden structure here; they use the entire tree trunk as a column and they are huge! The season here is June (WX permitting) through about mid-September. They have a very short time to make their profit and prices are quite high for the quality of the lodging. All the lodges have beautiful dining rooms with fabulous views over the water where they are located. Food quality was OK, but definitely not gourmet. Of course you are not going there for the lodging and restaurant but for the many attractions of the Park, which are fabulous. If any of you have been to the Canadian Rockies or the Rockies west of Denver, or Switzerland or Austria or the S. Island of New Zealand, you will love this place.

We also stayed at Glacier Park Lodge, the Prince of Wales Lodge (just across the border in Alberta, Canada - bring your passport!), and the Many Glacier Hotel. All of these lodges are in the park and frankly all similar. You can stay at other accommodations outside the Park but the ambiance at the lodges is wonderful. If you decide to go, book as far in advance as possible. These lodges are old, and one half of the rooms face the water at each location and the other half do not! At Many Glacier, our room overlooked the parking lot, but it was still a great place. A word about the Prince of Wales Hotel: It sits on a hill overlooking one of three lakes. It reminds me of a fiord in Norway or Milford Sound in NZ. Five floors and a lift which only goes four of them. Of course our room was on the fifth floor! It has the oldest operating elevator in Canada which requires an operator. You call a bellboy (they all wear wee skirts - aka Kilts) and he takes you to the fourth and either they handle the luggage for you or you can do it yourself to the fifth floor. Our room overlooked the lake and the view was was every penny they charged! Of course they have High Tea in the afternoon overlooking the Lake. Very traditonal and very English.

There are different ways to get around the park; we had our rental car and it worked out very well. You can also use the Red Bus Tours. These are custom made trucks/buses, originally made by the White Motor Company in 1937. You older readers will remember these! They have seats for about 16 passengers, and a canvas top which slides back so you have essentially a giant sunroof. They all have been completely rebuilt by Ford and have modern engines which burn propane, automatic transmissions, and modern brakes. You can take a day tour from any of the lodges, or book a multiple day tour using the buses to take you from lodge to lodge. I had heard criticism of these as being rather cramped and crowed with little legroom. We were there at the end of the season and all the buses were full.

Going from east to west or vice versa, you travel the Road to the Sun, which is dramatic drive across the Continental Divide. Allow time for this as they are rebuilding large portions of the road and there is construction and delays.

While there are breathtaking vistas around every corner, our favorite place was Two Medicine, which is a lake accessed from the eastern edge of the park. It is called Two Medicine because over 100 years ago, two local Indian tribes were to meet there to make medicine. The local Indians consider this a sacred place. One tribe did not arrive on time for some reason, and so the first tribe "made medicine" and when the second tribe arrived later, they did the same, thus Two Medicine. There are numerous hiking trails, and in season you can rent boats to take on the lake. There is an old lodge there, smaller the the ones previously mentioned which is now used for a General Store. It was closed for the season when we were there. There is a campground here as well as several other campgrounds throughout the Park. On August 5, 1934, FDR broadcast a fireside chat from here, and shortly thereafter, he and Eleanor were inducted into the Blackfeet Tribe.

From Glacier, we drove to Great Falls, located on the Missouri River. We wanted to visit the Visitor Center of the Lewis and Clark Expedition located on the outskirts of Great Falls, right on the river. This is an extremely well done and comprehensive exhibit which covers several acres and is about four different levels. It has a modern theatre which runs two films, one by Ken Burns and another by the Park Service themed on the Expedition. I have read and highly recommend "Undaunted Courage" by Stephen Ambrose, which chronicles the trip across the continent to the Pacific. At Great Falls, the party had to portage around 5 separate waterfalls. This is a "Must See" if you are within 500 miles of Great Falls. We stayed at the Crystal Inn Hotel and Suites just off the Interstate. I mention this as we had never stayed with them before and I was very pleased; they had very nice rooms; hot breakfast included, laundry, exercise facility and pool. All for around $120/night.

We traveled onward to Bozeman because we wanted to visit the Museum of the Rockies on the campus of Montana State University. Rather than drive the Interstate we took state routes and what a trip! Two lane asphalt, speed limit is 70 MPH (don't do it!). On several occasions, we would come around a bend in the road and either livestock or wild horses in the middle of the road. At one place, we come around the bend and the pavement stops and its dirt. A couple of miles on we run into a rancher driving about 100 head of cattle down the road! He said to just drive through (!) I tried this but was apparently going too slow being afraid I'd spook some bull and he'd kick/charge the car. They were using quad bikes and one of the guys pulled alongside and said follow me. He charged ahead at a more robust pace running interference for us. Several miles later (still on dirt) a head of elk crossed the road, jumped the fence and ran across the hills. Amazing. Later, we saw several deer by the road, and once, I saw a grizzly bear running across the hillside. Got him on film.

Bozeman is a town of about 60,000 at 4600' elevation. It was started in the 1870s and the old downtown is charming with several great restaurants. As the town has grown, there are the usual malls with all the usual stores and national food chains available. It is close to the Interstate and has a very modern airport. We stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn here and the one at the airport in Spokane. I'm not normally a fan of Hilton hotels, but these were very nice and we highly recommend them. The only problem with Bozeman is the winter weather. Surrounded by mountains and in a high valley, it gets pretty brutal in the winter which is long.

The Museum of the Rockies is essentially dedicated to dinosaurs. It is really an incredible place well worth the visit.

Next up: Our trip east to Chicago, Springfield, Il.; Indianapolis; and Dearborn, MI..

New Zealand - Part Three

We crossed from the South Island to the N. Island via the ferry, which leaves from Picton. The only rental car outfit that I know of that still lets you take the rental car on the ferry is Maui. They specialize in Motorhomes for NZ and Australia, but they also rent cars. All the other car rental companies make you drop the car in Picton and pick up another one in Wellington, which is a real pain. You must pack all your luggage again as though going on a plane trip, and you must schlep the luggage onto the ship and off at the other end. Much easier to just leave your stuff in the car and drive off on Wellington. It is well worth the cost of transporting the car.

We spent the night in Wellington (the national capital) at the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor, right in the middle of downtown. They use valet parking in the hotel and we were upgraded to a better room. After a very pleasant night, we took in the full breakfast buffet for about $15 NZ each. Pretty standard fare. We had visited the National Museum and the Parliament Building (The Beehive) on our previous visit so did not spend any more time there. We drove north to Napier for the next night. The town is very modern and artsy. It was almost destroyed by an earthquake in the early thirties, and our accommodation was wonderful; third floor overlooking the ocean, with second bedroom, kitchen, hot tub in addition to standard bath and shower, and flat screen TV. The Pebble Beach Motor Inn also has a laundry which is very handy.

We drove north the next day and lunched in Gisborne. My good Kiwi friend, Ron Barlow, who is Sales & Marketing Mgr.-USA for Anzcro-Pacifica, said we had to visit the Gear Meat Pie store in Gisborne, which we dutifully did. Great meat pies and sandwiches. We ate lunch on the beach on the N. side of town. We had a beautiful sunny afternoon, and almost no one on the beach. We spent the rest of the day driving the East cape, which is a lovely drive, but there is very little tourism development in this area. Meaning that motor inns and hotels were almost non-existent. We spent the night near the Oceanside Apts. in Whihau Bay. Don't bother! The place had two rooms, and they referred to a "Kiwi Batch" next door. A real dump of a beachhouse which was misrepresented on their website. I won't bother you with the details, but just never stay there!

The next day we drive to Whakatane, where Ron Barlow's sister lives. The next day we left our accommodation at White Island Rendezvous for the tour out to the only active volcano in New Zealand, White Island. It is about a 2 hour ride out to the island in a 70' boat. You anchor slightly offshore in a wind protected area, and then are taken ashore in a zodiac. You are issued a hard hat and a respirator, because of the volcanic activity and the sulphur fumes you encounter. Guides take you for about a 90 minute tour of the island which is really fascinating and potentially dangerous. Back on the boat for lunch and return to Whakatane. That evening, we were guests of Ron's sister, Leslie and her significant other, Ron, at their home for dinner. Another couple were there who were expats from England. They had lived in S. Africa for a time and we brought a bottle of wine and should have brought a case! They were wonderful hosts and we had a really wonderful evening with them.

The next day we drove to the Coromandel Peninsula which I would recommend to anyone visiting New Zealand. It is simply a lovely and pleasant place to visit for a few days. I would recommend three nights to fully explore the area. We stayed at one of the best B&Bs we have ever visited anywhere in the world: Cotswald Cottage. Google this and you'll see what we mean; a fabulous B&B and Jacqui and Graham are the perfect hosts. We stayed three nights and this is about right to see all the Coramandel has to offer. The accommodations were very nice, and every afternoon when we would stagger back from our forays around the countryside, Jacqui would be there with tea and snacks. The property is just outside the town of Thames, and is quiet and serene yet close to town. They have a solarium which has everything you could think of including a small refrigerator for your wine and some very nice simple touches. A highlight for us was breakfast in the beautiful dining room. They were full all three nights so we had six people for breakfast. We'd go to breakfast at 8 AM and the menu was as extensive as any you would find in a fine restaurant. After breakfast and the dishes were cleared, Jacqui and Graham would join us with their coffee and two mornings we never got up from the table until 10:30! Wonderfully interesting people and fascinating conversation. When we went to depart, Jacqui showed me her kitchen which was commercial quality and very very well done. She and Graham obviously know what they are doing and having come from Britain via Cairo and Thailand to New Zealand, they are fascinating and charming people.

From Cotswald Cottage to Auckland is an easy two hour drive. We turned in the car (the depot was difficult to find and not well signed), and flew home that night.

If you love friendly people, beautiful mountains and scenery, you can't beat New Zealand as a destination.

New Zealand - Part Three

After making it through the Haast Pass, we reached the west coast and went North to Franz Josef. It is a small village about two blocks long, and there are many outdoor activities available. We first took a "quad" ride through the countryside and down the riverbed which drains the Franz Josef glacier and into a rainforest filled with all types of beautiful ferns. He booked a helicopter trip and were delayed for a couple of hours while the weather cleared. The pilot finally said it was clear and off we went, right up the right hand side of the valley to the glacier. At slightly over 5,000' we were on top of the glacier and landed. The pilot kept the engine running and we got out and took several picutres and listened to a short lecture by the pilot. We then turned around and went down the right hand side of the glacial valley and back to Franz Jofef. This was a highlight of our trip. Simply georgeous scenery.

On our first trip, we were on the eastern side of the Southern Alps and flew to Mt. Cookm, the highest mountain in New Zealand at 3764 meters, or 12,349'. Mt. Cook and Franz Josef Glacier are pretty close together. There is an airport in the valley below Mt. Cook where the Hermitage Hotel is located. We got into a C-185 equipped with retactable skis. This plane is a high wing model, and the skis fit over the wheels. When we departed from the paved runway, the skis are retracted above the wheels. On our way to the glacier, the pilot lowers the skis so they are at the same level as the bottom of the tires. What a thrill to alnd on the glacier! It is an "arrival" in that it is a firm landing. Being a pilot myself, I asked him how he trained for this and he said the biggest problem was the lack of any references which makees depth perception difficult. The glacier is just a white expanse and it is difficult to determine how high you are above the ground. He said that you just slow the airplane to approach speed, lower the flaps, and wait! I've heard seaplane pilots say they have the same problem when the water is dead calm. After the "arrival", we taxied and did a 180 deg. turn to face downhill and shut the motor off. It is almost like being in church. Quiet and simply awe inspiring.