Norway--July 20 - 24, 2006

Please excuse misspellings--I was just excited to get back online!!!!


Monday, July 24 (Left Geiranger and drove/ferried to Alesund)

After breakfast, we left on the ferry at 9:30 p.m.—car and all. We can’t believe the spectacular waterfalls that we witnessed—so beautiful. Seven Sisters was great, and at every bend there was another waterfall. After disembarking at Hellesylt, we drove along the Norangsdaren Highway, which is know to some as the Norwegian “Alps.” Boy, it was absolutely spectacular. Even Vicki loved it because the “Alps” were above us rather than visa/versa. At Laknes we waited 1 ½ hours for the ferry to take to Saebo. From Saebo we drove to Orsta and saw one farm after another—Norwegian farming at its best. From Orsta we drove to Festoya were we caught another big, big ferry to Solevagen from which we headed to Alesund. In Alesund, Chuck called Vicki many names—we were lost. Even Chuck stopped at a petro station to ask for directions!!!

Sunday, July 23 (Left Lillehammer and drove to Geiranger)

The drive from Lillehammer to Geiranger was gorgeous. Needless to say, I freaked out on the mountain roads, but Chuck couldn’t get enough of the beautiful views. The drive was approximately four hours, and then we switch-backed out of the tundra and descended into Geiranger fiord which is at sea level. The Union Hotel was one of the best we have ever stayed in—truly classy. We shopped and toured the village in the afternoon, and we had a four-course dinner at the hotel that evening. Chuck truly loved the lamb.

Saturday, July 22 (Went to see Mari)

Before we left Oslo, Chuck had to walk to the Raddisson Hotel to pick up our rental car. It was quite an experience for him—ended up going through a tunnel on the way out of tow. He finally worked his way back to the hotel, and he successfully drove us out of Norway. However, we got lost and couldn’t find Gopelrud—Mari had to come and find us. What a wonderful time we had with Mari and her family—truly a memorable experience. Mari’s sister, Olaug, who lives in Oslo was at the farm. So was Torun, Mari’s daughter. Ola and Niles Magna, Marie’s husband and son, were at the Rygg’s farm so we didn’t get to meet them. Annalise, Mari’s sister, and Harald, Annalise’s husband, were visiting from Bergen; so we got to meet them, too. After we hiked to the monument, put up the flags, and looked at the museum, we all had dinner together. We ate meat cakes, vegetable, potatoes, struell, fruit with ice cream on top. Everything was delicious. After we said our good byes, we drove to Lillehammer and stayed at SAS Raddison. It took us a little while to find it, but we persevered. Once again we had breakfast at the hotel before heading out. We did take a look at the Olympic Park (1994 Winter Olympics were held in Lillehammer).

Friday, July 21 (Oslo)

We had breakfast at the hotel—needed that coffee. After filling our stomachs, we headed to the ferry. At 9:30 a.m. we caught the ferry and went to some museums and beaches. The Viking Museum was ok, and the Folk Museum was outstanding. At the Folk Museum we watched a girl being sent to the corner for being late to school. We also watched girls bake lefse.

This lefse photo above is from one of the restaurants we went for appetizers.

After checking out the beaches (they were packed), we headed back on the ferry. At the pier we had a lefse appetizer—it was great to see lefse that looked like mine. For the evening we went back to the Hard Rock Café, so we could tell Beth thank you for the tourist advice.

Thursday, July 20 (Left London for Oslo)

We took a taxi to Heathrow at 4:30 in the morning—awful early when you have been out at a musical the night before. We saw Phantom of the Opera—it was great. Well, the Heathrow experience wasn’t pleasant. We stood in line over 1 1/2 hours. That was followed by another line for security. We didn’t realize that once you get to the gate you are stuck there, so we couldn’t get anything to eat or drink.

A limo driver picked us up at the Oslo airport and drove us to the Millenium First Hotel. We started our sightseeing as soon as we checked in. We walked up toward the Royal Palace. After sharing a pizza, we returned to the hotel and crashed for a couple of hours. Then we headed back out—ended up having dinner at The Hard Rock Café. A gal there from Washington, Beth, suggested that we see the Folk Museum.