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  • Stacy Nelson
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Scandinavia

Investigating our Norwegian Heritage! Read more
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  • Trip start
    May 8, 2025
    Scandinavia
    1
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    Vasa museum, Stockholm Sweden

    May 11, 2025 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    The Vasa Museum (Swedish: Vasamuseet) is a maritime museum in Stockholm, Sweden. Located on the island of Djurgården, the museum displays the only almost fully intact 17th-century ship that has ever been salvaged, the 64-gun warship Vasa that sank on her maiden voyage in 1628.

    The ship was built on the orders of the King of Sweden Gustavus Adolphus as part of the military expansion he initiated in a war with Poland-Lithuania (1621–1629). She was constructed at the navy yard in Stockholm and richly decorated as a symbol of the king's ambitions for Sweden and himself. She was armed with bronze cannons cast in Stockholm specifically for the ship and was one the most powerfully armed vessels in the world. However, Vasa was dangerously unstable, with too much weight in the upper structure of the hull. Despite this lack of stability, she was ordered to sea and sank only a few minutes after encountering a wind stronger than a breeze.    Read more

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    Skansen Open Air Museum, Stockholm Swede

    May 11, 2025 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Skansen is the world’s oldest open-air museum and was founded in 1891 by the linguist, teacher and public educator Artur Hazelius. Here you can experience everything from music, dance and traditions to old historical environments and Nordic animals. Skansen features historical elements and buildings from all over the country.Read more

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    Downtown, Stockholm Sweden

    May 12, 2025 in Sweden ⋅ ⛅ 55 °F

    Summary: We stayed in downtown Stockholm for a few days before boarding our ship for the cruise across Scandinavia. We had good weather and enjoyed ourselves.

    We stayed at the Grand Hôtel in Stockholm which was built in 1874 and overlooked the Royal Palace and Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s old town.

    Wallenberg Sphere - Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945) was a Swedish architect, businessman, diplomat, and humanitarian. He saved thousands of Jews in German-occupied Hungary during the Holocaust from German Nazis and Hungarian fascists during the later stages of World War II. While serving as Sweden's special envoy in Budapest between July and December 1944, Wallenberg issued protective passports and sheltered Jews in buildings which he declared as Swedish territory. This stone marks the exact spot Jews were loaded onto trains - to safety - thanks to the efforts of Raoul and the resistance.

    The Royal Palace in Stockholm is situated in the Swedish capital’s charming Old Town. Designed by master architect Nicodemus Tessin the Younger – this enormous jewel of a regal building was inaugurated in 1754, providing a home for King Adolf Fredrik and Queen Louisa Ulrika. It was also built to house the central Swedish state administration and the Royal Library, hence its mighty size.

    Stockholm Palace is said to be one of the oldest castles still serving as an official royal residence. With over 600 rooms spread across eleven floors, it provides plenty of space today for King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. The King and Queen also use the palace as a workplace and a highly impressive venue for receptions, such as state visits.    Read more

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    Nobel Museum - Stockholm Sweden

    May 13, 2025 in Sweden ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    We spent the afternoon at the Nobel Prize Museum. Very interesting. Overhead, a bio of each laureate's accomplishment passes on a manufacturing trolly. It takes twelve or more for the same laureate to pass twice. We had the good fortune of looking up and seeing Barack Obama.

    The Nobel Prizes are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death. The original Nobel Prizes covered five fields: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, and peace, specified in Nobel's will. A sixth prize, the Prize in Economic Sciences, was established in 1968.    Read more

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    Tallin, Estonia

    May 14, 2025 in Estonia ⋅ ☁️ 45 °F

    Took bikes to sightsee through Tallin Estonia. Boy, was it clean with impressive architecture blending new with old. We rode through the old walled city and by the Synagogue

    The original Great Synagogue of Tallinn, built in 1883, was not rebuilt after being destroyed in March 1944 during a Soviet air bombing raid on Tallinn, which at the time was occupied by Nazi Germany - the city then became the only post-war European capital without a synagogue. The Tartu Synagogue, located in Tartu, a university city in southeastern Estonia and the second largest city in Estonia, was also destroyed during World War II. The privately funded synagogue in central Tallinn was inaugurated on May 16, 2007. The building is an ultramodern, airy structure, which can seat 180 people with additional seating for up to 230 people for concerts and other public events. It received global attention as it was the first synagogue to open in Estonia since World War II.Read more

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    Gdansk Old Town

    May 16, 2025 in Poland ⋅ ☁️ 48 °F

    Gdańsk was founded by Polish ruler Mieszko I in 980.

    It was a strategic port settlement where the river Vistula emptied into the Baltic Sea and ships sailed toward the Scandinavian Kingdom of Denmark.

    On Sept. 1, 1939 the German warship Schleswig-Holstein fired at Polish units in the city of Gdańsk, then known as Danzig.
    The Nazi blitzkrieg of Poland followed and World War II erupted.

    At the time, Gdansk was governed by Poland but had a vast German population. Adolf Hitler demanded it be handed over to the Third Reich and refused to take "no" for an answer.

    By the time the war was over, large parts of the city were destroyed.    Read more

  • Scandinavia

    Ronne, Denmark

    May 17, 2025 in Denmark ⋅ 🌬 50 °F

    Sick day spent on the ship. Missed Denmark. And, Ursula's birthday. But, a sugar free cake was delivered to our room which we devoured after sleeping all day and not eating.

  • Scandinavia

    Warnamunde Germany

    May 18, 2025 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 52 °F

    Another sick day in bed. Missed Germany but enjoyed an empty ship as almost all the passengers went to Berlin.

  • Scandinavia

    Copenhagen, Denmark

    May 19, 2025 in Denmark ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    Went to Tivoli Gardens and toured the Palace and saw the Queen's Tapestries (11 in total).

    Tivoli Gardens, also known simply as Tivoli is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen, Denmark. The park opened on 15 August 1843 and is the third-oldest operating amusement park in the world.

    Amalienborg is the official residence for the Danish royal family and is located in Copenhagen. Frederick VIII's palace complex has four identical Classical façades, effectively four palaces, with Rococo interiors, laid around an octagonal courtyard. At the centre is a large equestrian statue of Frederick V.

    The Tapestries were a gift from the Danish business industry to Her Majesty Queen Margrethe II on her 50th birthday in 1990.
    The gobelin series recounts the history of Denmark and the world, including the Viking Age, the Middle Ages, the Absolute Monarchy, the Reformation, World War II, the Present and even the Future. The Danish royal family and references to the artists earlier works are skilfully woven into the greater context.    Read more

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    Aalborg, Denmark

    May 20, 2025 in Denmark ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    We took a fascinating tour of Aalborg to learn of their resistance efforts during WWII after the Germans came in and occupied their town during rhe war years.

    The Churchill Club was one of the earliest resistance groups to be formed in Denmark. Under the leadership of 16-year-old Knud Pedersen, their activities began at the end of 1941 when they began to target the German occupation forces in Aalborg to imitate the resistance of Norwegian soldiers. They succeeded in carrying out 25 acts of sabotage before they were arrested by the police in May 1942. They headquartered their effort out of the town's monastary.

    The story of Aalborg Monastery dates back to the 1400s. At that time Aalborg, on the natural crossing point over the Limfjord, had grown into a very busy trading town. Aalborgian, Maren Hemmings, was a wealthy, warm-hearted and philanthropic woman. She noticed that not everyone was thriving in the city; poverty, malnutrition and appalling living conditions were rife. It had such an effect on her, that she donated a plot of land from her parent’s inheritance to the city, to establish a hospice where the poor, sick, needy, as well as the mentally & physically disabled, could find shelter and help. It is this plot of land that Aalborg Monastery now stands on to this day. At that time it was at the western most limit of the city; today the city has grown, so much so that the Monastery is now in the city centre. It is also this momentary where the Danish Resistance organized during WWII and where several of the Churchill Club children lived.    Read more

  • Scandinavia

    Stavenger, Norway

    May 23, 2025 in Norway ⋅ 🌬 55 °F

    Today, we took a RIB boat ride through the Fjords. We saw famous Pulpit Rock from down below, met some mountain goats, and enjoyed a walk through town afterwards. Stavenger is a multicultural city at the center of Norways oil production.

    'The Pulpit Rock', 'Pulpit', or 'Preacher's Chair' is in the municipality of Strand in Rogaland county, Norway. Preikestolen is a steep cliff which rises 604 metres (1,982 ft) above Lysefjorden. Atop the cliff, there is an almost flat top of approximately 25 by 25 metres (82 ft × 82 ft). Preikestolen is located near the western part of the fjord, and on its north side.    Read more

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    Eidfjord, Norway

    May 24, 2025 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 37 °F

    Eidfjord is a small town of 900 people. Delightful! We took a train to Flam and had lunch in Voss. Great day. Lots of waterfalls.

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    Bergen, Norway

    May 25, 2025 in Norway ⋅ 🌧 55 °F

    It was a wet and rainy day in Bergen. We were too sick to stay out for long and had to cancel our bike rides. We did walk to the Bergenus Fortress and duck into a few shops.

  • Scandinavia

    Oslo, Norway

    May 26, 2025 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    We walked and walked dnd walked in the rain, all over Oslo. We stopped at City Hall, the old Fortress, the History Museum and the Resistance Museum. What a day and great way to conclude the trip.

    The Snartemo Sword is one of Norway's most spectacular archaeological finds. Discovered in a Migration Period grave (c. 550 AD) – a golden age in Norwegian history 300 years before the Viking Age - it tells two tales: as a chieftain’s status symbol and as Nazi propaganda for their false myth of the Aryan race. The sword's owner must have been an exceptionally powerful man. Buried at Snartemo in Agder on a bearskin in fine clothing, he was surrounded by weapons, tools, a Roman glass cup – and an extraordinary sword. The sword is unique with its decorated gold plates and gilded silver. We find mythological figures connected to Odin and the ruling ideology of the time. The ring on the hilt likely symbolizes an oath between the chieftain and his loyal men. No other swords like this exist in Northern Europe from this era. The grave also held woven bands with swastikas – an ancient sun symbol. The Nazis misused this for their racist propaganda. After the German invasion on April 9, 1940, the new authorities tried to obtain the Snartemo Sword. But the Historical Museum had already hidden its most valuable artifacts in a bank vault in Valdres.

    Norway's Resistance Museum was founded by several key figures from the organisations that made up the resistance, both civilian and military. Their aim was to strengthen the collective will to defend national freedom and to promote continued support for our democratic values.

    At the top of Akershus Fortress, you’ll find the museum, which has been operated by the Norwegian Armed Forces since 1995. The museum’s mission is to enhance knowledge of the occupation period by collecting, preserving, and presenting objects, photographs, and documents. Through its impressive archive collection, the museum documents the history of the resistance from 1940 to 1945 – a story that still carries important lessons for our time.

    Akershus Fortress or Akershus Castle is a medieval castle in the Norwegian capital Oslo that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for the city. The castle has also been used as a military base, a prison and is currently the temporary office of the prime minister of Norway.    Read more

    Trip end
    May 29, 2025
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