• Terry Gustafson
  • Terry Gustafson

Europe 2025

We combined the Zurich to Paris Viking River Cruise with the Rick Steves Scandinavia tour. We also included an extra couple of days in Paris so we can finally see Versailles. Mary celebrated her birthday along the way! Les mer
  • Stockholm - The ABBA Museum (2)

    5. juli, Sverige ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    The costumes and the creativity of the music was fun to see. Of course, the dynamics of two marriages and the resulting break ups added a bit of sadness to the group.

    We walked back to the hotel in the rain. But we had a delightful lunch along the way that gave us a brief reprieve from the rain.Les mer

  • Stockholm - Skansen Open Air Museum

    6. juli, Sverige ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    We had a day with little rain, so we made the time to visit the Skansen Museum. This is an open air museum that has acquired homes from around Sweden from different eras. I was amazed that it was started in 1891 and has been in operation since then. We spent 4 hours there and enjoyed it immensely.

    We had lunch in the open air food court. Then they put on a campy short musical about life in the 1950's. The extolled the virtues of DDT to kill insects and how lead improved gasoline. The depiction of traditional roles was also over the top. The satire was rich!
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  • RS Day 2 - Walking Tour of Stockholm

    7. juli, Sverige ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    We had a local guide, Hakan, who showed us around the old town of Stockholm. He had great insight into the city and the culture. One of our stops along the way was at his flat in the old town. His building is from the 1600's. We learned much about the political system in Sweden, which is unicameral. They were among the first to include women in their democracy.Les mer

  • RS Day 2 - Vasa Museum

    7. juli, Sverige ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    Following the walking tour we took the ferry to the Vasa Museum. The Vasa was a 17th century war ship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 after traveling about 1300 meters. The king had the ship built to his specifications and it was top heavy. A gust of wind tipped the ship over and it sank in the harbor. It was not recovered until it was located, in tact, in 1956. It was raised in 1961 and preserved in polyethylene glycol. The museum tells the story of the construction of the ship and the story of the salvage operation. It was worth the visit.Les mer

  • RS Day 3 - Stockholm City Hall Tour

    8. juli, Sverige ⋅ ☁️ 54 °F

    Before taking the high speed train to Copenhagen, we visited the Stockholm City Hall. The banquet for the Nobel Prize winners is held here every year.

  • RS Day 3 - Travel to Copenhagen

    8. juli, Sverige ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    We took the high speed train from Stockholm to Malmö. We transferred from the train to a bus for the rest of the trip to Copenhagen. We crossed the bridge over the strait between Malmö and Copenhagen, called Øresund (Danish) or Öresund (Swedish), also known as The Sound in English.Les mer

  • RS Day 4 - Canal Tour of Copenhagen

    9. juli, Danmark ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    It had been threatening to rain most of the day, but we decided to give it a go anyway. We got absolutely dumped on! We were soaked through and through. Our guide was a trooper through it all. It cleared up a couple of times in the hour long tour, but just opened up as we made a mad dash to our hotel after the tour.Les mer

  • RS Day 5 - Walk to the Little Mermaid

    10. juli, Danmark ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    We had the afternoon free after our tour of Rosenborg Castle. After lunch we walked to the statue of the Little Mermaid. It was a warm and sunny day in Copenhagen, so many people were swimming in the canals. We had dinner at a very busy market with Scott, Christa, Paul, and Terri, along with two Danish guys.Les mer

  • RS Day 6 - Roskilde Viking Ship Museum

    11. juli, Danmark ⋅ 🌬 68 °F

    On our way to the island of Ærø, we stopped in Roskilde to visit the Viking Ship Museum and the Roskilde Cathedral. The remains of the six viking ships were less intact than what we saw at the Vasa Museum. These ships had been sunk intentionally to block a passage into the harbor during an invasion.

    We ate lunch at the museum - their "viking platter." It was interesting.
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  • RS Day 6 - Ferry to Ærøskøbing

    11. juli, Danmark ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    We drove from Roskilde to Svenborg where we caught a ferry to Ærøskøbing on the island of Ærø. Ærøskøbing's houses and streets are delicately restored to retain the character of the olden days. Most of them are one story tall, and the oldest ones date back to 1645. The island was a major smuggling / trading center. Ærøskøbing is often called a fairytale town. The town almost died out, but it has become a major destination wedding site. The wife of our guide, John Maloney, started a wedding business as part of the effort to revive the island's economy. And it is working.

    We shared an apartment with Scott and Stephanie. We had only one bathroom, but we had a lovely room and a beautiful living room. This is the first time we've ever had to share a bathroom on a Rick Steves tour.

    After dinner we walked down the the harbor. There was a light mist and we got to see a beautiful rainbow and an incredible sunset.
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  • RS Day 7 - Bus Tour of Ærø

    12. juli, Danmark ⋅ 🌬 66 °F

    We had a relaxing morning before going on a bus tour of Ærø. We stopped at a church on the island and had lunch at a place that only prepares lunch for Rick Steves tours. We had smørrebrød, a traditional Danish open-faced sandwich, characterized by a slice of buttered rye bread topped with various meats, fish, cheeses, spreads, and garnishes. It was delicious. We also went to a scenic overlook.Les mer

  • RS Day 8 - Helsingør and Kronborg Castle

    13. juli, Danmark ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    After breakfast we left Ærø and took the ferry to Svenborg. Then we drove to Helsingør (Elsinore) where we had lunch and a short visit to Kronborg Castle, immortalized as Elsinore in William Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Kronborg is one of the most important Renaissance castles in Northern Europe. The lunch venue was a quirky warehouse / food court, with eclectic furniture all over.Les mer

  • RS Day 8 - Varberg

    13. juli, Sverige ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    We drove from Helsingborg to Varberg. We stayed at Hotel Gästis in Varberg. It is owned by a staunch Leninist and has classic posters and art work from the former Soviet Union. And there are books everywhere! The place is classic Rick Steves accommodations.

    We did a short orientation walk and then Mary and I went for a long walk along the coast. We found a folk group singing Irish music along the way.
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  • RS Day 9 - Vitlycke Rock Carvings

    14. juli, Sverige ⋅ ☁️ 72 °F

    We drove from Varberg to Oslo and made two stops along the way. The first was to the bronze age rock carvings at Vitlycke. This is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The outlines of the carvings have been enhanced with a natural pigment to make them more readable. One of the carvings shows up on the Swedish 50 K note.Les mer

  • RS Day 9 - Lunch at Everts Sjöbod

    14. juli, Sverige ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

    We ate lunch and had a boat ride at Everts Sjöbod Bed & Breakfast in Grebbestad. The lunch was a delicious mussel soup, along with bread and butter. The boat ride took us among the off shore islands. It was a beautiful day and the boat ride was refreshing. This area is one of the warmest areas in Sweden because of the current that circulates along the coast.Les mer