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  • 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! Read more
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  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    The Nobel Peace Prize Center / Museum was right along the harbor.
    If only ...The reindeer steak was delicious!The Oslo city hall was celebrating its 75th anniversary this year.

    RS Day 9 - Oslo Reindeer Dinner

    July 14 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    We had a pleasant walk along the harbor to our dinner restaurant. We had one of the best meals I've ever had - a reindeer steak. It was amazing! We also had a walk after dinner back to our hotel.

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    The Norwegian parliament building
    The Grand Hotel. The Nobel Peace Prize winners stay here.Henrik Ibsen statue“Mannen med sykkel” / “The Man with a bike” by Per UngThe Royal PalaceStatue of Queen Maud of NorwayQueen Sonja was a commoner who is an avid outdoors personAkershus FortressThe Oslo ski jumping facility from when Oslo hosted the Olympics.The Oslo Opera HouseThe Munch Museum

    RS Day 10 - Walking Tour of Oslo

    July 15 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    We had a walking tour of Oslo in the morning. We saw the parliament building, national theater, royal palace, and the Akershus Fortress.

    After the tour we visited the Norwegian Resistance Museum. It was an interesting comparison to the Danish Resistance Museum we visited in Copenhagen. The Norwegians put up resistance from the start and had a greater impact on the war than the Danes. During the walking tour we saw the sculpture of “Mannen med sykkel” / “The Man with a bike” by Per Ung at Karl Johans Gate. Per Ung (1933-2013) made this sculpture in honor of Gunnar Fridthof Thurman Sønsteby and it was unveiled in 2007 by His Majesty King Harald V. Sønsteby was active in the resistance movement during WW II.

    Near Akershus Fortress there is a statue of FDR. During WW II FDR gave his "Look to Norway" speech that was an inspiration to the resistance:

    "If there is anyone who still wonders why this war is being fought, let him look to Norway. If there is anyone who has any delusions that this war could have been averted, let him look to Norway; and if there is anyone who doubts the democratic will to win, again I say, let him look to Norway."    Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    The Kon-Tiki
    A model of RaThe Ra IIThe FramWe went below deck to see the cabins and living areas.

    RS Day 10 - The Kon-Tiki & Fram Museums

    July 15 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    We had the afternoon and evening free in Oslo. There were many options for us to choose from. We ended up with visiting four museums. We visited the Norwegian Resistance Museum at the Akershus Fortress before lunch. After lunch we took the ferry to the Kon-Tiki and Fram Museums.

    I remember reading the book about the Kon-Tiki when I was in grade school. It was amazing to see the actual boat. The museum also had the Ra II, a boat that Thor Heyerdahl took from Africa to Barbados. The original Ra sunk shortly after starting out.

    The Fram Museum was also surprisingly interesting. The Fram is a 19th century ship that had been on expeditions to both the south pole and the north pole. The Fram was designed to withstand being frozen in the ice and not be crushed.    Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    Brad and Kelly had the same idea!

    RS Day 10 - The National Museum

    July 15 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 77 °F

    Even though we were really tired from the visits to the other three museums, we decided to visit the National Museum. It was open late that evening. We were so glad we went! The museum has a large collection of paintings, including Scream by Munch. After we had been there a while we went to the museum's roof top bar and had a drink.Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    The doors and openings to the homes were kept small to keep the heat in.A traditional Norwegian string instrumentPizza for lunch!

    RS Day 11 - Valdres Folk Museum

    July 16 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    We left Oslo in the morning to drive to Østerbø Fjellstove. We made two stops along the way. The first was the Valdres Folk Museum in Fagernes, where we also grabbed lunch. The second stop was at the Torpo Stavechurch.

    At the folk museum we had a tour guide and were able to listen to some traditional Norwegian folk music. The museum also had a nice collection of traditional clothing. There was a river through the town with a falls that we also got to see.    Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    The stavesA model of what the church may actually have looked like.

    RS Day 11 - The Torpo Stavechurch

    July 16 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 75 °F

    We had a brief stop at the Torpo Stavechurch. The church is from between 1100 - 1300. The stavechurches were constructed using wooden pillars from single trees. Each stave was about 100 feet. This is one of the oldest stavechurches in existence.Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    We had a lovely room.Our room was second from the right on the first floor.The view from our room.The view from our room.

    RS Day 11 - Østerbø Fjellstove

    July 16 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    We made one more quick stop at a scenic overlook before getting to Østerbø Fjellstove. This "outpost" is really set up for hosting hikers and campers who want to explore this lovely region. We had only a brief time there, but we got in a couple of short walks.Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    Our bus driver, Roger, got us through the mountains safely.

    RS Day 12 - Bus Ride to Flåm

    July 17 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 66 °F

    The bus ride from Østerbø Fjellstove to Flåm was through the mountains. It was beautiful. We stopped at one scenic overlook along the way. The view was spectacular. It was Mary's birthday, so there were little surprises all through the day.Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler

    RS Day 12 - Tour of the Viking Village

    July 17 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 75 °F

    After the boat ride we had a picnic lunch in Gudvagen. It was quite warm by then. Nina and Roger shared some "snaps" with us during lunch. Then we had a tour of the Viking Village. The main take away was that viking is more of a job description than it is a people group. And vikings never had horns on their helmets!Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    Tvindefossen Falls
    We found a nice restaurant for Mary's birthday dinner in Bergen.

    RS Day 12 - Bus Ride to Bergen

    July 17 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 81 °F

    We left Gudvagen and had our last bus ride with Roger. On our way to Bergen we stopped at a popular and spectacular water falls, Tvindefossen Falls. After we arrived in Bergen Nina gave us a brief orientation and then we were on our own for dinner.Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    The buildings lean!Looking up to the funicular station.Bergen's McDonalds is not a traditional building.There were lots of trolls throughout Norway.Those stairs are truly sloped!

    RS Day 13 - Walking Tour of Bergen

    July 18 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 68 °F

    We began our last day on the tour with a walking tour of Bergen. Our tour guide, Sue, was a little more "commercial" in her tour. She made several pitches for specific businesses. This is unusual for a RS tour.

    The harbor area of Bergen is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The area has been burned down numerous times and then rebuilt. The current buildings were mostly from the rebuild after a major fire in 1702.    Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    Reindeer hot dog from Bergen's Trekroneren hot dog stand.
    The view of Bergen was amazing.There were goats roaming around the area.

    RS Day 13 - The Fløibanen Funicular

    July 18 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    After the walking tour we had a lunch of reindeer hot dogs. Reindeer hot dog is a Norwegian delicacy that can be found at Bergen's Trekroneren hot dog stand, just around the corner from the McDonalds. It was delicious! I would highly recommend it.

    After lunch we took the Fløibanen funicular to the top. We enjoyed the spectacular views before taking a hike around the area. We enjoyed sitting at the top with a glass of wine before going back down.    Read more

  • Terry GustafsonEurope 2025Traveler
    We celebrated Meg's 50th birthday, along with the other birthdays.Mary and her buddy MichelleMy buddy Craig and meBrad and Kelly, our Buckeye buddiesMary and Sunghee

    RS Day 13 - Final Dinner and Trip Home

    July 18 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    We had our final dinner together at the Bryggen Tracteursted restaurant. It was a delightful meal. We hated to see the tour end. The group was close and we got to know most of our fellow travelers well. After dinner some of the group used their funicular tickets to see Bergen at night.

    Mary and I came back to the hotel, packed, and tried to get to bed early. We woke up at 3:15a in order to catch a taxi at 4:00a for the Bergen airport. Our trip home went from Bergen to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to Toronto, and Toronto to Columbus. We ended up with a 5 hour delay getting out of Toronto. Our original flight was canceled and we were fortunate enough to get rebooked on a flight later in the day. Some on our plane had to spend the night and catch a flight the next day. Our trip this year was bookended with travel troubles. But it was a wonderful trip.    Read more

    Trip end
    July 19, 2025
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