THE trip

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THE trip skip's retirement travel
1
Viking ship museum
August 29, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
4 relatively intact Viking ships excavated from burial mounds. All ocean going. Detail pics are of the steering board, aka "starboard." Notice it is on the right or starboard side of the ship. Also the dragon from the stern of one ship. They show some of the grave goods excavated, too. This is the only extant wheeled cart from Viking times. They show a partially animated movie showing how a Viking leader would go "a-viking," return home (in this case dead in battle) and buried with ship, grave goods, and mound.Read more
Traveler soo cool!
7/3/18Reply
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
2
Stave church
August 29, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
Scandinavian rural church, known as stave churches. This one dating to the 13th century. I find these wooden buildings both haunting and starkly beautiful. The tower is much taller than I expect to see on small wood structures.Read more
Arija Restbergs Is that gold or silver leaf on the walls?
8/30/17Reply
skip's retirement travel Neither. It's centuries old paint.
8/30/17Reply
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
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Oslo Opera
August 29, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 17 °C
HearingTosca tonight. 4th row center! Lovely building that they claim is the only opera house in the world where people are invited to walk on the roof. Pics are of the exterrior and interior, including seeing the balconies through the windows. Then the house and the pit and stage. This house apparently provides translation in multiple languages on screens on the back of the seats in the row ahead. Looking forward to this. Maybe a tour tomorrow.Read more
Arija Restbergs How cold is it there? I see a lot of heavy coats!
8/29/17Reply
skip's retirement travel Right now, 10:00, it's 58, going to 67 today. Yesterday was much cooler, with on and off rain
8/30/17Reply
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Up on the roof of the opera house
August 30, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
What a view.
Arija RestbergsA lot of rebuilding going on in the city
8/30/17Reply
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
On the train from Oslo to Bergen
August 31, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C
Almost 7 hours across southern Norway, partly above the tree line. Some beautiful scenery
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Bergen
September 1, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
Major port on Norway's west coast. Major Hanseatic league city. UNESCO World Heritage Site of buildings used by the league, last rebuilt about 1702, and still in use. City has both old and new in close proximity. Berger is an active city with lots happening at the port.Read more
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Mt Floyen
September 1, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C
One of seven mountains surrounding Bergen. I rode the funicular up and walked down. The pics are a view from the top much like the overview of Bergen in a previous post. There are trolls and other things scattered around paths on top. The last 2 pucs are on the way down. One of a section of the path, and the other a view in a different direction as the weather cleared for a little bitRead more
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Bryggen
September 3, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
This is an update asnd expansion on part of the previous post about Bergen. Bryggen is the old Hanseatic League operation in Bergen, dating to the 14th century. Bergen, and these buildings, were the HQ, so to speak, of the Hanseatic presence in the north. There is a lot more behind the facades, as you can see in the various pictures. Note all the doors off of the corridors, formerly warehouse spaces, many of which are now shops. The last pic is a hand carved sculpture of a cod, which was the primary source of wealth here.Read more
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Mariakirken
September 4, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
Church where the Anglican ministry in Bergen worships. I attended, and it turns out the the pastor of the Anglican congreagtin, Kirk Weisz, is a Presbyterian minister who went to Princeton seminary. It was old home week during the coffee hour, trading war stories. It is a small world.Read more
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Bergen redux
September 4, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C
This is just a few final impressions of Bergen
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Aboard the M/S Lofoten
September 5, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
This is the Hurtigruten cruise up the coast of Norway. Today is day one, and it's raining. The cruise lasts until Sunday. So I expect to have many posts. Most will need no comment as they are the spectacular scenery.Read more
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Hjorundfjord
September 5, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
The ship sails in to the end of the fjord and anchors for several hours. A tender ferries passengers to shore for various excursion or just to take a walk in the little town of Urke. See next post.
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
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Urke
September 5, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Town at the end of the Hjorunfjord. I walked around the little town looking in every direction, taking too many pictures, and trying to imagine what it would look like on a clear day. Just imagine living in the midst of such grandeur. The third pic shows the Lofoten on the fjord dwarfed by the mountains, and the fifth pic looks down a creek, flowing to the fjord.Read more
Arija Restbergs This past weeks picture are just beautiful and breathtaking
9/6/17Reply
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Approaching Trondheim
September 6, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
At about 15 knots. The sky is trying to clear behind us, but it still looks like rain ahead.
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
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Trondheim
September 6, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
Nice town. Statue of Viking king Olav in the square at the city center. An ice sculpture also also in the main square and its only the beginning of September. The old bridge into the old town, and pics of the old town. The big deal in Trondheim is the cathedral where king/saint Olav is interred (see another post).Read more
Arija Restbergs Looks cold with the way the people are dressed
9/6/17Reply
skip's retirement travel Upper 50s on the edge of rain
9/6/17Reply
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Nidaros Domkirke
September 6, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C
The main cathedral in Norway. Pilgrimage site and burial place of king/saint Olav. Spectacular gothic building from the 12th century. They don't allow photography inside, so only one pic of the nave before I realized the rule. The front wall is amazing in itself with all the carving. There is a picture of the old archbishop's palace which is now both s museum and offices for both the Luthern bishop of Trondheim and the presiding bishop of the Lutheran church in Norway. The last picture is a statue outside the cathedral. It struck me as out of place in the sense of being from a different culture.
Google it for some incredible pics.Read more
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
North of Trondheim
September 6, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C
Near Stokkness. A famous lighthouse marking the narrow channel. A fish farm along the way. And a sense of how narrow the channel gets, less than 150 feet at is narrowest, through an area that is quite stark. I don't think 2 ships of this size could have passed through at the same time.Read more
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Time to rock and roll
September 6, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C
Off Buholmrasa. Passing the lighthouse that marks the end of the passage of water protected from the North Sea behind islands and the beginning of 2 hours of open ocean in a 53 year old ship with no stabilizers. Time to rock and roll. Glad my dinner seating is 2 hours fom now rather than now.Read more
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Crossing the Artic Circle again
September 7, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
66 30 north. 7:09 AM. Marked by the open globe. The ship has a contest to guess the exact time, to the second, of crossing the arctic circle. I guessed 7:27:50. But I couldn't get the captain to slow down. In case you aren't aware, 7/27/50 is my DoB.Read more
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Approaching Ornes
September 7, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 11 °C
First sunny day since we left Bergen at the beginning of the cruise. The first pic is into the sun and is of Svartisen glacier. Others are along the way. The ship has tradition of a ceremony where "King Neptune" appears and we get ice water poured down our backs followed by a shot of booze. I was in the first group and didn't know what was coming (so no picture), but I did get another arctic circle certificate. This time in Norwegian.Read more
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Approaching Bodo
September 7, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
North end of the railroad. From here on stops come more frequently. Pics are more of the amazing scenery.
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Bodo domkirke
September 7, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 17 °C
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Lofoton Island at Stamsund
September 7, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C
The ship's namesake. Just around sunset.
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Aurora borealis
September 7, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C
Not much of a show tonight. Lights are faint and didn't dance. Hopefully there will be a better show to come.
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THE trip skip's retirement travel
Arriving Harstad at dawn
September 8, 2017 in Norway ⋅ ⛅ 10 °C
Small town, brief stop. The last picture is the view from the bridge taken during a tour. We were between Harstad and Finsness
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