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UK, Baltic Capitals & Norway
  • Laura Folk

UK, Baltic Capitals & Norway

A 30-day adventure by Laura Read more
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  • Laura FolkUK, Baltic Capitals & NorwayTraveler
    1

    Lights! We have Lights!

    October 19 in Norway ⋅ 🌬 10 °C

    Northern Lights, that is.

    I was in bed. Almost asleep at half past midnight. I checked the Hello Aurora app. The legend said "Low probability of seeing". But it appeared that there had been sightings onshore parallel to our ship.

    So I put on warm clothes over my jammies and headed up topside.

    And there they were- faint, but visible with naked eye. The pictures are more vivid.

    So glad I got up.    Read more

  • Laura FolkUK, Baltic Capitals & NorwayTraveler

    Bergen, Norway

    October 19 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    The morning started with a quick breakfast, and a serenade by the coffee and pastry crew.

    Frode and Joanna - guide and bus driver. Frode (not Frodo) was a really good guide. He pointed out that we were very fortunate to have a nice day- and it WAS lovely. Bergen is the Rainiest city in Europe. 277 days of rain- 100"/year.

    Our first stop was the funicular to the top of Fløien Mountain. The funicular was amazing - one large car, with sections, on a track that took about 8 minutes to get to the top. Views were spectacular, and there are lots of hiking paths, playgrounds and park areas at the top of the mountain. There's also a cafe, so guess what? Coffee and a cinnamon roll to share! Glad we went early, because the lines for the funicular we saw later in the day were pretty long.

    After a drive-around, we visited the old Hansiatic area, which contains many shops and restaurants. A lot were closed, it being Sunday, but many open- probably because the ship was in- and we returned to the area after the tour. Frode showed us a house in the complex (Red house with balcony) that had been used by the Resistance in WWII.

    We were able to get some good pics of the houses from across the harbor, where we also saw a fleet of eider ducks in formation. Frode told us about a lot of incidents in Bergen that affected construction during different times, reflected by different architectures.

    We were let off at the fish market downtown after the tour and walked around some more. We got a taxi back, after being unceremoniously blown off by an Uber driver who accepted the ride. When I contacted him after a bit of a wait, he replied: "I 'm busy. Book another ride."

    Back at the ship, we had some chicken broth, then headed in. We headed up to the Garden Cafe to see the sights as we departed.    Read more

  • Laura FolkUK, Baltic Capitals & NorwayTraveler

    Haugesund, Åkrafjorden & Langfoss Falls

    October 20 in Norway ⋅ ☁️ 7 °C

    Early start. We found our gathering spot on the pier next to the ship. Our Guide-Hans, did a spectacular job on today's Åkrafjorden and Langfoss Waterfall excursion. We started off the trip going to a monument commemorating Henry Fairhair's unification of Norway, and a co-located cross which marked the first Christians in the area. We had a beautiful sunrise, and I met a beautiful goat.

    We traveled for 1-1/2 hours through this beautiful country to the Langfoss Waterfall - the largest in Europe. Pictures don't do it justice. Absolutely huge and lovely off-shoots in several directions. We drove along the Åkrafjorden, into which the waterfall flows. There are many tunnels along the road, necessary because of the steep cliffs.

    We stopped at a cafe and grocery store. We had coffee, cocoa, and cinnamon rolls. I was able to pick up some lefse in the store. The lady in the store who rang it up said it would last for 6 days, and since we'll be home in 3, I am happy. Even more so, because I realized after getting back on the bus that there were 2 packages stuck together.

    Since the traffic was light, we were able to take some other roads back to town, seeing some really old churches and buildings. An interesting thing is the "prayer houses," which are not churches, but places where people of any denomination can go to pray. I wasn't able to get pictures, but they look like normal houses with a cross on the side.

    Hans took us through Haugesund, where he grew up, and is apparently related to half the town. We got back to the ship in plenty of time, had some lunch.

    Rested a bit, and dinner in Aqua.    Read more

  • Laura FolkUK, Baltic Capitals & NorwayTraveler

    Home again, Home again

    October 22 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 9 °C

    Pretty uneventful trip home- taxi to Southampton Central. Bus to Heathrow Terminal 5. Did some repacking (used an additional fold-up bag to avoid overweight suitcases), tagged bags, did Security, got to use lounge for 20 minutes before heading to the gate.

    British Airways Premium Economy - great service, mostly smooth flight. Rented car at Dulles, picked up Wayne and bags, and headed home.

    Easy ending to a wonderful trip.

    The End    Read more

    Trip end
    October 22, 2025
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