No sun in Ålesund

So wet. So rainy. So many tall ships.

The rain finally caught up with us so we had a shorter day ashore than we would have liked. We still managed to walk around the town for a bit though. 

The best thing we did was hike the 418 steps up a local mountain to a nice view that overlooks the islands of Ålesund. 

The town is an interesting mix of modern and Art Nuevo architecture. The town burnt down in 1904 and was totally rebuilt... and then partially torn down again to make room for shopping. They actually tore down a castle to build shops for tourists...I'm not to sure about the math in that but if it was me I'd have left the castle. 

There was a tall ships festival in town which was great to see. Lots of ships all over the port, some of them almost 100 years old. The crews were from all over the world, Russia to Brazil and more. 

We also saw real shipwrights building what looked to be an old style longship in a dry dock. It looked like it was a lot of work but it also very cool. 

We took the tender back to the ship and had a leasurly day aboard the Quest reading, learning about Vikings and drinking champagne. It's a tough life over here in Norway. So tough. 

Tomorrow is another day at sea but we will cross into the arctic circle. Midnight sun here we come. 

Seafarers II, Electric Bugaloo

Another full day at sea. We slept in to the very decent hour of 8:30 am today. 

The centerpiece of our day was the second of 4 trivia contests. We upgraded our name for the second round, from The Seabourn Identity to The Seabourn Supremacy. The name upgrade worked and we took second place in today's round. Woo!  We are now in second place overall though a bit of a distance out of first. 

We also went to "Broadway" tea time. Marissa was very excited. Some of the cast performed tunes from Boradway shows whilst tea was served. Again, it's a tough life out here off the Norwegan coast. So tough. 

Bonus excitement for today is that we just crossed above the arctic circle. Woo hoo!  Now the sun will never set...for the next 4 days. Hopefully I can stay up late enough to take a photo. 

Fjords & Flåm

Slartibartfast does good work! The fjords are beautiful and amazing. I couldn't really capture it with any of my photos today. 

We went fjording on silent a misty morning. With no preset morning adventure, Marissa and I decided to head off on our own into town and beyond. 

We will come back to this building later. We got a map and headed off on a hike away from the water. Tiny little villages dotted the landscape. We passed Lunden and Håreina both of which had less than 40 residents I'd guess. Also, we think that have a gas problem. 

We cut our intended hike short after the road past Håreina got very steep. On our way back towards town we discovered a little water powered grain mill down by the river. 

We saw lots of small stone statues (of which I have forgotten the name) along the river bank. We decided to add our own monument. 

After a brief rest and lunch we went on a fjord safari followed by a beer tasting! Before we could depart in our rigid inflatable boat (RIB) we had to get suited up. 

Skipping across the fjords was great. We got right up under waterfalls. 

Saw the small town (65 people, 400 goats) that makes the best goat cheese in Norway (which also has the smallest church in Norway). 

Gazed up at the most reclusive bed & breakfast (it takes one hour to walk from the water line along the waterfall up to the hotel). Bonus fact, the B&B was started by an American. 

Saw goats scrambling along the steep hillside. 

And we even went into a UNESCO fjord; the narrowest, steepest fjord in the world. 

The cliffs along the fjords are massive and tower over the you on the water. So impressive. Hard to describe and easy to see the inspiration for so much of the Norse culture. Our guide told us that there are rocks in these fjords that are only found here...and on the moon. 

After two hours on the fjords we returned to shore and and headed off to taste beer (in the Viking-esq building from above). We walked to the Ægir Brewery and tasted 3 of their beers. Bonus fact, Ægir was started by an American who found Norwegan beer a bit lacking.

All Ales, we tasted a blonde, amber and a porter. All were decent and not surprisingly I like the porter the best. 

The inside is decorated in a "Viking" inspired style. It fits well I think and seems to be a good place to hang out and drink, especially in the winter. 

We had a great day discovering the small town of Flåm. I didn't realize it was so small (400-ish residents) before we got there. 

This part of Norway is truly amazing and really something to see. It's like nothing else and it's like we sailed into a fairy tale. As Marissa says it was Flåmazing! 

Tomorrow it's the Art Nuevo town Alesund. 

Bergen - Slugs & Poo

Land Ho!  

We fell back into jet lag sleep patterns and woke up at an unreasonable hour (boo Jet lag, so boo). On the plus side we got to watch the Norwegan coast sail by. 

We had an excursion today to hike up a mountain in Bergen. First we took the walk through Bryggen, home of the ancient Hanseatic League. 

 Next we took the funicular from Fløien. 

The view from the top of Mt. Fløien was great and offered fantastic views of the city and fjord. 

From their we took a 5 mile round trip hike up and down Mt. Rundemanen. 

It was no hike like Marissa and I did at Trift last year but it was no cake walk either. 

The forest trail was beautiful and Marissa was acting tough to try and keep the bugs away. 

We all failed at that. The knats were everywhere. My arm was specially delicious apparently though it looks like all the bites are now starting to fade (finally). 

We also saw lots of large black slugs inching their way across the trail. And then there was all the poo all along the trail. We decided it was either giant slug poo or troll poo. I'll spare you the poo picture but if you really want to see it Marissa has the photo. 

There were several opportunities to take photos with my real camera. It was a slog to have all my gear strapped to my back but I think I got one or two good shots with my tripod and Canon. 

We had a good time hiking with Dave & Carina. 

We walked around town a bit after the hike. 4 or 5 cruise ships were docked by the time we got back down the mountains.  We strolled through some of the UNESCO buildings and shops on the way back to the ship. 

All in all it was a nice day in Bergen. No rain, mostly cool. Good company. Lots of knats. 

Also there was this sweet sailor/Viking statue in the center of town.

We ended the afternoon back on the ship with lunch and some drinks. A great way to relax after a long day of hiking. 

Bye bye Bergen. On to Flåm in the morning. 

(All photos in this post taken with Hipstamatic photo app)

Bergen-tastic

Some highlights from Bergen!

We hiked up a mountain - it was a beautiful day despite the weird little gnats that kept annoying us...  This is my favorite picture from the hike.  I call it "Chris Sneaking up on Chris."

We made it to the top!

I'm not sure what this sign said for real but I assume it means - "please remember to put a bag on your dog's head before proceeding".

The Hiking Olander Brothers!

Also this... Maybe we were secretly in Jurassic Park?

After the hike we explored town a bit - saw the fish market, the cute little Bryggen Houses, the main city square...  It's a lovely little town.

 

Rosenkrantztarnet and Guildenstern.

After exploring we returned to the boat and had high tea then lobster mac and cheese for dinner.  We earned it after the hike.  

Bye Bergen!

Next adventure is exploring Flam and going on a RIB Boat excursion to a local brewery!

Fancy pants (and dress)

We got all fancied up for the first formal night aboard the Seabourn Quest!  It was fun to have a classy night to celebrate.

We had drinks with the Olander clan at the Observation Bar beforehand.  And listened to the pianist play lots of showtunes which I greatly approved of.

Then off to the Restaurant for our fancy dinner.  My beet and mozzarella salad was amazing and then the main course Beef Wellington was top notch.

And for dessert they brought us a Congratulations cake to celebrate the upcoming wedding!

Very sweet.

We closed the night watching a singer in the theater and then off to fight the jet lag and sleep through the night!  (Didn't really work - I woke up at 3am.  Booooo.)

First port day in Bergen is today and we are off on a hike with Dave and Carina.  Should be beautiful!

Seafarers

Our first day at sea is pretty much done. We managed to sleep in to the very reasonable hour of 7AM!  Though we did break down in the afternoon and take a nap (even though we said we wouldn't). 

The big event for today, other than afternoon nap time, was triva. We were on an international team comprised of Danes, Aussies and Americans. We set our exceptations low which was good since we finished 4th (out of 5). There was a Sondheim musical theatre question which Marissa knew (woo!) and a tennis question which I missed (but so did everyone else). 

We caught up on a few lectures about Norway and the Hanseatic league (it's not all gluttony and sloth here!). We are excited to see our first Norwegan city tomorrow, Bergen. We get to hike around tomorrow and take a funicular. 

Bergen here we come!

Farewell Copenhagen

Since jet lag is cursing us...  (I was up at 2:00am and Chris woke up at 4:00am this morning)...  We decided to get early breakfast and explore a bit more of Copenhagen before we get on the cruise ship.

The weather is gorgeous today and walking around early is so nice and peaceful.

Shipyard buildings!

Castle!

Cathedral!

Now we are resting a bit before heading to the ship.  Norway awaits - here we come!

Tivoli

It's clear to see the inspiration for Disneyland at Tivoli. Though I wish Disneyland would produce a nice retro map like this one. 

Here's more from the gardens. 

Inside The Flying Trunk-

Disney classics like The Little Mermaid. 

Also, Frozen before it was so popular. 

Good Danish food for dinner. 

Boat rides!

And pirate ships!

Old school autopia. 

Also, it didn't get "dark" until after 10:30. And this is the furthest south we get. Can't wait for that midnight sun.