Today is a sea day and we have sunshine. Cool north wind but lots of sunshine, the first we've seen since our first sea day on this cruise.
I got to see my first ocean oil platform in person - very cool.
We're taking today pretty slowly - Adrian tripped yesterday in port and injured his knee, we're focusing on recovery so he can ready for our full day trip to Edinburgh tomorrow. 
​Decided taking it easy should include pre-dinner drinks and nibblies!
Our friend Steve is a wonderful artist and he posts his art outside his cabin most days. I decided to take photos and post them for you to enjoy at the end of each leg. 

Today was our last day in Norway and we spent the day in Bergen, Norway's second largest city and former capital. Bergen is known as Europe's rainiest city and today it lived up to its reputation.
We started off at 9am with a market tour with Chef Renata. The markets we have visited so far don't really get going until later in the morning, lots for us to se anyway. These chef tours include tasting of local specialties, this time whale, local sausage, cloud berry and lingonberry jam were on offer. I didn't try the whale - Norway is one of a very few countries that still have a commercial whaling industry. I learned during the whale lecture I attended that this is more of a government commitment to heritage than a citizen driven economic or food issue. The lecturer suggested one of the ways to help the whales was not to eat the meat - phew, I look like a conservationist rather than a fussy eater!
Bergen is a beautiful city, surrounded by mountains, which we were assured exist. Today we had lots of low cloud and rain so they were in possible to enjoy. The weather also meant we skipped the famous funicular ride since there would be nothing to view. We did visit the historic Bryggan District, a UNESCO world heritage site filled with historic wooden buildings, traditional architecture and lots of side streets filled with shops, museums and a chance top see the way things were built.
Today was also the day we claimed our VAT refund. Most countries here have a VAT - similar to our HST only at a much higher rate, 25% here in Norway. Visitors can get about 19% of that tax back on goods they are taking home with them, things consumed in Norway are not eligible. While the process is fairly simple, you do have to be aware of it. Sadly I wasn't paying enough attention and we made a few purchases without following the rules - so no refunds on those! I am now studying up for our next countries!
I also forgot to include in my post about Froya that the Norwegians have a way of cleaning the sea lice off of their farmed salmon. Farmed salmon is a huge industry here and Norwegians are very proud of it. They have specialized equipment on boats that travel to the salmon pens and somehow the salmon pass though the equipment and the sea lice are literally brushed off the fish. This is apparently effective and not harmful to the fish or the environment. Lots we could be learning I think! Tomorrow is a sea day and then we land in Dundee, Scotland where passengers on this leg will disembark and new folks will join us.

Today we're in Vik. We arrived at noon and we're here until about 9pm.
Vik is nestled on the southern shore of the Sognefjord and Vikoyri (Vik) is one of Norway's oldest settlements with history stretching back more than 1000 years. The Sognefjord is known as the "King of Fjords" and is about 1200 km long.
Archaeological discoveries show that the Vik area has been inhabited since the Stone Age, with evidence of human settlement dating back more than 6,000 years.
It's a very pretty community, with a lovely waterfront and lots of homes in and on all sides of the valley. Norway's scenery has reminded us of both BC and Newfoundland.
The big attraction here is the Stave Church. The Hopperstad Stave Church was built around 1130 and is one of Norway's oldest ad most beautiful Stave Churches. Constructed entirely of pine using Viking-era woodworking techniques, the church is renowned for it's dragon head carvings and richly decorated interior.  Neither of us are big church tourists however this one was truly remarkable. We also visited the Stone Church also from the 12th century.
I included a couple of pictures of the Moahaugane Burial Mounds, they look like they sound, green mounds but are actually Viking burial sites, dating from around AD200-900. This history here is a constant reminder of how young North America really is.
Vik is also famous for "Gamalost" an ancient cheese. The local coffee shop offered a tasting plate so we gave it a try. It's been described to us by several different folks, none of whom made it sound truly appetizing. However, served on a cracker with lots of butter, sour cream and jam it was quite tasty. Adrian really liked it. Tonight we make our way to Bergen, our last stop in Norway.

Today we visited Sistranda on the area of Froya. We only had a half day in this mall port that reminded me of Newfoundland. A welcoming community whose economy is rooted in salmon farming. We visited a small market that offered us tastes and an opportunity to buy some of their salmon products, local cheeses and spice/herb mixes. For our sail away flag raising today we were served some Scandinavian Glogg. The weather for our Norway visits has been quite cool and damp so the glogg (mulled wine) was a welcome treat.
This afternoon I attended a couple of lectures, one on the hazards facing whales, which also featured some of the progress humans have made in protecting them. My second lecture was on some of the stranger Norwegian traditions, which included some information on trolls and a suggested viewing list for Scandinavian television. Adrian and I had already watched a number of these and quite enjoyed them so I included the slide in case anyone else was interested.

Today we had a fabulous day in Trondheim. We took the ship's shuttle to the city centre and explored the main highlights with our friends Steve and Mary. We visited the church, historic bridge, fort, old town and the newer old town. Again so much wonderful outdoor art, cobblestone streets and historic buildings. The weather was a bit damp and the sun eventually showed itself around 4:30 this afternoon.

Today we're in Andalsnes, nestled at the end of the Romsdalsfjord, surrounded by towering peaks, this picturesque town is the gateway to the spectacular Romsdal region, renowned for its dramatic mountains, landscapes, scenic railways and outdoor adventures. We started our day with the Romsdal Gondola. Spectacular views - reminded us a bit of the Rockies plus water!

Today we visited our second port in Norway. A beautiful historic town. The town suffered a major fire in 1904 and was rebuilt in Nouveau Art style. Highly walkable, with a fabulous lookout - 418 steps up, overlooking the community. I love the many trolls thoughout downtowm, so much fun. We had a great day walking around and seeing the sights. 

Today is our first day in Norway. This leg of our journey is all in Norway and if our first stop was any indication - we're going to have a great time. We did our usual walkabout - exploring all the the streets. Haugesund, like most of the places we've visited has a wonderful pedestrian only main street, with lots of shop and restaurants. After exploring the community we had lunch on the waterfront. The best fish and chips - the fish was super fresh, lightly battered and perfectly cooked. It was even a really good portion, expensive and delicious. We finished the day with a lovely hot tub - managed to get in and out between rain showers. 

Today was a beautiful sea day. Lots of sunshine and tiny bit cool in the wind. We decided to try out one of the ships hot tubs. There's one next to the pool on the pool deck and there's also one on the bow, a lovely secluded sundeck that we had almost to ourselves.

Today we are docked in Copenhagen. Fortunately we're close enough to walk everywhere we want to go. Adrian's never been here and I haven't visited Copenhagen since 1985 - imagine 41 years ago! We walked the waterfront, the beautiful streets and visited Tivoli Gardens - a nostalgic stop for me and the inspiration for the Disney theme parks.
Copenhagen is a beautiful, walkable and sustainable city. I so love the architecture and art of these European cities.