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Today we're in Dundee until 3 pm. Beautiful city with lots of history and historic buildings.
A marked difference from Norway and the Baltics though. Norway and the Baltic cities were super clean, no visible evidence of homelessness whereas Dundee has lots of garbage strewn about and we saw a number of homeless people. Everywhere we've been so far has been super expensive. Some of that is made worse by the value of our Canadian dollar of course. Here the British pound is almost double (1.86) of the Canadian dollar. So our two coffees this morning came in at just under $20.
We had lots of time to walk and get some exercise, beautiful sunny day - two in a row! This afternoon we sail away to our next stop.
As good Maritimer's we've mastered the free drink opportunities onboard. Sail away at the start of each cruise offers an opportunity to score a free cocktail, or two, on deck, while enjoying the scenery. There's also a Captain's welcome party on day two of each leg and a cocktail party for folks who've done more than one Windstar cruise each leg. The drinks onboard are expensive - about the same price as an upscale bar at home - but in American dollars. We've been capitalizing on our free opportunities and being kind to our livers - or drinking while on shore most of the rest of the time - win, win!
We sailed past a stationary oil rig today and we're close enough to the coast to get to enjoy ocean views of the Scottish Coast. Simply gorgeous.
Tomorrow, we're taking our first tour offered by the cruise line, excited to see more of Scotland and to evaluate the ship's tours so we can better decide if we'll do any more. Stay tuned!
A marked difference from Norway and the Baltics though. Norway and the Baltic cities were super clean, no visible evidence of homelessness whereas Dundee has lots of garbage strewn about and we saw a number of homeless people. Everywhere we've been so far has been super expensive. Some of that is made worse by the value of our Canadian dollar of course. Here the British pound is almost double (1.86) of the Canadian dollar. So our two coffees this morning came in at just under $20.
We had lots of time to walk and get some exercise, beautiful sunny day - two in a row! This afternoon we sail away to our next stop.
As good Maritimer's we've mastered the free drink opportunities onboard. Sail away at the start of each cruise offers an opportunity to score a free cocktail, or two, on deck, while enjoying the scenery. There's also a Captain's welcome party on day two of each leg and a cocktail party for folks who've done more than one Windstar cruise each leg. The drinks onboard are expensive - about the same price as an upscale bar at home - but in American dollars. We've been capitalizing on our free opportunities and being kind to our livers - or drinking while on shore most of the rest of the time - win, win!
We sailed past a stationary oil rig today and we're close enough to the coast to get to enjoy ocean views of the Scottish Coast. Simply gorgeous.
Tomorrow, we're taking our first tour offered by the cruise line, excited to see more of Scotland and to evaluate the ship's tours so we can better decide if we'll do any more. Stay tuned!
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Today is the beginning of the third leg of this trip - Dundee, Scotland to Dublin Ireland. We're staying overnight in Dundee so today we're heading off to see Edinburgh and tomorrow we'll explore Dundee itself. We took the 10:16 am bus to Edinburgh and fortunately had tickets to visit the castle at 1:30 pm. the castle was sold out by the time we arrived.
Edinburgh was super busy, especially the Royal Mile that leads to the castle. So many people it was hard to really enjoy the sites. We had a great lunch after our castle tour and then took the $:42 bus back to Dundee, heavy traffic at that time of day so we were an hour late getting back to the ship.
You'll notice many of the statues have traffic cones on their heads - here's googles answer as to why "Putting traffic cones on statues in Scotland is a playful, long-running tradition that started as a late-night drunken prank and grew into an unofficial symbol of local humor and rebellious civic spirit".
I included a picture of Mickey Mouse busking on the Royal Mile, couldn't resist the image of an American icon, busking for money perhaps after being deported by ICE?
Edinburgh was super busy, especially the Royal Mile that leads to the castle. So many people it was hard to really enjoy the sites. We had a great lunch after our castle tour and then took the $:42 bus back to Dundee, heavy traffic at that time of day so we were an hour late getting back to the ship.
You'll notice many of the statues have traffic cones on their heads - here's googles answer as to why "Putting traffic cones on statues in Scotland is a playful, long-running tradition that started as a late-night drunken prank and grew into an unofficial symbol of local humor and rebellious civic spirit".
I included a picture of Mickey Mouse busking on the Royal Mile, couldn't resist the image of an American icon, busking for money perhaps after being deported by ICE?
views of the city from the castle
Inside the prison
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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.
