June 14, 2014   Dover, England

 This morning the majority of the guests who were on the ship for the last week were headed home and a new ship full of passengers were arriving. We took a double decker shuttle bus to the Dover Castle that sits atop the hill overlooking the port. The Castle has a 2,000-year history of protecting the English coast at its closest point to France across the channel.

The castle grounds consist of the great tower, medieval tunnels, churches, halls, an underground hospital, secret wartime (WWII) tunnels and more. Henry II built the present castle in the 1180’s, and over the next 800 years it was adapted to meet the changing demands of weapons and warfare.

Inside the Great Tower you find a museum, interactive exhibition and recreated interior of the castle from the time of Henry II. Costumed actors portray the King and his court roaming the rooms of the castle reenacting what may have gone on at the time the castle was built.

We took a tour of the Underground Hospital built within a maze of underground tunnels. The tour of the hospital takes you through the hospital wards, operating room and nurses dormitories.

The “Operation Dynamo: Rescue from Dunkirk” tunnel tour takes you through some of the 3.8 miles of underground tunnels where the 1940 operation to evacuate hundreds of thousands of soldiers from Dunkirk, France was planned. With the use of actual film footage from the time along with recreated war rooms, they bring to life this difficult time in the spring of 1940 when the allied forces came close to total destruction by the advancing Germans. Luckily they were able to evacuate most of the allied forces (some 385,000) from the beach at Dunkirk before the Germans who had them surrounded arrived.

The tunnels were built using technology available at the time to build mining tunnels. The chalk like material of the hillside was excavated and the tunnels were lined with steel arched supports. The tunnels are maybe ten feet high at the center of the ceiling and about fifteen feet wide at the base. It is damp and musty and would have been filled with cigarette and pipe smoke at the time. Not a very pleasant environment to work in or to be recuperating from surgery. All aboard time today was 3:00pm so we did not have a lot of time to explore ashore but we enjoyed our time at the Dover Castle.

We were required to attend another lifeboat drill for this next two-week segment of our trip. There was the usual sail away party on deck as we departed Dover; an opportunity to check out the new passengers who boarded the ship today. There was an LGBT cocktail event in the bar where we met a new passenger, Eldon, from Saskatchewan, Canada but now living in Florida. He is a very nice gentleman in the accounting business. We had dinner this evening in the dining room with a new friend, Eddy, who was on the ship last week as well. He is a derivatives trader from Melbourne but has been traveling the world for several months. He is headed to Hungary to purchase property to refurbish and rent to students. His father lives in Budapest. Eddy has lots of interesting stories to tell from his 45 years of life!

Ulvik Fossli Hotel

Reservoir on the Plateau

One of the waterfalls near the hotel

June 12, 2014   Ulvik, Norway and Scenic Cruising of Hardangerfjord

 Ulvik is much more of a village than it is a city. With a population of only 1000 residents or so you can hardly call it a city. The city was once difficult to access but just last year a new suspension bridge slightly larger than the golden gate bridge was opened making access in and out of the town more accessible.

Our tour on this morning took us about 90 minutes drive out of town to the Hardangervidda Nature Center in Eidfjord where we saw an interesting film presentation on a 225-degree wide panoramic screen. The movie featured the local floral and fauna, waterfalls and canyons as seen from a helicopter. In addition to the film there was a very nice museum of taxidermy animals and exhibits showing what exists in the local area. There were birds, rabbits, rodents, elk, reindeer and more.

Our next stop was a drive up to the Hardanger Mountain Plateau. The meandering roads along the rivers and fjords are scattered with homes and vacation cottages of all sizes and shapes. In the lower elevations of the area you find many fruit orchards including apples and cherries. This area is the fruit basket of Norway. As we climbed to the higher elevations we found that trees were no longer able to survive the climate and the land becomes much more barren. At the top of the plateau is a large man made reservoir and power plant. Not only was it raining at the reservoir but also the temperature had dropped into the 40’s. Snow can still be seen on the surrounding hillsides. Between the melting snow and the rain you find many incredible waterfalls throughout the area.

We stopped on our way back to the ship at an old historic hotel that started operating here more than 100 years ago, before modern roads were built and people could arrive by automobile. The hotel is still owned by the original family who started the hotel back in 1891. We enjoyed a variety of cakes, coffee and tea in the hotel. The hotel sits just above the Voringfoss waterfall that is a sight to see.

The town of Ulvic is very small so there is little to see other than a few hotels, a juice and cider factory, the local church and a cemetery.

Even though we have not headed too far north yet, we are experiencing very long days and very short nights. Sunset tonight was at 10:59pm and sunrise was at 4:14am. It seems as though the sun never sets and it is difficult to judge what time of day it is without looking at your watch. It is still light when you go to bed and light when you get up in the morning.

We were invited to a cocktail party this evening in a lovely suite on the ship. Two new friends Dan and Elsie from Oakland and Berkeley were hosting the party in Dan’s cabin. Tonight’s dinner was another formal dinner with the traditional escargots, steak and lobster and soufflé for dessert. The entertainment was another show by the Ryndam singers and dancers called Droom. The show is like an enchanted dream garden, where mystical creatures both good and evil dwell. This production was one of the most elaborate we have seen on a ship with extensive costumes, props and video projected backdrops. These new shows are much grander than those we saw when we first started cruising in 1996.

Pulpit Rock

Stavanger Church

Stavanger Waterfront

Norwegian Waffles

June 11, 2014   Stavanger, Norway

 Stavanger is about 30 square miles in size and is the fourth largest city in Norway. Prior to the discovery of oil in the North Sea in 1969, Stavanger was known as a canning town with over 50 canneries operating. Since the discovery of oil this city of 125,000 has become known as an oil town. The boom of the oil industry has also made it one of the most expensive cities in the world and one with very low unemployment. The city is comprised of many wooden homes from the 18^th and 19^th centuries. These beautiful old homes are protected by the city’s cultural heritage department as a reminder of its past.

We took a cruise through the Stavanger Archipelago this morning in search of the natural wonder called Pulpit Rock. This protruding rock cliff is unique in that it is square in shape, measuring 82 by 82 feet, flat at the top and rising nearly 2,000 feet above sea level. The rock was formed during the last ice age some 10,000 years ago when the edge of a glacier was believed to stop just above the mountaintop.

The Fjords are beautiful with a variety of terrain ranging from gentle sloping hillsides to steep rocky cliffs along the banks of the Fjord. After viewing Pulpit Rock from the water we stopped at a shore side restaurant for traditional Norwegian waffles served with jam and sour cream. The waffles are thinner and more soft than crunchy than those we are used to at home, but nonetheless delicious.

In the afternoon we explored the city center on foot. The city is built on the hillsides surrounding the Fjords and the charming streets are narrow and winding. We wandered the largest surviving wooden house settlement in Northern Europe where we are able to visit a museum in one of the old wooden houses where several families, as many as 30 people may have lived at one time. Times were tough in this old canning town and housing was expensive. In the city center you find Norway’s oldest cathedral built around 1100 overlooking a lovely lake with swans, birds, flowering beds and park benches.

The entertainment this evening is a one-man show by Jonathan Clark. He is a singer, comedian and vocal impressionist for a large number of stars like Michael Jackson, Ray Charles, Neil Diamond, Tina Turner, Tom Jones, etc.

Summer Homes

Lillesand Waterfront

Lillesand Architecture

Another Summer Retreat

Kent and his new pet Moose

June 10, 2014   Kristiansand, Norway

 As a gateway to and from the continent, once a military stronghold, Kristiansand is the fifth largest city in Norway with a population of about 85,000. This area has been inhabited since prehistoric times. In 1996 a well-preserved skeleton of a woman dating back to 6500 BC was discovered in the area.

Known today for being the second largest attraction in Norway is the local zoo, attracting over one million visitors a year. Bryggeri is a local producer of beer and soft drinks since 1859. The Hennig-Olsen family has been producing ice cream in the area since 1924.

Kristiansand is also known as the sunniest city in Norway and also known as the floral town of Norway. In summer you will find more than 20,000 flowers in bloom around the city.

Although the forecast called for rain, we lucked out and the weather was warm and sunny until late in the day when we had some light rain. By then most guests had returned to the ship and we were on our way to the next port of call.

Our tour this morning took us by boat from Kristiansand to a town called Skottevik. The 90-minute boat ride took us into many small inlets, around small islands where we could see how the locals spend their weekends or holidays at second homes on the sea. Many of these home have existed here for hundreds of years and been passed down from generation to generation. These homes range from very small cottages to very elaborate looking homes, but most all of them are painted white. White paint was once a luxury item and was brought back to Norway by its sailors. All who could afford to have a white house did. For others it might only mean they would have a white façade but today most of the houses remain white. The landscaping is very picturesque with hills of stone and lush green landscaping.

After the boat cruise we boarded a bus for a scenic drive to the town of Lillesand, named for its small sand beach. The sand beach is about the size of a postage stamp but it is a beach. Lillesand is a charming seaside town of 18^th and 19^th century timber homes, all of which are painted white. The gardens are filled with spring flowers in bloom making for a very inviting spot.

In the afternoon we headed into Kristiansand on foot where we discovered pedestrian only streets filled with shops of all sorts. We walked through the local fish market, checked out the third largest cathedral in Norway, the 1672 fortress and a band playing music in the central square. Souvenir shopping featuring trolls of all varieties seem to be the most popular. You can find troll key chains, statues, figurines, refrigerator magnets, postcards and more.

Tonight’s entertainment was a show by the Ryndam singers and dancers called Heat. The show took you on an exotic tour around the globe via a wall of projected photos and videos. The songs mostly featured fire or something steamy.

You may be asking where all the talk about the people is? Well, we did meet a 43 year old, gay music producer from Nashville who is quite a character. He had just finished working with some producers for Cold Play and Rhianna in London. Since he had finished his work earlier than expected and friends were sailing on the ship he decided to join them. He is quite the storyteller with one joke after the next, always entertaining. Most often found entertaining at the bar or in the casino at a black jack table.

There are a large number of Brits on the ship since the ship leaves and returns to Dover, eliminating the need to fly anywhere. The British enjoy their full English breakfast of baked beans, sausage, bacon, eggs and tomatoes. Beer and tea with milk are in high demand as well. We have enjoyed interacting with the Brits but we are always amazed at how we speak the same language but we often have trouble understating what they are talking about. The expressions and words they use to describe things are often very different from American English.

Kent in the Center of Oslo

Vigeland Sculpture Garden

Norway Parliament Building in Oslo

Oslo Street

Vigeland Sculpture Park in Oslo

Viking Museum Ship

June 9, 2014   Oslo, Norway

Oslo, Norway was founded in 1049 by Harold III, although scientists have found evidence of earlier habitation. The name Oslo is generally interpreted to mean “meadow at the foot of a hill.” Around 1299, King Haakon V took up residence in the city and Oslo became the capital and center of commerce for Norway. In the 14th century, Oslo came under the dominance of the Hanseatic League. After a great fire in 1624, the city was rebuilt and renamed Christiania (later also Kristiania) until 1925 when the name Oslo was made official again. In World War II, Oslo fell (Apr. 9, 1940) to the Germans, and it was occupied until the surrender (May, 1945) of the German forces in Norway.

Oslo is still considered one of the great maritime centers of the world and is Norway’s most populous city with about 635,000 inhabitants. The population including the surrounding suburbs climbs to around 1,500,000. Oslo is the economic and governmental center of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important center for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to many companies within the maritime sector, some of which are among the world’s largest shipping companies, shipbrokers and maritime insurance brokers.

Oslo is a beautiful city featuring both old traditional stone buildings as well as modern glass construction. The main square is comprised of a wonderful park with water fountain, colorful landscaping and great sculpture. Surrounding the park is a classic old hotel, the parliament house and a variety of shops and restaurants spilling out into the street like you would find in Paris.

In the afternoon we took a tour, which took us to the Viking Museum where we found the remains of several Viking ships that have been uncovered from the times of the Vikings between 800 and 1100AD. The ships were used in burials of kings and queens. The ships would be filled with everything that the person buried might need in the afterlife (The Kingdom of the Dead) including horses, food, jewelry and servants.

Our next stop was at the Kon-Tiki museum where we learned more about Thor Heyerdahl who wanted to prove that inhabitants of South America and Polynesia were indeed trading goods and knowledge using small boats or rafts. He proceeded to build several rafts from reeds and balsa wood in the 1900’s and travelled from South America to Polynesia only using the wind and the ocean currents.

The last stop of our tour was at the Vigeland Sculpture Park. Gustav Vigeland was a stone sculptor of the human form. In this park you find more than 200 of his sculptures representing human life from birth to death. He sculpted babies, children, young people, adults, older people and people at death. In addition to the granite sculptures he also sculpted in bronze representing the human life cycle as well. On this day the park was filled with people of all ages enjoying the sunshine, as it was some type of holiday and most people had the day off from work.

The evening’s entertainment back onboard the Ryndam was a comedian by the name of Tom Sutton. His thoughts and jokes were very well thought out but not especially funny.

June 8, 2014 Sea Day

We enjoyed a fairly quiet day at sea today: breakfast in the dining room, lunch in the casual Lido Restaurant which is more like a cafeteria, afternoon tea in the dining room and a formal dinner in the dining room complete with tuxedos. As you can tell we are not getting off to a very good start with the diet.

There was an art history lecture, shore excursion lecture, port lecture for Oslo and Kristiansand.

The entertainment this evening was a show called “Aces High” performed by the Ryndam singers and dancers. The music included songs from the Big Bands to the Beatles.

June 7, 2014 Dover, England

We departed from Victoria Station by train at 8:22am bound for Dover, England where we would board the Holland America Line ship the Ryndam for our cruise of the Norwegian Fjords. When we had booked the train tickets months ago there appeared to be a direct train to Dover but by today that was not the case. We had to take one train most of the way, get off of the train and board a bus for a twenty minute ride to another town. There we were able to catch a second train to take us into Dover where we would need to take a short taxi ride to the port. We arrived at the ship shortly before noon.

We had sailed on the Ryndam in 2002 from San Diego to the Mexican Riviera, but the ship has luckily been renovated and remodeled since then. The cabins have been updated with new bathroom finishes; the cabin has newer carpeting, drapes, and bedding, light fixtures and sofa.

By 4:00pm we had set sail for Oslo, Norway.

On this voyage we have what they call open seating dining which means that we have no assigned table for dinner but instead can arrive at the dining room for dinner anytime between 5:30 and 9:30 and be seated similar to how you would be seated in any restaurant. On this night we shared a table with three British couples that were all very nice.

The entertainment on this night was a variety show introducing the ships singers and dancers, as well as the different groups of entertainers who perform around the ship in different lounges.

June 6, 2014 London, England

Thom invited us to meet him this morning at the Burrough’s market near London Bridge, a short subway ride from our hotel. This enormous market is open only three days a week and features anything and everything you may want to eat. You’ll find gorgeous meats, fish shops, vegetables, fruits, cheeses, flowers and more. You can find things to take home and prepare yourself or you can stop for a huge variety of ready to eat stands selling meat pies, sausages, hot dogs, sandwiches and salads. This market has been on this site for over one thousand years and still going strong.

We explored the neighborhood a bit including a walk along the River Thames where we saw London Bridge and Tower Bridge. We enjoyed George’s Inn, which dates back to 1542 and was frequented by Shakespeare and Dickens. The city of London is filled with grand old architecture mixed with new high-rise towers and everything in between. There are public parks throughout the city filled with art, sculpture and monuments of historical people and events. With more than eight million residents the city is a bustling, noisy place but at the same time you are able to find out of the way quiet spots to enjoy as well.

In the late afternoon we met our Friends Paul and David who live near Blenheim Palace in Woodstock for afternoon tea. They had driven into the city just to see us, staying over night before returning home the next day. We had a delightful afternoon and evening catching up with them. We had not seen them since 2010 when we had the opportunity to visit them in their home but we picked up where we had left off just like it was yesterday.

June 5, 2014 London, England

On this day we took in a matinee play called Handbagged, a play about the relationship of Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. The play was based on true historical events with a great deal of humor. The play has only a cast of six; a younger and older Queen, a younger and older Margaret Thatcher and two gentlemen who played a variety of characters including Nancy and Ronald Reagan.

After the theater we met up with Thom and Tabor for a drink at a local pub, The Duke of Wellington, in the West End, not far from the theater.

Dinner was shared with our friend, John Gowan, from San Diego who lives in our building and was visiting London as well. We met at a restaurant called The Henry Root that is in the beautiful neighborhood of Chelsea. Chelsea is an affluent neighborhood filled with lovely restaurants, shops and homes. You can find chain shops here like Tiffany and Cartier as well as unique one-of-a kind shops.

June 4, 2014 London, England

This morning we were greeted at out hotel by a friend Thom who we had met on the Queen Mary cruising from New York, around the British Isles and back to New York in September 2011. Thom and his partner, Tabor, currently live in London although they are Canadians. They have lived in London several times over the past thirty years and so they know the city well. Tabor has a Canadian government position
in London.

Thom had graciously asked if we would be interested in having him show us around London, which we were happy to have him do. Our first stop was outside Buckingham Palace where Queen Elizabeth was making one of her rare public appearances of the year. In grand fashion, complete with a parade including regimen of horses, gilded carriages and Rolls Royce’s, she made her way from the palace to the House of Parliament where the Queen would open Parliament. Although the weather was cool and drizzly, thousands lined the streets to get a glimpse of the Queen in her recently acquired gilded horse drawn carriage in honor of her Diamond Jubilee.

Next we toured the Banqueting House near the Prime Ministers residence that has been the setting for many formal government dinners, parties and ceremonies. The grand hall’s ceiling is comprised of nine oil paintings done by the artist Reubens.

We walked the West End and Covent Garden enjoying the beautiful architecture and great shops. We stopped into the Savoy Hotel for a look at how the rich and famous might enjoy London. Tea at the Savoy will set you back about fifty British Pounds and reservations well in advance are required.

Late afternoon found us picking Tabor up at the Canadian High Commissioners office where he works before heading to Thom and Tabor’s flat for a lovely home cooked meal.