NORWAY MAY/JUNE 2009

We took more than 350 pictures between us. But how to decide which to show you?!!! Of course we have lots of really picturesque ones, which I promise I will show you some time this week. But I've decided to start off with some of the more unusual ones.

First, the houses. Gaily colored matchbox type with steep roofs. Really pretty to see when grouped together in towns and villages. Then as we got further and further north, of course there were fewer and fewer houses. Just an odd one here and there and sometimes for miles and miles. Remember we went far into the Arctic Circle. ( Trying to get a good map together to show you just how far.) But even an odd brightly colored house or farm lit up the dour landscape of the Arctic.


This has to be the quaintest McDonalds we have ever seen. It is in Bergen and yes, it really is a McDonalds. The building (built in 1710 -- and no, it wasn't a McDonald's then!) was on the slope of a hill as are most of the buildings in Bergen.


Trolls are a big thing in Norway. They come out of Norse mythology and are also known in parts of Scotland and northern England. Some depictions are much more ugly than this, but since I have never liked monsters of any kind, especially as a child, I didn't do much with photos of them.


Of course this is the land of the Midnight Sun and just to prove it I took a photo of our alarm clock at 1:00 a.m. on the window ledge of our cabin. True Photo -- not faked.


This was the view from our cabin window the first morning. I had some intention of taking a view from the window every morning as I woke up, but soon realized I would never be able to tell which was which. The rain and salt didn't do much for the photo either, so I quit doing that.



Anyway, this was too often the view that we had!!! So we spent the day where it was much more exciting -- in the large Panorama Room with large windows and comfy chairs. Barry went outside a lot of the time -- better photos and he went ashore at quite a few ports of call. We had 67 Ports of Call! When I describe the ship you will understand why.

I always thought I was a fish lover, but dried cod and other varieties were not for me. Too salty and smokey. But of course in the days of no refrigeration and when fish were plentiful this was the way it had to be done. We had lots of salmon among the buffet meals, but being a Yorkshire lass (long ago), I much prefer fresh haddock from the North Sea-- and I do mean fresh.

This is a close-up of the process.

Some houses still use grass sod on their roofs for insulation. I suppose that would compare to the thatched cottages of England. But thatch doesn't do well in the winds off the North Sea.

This was one of the more picturesque lighthouses and since I'm rather partial to lighthouses (especially Flamborough's) I decided to insert this here. There were many lighthouses to be seen along our route.

We think the photo below was taken in Molde , but we don't know what the building was. It seemed to be constructed out of mirrors and the sun (not setting, but not far above the horizon) made a dazzling display. We are hoping Rune of Visual Norway will be able to tell us about this building.

More to come! Scenic views, unforgettable side trips, and my favorite ...Huskies! 250 of them!!!
I will still work on getting a half decent map so you can see where exactly we did go.
Keep visiting.