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Monday, June 25, 2012

Stavanger, Norway

Yesterday we were in Stavanger, Norway, our last port on the
Norwegian cruise. Today we are steaming south toward Amsterdam where we
will conclude this cruise sometime tomorrow morning. Then we wait around
the Schipol Airport in Amsterdam for a flight to Prague so we can start
the second phase of our trip.

The photo is of the Lagard Gravlund - a cemetery. It was one of the
nicest one I have seen (and I do like cemeteries). One unique feature I
noticed on a number of gravestones that note a husband and wife, below
the two and their dates was a notation of the wife's maiden name. For
genealogists this is handy.

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Tromso and Bergen, Norway

The other day we were in Tromso and yesterday in Bergen, Norway's second
largest city. In Tromso it was cold and misty but in Bergen it was a bit
warmer but raining. I guess that was the type of weather we expected.

Yesterday we had expected to arrive in Bergen at 10:00 AM but we missed
that by a 'country mile.' It happens that during the night there were
problems with the engine and for a while we are dead in the water. We
finally arrived in Bergen at 5:00 PM but then stayed until 11:00 PM.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Geiranger, Leknes, Kirknes and Honningsvag

Since our stop at Alesund, we have stopped at ports of Geirenger,
Leknes, Kirknes and today we are in Honningsvag. All are located on or
at the end of fjords in the northern portion of Norway. The
Geirangerfjord has been the most picturesque yet with it very high stone
walls. The weather was very nice in Geiranger but it has become cooler
as we moved further north. Today in Honningsvag the high is expected to
be only 47 degrees.

The sun has been up for the last four or five days and will be so until
we get further south. We have to be sure that the drapes are tightly
closed or else when you wake up in the middle of the night it seems like
the middle of the day.

Saturday, June 16, 2012

Geiranger, Norway

Yesterday we cruised up a long fjord to the small town of Geiranger. The
sail up the fjord was very picturesque with small settlements ever so
often. Some of them were three quarters of the way up the side of hill
and you wonder how they got up there. The ship was anchored at the end
of the fjord and from there we were able to take a tender into the town.
The town was very small with a large camp ground with campers from all
over Europe.

Today we are sailing up the coast of Norway to the port of Leknes, the
northern most port on this cruise. Unfortunately tomorrow is Sunday and
most of everything in Leknes is closed but at least will will have an
opportunity to walk around.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

In Alesund, Norway

This morning we arrived at Alesund about 9:00 AM after cruising for a
day and a half up the North and Norwegian Seas. Alesund consists of a
number of islands with three large ones being Norvoy, Aspoy and Hessa
and is the entrance to Stor Fjord. The city has about 40,000 residents.
The Prinsendam is docked at the cruise terminal and we are able to leave
the ship, cross the bridge and you are in the downtown area.

We took the City Train which winds through the city and eventually winds
up on Mt. Aksla from which the photo was taken.

We will stay in Alesund until 11:00 PM and the out to sea and move on to
our next port north of here. By the way, today the sun will set at about
11:20 PM and it will rise tomorrow morning at about 2:30 AM. Not much of
a night!

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Sailing the North Sea

Today we are sailing the North Sea on our way to our first Norwegian
port, Alesund. We will arrive there around 8:00 AM. Today is a day of
rest although there is plenty of activity aboard the m/s Prinsendam. The
casino is open but as is generally the case on the Prinsendam there are
very few folks there. This afternoon there is the first of the lecture
series but I don't recall what the subject is and don't feel like
getting up to find out!

Our stateroom is very nice as we were upgraded from a normal verandah
stateroom to a Superior Suite although it is not really a suite. It is,
however, much larger with a larger balcony. We have been very lucky on
any of our Prinsendam cruises as we have been upgraded the last three times.

That's it for now.

Monday, June 11, 2012

In Amsterdam


Today we are in Amsterdam after leaving home on Thursday, the 7th. We flew to JFK and from there we flew to London-Heathrow. From Heathrow we took the National Somethingorother coach to Gatwick and spent the night there. On Saturday we flew to Amsterdam and our cruise starts tomorrow from here.

The cruise is for fourteen days along the Norway Coast and in a number of it's fjorrds and then we will be back here and then on to Prague. There we will spend a few days and then begin a week long cruise up the Elbe River. Then it's on to Berlin for a few days and then will have to give it up and head for home. It looks like a great month. So far it has been very good.