Norway Trip 2006

Vegas and Reno

2006-07-16T12:37:00.000-07:00

Even though we had gotten in late last night I didn't get a whole lot of sleep. I think my body just wasn't sure what time zone we were in. The bed was nice and comfortable though and Junel and I both mentioned later how rested we felt.

While she was getting ready I even went down to the pool and took a short jacuzzi. I got back to the room and got ready myself and then we went down for their continental breakfast with plenty of time to spare before it was over at 10:00. Since the lobby was so crowded we decided to take our breakfast back to the room. We watched a few of those TV programs where they remodel part of the house on a budget while the person is away.

Checkout was at noon and we grabbed a shuttle to get to the airport. Our flight didn't leave until almost 3:00 Central time. The shuttle driver was a 25-something who mentioned that his dad had just given him a chunk of money and told him to find his dream. The unfortunate thing was that his dream was to become a truck driver. Whatever happened to thinking big?

We got into Vegas a little after 4:00 Pacific time. We were both really starting to get tired now. We had about a 2 hour layover in McCarran airport. (Can anyone say, "remodel"?) Fortunately our flight to Reno was ontime (even a little early). We got back about 8:00, took a taxi over to Cindy and John's house where we were storing the Subaru. They weren't home, so we just headed back to Carson and got home around 9:00. We were both exhausted. I dragged in the suitcases and we made a few phone calls and crashed. What a trip.

Back to the USA

2006-07-15T12:28:00.000-07:00

We were up early (again) for breakfast in order to catch the bus to the airport. The sad part was we had to say goodbye to Steve and Kathy who were planning an extended detour up Norway's coast for another five days.

We arrived at the airport and checked our luggage. We had a little time to kill so we visited with Dawn and Bob since they would be taking a different flight to Oslo, through Reykjavik, Iceland, and then on to Baltimore. We said our goodbyes and our plane left Trondheim for Copenhagen. Dawn had made me promise to watch out for Mom and Dad. Funny how things get reversed as you get older.

From the air it is amazing how flat Denmark is compared to Norway. We had to go through passport control and then we made our way to the gate. If we had had more time it would have been fun to try to meet up with Rasmus, a foreign exchange student who had visited Tahoe and done some shows with us there.

The flight from Copenhagen to O'Hare was delayed about 45 minutes. Since Mom and Dad didn't have a lot of time at O'Hare to go through customs and then catch their plane to Cedar Rapids I think they were getting a little concerned.

During the flight I watched V for Vendetta, and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. I had seen V before, but I liked the Matrix movies and this one also was written by the Machowski brothers. We both dozed off a while, but finally reached Chicago.

We all got through customs fairly uneventfully, but we were trying to hurry to catch our connecting flights. We said our goodbyes to Mom and Dad and thanked them for the opportunity to spend some time with them visiting the home of our ancestors. I found out later their flight had been delayed, so they made it easily enough.

Our flight, on the other hand, got cancelled and we had to get booked on a later flight to Minneapolis that didn't leave until 10:20 Central time. If I remember right it was delayed too. (WARNING: Don't fly through O'Hare if you don't have to.) Having got up at 7:00 am in Trondheim you can imagine how tired we were by then. We decided to get a little dinner at Chili's in the meantime.

Our flight left Chicago and got into Minneapolis 11:30. By the time we picked up our baggage, got a shuttle, and arrived at the Hampton Inn it was after midnight. We both fell asleep slightly before our heads hit the pillow, I think. What a day.

Trondheim city tour

2006-07-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

We were up early for the breakfast buffet and then onto the bus for a 3 hour tour of Trondheim. We stopped briefly for a photo op at the Kristiansten Fort.

Kristiansten Fort. Dad and Dawn in the upper left. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

We drove past the Haltdalen Stave church at the Trøndelag Folk Museum. We passed the Royal Residence, the Old Town Bridge (where lovers are supposed to kiss), the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, and stopped briefly at the Utsikten (viewpoint) for more photos.

View of the Nidaros Cathedral. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

Definitely the highlight of the city tour for me was visiting the Nidaros Cathedral. Unfortunately we were not allowed to take photos inside. I ended up getting the guide book.

Front of the Nidaros Cathedral. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

Another shot further back. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

We had the rest of the afternoon free so Junel and I went for a walk along the Nidelva River to the "Kissing Bridge" and then to do a little shopping at the Julehus. The only problem is we walked right pass the store so we got in a little extra mileage that wasn't intended. She did find a couple of nice ornaments there.

The "Kissing Bridge," Trondheim. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

We went a little further and had a late lunch at Primo, an Italian restaurant. Fish and potatoes were starting to get a little old. I ended up having a bruschetta and Junel a nice salad. Quite good. We then moseyed back to the hotel and took a short nap before dinner. Mom and Dad had gone to a concert at the Cathedral and then saw the Crown Jewels that were being exhibited nearby.

Before dinner we met with MariAnne to go over some details for our flights out tomorrow. She mentioned how much she had enjoyed being our tour guide and that she knew everything was going to be fine for this tour because before the tour had even left she had been praying for each and every one of us.

Earlier she had asked me about singing something and I mentioned I had done a concert version of Phantom of the Opera. So when she was through I volunteered to sing "Music of the Night." Of course, I think it sounds better with background tracks, but sometimes you just have to make do.

We had dinner and we all said our goodbyes to MariAnne. Her flight was leaving at 4:30 in the morning. Junel and I were tired so we headed off to bed.

On to Trondheim

2006-07-13T09:26:00.000-07:00

Today was an early wakeup call, 6:15. With breakfast again provided we were on the road again heading to Molde.

We reached Vestnes to take an hour long ferry ride across the Moldefjord to Molde.

View on the ferry ride to Molde. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

Two-thirds of the town was destroyed by German bombers during WWII who were searching for King Håkon and Crown Prince Olav. The town is also well known for its roses.

We then headed NW to Bud (pronounced Boo). From the Molde & Romsdal Travel Guide 2006:

In the 16^th and 17^th century Bud was the biggest trading post between Bergen and Trondheim. The last meeting of the national council in Norway was held in 1533 under the leadership of Archbishop Olav Engelbrektsson. Today Bud is still an active and charming fishing village with several good fish restaurants.

We ate lunch at one of those and I think it was the best salmon I ever had.

The town of Bud. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

Before that though we stopped at the Ergan coastal defences.

Ergan is a restored German coastal fort from World War II with command center, cannon positions, sickbay, and water reservoir built into the rock. In addition to the 350 Germans, Bud was home to 150 Russian and Polish POWs. The fort has a view of the whole of Hustadvika bay, the shipping lanes to Ålesund, Molde, and Kristiansund as well as the fishing villages of Bjørnsund and Ona. (Molde & Romsdal Travel Guide 2006)

Exhibit at Ergan. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

After lunch we got to drive across part of the Atlantic Road which "zigzags across bridges and rockfills from island to island." One of the bridges we crossed looked like a skijump. We stopped for some pictures and then retraced our steps instead of going on to Kristiansund.

Bridge along the Atlantic Road. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

We had one more short ferry ride and then headed up E39 to Trondheim. We were getting tired and took a short little nap. We had a short stop at Heimdal to stretch our legs and grab a soda and when we got back on the bus, Dawn and I surprised Mom and Dad by singing "The First Forty Years Are the Hardest." That brought on a round of "bus karaoke." I think people were getting punchy from being on the bus all day.

Roadside stop on the way to Trondheim. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

We got into Trondheim and headed for the Radisson Hotel. MariAnne pointed out some of the sights we'll see tomorrow more closely on our city tour. After getting our bags to the room I went down to the lobby where Dad, Dawn, and Bob were having a beer. Since I needed some cash I went out and searched for an ATM machine (or Minibank as the Norwegians say).

After I returned I also got a Dahls beer and then blogged a little before dinner. They had a decent buffet and we all said goodbye to our tour driver, Tor Ivar.

I think we'll probably try to get to bed early tonight. More tomorrow.

Geiranger Fjord and Ålesund

2006-07-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

We got to sleep in a little later today. Wakeup call was at 8:00 and we were on the road by 9:30.

Scenery on the way to Geiranger. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

We drove from Loen over to Geiranger to catch a ferry across the Geiranger Fjord (recently placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List) to Hellesylt.

Cruise ships in the harbor at Geiranger. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

The Geiranger Fjord is breathtaking. There were 5 cruise ships in the harbor. (One is hiding around the corner in the picture above.) We stopped at the top of the mountain above Geiranger to get some photos, (The one below is courtesy of a kind stranger.) and then got on the ferry for the 1 hour ride. We hurried to grab some lunch at the onboard cafeteria before the line got too long.

The Williams clan above Geiranger. From left: Steve, Kathy, Dad,
Mom, Bob, Dawn, Mark, and Junel. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

There are several attractions along the way to Hellesylt. We saw the Ørnevegen (Eagle Road) which has 11 hairpin turns that wind up from the fjord. Right before the Sju Systre (Seven Sisters) waterfall is the Knisflå, an abandoned farm way up near the top.

The Seven Sisters waterfall. The Knisflå farm is in the upper right hand corner.
(© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

The Seven Sisters themselves are a group of seven waterfalls that drop almost 250 m. to the fjord. Across from the Seven Sisters is a waterfall called Friaren (The Suitor). I don't think that requires an explanation.

The Suitor waterfall. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

Next is the Brudesløvet (Bridal Veil) which closely resembles the identically named waterfall in Yosemite.

The Bridal Veil waterfall. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

After taking lots of pictures we went back down and boarded the bus so that we could leave quickly once docked. Our destination for the evening is Ålesund. From Hellesyllt we through the wild landscape of Velledalen. When we reached Ørneset we got on another short ferry to Magerholm, drove about another 1/2 hour and we were at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Ålesund.

We got in about 4:00 so we had three hours to kill before dinner. Much of Ålesund was destroyed in 1904 in a fire. Most of it was rebuilt in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau), so it has very beautiful and interesting architecture.

Dance move in Ålesund. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

Mom, Dad, Steve, Kathy, Bob, and Dawn went to the Aquarium. Junel and I decided to walk downtown. She enjoyed taking pictures of the buildings.

I wanted to climb the 418 steps to the Fjellstua Viewpoint on Mt. Aksla. Junel was a good sport about it, but after about 3/4 of the way said she'd wait for me. I made it to the top and took a few snapshots.

View from the Fjellstua Viewpoint. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

The views of Ålesund, the islands, and the majestic Summøre Alps were worth the sweat I had worked up. I got a couple of sodas at the cafeteria and headed down.

At the bottom in the Town Park is a statue of Rollo the Viking. Rollo founded Normandy in the year 911. Back then the "Vikings" were called Norsemen. Rollo was an ancestor of William the Conqueror who conquered England in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings. If I remember correctly he was also an ancestor of the Sinclair family of Roslin, Scotland.

Rollo the Viking. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

We headed back to the Radisson for dinner. All these wonderful buffets are not helping my waistline, but they sure are good. We met up with the rest of the clan, visited while eating, and then headed to our room.

Junel did some reading while I wrote up today's adventures. Tomorrow we get up early again to go to Trondheim.

On to Loen

2006-07-11T09:47:00.000-07:00

We got up about 6:15 and on the road by eight. The breakfast buffet was excellent as usual. We left Voss on the way to Loen. First we drove over the Vik Mountains. The weather was a little overcast and rainy.

Since we had been at Edvard Grieg's summer home and our tour director, MariAnne had mentioned one of his songs, "Jeg elsker dig," that I had sung in a recital some years ago, I thought it might be fun to surprise Junel by singing it for her in Norwegian. So MariAnne let me and sure enough, she was surprised. She cried a little too. We have the reputation on the tour as the "cute honeymooners."

View of Vangsnes and the Sognefjord. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

We had a photo op at the top of the mountains before we descended to Vangsnes to take a ferry ride across the Sognefjord to Hella. The views and scenery are simply magnificent. I found and bought a little booklet that featured many, if not all, of the stave churches.

The ferry ride was fun. We got off the bus to walk around the boat a bit. The ride was only about 20 minutes and were across in Hella and heading up along the fjord to Sogndal. There we headed north along the Fjærland road across some beautiful countryside. Everything is so lush and green--waterfalls everywhere (Think Fantasy Island).

Waterfall on the way to Skei. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

Eventually we came to Skei on the Jølsla lake where we had lunch and got to do some shopping at Audhild Viken's Weaving Workshop. They had lots of beautiful Norwegian sweaters. Junel and I each got one and best of all they were 40% off. Junel also picked up some gifts and some Christmas ornaments.

We left around 1:00 for our next destination, the Briksdal Glacier. The narrow 1 and 1/2 lane road we were on was adjacent to Jostedalsbreen Nasjonalpark which explains all of the waterfalls. Breen is Norwegian for glacier. The Jostedal Glacier is 480 sq. km.

Another waterfall. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

We drove up to Utvik on the Innvikfjord then turned east to Olden. There we headed back south to Briksdal. We got out of the bus at a rest stop below the glacier that had a gift shop and a cafeteria. We transferred to some John Deere tractors pulling a six person cart up to where you could hike to the bottom of the glacier. It started raining so we grabbed the camera, the umbrella, got aboard the wagons and headed up.

Briksdal Glacier. Note the people at the bottom left for scale.
(© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

The hike from where the tractors dropped us off was about another 15 minutes to the bottom of the glacier. We got some really nice pictures. The glacier ice contains minerals leached from the rocks it grinds up and so it has a pretty bluish color.

Briksdal Glacier near the bottom. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

From the Jostedalsbreen Souvenir Guidebook:

A glacier is like a sluggish river. The force of gravity pulls the ice down and grinds against the substratum tearing loose large and small stones and producing large masses of gravel and sand. This is how glacial streams get their typical gray-green color.

Blue-green glacial stream. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

We headed back to the tractors and down to the bus. We were all starting to get pretty tired. I dozed off for a bit. All of that fresh air can wear you out.

The bus doubled back to Olden. Sometimes if we met another bus we would have to back up to a spot in the road wide enough for each to pass the other.

Gorgeous scenery on the way to Loen. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

We got into Loen around 5:00 and headed for the Alexandra Hotel. We thought about taking a jacuzzi, but I was tired and dinner was at 7:00, so I took a little powernap instead.

The dinner buffet was the best yet. Lots of seafood and salad. I had some reindeer stew and steak. Junel had some pork and tandouri chicken. Why the Norwegians were serving Indian food I'll never know. They had some delicious desserts at the dessert bar. Chocolate mousse, apple pie, strawberry and raspberry tarts, and different cheesecakes. Uffda! Diet time when we get back.

After dinner we visited a while, had a drink in the lounge, and listened to the band playing. Soon it was time to go to bed, but what a fantastic day.

Day trip to Bergen

2006-07-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately I woke up about 4:30 for some reason and then couldn't get back to sleep. So I went down around 6:00 and almost got caught up.

Our bus was leaving at 8:00 for a day trip to Bergen. So we had the breakfast buffet at 7:00 and were on the bus and ready to go. The weather was foggy and raining when we left Voss, so we weren't able to see much on the 1 and 1/2 hour ride to Bergen. I was dozing off anyway.

City of Bergen from the lookout. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

Bergen was founded by Olav Kyrre, king of Norway between 1066 and 1093, and was Norway's largest city for the next 600 years. Bergen became a vital link for the Hanseatic League because of its harbor and commercial importance (dried fish).

The waterfront, called Bryggen in Norwegian, thrived up into the 1700s and is now a World Heritage Site.

Bryggen, Bergen. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

We drove first a little around the city with our guide pointing out things of historical interest. He spoke of how during WWII, a German ship carrying munitions blew up in the harbor and caused a huge fire destroying much of the town near the waterfront.

Next we went to see Troldhaugen, the summer home of the famous Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg, which has been preserved and made into a museum. They also had a gift shop there where I was able to get a CD and a booklet. Unfortunately you couldn't take pictures inside, otherwise I would have photographed some of the original manuscripts they had exhibited.

Rear view of Troldhaugen, Bergen. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

Norway has lots of trolls. Junel got a picture of a tree troll on the way back to the bus. We then drove up to the top of one of the seven mountains surrounding Bergen for a picture of the beautiful view. (See first picture.)

Tree Troll. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

The driver took us back down, parked the bus, and we walked around the Hanseatic Wharf.

Mariakirken, Bergen. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

Junel got a picture of the Mariakirken (St. Mary's Church, c. 1140-70), as well as some of the old buildings and alleyways of that time.

Alleyway, Hanseatic Wharf, Bergen. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

We met up with Mom and Dad and Steve and Kathy and had lunch at Bryggeloftet & Stuene. Junel and I had whale steak. It actually tasted a lot like beef with a little bit of a fishy aftertaste. I had to have a Hansa Fatøl to go with it.

Afterwards we still had about an hour and a half for shopping before we had to be back on the bus for the return trip to Voss. We checked out a few sweaters, but only ended up buying some postcards. At the fishmarket we saw the ugliest fish in the world. (WARNING: GRAPHIC PICTURE.)

World's ugliest fish, Fishmarket, Bergen. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

We walked down to the end of Bryggen and got pictures of the medieval Rosenkrantztårnet (16th c.) and Håkonshallen (13th c.). Håkonshallen was King Håkon's (1241-1261) Royal Ceremonial Hall. It was the largest and most imposing building of the royal residency at the time.

Håkonshallen, Bergen. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

The Rosenkrantz Tower was built in the 1560s by the governor of Bergen Castle (Bergenhus) Erik Rosenkrantz and served as a combined residence and fortified tower. Part of the structure also dates back to c. 1260.

Rosenkrantz Tower, Bergen. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

We got back to the bus right before 4:00 and headed back to Voss. The sun had actually come out and we had a chance to see some gorgeous views on the way back. We had dinner at the hotel and this time we were able to take a short jacuzzi and walk before bed. A great day.

Going to Voss

2006-07-09T22:06:00.000-07:00

We were up early for the breakfast buffet and then on the bus to our next destination. The bus took us through the beautiful Hallingdal valley. We stopped at Gol for a quick photo op and a piece of lefse and some soda.

View at Gol. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

We continued on to Hol for lunch and then down the gorgeous Aurland Valley into Flåm. The views of waterfalls and the Sognefjord were spectacular.

Spectacular scenery on the way to Flåm. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

At Flåm we got on a train, the Flåm Railway, for the trip to Voss. The ride is ranked as one of the top 20 train rides in the world. It was one of the best I've been on, but I've only been on two.

The train ascends 2800 feet to Myrdal. It stopped once to let us take a picture of a fantastic waterfall.

There were two women dancing out in front of it to some Celtic music. At Myrdal we switched trains to the Oslo/Bergen Railway for the ride to Voss.

Celtic dancer. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

At Voss we are staying at the historic Fleischer Hotel. Voss is a small country town, about 8,000 people, which is known in Norway for its food and cooking traditions.

Fleischer Hotel, Voss. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

We arrived in Voss a little after 6:00 pm and had only enough time to get our baggage off the bus and into our room before dinner. It had been raining since we left Myrdal, so we were tired and hungry and a little wet.

Dinner was a buffet which had salmon, pork, potatoes, salad, bread, dessert, etc. We had a couple of drinks too. I had a Guiness and Junel a chardonnay. We then tried to make it to the jacuzzi inside the pool area, but it had already closed.

View from our hotel room window. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)

Junel went up to take a bath and I went down to type up a few more posts to this blog. Wouldn't you know it, I ended up having to wait for my cousin Steve who was trying to get help online for his cel. Soon he got it to work and then I was able to do some blogging for about an hour. Then I went to bed.

Oslo city tour

2006-07-08T21:50:00.000-07:00

We had a 7:00 wakeup call, a quick shower, and a nice breakfast buffet before we left for a 4 hour tour of Oslo.

Our first stop was the Hollmenkollen Ski Jump built for the 1952 Winter Olympics. We were able to get off the bus for some quick photos.

Holmenkollen Ski Jump, Oslo. (© 2006, J. Bacigalupo.)

Right nearby was a troll which Junel couldn't resist snapping a picture of. See it peeking? I think this one was a little shy.

Norwegian troll peeking out behind a tree.
(© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)

Our next stop was Vigeland Sculpture Park. It features the sculptures of famous Norwegian artist, Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943). One of his works that you may have seen and is probably the most famous, is the Monolith composed of human figures.

Monolith by Gustav Vigeland. (Photo © 2006, J. Bacigalupo.)

In fact, most of Vigeland's work was with human figures. The monolith is surrounded by iron gates with figures. Of course, Junel's picture was of the male figures, not the female ones on the other side.

Wrought iron gate with the Monolith in the background. (© 2006, J. Bacigalupo.)

Not too far from the Monolith is a beautiful fountain and also a famous ring sculpture composed of winding human figures.

A Vigeland fountain. (© 2006, J. Bacigalupo.)

The Wheel of Life by Gustav Vigeland. (Photo © 2006, J. Bacigalupo.)

The park is quite large and has lots of beautiful flower beds. All in all we enjoyed our little excursion which included a leisurely walk through the park. We were almost late in getting back to the bus.

Our next stop was the Viking Ship Museum. The ships date from around 800 A.D. Quite amazing. I picked up a booklet about them and will read it when we get back.

Inside the Viking Ship Museum. (© 2006, M. Williams.)

Our last stop was the Norsk Folkemuseum where they have a medieval stave church built in Gol in the 1200s which has lots of ornate wood carvings.

Gol Stave Church. (© 2006, J. Bacigalupo)
Dawn, Kathy, and Steve are at bottom center
listening to the tour guide.

Rear view, Gol Stave Church. (© 2006, J. Bacigalupo)
Bob and I are in the background left.

According to their website, "[i]n 2004, Bygdø Royal Farm merged with the museum. The farmyard as well as the cultivated fields and grazing lands are now part of the museum grounds." They also had examples of old farm houses with sod roofs.

Sod roof farmhouses. (© 2006, J. Bacigalupo)

Junel also took some pictures of a couple of the workers dressed in native costumes, or bunads. It was all quite interesting to see.

Folkemuseum worker in native bunad. (© 2006, J. Bacigalupo.)

We had the rest of the afternoon and evening off, or to ourselves, I should say.

We all went to lunch across from the hotel at the Studenterlunden where there is an open air café that Henrik Ibsen used to frequent. (It wasn't his favorite, however. That would be the Grand Café which is inside the hotel in which we are staying.) We visited for several hours over some beers and pizza. We then agreed to meet later for dinner.

Junel and I decided to take a quick tour of the National Gallery. They obviously have many works by Norway's most famous artist, Edvard Munch. But unfortunately, "The Scream" had been stolen in 2004 and we weren't able to see it. Their collection isn't quite as extensive as Edinburgh's, but still nice. Since they were closing in about a half an hour when we got there, we had to hurry a bit.

"The Scream" by Edvard Munch (1893). Courtesy of Wikipedia.

UPDATE (31 Aug 2006): "The Scream" was found.

After we finished at the Gallery, Junel and I went back up to our room at the Grand. She decided to read for a while, so I hooked up with Steve and we went to an internet café we had seen earlier. I deleted several hundred emails and typed in a couple of days entries into this blog.

At 6:30 we met up with everyone else in the lobby and then spent part of the next hour walking around trying to find a restaurant. We finally settled on the Christiania. It was very nice and they had excellent food. I tried some of Junel's reindeer and it was actually quite good. Junel said she was eating Prancer. I had stuffed chicken breast. We spent several hours there and Steve very generously picked up the bill.

Junel and I headed back to the hotel to see if we could fit in a swim, but unfortunately we were too late. It closed at 10:00.

What has been unusual is how long that it stays light here. It really is the land of the midnight sun. We got back at 10:00, it was still light and looked like it was only about 7:00. Junel took a bath and I read for a little while and we went to bed.

Oslo--First day

2006-07-07T21:33:00.000-07:00

MariAnne Roppe, our tour guide, herded the group onto a bus to take to us to the Grand Hotel, but not before we grabbed some kroner from an ATM machine. 1 US dollar = about 6.15 Norwegian kroner.

The Grand Hotel. Courtesy Grand Hotel Oslo.

We got to the hotel, but our rooms weren't quite ready yet so we went across the street with Steve and Kathy to Ett Glass, a pub across the street, to have a couple of beers and some lunch while we waited. There we got our first taste of Norwegian beer and Norwegian prices ($10 a pint). Also the tax rate is 25%. Velkommen til Norge.

We went back to the hotel and crashed for about three hours.

The Williams clan in the lobby of the Grand Hotel before dinner.
Courtesy of a kind stranger. (© 2006, Bacigalupo/Williams.)

Dinner was provided at the hotel. They had a great buffet which included fish and chicken (Junel had coppacola). It was delicious. Afterwards we decided to go for a little walk.

We walked up KarlJohansgate to the Royal Palace where King Harald V and Queen Sonja live. It's about five blocks from the hotel.

Royal Palace, Oslo. (© 2006, M. Williams.)

There is a park across from the hotel and we walked along the street beside it. It had some beautiful fountains. We also saw the National Theater which was honoring the 100th anniversary of the death of Henrik Ibsen, the famous Norwegian playwright. Ibsen wrote A Doll's House, Peer Gynt, Hedda Gabler, The Wild Duck, et al.

We walked down to the waterfront to see the Oslo fjord. Along the way we passed the building where they have the Nobel Peace Prize ceremonies.

Nobel Peace Center. (© 2006, M. Williams.)

When we got there, off to the left you could see Akershus Fortress. The castle inside the fortress was built around 1300 by King Håkon V.

Akershus Fortress in the background. (© 2006, M. Williams.)

From VisitOSLO.com:

After a disastrous fire in 1624, King Christian IV decided to rebuild the town within the walls of Akerhus Castle, enabling the modernised fortress to provide fortifications for the town. Brick-built buildings were also made compulsory to prevent the recurrence of a devastating urban fire. The king named the town after himself: Christiania.

It was not renamed Oslo until 1925.

Junel also took a couple of nice shots of a "pirate ship" sailing out in the harbor.

"Pirate ship" sailing in the Oslofjord. (©2006, J. Bacigalupo.)

The scenery is quite beautiful, though I expect it will even get better. It was getting late and Dawn and Bob were expecting Heather, so we headed back to the hotel. They stayed down below and we went up to our rooms to go to bed.

Unfortunately since it was Friday night and we were right downtown where the bars and clubs were, it was a little noisy to say the least and we had a little trouble getting to sleep. I think the jetlag was to blame as well.

List of Norwegian Monarchs

2006-07-07T15:58:00.000-07:00

The Norwegian Kingdom (c. 890-1319)

Kings of the Fairhair dynasty:

Harald Fairhair Harald Hårfagre : c. 890-c. 930
Eirik Bloodaxe Eirik Blodøks : c. 930-934, son of Harald Fairhair
Håkon the Good Håkon den Gode : 934-961, son of Harald Fairhair
Harald Gråfell : 961-976, son of Eirik Bloodaxe
Haakon Jarl Håkon Jarl : 976-995, son of Sigurd Haakonsson, Earl of Lade
Olaf Tryggvason : 995-1000, son of Tryggve Olafsson, and great-grandson of Harald Fairhair
Svein Forkbeard Svein Tjugeskjegg : 999-1015, son of Harald Bluetooth, K. of Denmark
Olaf Haraldsson, Saint Olav Sankt Olav / Olav den Hellige : 1015-1028, son of Harald Grenske, and great-great grandson of Harald Fairhair
Knut the Great Knut den Mektige : 1028-1035, son of Svein Forkbeard
Magnus the Good Magnus den Gode : 1035-1047, son of St. Olav
Harald Hardråde : 1046-1066, half-brother of St. Olav
Magnus Haraldsson : 1066-1069, son of Harald Hardråde
Olaf Kyrre : 1066-1093, son of Harald Hardråde
Håkon Magnusson : 1093-1094, son of Magnus Haraldsson
Magnus Barefoot Magnus Berføtt: 1093-1103, son of Olaf Kyrre
Olaf Magnusson : 1103-1115, son of Magnus Barefoot
Øystein Magnusson : 1103-1123, son of Magnus Barefoot
Sigurd Jorsalfar : 1103-1130, son of Magnus Barefoot
Magnus the Blind Magnus Blinde: 1130-1135, son of Sigurd Jorsalfar
Harald Gille : 1130-1136, half-brother of Sigurd Jorsalfar
Sigurd Slembe : 1135-1139, rival king
Sigurd Munn : 1136-1155, son of Harald Gille
Øystein Haraldsson : 1142(/1136)-1157, son of Harald Gille
Inge Krokrygg : 1136-1161, son of Harald Gille
Håkon Herdebrei : 1157-1162, son of Sigurd Munn
Magnus Erlingsson : 1161-1184, son of Erling Skakke and the daughter of Sigurd Jorsalfar
Sigurd Markusfostre : 1162-1163, rival king
Eystein Meyla : 1174-1177, rival king
Sverre Sigurdsson : 1177-1202, son of Unås, claimed to be a son of Sigurd Munn
Jon Kuvlung : 1185-1188, rival king
Sigurd Magnusson : 1193-1194, rival king
Inge Magnusson : 1196-1202, rival king
Håkon Sverreson : 1202-1204, son of Sverre Sigurdsson
Guttorm Sigurdsson : 1204, grandson of Sverre Sigurdsson
Inge Bårdsson : 1204-1217, grandson of Sigurd Munn
Erling Steinvegg : 1204-1207, rival king
Filippus Simonsson : 1207-1217, rival king
Håkon IV Håkonsson : 1217-1263, son of Håkon Sverreson
Skule Bårdsson : 1239-1240, rival king
Magnus Lagabøte : 1263-1280, son of Håkon IV Håkonsson
Eirik Magnusson : 1280-1299, son of Magnus Lagabøte
Håkon V Magnusson : 1299-1319, son of Magnus Lagabøte

The Union of Sweden and Norway (1319-1380)

Magnus Eriksson : 1319-1343, son of Eric Magnusson of Sweden and a daughter of Håkon V of Norway
Håkon VI Magnusson : 1343-1380, son of Magnus Eriksson

The Union of Denmark and Norway (1380-1396)

Olav IV Håkonsson : 1380-1387, son of Håkon VI Magnusson

The Kalmar Union (1397-1523)

Margaret I (Margrete I) : 1387-1389, wife of Håkon VI Magnusson
Eric VII of Pomerania : 1389-1442, adopted son of Margaret
Christopher III of Bavaria : 1442-1448, nephew of Eric VII of Pomerania
Carl I of Norway (Karl Knutsson Bonde) : 1449-1450, son of Knut Tordsson Bonde
Christian I : 1450-1481, son of Count Dietrich of Oldenburg
Hans : 1481-1513, son of Christian I
Christian II : 1513-1523, son of Hans

The union with Denmark and Norway (1523-1814)

Frederick I : 1523-1533, son of Christian I
Christian III : 1534-1559, son of Frederick I
Frederick II : 1559-1588, son of Christian III
Christian IV : 1588-1648, son of Frederick II
Frederick III : 1648-1670, son of Christian IV
Christian V : 1670-1699, son of Frederick III
Frederick IV : 1699-1730, son of Christian V
Christian VI : 1730-1746, son of Frederick IV
Frederick V : 1746-1766, son of Christian VI
Christian VII : 1766-1808, son of Frederick V
Frederick VI : 1808-1814, son of Christian VII

The Constitutional Assembly at Eidsvoll (1814)

Christian Frederik: 1814, grandson of Frederick V

The Union of Sweden and Norway (1814-1905)

Charles II : 1814-1818, son of Adolf Frederick of Sweden
Charles III : 1818-1844, son of Henri Bernadotte
Oscar I : 1844-1859, son of Charles III
Charles IV : 1859-1872, son of Oscar I
Oscar II: 1872-1905, son of Oscar I

The Kingdom of Norway (1905 to present)

Haakon VII : 1905-1957, son of Frederick VIII of Denmark
Olav V : 1957-1991, son of Haakon VII
Harald V : 1991-present, son of Olav V

[SOURCE: "List of Norwegian Monarchs," Wikipedia.]

Flight to Stockholm

2006-07-06T21:18:00.000-07:00

We got up early and June took us to Denny's for breakfast. She seemed a little sad to see us go. I don't think Junel has had very many extended opportunities to see her grandma and with her being 80 years old who knows how many more times we'll have.

We got to the airport after Junel missed the turn and then we had to guess whether it was the Lindbergh or Humphrey terminal. It was the Lindbergh. We returned the rental car and got checked in. We'll have to fly on Thursdays more often. There weren't very many lines at all.

The flight to Chicago was relatively quick. After negotiating O'Hare's international terminal we ran into my cousin, Steve, and his wife, Kathy, at the gate getting their boarding passes stamped. It turned out we needed to do that as well. Mom and Dad had already arrived, so we all chatted for a short time until we had to board the jet for Stockholm.

The flight took about 8 hours. We watched a bunch of movies. I watched The New World which we hadn't seen. It was pretty good. It had Colin Firth playing Captain John Smith. He kind of looked like another friend of mine who's also named Mark Williams. Ice Age 2 had bad audio for some reason, but I watched it anyway. It was kind of cute. Then I watched Toy Story 2. I guess some day I'll have to watch Toy Story 1.

We got to Stockholm, went through security, found the gate for Oslo, and waited about an hour or so. The Stockholm airport had internet, but it didn't work. I chatted with Steve and Dad for a while and soon the plane arrived.

It was a fairly quick flight to Oslo. We arrived around 9:40 a.m. Oslo time on Friday.

Heading back to Minneapolis

2006-07-05T13:47:00.000-07:00

We got up early today, cleaned the cabin, packed up, and got on the road around 9:20. We went back down 169 which took us by Mille Lacs Lake. I had forgotten what a huge lake! I had to pull into the McDonald's driveway to stop and snap a quick pic.

Mille Lacs Lake. (© 2006, M. Williams.)

The rest of the drive was fairly uneventful. We stopped at Perkins in Elk River for some brunch and then got back to Grandma June's house in Apple Valley around 2:30. We unpacked and then did some laundry. June watered her lawn and garden. It had been pretty dry. We had talked about going to the Savoy to have pizza with Greg and Julie, but ended up going to Superman Returns instead. Pretty cool. Some great fx.

We got back and Junel called her mom while simultaneously giving me a haircut. Multitasking is definitely not a problem for her. We then chatted a while and went to bed. Junel is getting real excited about the trip to Norway and I'm looking forward to it as well.

Happy 230th Birthday, USA!

2006-07-04T13:41:00.000-07:00

Today was my day to wake up a little sore in the back. Junel got up with me and we read a while. Grandma June got up soon after and Junel cooked us all some scrambled eggs and hash.

After breakfast I did the dishes and then decided to take a little walk. I walked down the gravel road to the highway and back--a total of about 2 miles. It was good to get a little exercise. Then I mowed the grass around the area where the dock was sitting before we pushed it out.

The weather has been really nice--cooler than I expected-- though I worked up a little sweat mowing. I came in and took a quick shower and June turned on the TV to watch the shuttle launch.

I read a little more. I'm currently working on Richard Barber's The Holy Grail: Imagination and Belief. We watched the Steven Tyler and Joe Perry with the Boston Pops on TV along with their fireworks celebration.

The Boston Pops. Courtesy of Boston's Fourth of July Celebration.

Very exciting....

Thunderstorm

2006-07-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

We had a thunderstorm during the night and a little rain. Junel didn't sleep real well; she was up and read a little and then slept in until around 11:00. I got up around 8:30 and finished another book. Then Grandma June got up so we visited until Junel awoke. Breakfast was more or less on our own.

Me cooking breakfast. Or not. (© 2006, M. Williams.)

In general, today has been another lazy day. (What are vacations for?) Junel and I went into Grand Rapids for a toilet paper and eggs run. Greg apparently had polished off quite a few.

When we got back Grandma June had started up some ribs and as I write this they are smelling pretty good. After dinner we played some more Yahtzee, read a little, and then it was time for bed.

Lazy days

2006-07-02T13:27:00.000-07:00

I got up earlier than everyone else and went outside to read and write a little. I let out Greg and Julie's dog, Ellie, so she could do her business and threw some tennis balls for her to chase.

Greg and Julie's boat and Ellie fishing? (© 2006, M. Williams.)

Soon Charlie, the next door neighbor, brought down his ATV to push Grandma June's dock out, but then his chicken burned so had to leave to go deal with that. Junel cooked us all a tasty brunch and after Julie did dishes, we finished getting the dock out. Greg, Julie, Junel, and I went out on their boat again to soak up some sun.

Nobody felt like wakeboarding and I was still kind of sore from yesterday, so we were satisfied to swim, have a few beers, and chat some more.

Sis and Bro. And Julie in the mirror. (© 2006, Julie Bacigalupo.)

We got back to the cabin and visited some more as Greg and Julie got packed to go back to the Cities. We were still full from brunch, so we decided to wait to eat until later.

After they left, we kicked back and read for a while. Grandma June is working on covering 5 dozen hangers with yarn. I dozed off for a while.

Grandma June covering hangars. (© 2006, M. Williams.)

Around 7:00 Junel made some brats, beans, and chicken salad leftovers. We had a little Lambrusco with that which I hadn't had in years.

I did the dishes and then Junel and I played some double Solitaire and Triple Yahtzee. She won both. It's been very relaxing here and it was cool that Greg and Julie were able to visit and that I got to know them a little better. I forgot to mention that I had taken some pictures earlier of the cabin and the lake.

Across the lake from the point. (© 2006, M. Williams.)

It's quite pretty here as you can see. That's about all for now.

Fun times at the lake

2006-07-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

We slept in until about 10:00. Grandma June has a new game for us called, "Paint the Dock." Funny, isn't she. I had a couple of Mt. Dews and then went out to start scraping. Greg came out to join me and promptly got stung by two wasps that were living in a big nest under the dock. Junel is trying to finish her book, The Forest House.

A little later Greg, Julie, Junel, and I went out on their boat for a ride and some wakeboarding. Greg and Julie are quite good at it. I hadn't water skiied for quite some time, and had never wakeboarded. It looked like a lot of fun, so I decided to have a go at it.

Greg helping me get ready to wakeboard. (© 2006, Julie Bacigalupo.)

After about 4 tries got up for a little bit. Fortunately Julie had her camera along so I have documented proof (see below).

Me wakeboarding. (© 2006, Julie Bacigalupo.)

I even managed to cross the wake once before I lost my balance and had to let go. I then tried another 3 or 4 times to get up again, but the boat kept pulling the rope right out of my hands. It's different enough from water skiing that it seems it would take some practice to do it well. Still it was a blast.

After we wore ourselves out we just putzed around the lake getting some sun and having a few beers.

I can't believe I'm drinking Corona. (© 2006, Julie Bacigalupo.)

Greg and Julie pose for the camera. (Photo by Junel Bacigalupo. © 2006, Julie Bacigalupo. )

There were some kids staying in the house next door that had been wanting to get pulled, so we went back to their dock, got some more beer, and they joined us. One of them pulled off a back flip that was rather impressive. After they all got a chance we came back to shore.

June fixed a great meal of meatloaf, salad, and corn on the cob which we all promptly gobbled down. I did dish duty, Greg zonked out on the rollaway, and the rest of us built a fire and had somemores.

One of the neighbors behind us was shooting off some amazing fireworks early. They were actually about as good or better than many professional displays we have seen.

After that we came inside. Greg was still zonked out, Junel and Julie played a little Yahtzee and I read a little of the US News Special Issue on the Da Vinci Code. A little trivia for you. Did you know that it is incorrect to refer to Leonardo as da Vinci? That would be like me saying my name is From Decorah.

Soon we went to bed. Hope I am not too stiff tomorrow.

Up to the Lake

2006-06-30T09:05:00.000-07:00

We slept in until about 10:00 today. After some blueberry coffee cake, Junel and I walked around the back yard and she showed me June's garden--lots of really pretty flowers.

Grandma June's backyard. (© 2006, M. Williams.)

June is 80 and she still mows the lawn. Unfortunately she has some macular degeneration and has trouble seeing. Last night we showed her some wedding pictures, but to see them she has to look through a TV magnifier.

I called my Aunt Sharon at work and she was able to take some time off to meet Junel. So we packed up the car, stopped at the liquor store for some beer, and headed over to Bloomington. We were able to visit for about an hour with her and Dalen. It was good to see them.

We left for June's cabin about 2:30. It is north of Brainerd aways and near some of the lakes my family used to go to on summer vacations when I was a kid. There was some bad traffic for a ways outside of the Cities and we missed our turnoff to 169. We ended up taking 10 to St. Cloud and then up to Brainerd the same way we used to go though now it's 4 lanes instead of 2.

Grandma June's cabin in N. Minnesota. (© 2006, M. Williams.)

We got to the cabin about 8:30 and unpacked, had a little chicken salad, and chatted for a while. Junel's brother Greg and his wife, Julie, arrived around 10:00 and so we've been catching up with them. Their dog, Ellie, a Springer Spaniel, was with them and has just finally settled down.

Going to Minneapolis

2006-06-29T08:58:00.000-07:00

Junel woke up about 4:30 to get ready to go to the airport. I got up about 5:30 and we left for Reno around 6:00. We had a fairly uneventful flight to Atlanta and then a 4 hour layover.

To kill some time we had a couple of beers at T.G.I. Friday's^® and then some dinner. The place was packed, but eventually we got a table. It was nice that the airport had some decent restaurants there.

The flight to Minneapolis unfortunately was delayed about an hour, so we were a little rushed to get to the Enterprise rental place before they closed at 11:00. We picked up the car and headed to Apple Valley to Junel's grandmother's house.

Junel and Grandma June. (© 2006, M. Williams.)

Junel had told me about Grandma June's rum slushies and sure enough, we were offered one when we got there. I had one of those and a margarita, Junel had some wine, and we all chatted for a bit. Then Junel decided to take a bath, so June and I chatted some more. Pretty soon it was time for bed.

Getting Ready

2006-06-28T15:03:00.000-07:00

Today I am packing for our trip to Minnesota and Norway. Junel and I will be visiting her grandmother and her brother and wife and spending approximately a week at her grandmother's cabin in N Minnesota. Then we'll be taking a 10 day tour of Norway.

I finished the school year last week and then immediately started music rehearsals for Guilty Pleasures. I even have one tonight. Junel has also been working hard and actually we're both ready for a vacation.

As part of their 50th wedding anniversary, my parents invited all of the kids and their spouses to go on a trip to Norway. As it turns out only Dawn and Bob, and Junel and I were able to go. My cousin Steve and his wife Kathy are also going to join us, however, and it should be fun to get to spend some time with them.

I have no idea what the internet availability will be over there, so I will probably "handblog" and input the posts and pictures later. More later....