Kristiansand, Norway ... Again

When you do a back to back cruise you sometimes find yourself at the same port, again.... That's OK. When we were here 3 days ago, it was rainy and I stayed onboard. Today is much brighter, the sun is shining and it is warmer. Let's explore! My tour went inland to see the sites and to visit the tiny port town of Lillesand, Lillesand By Land and Sea. Houses in this part of the country are mostly wooden and painted white. The barns are red. Quite charming. Quite beautiful country. Again, I would definitely want to come and spend a few weeks in the summer, family all invited so start packing! We also need to rent a boat. There are 3-5 boats per family here. Cars are bought just to tow boats. :)
I did not get the chance to visit this area of Kristiansand, called Posebyen, the old city section. It is a still active residential area of well preserved wooden houses. But we did drive by in the bus.






Scenic cruise past skerries.


I have NEVER seen so many jelly fish in water before. These are the kind where one sting could kill. They were thousands of them. No swimming for me. This shot is for Andy ..... lover of all creatures in the sea.



Your home has to be 100 feet from the sea unless it is already built on that piece of land from the past. This guy got around the regulation by making his home float..... Tons of very tiny homes that people live in.

This one got away with it too...converted an old barrel into a garden shed.

Oslo, Overnight

Oslo is yet another wonderful city we visited as we head North. Oslo is the capital city of Norway. There are 'only' 343 lakes within this city. I could see why Oslo was rated number one in terms of quality of life among European cities in 2012. Too bad it is super expensive to live here! $11 for a Big Mac? I'll have two, please..... :). I don't know how anyone can sleep in the summer with 18 hours of sunlight. And then the reverse in winter with almost total darkness. They were having a 'heat wave' on the day we visited. Lucky us.
We are fortunate with weather when we visit these cities. It rains a LOT here. It was a beautiful sail-in with tons of colorful wooden homes clustered on the greenest tree lined islands. Beautiful in the summer. Bet it is as lovely in the winter if you are on a ship in a down parka looking out from your enclosed heated cabin.

Touring Oslo I found they treasure green living. You can rent a bike anywhere in the city. Pick it up here and drop it off there. If you buy an electric car you get benefits, Free parking and hook ups (the ELECTRIC kind...not the definition of hook up by the new generation guys...) , as well as numerous tax benefits. Problem is so many people are buying these cars, they may soon take the benefits away.
We had two days in Oslo. All but 50 some people got off and more got on. We are sailing almost full again with tons of Repeat Regent cruisers. I had time to walk around town and sit in the park. I found a place with free internet so I could finally send my blog. It was shorts and sandals weather.

My tour was Oslos' Maritime Highlights.

I visited three museums, all related to seafaring from the past. Life at sea is what it is all about in this part of the world. The Viking ships are held in the Viking Ship Museum! We were told many times Vikings were actually nice guys. People like us. They loved to tour, see new sites, discover new countries and bring home souvenirs. Easy to remember. Three ships are housed here. These ships were discovered in large burial mounds. The Captain was buried with his ship on land with his treasures and everything he would need in his final journey to the afterlife. Ships were not set on fire at sea as some may think. The ships on display are The Oseberg Ship 820 AD; a ship used as a burial ship for a powerful woman and her maidservant;

The Goktad Ship 890 AD;

and The Tune Ship 900 AD.

Kon-Tiki Museum was next. Here we saw Thor Heyerdahl's famously built and original balsa raft and learned about his adventure in 1947 across the Pacific. It has a little less luxurious accommodations then we have on Regent.






















The Fram Museum was our last visit.





Ian never told me he too spent time on the Fram ..... !! Or, maybe it was in a past life?




Yikes! My flip flops would not be helpful here.

Unlike the Viking ships which we could not touch or breath on, we were actually able to board this huge ice breaker, the strongest wooden ship ever, built in 1893. This ship is famous for its expeditions to the North and South Pole (1893-1912). It still holds the records for sailing the farthest North and the farthest South It was hard for me to even think about life onboard and the why and who of the people who volunteered to do this kind of exploring in treacherous waters and conditions, through storms, unknown waters, freezing cold........I don't think I would have said "Sure, I would love to see the world on one of these."

Especially seeing the size of their "Penthouse Suite"......



Sail Away? A Sail Away Cocktail? Oh my! Let me think about it.... After thinking of the bitter cold at both the North and South Pole, I definitely needed a warm up drink.




Captain did a bit of a 'show off move' as we left Oslo. He did a 360 degree turn so we could have a good view of the new Opera House in Oslo.


Oh and the BEST PART OF THE DAY? Dinner on deck 11 at the back of the ship, Sette Mari, watching the Fjords go by. I have read many negative reviews about this newest addition to Regent, an alternative to eating in the dining room on deck 5. David and I like it here. It is quiet and less formal. It is faster, half buffet, help yourself, and half served by a waiter. We like the break form Compass Rose, and the food. We think is good. A perfect day, 81 degrees, no breeze. This was my idea... :) and I loved every minute of it. This is what cruising is all about, these moments. We just sat for two hours ..... a very very very slow dinner.....and I didn't mind a bit.



11:30 PM ...... who can sleep?

Copenhagen

I loved the miniature castle of the real castle...... :)

I loved this place. As I rode on my bus to see three castles, I made a conscious decision that I would like to live here someday. I enjoyed snapping pictures of all the homes and envisioned myself living here. Water, the sea, the flowers, thatched roofs, clean, interesting places to eat and shop, everyone riding bikes, looking healthy.... They have it all. Then I learned about the winters, the snow, cold, short dark days, no sun in the winter .... and I changed my mind. I loved the homes, the land, the beautiful landscape, green and full of flowers. I loved the thatched roof on some of the homes, the red bricks. I could summer here!





Some tours are a hit. Some tours are a miss. Castles on North Zealand was my tour of the day. Level of difficulty was a whopping 3 hikers, "Most Active Tour" rating. I mentally prepare myself. Even though my tour was just 5 hours, it seemed a long 5 hours to me. After opulent St Petersburg and Catherine's Palace, the castles here were just OK. Beautiful for where they are, impressive in their way, but not over the top. Maybe the rain affected my thinking... Still it is always good to get off the ship, breathe the air and feel the country and life as it is lived here. Denmark is beautiful, worth a visit.

I visited three castles today and David did a panoramic city tour.





Kronborg is where the setting for Shakespeare's Hamlet takes place. The movie Hamlet was filmed here. It is a World Heritage site. For some reason this tour only allowed us to visit the outside, too bad. Shakespeare never visited this 16th century castle. Wonder if his tour didn't pay for the entry fee also.


Fredensborg Palace. Home of the Queen. I took a quick photo as the rain started to pour down on us. Seen it, done it.... run back to the bus. I packed for rain until I heard the Captain announce a SUNNY day. I listened, left the rain gear at home and headed out on my tour, unprepared for the deluge that followed us all day. Thanks Captain!









The main castle of Frederiksborg was erected by Christian IV in the 17th century. It has been a museum of Natural History since 1878. It houses historical portraits, paintings, and furniture. The Castle is 22 miles north of Copenhagen. It is one of Europe's finest examples of Renaissance buildings.



The Lutheran Chapel is impressive, ornate and accented with gold leaf.

They have a wine cellar here ..... would have LOVED to have seen that...

Karlskrona, Sweden

Here we are in Karlskrona. Karlskrona, Sweden has a population of 35,000 and is spread over 30 islands in the eastern part of the Blekinge archipelago. The town was founded in 1680. The navy is the main presence here. This is what we saw..... I know sad. Today was a tender port. Instead of walking off the ship, we get tickets to take a ships shuttle to port. My 'free' booked tour was to take a bus ride to the East side to visit Kristianopel.

"Scenic drive to Torhamn. Photostop. Drive along East coast to Kristianopel, guided walking tour. Free time. Self exploration. Drive back. Stop at Bryggareberget. Drive to ship."

Today is Sunday. I made a decision to have a Sea Day in Port. On this particular cruise every day is a port. Sometimes you get ported out. Pooped out? Ported out? It is one in the same. I read and re read the shore excursions and read about the port. I always feel guilty when I don't get off the ship to see what's here. A missed opportunity, I feel. Once I made my decision I headed to the pool, iPad in hand, earphones at ready. I talked to another lade staying onboard, she laughed at me and said she did not feel guilty not going out. So, today I read at the pool. David napped. It rained. One couple I met up with said they got off the ship and hired a taxi to take them around, an independent tour some people do. Fifteen minutes later they were back at the ship.... That was it. All the shops in town were closed. Later in the day my lady friend asked if I still felt guilty. I smiled broadly and said "Not at All". I had a wonderful day relaxing and doing what I wanted to do. Finished another book and am ready for my third. The rain? Not a issue for me today. Today was mine and I took it.... :) Yeah me. :)