And so it comes to an end . . .

Apologies for the very delayed post. The last few days of our cruise, which officially ended and deposited us in Reykjavik yesterday morning, was comprised of two sea days and one stop in Isafjurdur, a town of 3000 in northern Iceland. The sea days were a blur, just miles and miles, and miles of ocean, and not much else to do but eat and sleep. Now that might sound like the perfect holiday for many, but for us, it was a few more sea days than what we could handle and we literally started to suffer from cabin fever!  

             Joe getting his steps on deck

We are now on solid ground though still suffering from “mal de debarquement,” a French term for the rocking imbalance we feel despite being on dry land. We have again filled our days with much activity upon arrival in Reykjavik and despite having visited this lovely city only four years ago (it was our trip right before the pandemic shut us all down), we were able to hit up a few places that we did not catch our first time round.

We spent much of our first day off the cruise at the famous Blue Lagoon where we first literally boiled ourselves in thermal pools (HOT!) and then indulged in the “ritual” where we scrubbed volcanic minerals, slathered sulfurous clay, rubbed in algae, and soothed our skin with mineral oils — a 45 minute ordeal. My skin has never felt so rejuvenated! I felt like a wet noodle after our nearly 5 hours at the Blue Lagoon and I slept well last night!  

Today we visited some geysers and a living museum of Icelandic life (a small village with traditional Icelandic homes and farms with re-enactors). We did NOT visit the erupting volcano as we were discouraged from making the 20 km trek over a rocky terrain — not actually discouraged, I was not planning on hiking 20 km, that is not something I would even consider — by the clerk at the car rental desk. Sadly, someone has died out at the eruption site in the past day, not because of the volcano or toxic fumes but due to a heart attack, and apparently, she worried for our health.  

Now we are packed and heading to bed . . . And honestly, we are ready to head home. It’s been a great trip with absolutely marvelous experiences! We’ve seen and experienced some amazing things but we are ready to see the kittens and sleep in our own beds. We have lots more stories to tell that could not fit on the pages of this blog and we are excited to share over 1000 photos with you! LoL, not in just one sitting of course! So good night from Reykjavik and the land of the midnight sun!

— Christine

Is that your leg or a fire hydrant?

Three very eventful days have passed since Christine’s last blog entry. The biggest thing that happened was our arrival at Svalbard, home to the northernmost inhabited city in the world, Longyearbyen. All cruises have a capstone port of call, and Longyearbyen is the one.

Of course we had to get to Longyearbyen, and that required a stop in Honningsvag and a day at sea. Like every cruise has a capstone port of call, every cruise also has a throwaway port of call, and that was Honningsvag. The claim to fame for Honningsvag was that it is a short drive to Nordkapp, or North Cape, the geographically northernmost point in Europe. 

Well, we went to see the North Cape, mostly because it’s the only thing to do in Honningsvag and it was included on our cruise. I have just two words to describe the North Cape: Tourist Trap. And to add insult to injury, it is not the northernmost point in Europe, it’s the second northernmost…. 

Following that big let down was the second of our sea days cruising the Bering Sea, or as Christine and I like to call it, playing a game of who won’t get seasick first. With two meter swells and white caps galore, it was a challenging game indeed, but I think we survived.

And then, finally, Svalbard. It is very stark on this large archipelago, in the harsh climate no trees can grow, so the landscape is just arctic tundra. It is beautiful, but extremely unforgiving. But we were intent on maximizing our time, so we crisscrossed the island, spending the morning on a speed boat seeing a walrus colony and getting up close and personal with a glacier, even seeing an iceberg flip upside down in the water.

But the true highlight was this evening’s husky sledding on wheels. You heard that right - when no snow is available, they have huskies run sleds on wheeled sleds on the roads. It must be seen to be believed, and it was so much fun, although I cannot call myself a great musher…

The dogs were a great part of the fun, and there were so many loveable pups. Unfortunately a couple of the dogs mistook my leg for a fire hydrant. I got peed on not once, but twice. Fortunately for me it was the expedition outfitters pants and rubber boots that got peed on.

Otherwise it was a magnificent day in the extreme far north. One more day of adventuring before we make our two day trek to Iceland. Wish us luck falling asleep, since this far north, the sun does not even go anywhere near the horizon this time of year. Until the next post!

— Joe

So, I fell....

Day 5 of our Nordic cruise adventures took us to the idyllic Lofoten Islands. Lofoten is made up of five small cities that go across several small islands and which are connected via tunnel or bridge. Leknes, where we docked, has only 2,000 year-round inhabitants but the total across all five cities is somewhere around 14,000 people. Joe and I decided to make our way to the sites independently and hopped on the local bus to the Viking Museum 25 minutes north of Leknes. The museum has rebuilt a traditional Viking longhouse on the grounds where a longhouse was discovered by archeologists. The longhouse included “reinactors” dressed in traditional Viking clothing, completing traditional Viking tasks, and answering the questions of visitors. I tried my hand at a loom! Yes, this means I now have a new craft hobby! In one of the rooms, they had built a large fire where they were boiling a stew! It was very educational and interesting to learn about the ways of the Vikings — I don’t watch the Vikings on Netflix so this was my first true encounter. We could only spend about an hour at the Viking Museum because the bus only runs every couple of hours. It was a nice easy day and I needed that because Joe again booked an activity that I consider demanding and strenuous . . .

Day 6 of our trip took us to the largest northernmost city in Norway, Tromsø where Joe booked a Husky Hike! Yes, hiking with Huskies! Cute idea, right? Here is where you will learn why the title of this post is “So, I fell.” When agreeing to this excursion, I thought I knew what I was getting into having raised a Husky ourselves. I know that Huskies are most powerful through their chests and I know that Huskies love to run, however, I quickly learned that Juneau was truly a Husky princess and much more domesticated than these real working dogs. We arrived at the Husky Villmarkssenter and there were Huskies everywhere! The center has about 250 dogs on the property who work with tourists and who actually compete in sled runs in the winter. I was in Husky heaven! Joe and I both chose dogs who looked like Juneau and I was paired with Robin, a male Husky the size of Juneau while Joe was paired with his brother Bat Man (I know, corny names but I guess you start running out of names when you have over 250 dogs). I got hooked in a waist harness and then tied to Robin. Things went south for me very quickly thereafter. Once free, Robin took off!!! He was sooo strong and I could not control him at all. He was dragging me down a gravel road and I knew that I would not be able to stay on my feet. I yelled for help and the guide switched Robin out for a smaller, female husky named Sissy. Sissy was still super duper strong but I thought I could manage her. Our hike took us off the gravel road across a field with knee high grass, and spongy/mossy terrain. We had to climb over rock formations, weave through trees, and cross streams all while under the blazing sun and while being attacked by giant biting flies!!!! While attempting to leap over a stream, something everyone else in our group did successfully, Sissy pulled me off of my feet and I fell face down! My face literally hit the ground, I did not have time to even put my hands down to protect me from the fall. Fortunately, the ground was soft, but I was not enjoying myself. I spent the hike being dragged up hills and around muddy pits and trying to navigate the uneven terrain. Suffice it to say, I switched out my husky to a woman in our group who did not yet have a chance to be dragged by a dog and thus I did not have a dog pulling me for the second half of the hike.

I only began to really enjoy myself again when we got back to the center where we got to pet, cuddle, and snuggle as many huskies as we wanted! I am a professional doggie ear scratcher so I made a lot of husky friends, one of whom was a dead ringer for my Baxter. We even got to play with 10 week old husky puppies! Puppy kisses and snuggles!!!! So despite my fall, the day ended up being a success because I got all of the husky kisses. Now, the next couple of days are supposed to be low key so I get to rest up but I do have more husky adventures to look forward to at our stop in Svalbard — husky sledding!

—Christine

Joe Almost Got Run Over by a Reindeer…

Another two days of sailing and now Christine and I find ourselves in the Arctic Circle and the land of the Midnight Sun. This included one full day at sea sailing along the Norwegian Coast, the first of four sea days during our cruise. Sea days are always interesting, it is a means of forced downtime. So what does a sea day look like. Wake up, eat, nap, eat, spa, eat, watch the world go by, eat. As you can see, lots and lots of eating, and sleeping. But heck, it’s a great way to unwind and totally disconnect.

We made it to our first stop in the Arctic Circle, the city of Narvik, a simply gorgeous hamlet. Unfortunately it was a Sunday, and as we learned in Oslo, Norwegians take their Sundays off seriously, and the little town was pretty dead. But Christine and I had plans, mainly to hit up Polar Park, a wildlife refuge showcasing the many large mammals in the Arctic Circle.

There were musk oxen, Arctic foxes, brown bears, wolves, red deer, moose, and to the subject of my post, reindeer. Christine and I were able to see all the other animals, except for a lynx and wolverine who were painfully shy, and headed over to the reindeer enclosure. On the pathway there, however, I spot a reindeer standing in the woods. Our eyes meet, and he starts moving toward me. My first thought is, “Wow, it’s a real reindeer!” Followed immediately by “Oh crap, he’s trotting toward me and he has pretty big antlers!” Christine told me just to freeze in place - all I kept thinking was that I was about to be impaled on antlers. Thankfully, these reindeer are used to humans, so the reindeer simply trotted close to me, probably enjoying tremendously that he frightened me.

But of course, this was not the only time it happened while we were there. On another occasion another reindeer decided to buzz by me. They must think it is some sort of fun game…

We wrapped the day riding the perennially popular gondolas up to the highest point in Narvik, Narvikfjella. Why I continue to take gondolas despite my increasing fear of heights, I’ll never know. But the view was amazing from the top, and that made it all worthwhile.

There more stops in Norway, and then we’re off to the northernmost city in the world. Until then, beware the reindeer!

-- Joe

Just Food

Electric Bikes and Brown Cheese

Our first day in Bergen was beautifully sunny and warm, which is apparently not the norm in Bergen. Bergen typically gets 98 inches of rain per year and often sports a gray, Seattle like climate. We took advantage of the sunshine by riding the Fløbanen funicular 400 meters above the city to Mount Floyen take in the picturesque views and absorb some vitamin D. Day two of Bergen was more atypical of the region, overcast and drizzly but not too chilly. On this day, we followed our good old “Rick Steves Walking Tour of Bergen” and had the opportunity to visit the oldest castle and fortress in Norway, weave through the precariously perched shops of the Bryggen (a German business area who were members of the Hanseatic League), and ended our day on a small boat cruise around the Bergen bay.  

While at dinner for our departure night, it dawned on us that unlike our Christmas voyage to the Mediterranean in December, the guests on this particular journey are skewing even more towards a more senior demographic. There are lots of wheelchairs and walkers, frequent queries of “what did she say?” and “do you know what’s going on?” I think I can count those under 55 on one hand! This, however, does mean we have the ship to ourselves after 9:00 PM, LoL.

We departed Bergen at 3:30 PM and by morning we were in Geirangerfjord, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Geirangerfjord is one of the longest and deepest fjords in Norway and it is quite isolated. In the winter, all roads in are closed and people and supplies can only get there via ferry. Once allowed to leave the ship, we jumped on the Viking included tour of Geirangerfjord and the Eagle’s Nest via bus. OMG, giant buses on narrow lanes, weaving through eleven 180 degree switchbacks and maneuvering around hikers, campers, vehicles, and bicyclists also using the same road! Thank God we didn’t even consider driving those treacherous roads ourselves — but wait we actually did, more details on that in the next paragraph! The tour took us to an elevation of 3000 feet where we again had spectacular views of the Geirangerfjord and beyond. I was much too nervous to stand at the edge of the cliff despite there being a very sturdy railing so you may notice that my photos are a bit more reserved.

Joe decided that our final activity for today was to ride electric bikes and take in the scenery in a more engaged way. Now, it’s been years since I’ve ridden a bike — I know, I know, I should remedy that — but the idea of an electric bike appealed to me because I thought that the bike would be doing most of the work. I also thought that we’d be on flatter ground. None of these assumptions or expectations were met. First of all, apparently an electric bike requires one to pedal and pedal hard! It is a pedal assist system and not a vroom, vroom go system! My seat was too low and uncomfortable and the bike is significantly more heavy than a regular bike because of the “motor” and battery. Secondly, we were going UP the same road that our bus had taken us earlier in the morning!!!! I was at the END of our small group of 10, desparetly pumping my legs in order to keep up with the group. There was a leader at the front and a young woman at the end of the group helping to keep everyone going. We were so far behind that I couldn’t see where our group had turned off for a quick check in and I had to double back to find them. THIS WAS NOT VACATION FOR CHRISTINE!!! THIS WAS TORTURE!! My ass hurt, my thighs were burning, and despite the fresh mountain air, I could not catch my breath! We biked higher and higher and higher! Maneuvering around buses and vehicles, and campers! I did not want to take pictures. The only great thing was the ride back down the mountain, which required only the use of breaks! I loved feeling the wind and actually didn’t mind the sprinkles dotting my glasses. However, this is where Joe decided he wanted to be cautious and I ended up tailgating him on the way down. On our way down, we stopped at a small cafe to have traditional Nor wegian waffles topped with raspberry jam, sour cream, and brown cheese! Yes, BROWN cheese. The cheese is the whey from the cheese making process and it is cooked down where it carmelizes, therefore it is a cheese with a sweetness to it. I think I need to buy a Norwegian waffle press (be ready Jeanne, Luana, and Lori for Norweigan style waffles!) Unfortunately, while pulling in for our waffle stop, a member of our riding team (Joe and I were the youngest in the group) lost her balance while getting off her bike and tumbled (bike and all) into a ravine 5-6 feet from the road! It was quite frightening, but she was able to get up and walk. The cruise line sent a car to come pick her up, we’re are praying she has a quick recovery. The rest of us, including her husband, rode the rest of the way down the mountain and into the port. But because of this, we were a little delayed in our return and the last ones on the ship! Whew!  

Tomorrow is a sea day so I get some down time. I intend to get a massage to help alleviate some of the soreness in my thighs! 

God Natt! Christine

That’s the best Norwegian taco I’ve ever had!

The last 36 hours have been a whirlwind, the the hectic pace of our vacation travel is merely one of the reasons. On Tuesday we wrapped up our last full day in Oslo before boarding an early morning train to Bergen to catch our cruise.

First, on that last day in Oslo. Christine and I added yet another 20k steps to our fitbits seeing all the big sites around town - the revitalized Oslo harbor front, the new national museum featuring yet another version of Edvard Munch’s iconic painting “The Scream”, the oldest fort in Norway, and Oslo’s city hall. All fascinating, all definitely recommended sightseeing, but the biggest surprise was dinner.

Tacos. Yes, Norwegian Tacos. Well, actually good old Mexican tacos like queso birria by way of Norway, but still, tacos nonetheless. Norwegians are crazy about tacos, stands litter almost every street corner and Taco Friday is a well known pastime. So I had to try the tacos while in Oslo, considering they are quickly becoming the national food. I can’t make any claims toward authenticity, but four tacos I sampled were all pretty tasty..

(For more info on Norway Taco Friday, check out this link: https://theworld.org/stories/2016-09-23/be-norway-do-taco-friday)

Earlier today Christine and I boarded the train for Bergen, a six and half hour journey commonly referred to as the most beautiful train trip in all of Europe. Believe me, the scenery was stunning - bucolic villages, lush mountains, crystalline lakes - it was out of.a romantic Norwegian landscape painting.

What was less than stunning were the seats on the train. You think for 6 ½ hours we would get accorded some decent seats, but we sat on fairly firm benches hat basically made my rump go numb sever 45 minutes. It was the rough equivalent of sitting on the benches in the Pavilion section of Dodger stadium. OK I do exaggerate a touch, but it was uncomfortable.

We did finally make it to our ship, though! The ship was first afloat this year and this is only it’s 4th passenger voyage. It still has the new ship smell… ah…

We will take a much needed snooze tonight after 50k+ steps over the last 2 ½ days. Hopefully, I can keep those steps up - if I eat the same way I did tonight, I will have to be rolled off this ship.

- Joe