Buses, trains and a boat

Also known as Norway in a Nutshell. This was the perfect tour with my parents. My feet don't hurt and I saw lots of Norway.

We were supposed to start on a train out of Oslo. Their train station is closed. The whole thing...not just some tracks. Weird. So we started on a bus that took us to a train.

While my feet didn't hurt, my arse does after sitting on a train for hours. Not a complaint. I saw beautiful country, quaint little towns and snow. Yep - lots of snow.

And lots of waterfalls which must be a result of snow melting. It is July so the snow must be melting.

We then got on a ferry, in the rain, for a two-hour fjord cruise. I love water. We had terrible visibility because of fog....or were we in the clouds?

Our adventure began at 6:30 am and we didn't get back to Oslo until 10 pm. Long day. Full day. The scheduling was very precise and I appreciate everything that was packed into a single day; but the most we had at any stop was 15 minutes. Most of the beauty and splendor had to be appreciated en route because there was no time for exploring any of the quaint little towns.

I can imagine doing a similar trip on my own sometime, but I will rent a car and drive the big parts of it so I have more flexibility. I would still take the Flam train and the boat though.

Fjords of Norway

The fjords in fog look very much like most places in the fog. I can visualize and look online for better pictures because I'm sure the landscape is beautiful. I love jagged mountains and water. I love this type of scenery so much that it was the only thing I ever created during forced art classes when I was young.

I agree the fjords are a must see. Hopefully the weather will be better when I return.

These were some very food-motivated seagulls. They can catch bread when tossed at them! But, they are careful to not get too close to the ferry.

Viking ship museum

Skol!
This is in the book.

The outside of the building looks like a church. The inside is four large wings. Three of them have recovered or reproduced Viking ships. Way back in the day the Vikings were "kings" of ship building, and the waters in and around Scandinavia.


I would not have wanted to sail in these ships. I couldn't handle the trip. They aren't ships the way we use the term today. They were big (for the times), but toally open. No indoor space.

The museum also included artifacts recovered when some of the ships were dug up. Yes, dug up. They buried these ships with their captains as a large and ornate coffin. That seems like way too much work!

The museum did not have benches, but portable chairs you could carry with you and sit wherever you want. I loved the chairs! All museums should have these.

Amsterdam March 2008

Spring break - Andy's senior year of high school

This was Andy and Jill's first trip to Europe. We selected it for a few reasons, in no particular order:
1. Most people understand and/or speak English
2. Most people would know how to pronounce our last name (it is Dutch)
3. We knew it would be easy to get around

Our first big decision was made after watching a Samantha Brown program - where to stay? We decided to rent a houseboat on the Amstel river. I would make the same decision again. We loved it. Granted, it was a bit cozy, but it was a fun experience. The boat was solidly anchored, so there was no movement at all. And, it came with a cat, who belonged to our hosts who lived in the other (bigger) side of the boat.

Amsterdam has one of the best science museums I've ever been to. We spent an entire day there - in part because the weather outside was miserable. I wasn't sure when we arrived if there would be enough stuff to entertain two teens, but there was. It was a really good day. Picture was taken at the science museum - Jill enclosing herself in a gigantic bubble.

We spent the equivalent of one day in art museums - Van Gogh's and the Rijksmuseum (sp?).

In keeping with being American tourists, we did have one meal at the Hard Rock Cafe.

We took a day trip to the Hague, and one to Delft.

Highlights - and places to check off my list:
Anne Frank house
Cafe society (No, I didn't)
Canal cruise - relaxing and a great way to see the city
Oude Kerk - old church (it is really, really old)
Red-light district (No, I didn't) - great people watching
Rijksmuseum - most of it was closed for renovation though
Van Gogh museum - loved it!
Delft - lovely town
Het Mauritshuis - great gift shop