This is part of a series called Nordic Sojourn 2022 By the next morning, the pack ice had thickened and we got a chance to see the ship’s icebreaker bow in action. At 6:40 am, the Expedition Leader made an announcement that there was a polar bear off our starboard bow, about 150 yards out. …
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This is part of a series called Nordic Sojourn 2022 We continued our northward sail during the night to the area of Woodfjorden and Liefdefjorden to visit a trapping cabin known as Texas Bar. In the morning, however, we were pretty heavily socked in with fog, causing a delay in going ashore. Texas Bar was…
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This is part of a series called Nordic Sojourn 2022 Our first landing of the trip was at Gravneset that is rated as one of the most beautiful fjords in Svalbard. It is surrounded by tall mountains and glaciers. It’s also one of the largest burial grounds (over 130 graves) in Svalbard dating from the…
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This is part of a series called Nordic Sojourn 2022 Today, we flew from Oslo to Longyearbyen. It is located at 78 degrees North — just 1316 kilometers from the North Pole, with a resident population of 2400 people from 53 different countries. It was nearly a three hour flight from Oslo to get here…
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This is part of a series called Nordic Sojourn 2022 On our first evening in Norway, we started our swing of the fjord lands of West as we flew into Alesund, Norway. Despite the fact that July is typically one of the driest months in this area, it has been raining steadily for a couple…
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This is part of a series called Nordic Sojourn 2022 We are off again, on the last of our Covid-delayed trips. This time we are off to visit a subset of the Nordic countries — parts of Norway, Svalbard (an unincorporated part of Norway), Greenland, and Iceland. This trip will be all about planes, trains,…
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This is part of a series called Viking Grand European Tour After Cologne, we headed into the Netherlands for a stop at Kinderdijk, a small village and UNESCO World Heritage Site that contains 19 authentic, working windmills of three varying designs. These windmills are part of an elaborate system to keep the ever-rising seawater from…
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This is part of a series called Viking Grand European Tour After Koblenz, we sailed up to Cologne, Germany – and, yes, before you ask the question Eau de Cologne really was invented there and still is a solid industry! Cologne is a huge city, the 4th largest in Germany. It is also an old…
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This is part of a series called Viking Grand European Tour After Wertheim, we cruised up the Middle Rhine, admiring all the beautiful old castles and vineyards that line the hills overlooking the river. This whole area is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site for the various castles, palaces, and fortresses that grace this valley….
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This is part of a series called Viking Grand European Tour This morning we made a brief stop in Wertheim, Germany. It is built on mud flats at the confluence of the Tauber and Main Rivers. That has been both a blessing and a curse – the former because of a great trading/transport location and…
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