Looking Back: Stavanger, Norway

This is another travel adventure from my time on the ship.  On 6/23 we stopped in Stavanger - our last port in Norway. 

My tour was to the Utstein Abbey (in Norwegian:  Utstein Kloster), a well-preserved Medieval monastery.  The abbey was founded in its current location in the later 1200s, and was dissolved as a monastery during the Reformation.  One of its current uses is as a medical conference center.

A wedding was about to take place in the chapel and some of the guests arrived in traditional Norwegian costume. 

We were supposed to have had an organ concert in the church, but the organist, being a local farmer, simply could not get away so we had an a cappella concert sung by our monastery guide and two other women - it was beautiful and the acoustics grand. 

We then had the option of a short walking tour of old town Stavanger, which I took. 

I then ran to a restaurant on the waterfront and gulped down a bowl of the very delicious cream-based fish soup (seems to be a national dish).  I would have liked to have sat and enjoyed my time more, but if you are late to reboard the ship security may take away your crew card (which is your ID card and your ATM card, so it is not something you want to lose).

Back on the ship I looked in my wallet and realized I was carrying U.S. Dollars, British Pounds, Euros and Norwegian Kroner - how international am I?

Looking Back: Hellesylt and Geiranger, Norway

Another travel adventure from my time on the ship.  On 6/21, we left the ship via the tenders in Hellesylt and reboarded later that day in Geiranger.  

That day's tour involved a three-hour hike over a mountain pass that had been in use since Medieval times. The path slowly rose toward the snow-covered peaks until we were above the tree line.

The hiking path

Along the way we walked along the side of a cliff face that overlooked a lake far below. The interesting thing about this country is that they don't baby you. They didn't have all sorts of guardrails and signs warning you of impending danger - they just assume you could look and see that the side of the path drops off and act accordingly! 

View from the hiking path

Waterfalls

We arrived at the bathroom stop which consisted of a cluster of small summer cottages and one public toilet.  This cluster was set on the top of a hill with the mountains in the background - very beautiful.  A number of us wondered if Julie Andrews would suddenly pop out from behind a bush and start singing from "The Sound of Music." 

Because of the snowcaps, there were waterfalls everywhere - I've never seen so many.  I was the last person in the hiking line as I had been designated the "gate closer."  At the lower altitudes we were passing through sheep and cow pastures (and yes, we did have to tread carefully) and the animals needed to be kept in their assigned pastures.  In Norway no one is allowed to lock gates as the land is considered state owned, so you can travel anywhere, but it is always nice to show a little courtesy and not let the cows out.

 

At one point on the hike I could see a beautiful turquoise lake far below - wouldn't you know it - that was our destination.  The decline was on a very steep, gravely and sandy path, so I was taking tiny little steps like a boundfoot woman so that I would not slip and slide all the way down. 

We had lunch at a mountaintop hotel, the Videseter, looking down a valley and out at snow capped peaks. 

Our last stop was at Mt. Dalsnibba - the ride to the peak involves a twisting road with 18 hairpin turns - try that in a tour bus sometime!  The peak is at a very high altitude, so it is a very desolate snow and rock covered landscape - very moonscape-like.

I received an email from Stephony with whom I used to work in Las Vegas.  She wrote that my time on the ship "sounds like a mix between hell and the best amusement park in the world" - that made me laugh!

  

Looking Back: Trondheim, Norway

This is another adventure from my time on the ship.  On 6/20 we docked in Trondheim.  I had the morning off, and since I really hadn't had the time to recuperate from the previous very hectic month of massage, I was happy to sleep in.  I escorted an afternoon tour to the Lokke Mines. 

We donned safety helmets and disposable plastic jackets for our trek through the damp, dripping tunnels. 

When we got to the "great room" that is also used as a theater, we were treated to a short concert of traditional tunes.  The acoustics in this great room are renowned. 

After leaving the mine, we boarded a vintage train of wooden cars for a 40-minute ride through the countryside before re-meeting our bus.  Not a grand tour, but a quietly interesting one nonetheless.  Along my travels, I was delighted to see lilacs in bloom.  We had lilacs in our backyard when I was growing up, so I have always had a fondness for them.  However, these lilacs seemed to have little scent.  I don't know if it was because they were past the peak of their bloom, or because it is such a Northerly location, but this lack of their signature scent was disappointing.  I realized that my weight has been fluctuating during my time on the ship and these fluctuations are very much tied to my emotional state, though many people have commented that I seem much thinner than when I arrived.  I'm definitely not thin, but perhaps thinner.  Another realization has to do with travel.  After traveling more in the last eight months than I have in the rest of my life, I feel addicted to travel.  I had always worried that I might become addicted to gambling living in Las Vegas, but I don't seem to mind having a travel addiction.  Ideas about the travel business and how I might fit into it continue to float around in my brain.  I know that at some point, possibly very soon, I will not want to do massage at this busy level, and will want to find some other means of earning an interesting living.  I believe I have previously mentioned that I feel I've entered a nomadic period in my life and as I do not feel the need to settle down anywhere, I might as well continue to travel.  However, for the moment I will continue doing massage and let these thoughts have time to develop.  I recently composed a "rap" song for my last day on the ship.  It is a bit of farewell silliness meant to make people laugh, however I wonder if I will have the guts to perform it.  We shall see!

Looking Back: Aalesund, Norway

This is another post from my time on the ship:

On 6/19 we were in Aalesund.  I escorted a morning tour to Giske and Godoy islands.  To get to the islands you travel through a number of submarine tunnels and over a bridge or two. 

One of our stops was to the Giske church built with thick marble walls that are covered with plaster so you would never know there was any marble unless told. 

The next stop was to Alnes Fyr, an historic, wooden lighthouse where we were served coffee, tea and "Scottish pancakes" (pancakes covered in a sprinkling of sugar).  I sat with a woman named Alice, who turned out to be a tour host for American Express.  Her tours allow her to travel for free, with a small expense account, but she does not get paid.  I discussed professional tour escorting/hosting with her, and we agreed that American Express would not be the company for me since I'd like to get paid for doing this.  One of the local farmers had just mowed the grassy fields near the lighthouse and the strong scent of cut hay and grasses reminded me of the Shaker villages I have visited in Maine and Kentucky. 

We arrived back at the ship around lunchtime, and as I was hungry I took myself to an outdoor cafe in town called Cavatelli.  They had a strange arrangement where you had to go inside to order, but your food was delivered to you on the outdoor patio by the waitstaff, as were any additional items you ordered.  I sat having a bowl of fish soup, a cream-based mix of chunks of a nice white fish and sliced vegetables heavy on the leeks, with a nice glass of white wine.  Even though the sun doesn't seem very strong here since Norway is so far north, I was finally forced to apply sunblock as I felt my face and arms starting to singe.  I then wandered the streets gazing at the beautifully decorated Art Nouveau buildings that were built of stone after the great fire of 1904 destroyed most of the wooden structures in town.

One thing I noted about all of our stops in Norway was that the air everywhere seemed so incredibly fresh.  The scent of the air might change in each locale, but the feeling of cool freshness was a constant.  Here it was June, and you really had to wear a light jacket due to the temperature of this air.  Someone wondered at what latitude we were currently standing, so I looked it up.  If you were to draw a line across to North America, Norway would be on par with the middle of Hudson Bay in Canada - pretty far north.  No wonder it was chilly!  I was told that outside one of the fjords there exist cold water coral!  After living in Key West, I feel I know a little about coral, but had never heard of cold water coral.  You learn something new every day!  Back at the ship I finally had a massage.  When you are constantly doing massage, you really need to make sure you take care of yourself, but few of us on the ship really do.  Devorah, one of the Filipina spa attendants, gives an extremely strong, and sometimes painful, massage despite her short stature.  It was a late massage as she doesn't finish work until 9:00 and she had another client before me.  We finished our almost two hour massage around 1:00 am, and as I was leaving the spa I wandered out on deck and was amazed that it was still twilight.  I was told that the sun had actually set for a short time around midnight, but the rest of the night it was quite light.  I wished I could have sat and enjoyed this amazing twilight more, but with too many early morning tours, I was too tired to do so.

Looking Back: Bergen, Norway

This post is a look back on my travels during my time on the ship where I volunteered to escort as many passenger tours as possible - a great, free way to see the world.

On 6/18 we arrived in Bergen.  The area around Bergen is very green mostly because it rains about 2/3 of the year in this region.  It is very hilly and mountainous with lots of pine - it looks very similar to New England, or more specifically, Maine.  We were lucky to have a semi-sunny day given the typical weather.  Our bus ride took us past many lakes that were so placid that they perfectly mirrored the surrounding mountains and sky.  The buildings here are primarily made of wood as it is a thickly forested country and wood is a ready resource.  These buildings are mostly painted white or brick red (which turns out was traditionally a very cheap paint that the inhabitants could make themselves), with roofs covered in slate shingles, tile, or most interestingly, turf. 

To make a turf roof, I am told, you first put down a good layer of wood, then you put down one layer of turf with the grass side down, and a second layer of turf with the grass side up.  These two layers grow together to form a thick, waterproof, and quite insulating layer.  Then the only upkeep is to mow the grasses and wildflowers growing on your roof, or to simply let the sheep or goats get to it. 

Our guide, Perry, had a very London-y accent and I asked if he went to school there.  It turns out he is from East London and his wife is Norwegian, which is why he relocated.  He was an interesting fellow, a painter (art, not house) by trade, but a bit lax as a tour guide.  He knew his history and was able to give lots of information, but didn't seem to care if everyone reboarded the bus or not, and so it was up to me to ensure that the headcounts were correct. 

Our tour was to Hardangerfjord, the Queen of the Fjords.  Fjords, in case you don't know, are deep valleys carved out by eons of glacial movement where fingers of ocean water creep in amongst the mountains.  Since you are usually many miles from the ocean you could easily believe the fjords are simply lakes - that is until you look into the water and spy seaweed.  Hardangerfjord is beautiful with lots of small orchards scattered along its banks.  We stopped at a hotel for a buffet lunch where we had a choice of cold prepared meats of the region, lots of cold smoked salmon, gravlax, smoked trout, and typical hot foods.  I sat across from an English couple who chose to eat roasted chicken and potatoes.  With all of the local delicacies being offered, it seemed a bit silly of them not to try anything new, but there they were eating chicken. 

Along our bus ride we stopped at Holdhus Kyrkje, a beautifully simple wooden church.  Churches in these more remote areas serve not just as a place of spiritual uplifting, but as the village meeting place and there was a very small green in front of the church for that purpose. 

On our way back to the ship we stopped at Steinsdalfossen, a waterfall that shoots out from the cliff face and there is a pathway under the lip of the cliff where you can stand and look out through the waterfall. 

As we rode through mountain tunnels, Perry played Edvard Grieg's music, as Grieg is seen as the national composer of Norway.