Monday, June13
We were packed and Pat Warren picked us up at 3:00 to drive to the airport for our flight leaving at 5:24. Unfortunately Tom forgot the sling he had to carry things when we walk. I had not been able to print the boarding passes because of trouble with the Covid vaccination certification. There was no problem at the airport although I didn’t realize that we had boarding passes for both our flights. The flight was on time and perfectly boring! We took the Skylift to terminal D where our next flight was leaving and had almost two hours. Our flight didn’t leave until about 9:00 pm. One of the best things about flying Business is the access to a lounge and this lounge was very close to our gate and had some pretty good food. We ate, and as it turned out, we ate too much because as soon as they could after we got on the plane, they served us supper. Tom and I both had salmon and a hot fudge sundae for dessert, but I couldn’t eat very much because of eating earlier. We were sitting next to each other in our separate pods, but couldn’t hear well enough to talk. We only had a little less than nine hours on the flight and by the time supper was finished it was just a little more than seven, but we stretched out in our pods and tried to sleep. I think I slept two or three hours.
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Tuesday, June 14
So far our flights have been wonderfully boring and on time. I got up early enough to write this and wash my face before the bathroom crush. Neither of us slept very much. We ended up with about five or six hours to sleep and we slept two to three. We had to wait a long time for our bags, but they came and passport control and customs were a breeze. No one even looked at us in customs. Our driver, Juan Carlos, from Cuba, was waiting for us and immediately took charge of us and our bags. The drive into the hotel was about an hour as I expected. We checked into our hotel, Hotel Brighton, just north of the Tuileries and within sight of the Louvre from our window. After going to our room in the second smallest elevator we’ve seen—the smallest was in Rome— we rested for an hour or so and then went looking for supper. Naoème at the front desk suggested la Place de Marché. We thought it was a cafe, but it was a square where several restaurants were found. We ended up at Le Passage St. Honoré. I had steak tartare, which was good. Tom had a ribeye, which was tough. He had a chocolate fondue with vanilla ice cream. I had a salted caramel ice cream. We returned to the hotel for the night. Our room was up a slight elevation up these steps. It’s a beautiful room with plenty of space and two windows which can be opened to give an even better view of the Louvre, the Tuileries, and the Eiffel Tower. We were only on the second floor so we could see things below us well.
Wednesday, June 15
This is the day we go to Montmartre. We ate a very nice breakfast at the hotel. As Tom said, we had a continental breakfast on the continent. Then we met our guide, Rosemary, to go to Montmartre. We took an Uber which she called. I had warned that we didn’t walk vey well, so she adjusted her talk for us to start at the top with the Basilica and go down. We used the hiking poles that we had bought for the trip. The Basilica is beautiful. She showed us some of the chapels. We had come in the back, and she pointed out the chapel to Mary, which was directly behind the altar. That is supposed to be the most important location, and Mary as the queen of heaven was the most important person. Rosemary also told us about a person whose job was to keep the church quiet. When the noise — of guides, etc.— became too loud, he would whisper “shoo” over a microphone. We heard him twice. We left the church and walked down the road to see many souvenir shops. Some of them looked interesting but we did not stop.
For pictures of some of the chapels in Sacré Cœur click here.
Rosemary called a taxi for us, and we went to Edith’s condominium (Edith Gilbert Back, Nancy and Spencer’s daughter). Rosemary also helped me choose some candy as a gift. Edith has a beautiful condominium with four bedrooms that she inherited from her deceased husband’s grandparents. She has an elaborate roof garden. Edith called an Uber for us and we returned to the hotel. We were supposed to go to supper at a restaurant named Saint O, but I led us in the wrong direction and we walked and walked and never found it We were exhausted so we returned to the hotel and went to bed. This is the night of our tour of Paris by night. Unfortunately, even though our tour started at 9:00 it nver was dark enough to see Paris by night. We did see most of the main monuments
Thursday, June 16
I’m still not feeling well but we I had a tour of the Louvre planned after having breakfast at Angelina. The breakfast was good and the hot chocolate was very good but my stomach found it too rich to fully enjoy. We both had eggs Benedict with salmon. We had about 15 minutes before we had to meet Yaelle for the Louvre tour so we went to our room to brush our teeth. When we came back she was waiting for us outside the restaurant. We walked to the Louvre through the park. Tom and I took and used our hiking poles and that turned out to be a very good thing to do. Because we had them, our Guide was able to get us into each line much quicker than if we had not had them. She showed us the two sculptures from Greece which were Venus de Milo and the Winged Victory. 
Those are the only two actually from Greece. We then went to see the Mona Lisa. Because of our hiking poles the guard was able to put us at the very beginning of the line so that we got to see her up close and without other people in our way. By that time we needed to leave. The Louvre is so big that it had taken us most of the two hours to walk to see those three items.
We were tired and rather than stay and try to see more, we returned to the hotel to rest. Later, about 4 o’clock we walked down the street to one of the cafés where we had coffee and tea.
We then
realized that it was time to go to be at the center Pompidou at 5:00 o’clock which was when we were supposed to be there. It was actually a little late but it didn’t matter. We looked at some of the exhibits which were on different floors and the building is somewhat confusing. Then we left the museum and went to the restaurant where we had reservations at seven. The restaurant, the Georges restaurant, was on the top floor and we had trouble getting the waitress to let us sit at a table that was not flooded by the sun. Finally she suggested that we eat inside and we decided that was a great idea. We started with tomato gaspacho which we both really enjoyed. Tom had sea bass and I had lamb chops. They were good—as were the green beans and spinach that came with them. Tom then had vanilla Mille feuille and I had a berry sorbet that looked like two kidneys. They were both good. The only thing not good were the sardines Tom ordered. We left and found a taxi easily by waiting until he let his customer out. Some of the cars behind him were very impatient but he just waited until we got in. We found that the driver did not like Macron. He drove us back to the hotel in a much more direct route than the first driver did. We’ve had two drivers who used Teslas. We returned to the hotel and went to bed.
Friday, June 17
If I were to plan this trip another time, I’d add at least another day to Paris and give us a totally free day in the middle of the trip. We had breakfast in the hotel, which we agreed was better than Angelina. We returned to our room to brush teeth and then met our guide, Virginie, in the lobby at 9:00. Claude in his Tesla was our driver again. Our trip this morning was to see Versaillais.
It was about a 45 minute drive. Unfortunately it was very hot. When we reached Versaillais, Virginie said that we should see the gardens first, and she was able to get us a golf cart so we did see a lot of t he gardens without too much effort, but it did become difficult because of the heat and the size of the gardens. I think she said they were 1900 acres. They consisted in many places of well trimmed rows of trees. We saw one man at work trimming some of the trees.
We saw the little Trional, which was Marie Antoinette’s private palace, and the large one, which was where the Treaty of Versaillais was actually signed. It was negotiated in the Hall of Mirrows.
After leaving the gardens, we went into the palace. It is an enormous place and was built around an original hunting lodge by Louis 14th mostly. The center of government was actually moved there from Paris and the entire building was constructed and decorated to honor and aggrandize Louis 14th. We saw the king’s apartment and the Queen’s Apartment. They had public rooms in which they did not sleep each also had a bedroom. The bedrooms were private or as private as kings and queens could be. All the beds were short because they slept sitting up.
We drove back to Paris and had no other activities until suppertime. Supper was at Ma Biche. It was a little bit of a surprise since it was a very small restaurant and a litte hard to find, but it was close to the Moulin Rouge. Our server was an Algerian young woman who was studying at the Sorbonne, She was working on a masters degree in archaeology and planned to go on for a PhD. After eating supper we went to the Moulin Rouge. It was not far and we walked. The show was very extravagant with beautiful costuming but leaving various parts uncovered. There was an extraordinary skating act, a display of strength between two men, a balancing act, and a girl with snakes in a tank of water that were more than just the dancing that the girls did. We did not have reserved seats but were relatively lucky in the seats we did get since we were at a table for two and were relatively close to the stage. After the show, we were lucky enough to get a taxi. He tried to talk us into letting him take us to the Metro because the taxi ride would be so expensive, but we were too tired to even try the Metro.
Saturday, June 18
This was our day to go to the Eiffel Tower, and Virginie was our guide again. 
We took a taxi to the tower—lots of taxis. Virginie knew all the tricks to get us in quickly and up the elevator to the second floor. The view was magnificent.
After coming down, Virginie helped us get a taxi and rode with us to the restaurant, La Fontaine de Mars. According to our information, the Obamas have eaten there. Tom had the fish of the day and I had a tomato salad. We both had dessert with Tom's having a custard and my having sorbet. We were able to get a taxi to the Invalides, but it was too hot after walking to the front gate to stay. After that our day declined. We walked to the Rodin museum and I went in and saw some of it, but Tom waited in the entrance. There was no air conditioning in the museum and I didn’t stay long and didn’t try to visit much of the outdoor exhibit, which is probably the best part.. I walked very briefly in the garden and did see the Thinker. I joined Tom and we tried to get a taxi, but there simply weren’t any that were free and we ended up walking over a mile back to the hotel.
We were both exhausted, although I seemed more exhausted at the end than Tom and he was tireder at first. We returned to our room and took showers. We were too tired for supper. I did so to the desk because I couldn’t get the phone to call the desk and asked for some milk. They sent up seven little packets of milk for coffee.
Sunday, June 19
We were still tired from yesterday, but we had an appointment to go to a church to meet the organist, Guy, who is a master organist who has played all over the world, and to watch him play.
I chose this because it sounded like something different, but it turned out to be one of the best things we did. We took a taxi to the church, Eglise Saint-Jacques Saint-Christophe de la Villette. It was a relatively small church with a curved arch between the congregation and the altar, but with a beautifully decorated flat roof. Guy met us as we came in—relatively early for once—and told us about the Church and the organ. The church was built in the 19th century and the organ had around 1000 pipes. Guy persuaded them that because of the flat roof, the organ needed more power, and the number of pipes was increased to 2900 (I think). One of the pipes was about one centimeter long and some were 32 feet long and required being placed in the towers to have room. Guy had been in an accident one and a half months ago. His left arm was broken in three places and his shoulder. His face was cut and he still had some of a black eye. However he was able to play. He pointed out that an organist had to read three lines of music rather than just two because the organist had to use his feet as well as his hands. He wore special narrow shoes so that he could fit his feet on the pedals. He was not a big man. Before and during the service, a woman with a beautiful voice sang with the organ. Guy told us that he did not charge the church for playing. He told us of a long list of things he had done including being president of Paramount in France.
After the service he had a student. We asked the priest for directions to a place that had been suggested to us for lunch, and one of the parishioners who was nearby offered to show us how to get there since she lived in the same direction. It was a sandwich and pastry shop, and we had very good sandwiches which were somewhat like Subway foot long ones. After lunch we took another taxi to the cemetery where we met Patrice and looked at graves for two hours. There were impressive monuments—some of very famous people.. 
Some of them had been paid for “in perpetually” so that their monuments and bodies could never be moved, but the city stopped that practice some years ago and now they were only paid for 50 years unless the family paid again. There are some 2000 people buried in over 100 acres. We didn’t see the grave of Jim Morrison, but we saw many including Edith Piaf, Chopin, several of Napoleon’s generals, communist resistance fighters from the 1870’s, and monuments to people killed in concentration camps and to people killed in airplane crashes. There was a crematorium which handled 20,000 people a year and walls in which to place the ashes.
There was also a stretch of lawn on which someone could spread a person’ s ashes. It was interesting to see, but Patrice was less than interested in showing us and seemed somewhat uninvolved. He didn’t seem to appreciate our being somewhat mobility limited. We took a taxi back to the hotel. Our last American Concierge activity and there was a glitch! We were supposed to take a dinner cruise on the Seine and took a taxi to the location. There we were told we didn’t have a reservation. With a lot of talk, they decided to give us a place and work it out with American Concierge. I talked with Alyssa McKnight and they had made an error. We were put on the lower deck, but could still see well, although it was through a window, and had one of the best meals we had in Paris. We went past Nôtre Dame and then turned around and went down to the Eiffel Tower which we saw start to sparkle at 10 o’clock. At the end of the ride we crossed the bridge from the left bank to the right bank and hailed a taxi to take us home. There was a slight drizzle but we did not get very wet.
Monday, June 20
We’ve now left the caring arms of American Concierge and are with ArtVentures Paris. The first pickup went well at 8:30, and we were able to ride in a British taxi to the train station.
We figured out the train schedule and were fine until we got on the train and couldn’t find our seats. At that point we realized that I had printed the tickets for the wrong day. Apparently Didier sent the correct ones, but. I didn’t see them and had only the first ones he had sent. We got off the train and I went to buy tickets on the next train. As it turned out, we were only about an hour later on this train than we would have been on the first train. We were met in Bayeux by Jonathan who lived in Bayeux. He drove us to the tapestry where we had audio guides. It was just as impressive this time as the last time I saw it. Then we walked over to a restaurant where we had lunch. Afterwards we drove on to Mt. Saint Michel.
Once there, Jonathan parked the car as near the shuttle landing as he could and we caught a waiting shuttle to cross the bridge. The shuttle is only allowed to drive about halfway to the island and we walked the rest of the way. Almost immediately after reaching the gate we turned to the left for our hotel, La Mère Polard. Unfortunately there was a glitch in our reservation and they didn’t see us. However after much talk with Jonathan, they found us and gave us a room. Rather than go to the room, we asked a young man working there to take our bags up. We said goodbye to Jonathan until the next day and began to walk up toward the Abbey just to see if we could. We looked in a few shops for mugs, but walked all the way to the entrance to the Abbey. We then turn to the walk down the ramparts. There were some steep steps, but in between the steps were some level walks. I thought it would be easier to walk back up that way, but we had told Jonathan we would walk on the Main Street so that he could find us. We went back to the hotel and had supper. We had the puff omelette that was supposed to be famous. It was pretty dry and I thought would be much better with salt and pepper. After supper we climbed to our room on the fourth floor. It was a very nice corner room with views of the city roofs and of the bridge and sea at the bridge. I had a shower, but when Tom tried to take a shower the next day, he couldn’t get any hot water.
(Click on the image to see more views from our window and from parts of Mont St. Michel)
Tuesday, June 21
We packed and brought all our things down to check out. We left our things at a nearby associate hotel, and then had our breakfast and began the climb up to the Abbey. When we reached the Abbey we saw Jonathan. He bought tickets and led us in. Tom and I used our hiking poles the whole way, but we were able to climb the hundreds of steps and see all of the Abbey. Jonathan was very knowledgeable and could answer all our questions. We climbed to the top, and then the tour path led down so when we finished the tour we were again at the entrance to the Abbey and had only to walk down from there. We stopped on the way out to pick up our luggage and for Tom to buy a mug. We walked out to meet the shuttle, drove back to the car and started for St. Malo. We learned on the way that although we had thought that Jonathan was going to take us to the train, he had another tour at 2:00 so he dropped us at a restaurant, asked the waiter to call us a taxi for the train, and left us. We ate lunch, went to the station, and caught first the train for Rennes and then the one for Paris with no trouble. We were pros by now! In Paris we couldn’t find our driver so we took a taxi to the hotel. We decided we wanted some ice cream and the desk clerk told us where we’d find Hägen Däs ice cream. We had some and watched work being done in the Tuileries on a giant Ferris wheel and amusement park which they had stared building the day we had left and was about 2/3 complete.
Then back to the hotel and bed after packing to be ready to leave the Hotel by 4:00 in the morning. We found that Alyssa from American Concierge had sent us some chocolates as an apology for the mixup with the boat tour. She sent more chocolates that arrived at the hotel after we left, so we told the hotel staff to enjoy them.
Wednesday, June 22
We woke up at 3:30 and were ready to go at 4:00, but it was hard. When I came downstairs before Tom because the elevator would hold only one of us with luggage, the night receptionist and the driver were outside the door and couldn’t get in. I had to go behind the desk to turn a key to open the door for them. Our driver left us at the correct place at the airport and we found where we checked in. We went through security and took our plane for Heathrow. The lines for security ended up being very long there. As soon as we finished one line there would be another. This time I had to take off my shoes. Finally we were through all of them and had several hours to wait for the plane to Copenhagen so we found the lounge where we had some food and sat in comfortable chairs to wait. When we started to get on our plane, we found that we were not business class for this almost two hour trip. We sat in the middle of the plane and saw again why we are now spoiled for business class! At Copenhagen, the entrance was very easy as in Paris. We just picked up our luggage and walked out. No customs. Our driver was waiting and took us to our hotel with Linda, another traveler. We met Chase Alexander, our guide, in the lobby. I decided to go with the group for supper, but Tom was too tired and stayed in the hotel. Chase took us to a restaurant where we had a pork stew that was very good. Tom ate at the hotel and was not impressed.
Thursday, June 23
We woke up at 6:45 and dressed to go to breakfast. After breakfast we met the group in the lobby at 9:00 for a walking tour. We did a pretty good job of keeping up. After walking a couple of hours we had a canal tour which was interesting and allowed us to see a great deal of Copenhagen although I have trouble remembering what!
(Click on the image for more pictures of Copenhagen from walking and boat.)
There were very expensive apartments along the canal and many boats of all sizes moored along the sides. The bridges were so low that the guide had to duck in many cases. One was so narrow that the boat just fit and had a turn just as we exited that required maneuvering by the driver of the boat. As we walked, Chase stopped a couple of students in white caps. The white caps are worn by high school students who have just graduated. He asked them about the caps, what their plans were, and other questions. At about noon we stopped for lunch at a cafe where Chase had ordered a plate of several samples including herrings shrimps, salmon, cheese, two kinds of bread. It was very good and filling. Afterwards we returned to the hotel by way of a Christmas shop where I was hoping to buy a nativity scene for Pat Warren, but it was mostly junk. Tom and I slept and rested all afternoon. We met everyone at 6:00 to go to dinner with Chase leading us. He wanted to go to a restaurant that he knew was good and was in what had been an old pharmacy, but the entire restaurant was reserved. Someone there suggested another nearby restaurant and it turned out to be excellent. I made the mistake of ordering beef tartare, which wasn’t nearly as good as that I had in France, but the other dishes seemed very good. Tom had lamb. We had a meringue, ice cream, and strawberries dessert. We then returned to the hotel for the night
Friday, June 24
We met in the lobby at 9:00 again. We took a train to a small town Roskilde. Where there was a very old cathedral, Roskilde Cathedral, within which were buried much of the royalty of that period (about 1100-1300). Tom chose not to go to the cathedral and thought he could meet us where we were going to eat, but sincee we walked on to the Viking museum, he couldn’t meet us. I tried to find him, but missed him. Chase went back to look for him and did find him so he came with us to the Viking museum.
There was also a Viking museum which was centered around five viking ships which had been intentionally sunk at the entrance to help protect the town. These ships had been found and removed and preserved as much as possible in the 1950’s, I think. Replica ships had been painstakingly built so one could see how the ships had looked. This was Skjoldungernes Land National Park.
The walk to the Viking museum was down a very long hill at least half a mile, and none of us wanted to walk back up it so Chase found a bus that was going up to the train station and we took that. We then took the train back to Copenhagen. On our return Tom and I rested. Our supper was near the hotel and covered by OAT. the appetizer was salmon and very good, but the main course was a steak and was quite tough. Afterwards we returned to our rooms to pack. We have seen a lot of young people wearing white hats with different colored bands around them. They are new high school graduates. They are partying all around.
Saturday, June 25
Today is our last day in Copenhagen. We met at 8:30 this morning and had to have our bags packed. The big bags were to be left in the room while we brought our carryons with us. These hiking poles are a great help when walking, but they are a real nuisance otherwise. We had a taxi bus that had about 20 seats so there were more seats than people which was a good thing since we all had bags. Our first stop was at the Little Mermaid.
We had seen her from the canal tour, but this time we saw her closer and from the front. Across the way, we could see the building that built to burn garbage. It has a climbing wall on one side and a ski slope on another.
We stopped at Churchill Park to see from the outside only since it wasn’t open, St. Albans English Church and a bust of Churchill as well as the stature of a Valkyrie in a fountain.
After that we went to the palace where the queen lives although that was not available to tour. Tom stayed at the bus. I went alone because the others had left before me. I walked down to the palace complex. The first thing I saw was a very nice fountain in the middle of a pretty garden.
There seemed to be some kind of party going on—maybe a wedding party. Across from that was a beautiful church and other buildings including a museum, which I entered with my Copenhagen card and which contained the queen’s jewelry display, and the queen’s living quarters. I met the other members of the group there and walked back to the bus with them. Tom was there and had found a mug about which he was very excited. I bought some postcards. I’m going to buy postcards from each country, put them in an envelope, and mail them to each grandchild. Our next stop was at the hippy town in the midst of Copenhagen, Christiania.
This area was settled by hippies. The town tried to rouse them out but couldn’t so now it has become somewhat of a tourist spot. They don’t allow any pictures to be taken or any outside guides. Chase took his jacket off and untucked his shirt in an effort to fit in. One of the first things I saw was a small black wooden elephant. On the way out I stopped to buy it. As it turned out it was carved by the brother of the man selling it and came from Somalia. He gave me a price of 100 krone and then for some reason tried to just give it to me, but of course I insisted on paying for it. As we left, I saw an unusual tree and wanted a picture of it. Chase went back and took the picture for me, but it was just outside Christiania.
Our next stop was at a food court for lunch.
Tom and I found a chicken salad that I thought was pretty good. I had avocado and Parmesan added to mine. Tom didn’t. Mine was better, but still more than I could eat. We got back on the bus and drove to the ferry.
There we were given boarding passes and reunited with our big bags for long enough to be sure they were there before we boarded the boat. We were early, and our rooms weren’t ready for another hour or so, so we waited in a food area. Tom and I ended up sitting with a couple from the Netherlands who were going to drive about the same route we were in about the same time. They had their car on the boat. We learned that he unfortunately had MS. Our rooms were ready and we, along with what seemed like a zillion others headed up to deck 9 to find our room. We have definitely been in smaller places! This one is very well appointed. We both collapsed for naps, but then I woke up to start writing. At 5:45 we joined the rest of our group for supper in the Seven Seas buffet restaurant on the ferry. Afterwards we explored by going up to the top of the ferry—level 11 on the elevator— and then climbing one flight of steps to the very top. We walked around the top, but the wind made it cold so we came down and walked to the duty free shop where we bought two bottles of water before going to our cabin and to bed.
Sunday, June 26
The ferry didn’t reach Oslo and land until 10:00 so we had plenty of time to eat breakfast and then meet our group. Disembarking was simple with Chase leading the way. We were asked to assure that our bags were all behind a big bus and then bags and people were loaded on the bus and taken on a little bit of a tour around the city before going to the hotel. We were very early, and the checkin time was not until 3:00 so all our bags were put in a room for storage until checkin. As I started putting our carryons into the room, Chase told me that he had arranged for our room to be ready now. As soon as all the others except Patty, for whom he’d also arranged a room, had gone off to explore, we went to our room. We rested for awhile and then asked Chase where we could get lunch. There was a cafe right around the corner, and it was very crowded and good. I had lentil soup and Tom had a hamburger. We returned to the room to get our laundry ready to send and then take it downstairs. It seemed that most of our group wanted to do their laundry. I then took a shower. We were supposed to meet everyone downstairs to go to dinner with Chase if we wanted to go with him, which we did. He wanted to take us to one of his favorite restaurants, but it was closed and we went back to the restaurant at which we had lunch. I had beef stir fry and Tom had fish soup. It was more than I could eat, but good. We then returned to the hotel and went to bed.
Monday, June 27
Our morning meeting wasn’t until 9:30 so we could sleep until 8:00– which we did. This morning we had a bus tour of Oslo. There are many interesting buildings to see, but it’s hard to remember them all. We could remember the Opera House with its walkways up to the roof.
We see evidence of the gay pride week around in terms of flags, etc. It reminds us that there was a shooting Friday night in a gay bar where two people were killed and more injured. The shooter was an Iranian citizen of Norway. We stopped at the Vignland Park where all of the sculptures were designed by Gustave Vignland—the largest sculpture garden in the world devoted to one man. His sculptures are nude because he didn’t want to date them by having them clothed. He has sculptures of people of all ages.
(For more images of Vignland Park click on the image above.)
Unfortunately the rain started about the time we were ready to leave. Chase ran to the bus and back to get our umbrellas, but we still were slightly wet. The bus then took us to Bygdoy Peninsula—the largest group of museums in Norway. Some of us, including Tom, took the bus back to the hotel, but some of us stayed to eat lunch and visit the Fram Museum and the Kon-Tiki Museum both of which were very interesting. The Fram was a boat built to go to the North Pole by starting on the northwest passage and floating on the ice toward the North Pole. The boat was really larger than I would have expected. It had a windmill that gave power to electric lights. It rode on the ice for three years. We were able to board it and walk around.
The Kon-tiki raft was much larger than I expected.
(Click on the image for more pictures of the Kon-Tiki exhibit.)
Chase waited until 2:30 for us to show us how to get back to the hotel. When I returned, I took a shower. We met at 5:00 for a welcome get together and then to go for supper for our welcome dinner. We had reindeer meat and Lincoln berries with a little carrots and green beads for supper. Dessert was vanilla ice-cream with whipping cream. After eating, we returned to the hotel. Our hotel room had an interesting shower.
Tuesday, June 28
It was raining. The plan was to go for a hike along the river and then meet at a food court for lunch and afterwards have some activities. Tom declined all and stayed at the hotel. I decided to take a taxi to the food court and meet the group there. Patty and Helen went with me. We had the hotel call a taxi for us and had no trouble finding Chase and the others. We had lunch at the food court. I stopped to talk with a friend.
Then we walked to a center where people helped inmates who had been released from prison. The three speakers were all former inmates and that was a requirement for anyone working in the group. Norway has an interesting prison system with a belief in rehabilitation rather than punishment. The longest anyone can be sentenced is for 21 years although they are not necessarily freed at the end of that term.
On the walk we passed the bar in which the shooting of the gay man had taken place and saw the memorials left out.
We also saw small plaques in the pavement. Chase told us that these had been left in front of the homes of the Jews who had been taken by the Germans during WWII. In Norway, the authorities were notified in advance and were able to send many of the Jews to safety unlike in Finland where the Jews were taken very quickly. A German ship came in and emptied its cargo. Rather than go back empty, it loaded all the Jews that could be rounded up and took them to concentration camps. Almost all the Jews were taken.
After that we went to a memorial/museum dedicated to the memory of the September attack on the island. We were close to the hotel, and I walked back. Tom was napping, but he waked up and we walked a block or so to the History Museum. It was very interesting, but I was expecting more Viking material. There was a lot of Egyptian material and even some American Indian material. I bought a very heavy necklace made from beads copied from some found in a Viking excavation. We returned to the hotel and asked about an Italian restaurant. They weren’t knowledgeable so we looked on the Internet and found Ruffino. It was not far from the hotel—a nice walk beside the park of the palace. Tom had ravioli and I had lasagne. They were good, but I enjoyed mine more than Tom did his. We finished with some delicious tiramisu. We had called for a reservation and had been told that the only table was one right in front of the front door. I told them we’d take it, but when we arrived they had moved us to a very nice table. After we walked back to the hotel, we packed as much as we could and went to bed. Our hotel room had a big number for the room number, and, in fact, all our hotels in Scandinavia had these big numbers. It was very easy to see!
Wednesday, June 29
We had our big bags out in the hall by 8:00 and then went to breakfast. At 9:00 we loaded on the bus for our drive to Fram. This is an entire day of traveling on the bus. We took a break after about two hours at a place that was a shopping mall, a hotel, and a bathroom break for travelers. It was enormous and much nicer and cleaner than the typical place for breaks in the US.
Chase told us that it had been built by the man who started the Thon hotels, at which we’ve been staying, as a contribution to the community. We stopped again after anther couple of hours for lunch and had a light lunch at Hemsedal, a ski resort, of soup and salad with a brownie and ice cream for dessert. Thee was a picture on the wall in which the boy looked a lot like Trump!
We then drove about another hour to Borgund where we visited the Stave church. There are only about 28 of these churches still standing. This one was built about 1180 to honor Saint Andrew. It was built in layers rather than all at once. There is a covered walkway around the church and an opening where people could take communion without entering the church during the time of the Black Death when about 40% of the population died. There was even a hole through which they could make confessions. The corners of the roof were adorned with dragon heads. We then continued on to Flam to our hotel and bed with beautiful scenery along the way. (For information on the church click here.)
(For more pictures of the stave church, click on the image above.)
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Flam hotel with robot lawnmower.
Thursday, June 30
This morning we had to have our suitcases out by 8:30 and meet to go at 9:30. Our first stop was at the farm of the parents of one of Chase’s friends, Conrad. 
His father told us about running a sheep farm and showed us some of the things he does. One of them was splitting wood, and Chase also split some. He was very good at it. The father also showed us how he sawed and planed his own lumber. The mother showed us how she made various concoctions from plants and had two, elderberry and roses, for us to taste. She also showed us where they kept quails and collected some eggs although she said it took five or six to be about equal to one chicken egg. (For more pictures of the farm, click here.)
After that we went across the road to where a couple served us one of the best meals we’ve had on the trip—a stew and a fruit and cream dessert. We then remounted the bus to drive to the hotel to pick up one of our members, Helen, who was sick with covid and to catch the train to the top of the mountains. This was supposed to be a very scenic ride and was. It was also a warm ride sincee the train wasn’t air conditioned..
During the ride Conrad appeared. Chase had not expected him, but he asked him to have supper with us. We exited that train at the top to catch another train that would take us to Bergen. The gift sho in the transfer station was closed, but I was able to buy a Coke Zero. The next train was air conditioned! We exited the train one stop before Bergen because there was construction that would be a problem if we continued. The stop we made was at a station that was being redone. To get to the bus, we had to go downstairs and outside. The bus was waiting, and all our things were just as we had left them. We drove into Bergen. Chase was happy to show us his city. Unfortunately as we turned into the street on which the hotel Wes located a man tried to go around us on the left and the bus hit him. Everyone took pictures and the police came quickly. They decided it was the man’s fault and the bus took us on to the hotel. The bus didn’t seem to have functional damage, but the car did. We checked in at the hotel—another Thon—and after a short time in our room went down to supper next door.
Friday, July 1
Our main activity today was a visit to a fish farm where they raised salmon. We walked through some of Bergen.
We stopped after walking through Bergen to see and hear a young woman play her musical intrument.
We drove about 45 minutes to the fish farm. Once there we taken by an 11 passenger boat from the museum on land to the fish farm out in the water.
(For more picdtures of the fish farm click on the image above.)Fish farm
Once there, we were enlightened on the process of raising salmon for the market. They had seven “pods”, but only three had fish at this time. The one we saw, that was nearest the “raft” contained the fish almost ready for market. We watched them being fed and were able to throw food out to them. We were then taken back to the museum for lunch,which was a delicious fish soup. We drove back into Bergen. We had a chance to rest for awhile. At 4:30 I walked through Bergen with some of our group to ride the funicular. Tom stayed at the hotel.
At the top we had an outstanding view of Bergen. I was enjoying the hat that Janet gave me after I left my Tilly hat in Oslo.
After enjoying the view for some time, we caught the funicular down. Some of them planned to get off at the next to last stop, but the funicular didn’t stop before it reached the bottom. Some walked around for awhile, but I went back to the hotel to check on Tom and see if he wanted to eat. He did, and we went to the Italian restaurant that Chase had recommended. Chase, Linda, and Laura were there. I thought I ordered a pizza with extra toppings, but we received two pizzas. We took the toppings off one and put them on the other and returned the denuded pizza. The waitresses were very nice and offered to charge us only for one. When we refused that, the gave us tiramisu gratis. The pizza was good. When we finished we returned to the hotel and bed.
Saturday, July 2
We had to have our suitcases ready in the room by 8:30 and meet Chase at 9:30. It’s still not raining. We’ve been very lucky with the weather. Tom is not feeling well, and I have a sore throat. One of our members, Helen, had a positive Covid test and went for a more definite test. She hasn’t returned so we have to assume that she tested positive again. We’re all supposed to be wearing our masks on the bus now. Our trip this morning was to the Oleana factory to learn about making clothes in Norway. It was interesting, but their clothes are mostly not something I’d wear and are expensive. They are all from wool, but are beautifully designed and made. It’s a pleasant factory with plenty of natural light built in a renovated building.
I think they said the material was partly merino wool and partly silk. It is very light to be wool. We were fed lunch of salad at the factory. We then met Chase’s father in the valley that they consider home and from which they get their last name, Jardel.
Chase has mentioned that when he assumes management of his wife’s family’s farm he’ll probably change his name to that of the location of her farm. We looked around some other residential neighborhoods. We passed the statue of a woman who Chase said had been a famous bar owner and there was a song sung about her. He sang a translation of the song for us. We saw an old pay phone booth that had been recycled as a small book library. We also passed a fireman at a fire station and Chase stopped to talk with him and ask him about his job. He mentioned that retirement age for firefighters was now 70.
We then dropped by the hotel for a bathroom break before heading to the boat. There, we were each given an envelope with the information we needed and cards for our rooms and to charge things. Our room is on the fifth deck, but although I requested a room on the starboard side it’s on the port side. It’s small, but comfortable and not too small. There’s room under the beds for our suitcases. Tom still does not feel well and went right to bed. I walked around some and watched the boat leave the dock.
(For more pictures of leaving Bergen on the ship, click on the above image.)
Sunday, July 3
Nothing much happened today.
Monday, July 4
Today we landed in Trondheim, which according to Chase is the third largest city in Norway. We were scheduled to take a bus tour starting at 9:45. Tom decided not to go, but I went and enjoyed it thoroughly. The city is very pretty. We went to a spot that overlooked the entire city. Next we went to the cathedral.The cathedral was magnificent.
(For more pictures of Trondheim, click on the image above.)
Nidaros Cathedral Norweigan Institute of Science and Technology
It was built in the early Romanesque days, But there was a fire, and it was restored in the Gothic style. The church is enormous 100 yards long and 50 yards across. It is very tall and has Gothic arches. We walked around the cathedral and down across a bridge to the bicycle elevator.
Unfortunately no one was using the bicycle elevator so we did not get to see it in action. We then went back to the bus and rode to the boat for lunch. Tom and I ate lunch with Helen and Alex and then went to our room for a nap. Chase had set up a celebration for the Fourth of July today. We had champagne and celebration at 5:15. He also gave us pens commemorating this trip. Afterwards, it was time to go to supper and we had a delicious salmon. It was probably, almost likely, farm raised salmon and some of the best if not the best that I have ever tasted. We also had a good barley soup and then for dessert had a couple of different kinds of custard. Tom and I were sitting at the table by ourselves although close to the others. After finishing supper, we walked to the area where we could buy tea and coffee since I wanted a cup of tea. Then we sat for a little while there on the seventh deck looking out at the water. It began to rain and the boat was rocking a little bit which made it hard to walk. However, we safely walked back to the cabin and went to bed.
Tuesday, July 5
We crossed into the Arctic Circle today and had a ceremony on the boat.
(For more pictures of the ceremony, click on the image above.)
This was a quiet day for Tom and me. There was a walking tour with Chase of Bodo in the afternoon, but he said it was 2.8 miles in a city that was new since it had been totally destroyed in the war so it didn’t seem worth the walk to me. Also, it was raining as they set off although I think the rain stopped soon. After Bodo we passed a lighthouse and we were out in the open sea so the boat became a little less calm.
I spent some time on deck 7 just watching the scenery. Tom mostly slept. We had supper at 6:00. It wasn’t quite as good as it had been the last couple of nights. After supper, Chase gave a talk about the Germans in Norway during the war. Then, at about 9:15 we stopped in Svolvær.. there was a private museum of the war. The man who collected all the artifacts talked with us. He showed us a painting by Hitler and some carton characters Hitler had done. He also did not think that Hitler and Eva Braun had died in the bunker and showed us a picture of the house he thought they had lived in (I think in Argentina). We returned to the bus and I took a bath and went to bed. About 11 o’clock I looked out the window and realized that we were very close to the side of the fjord There had been discussion about going through the Troll fjord if the weather cooperated. When I saw the sides of the fjord so close to the ship I realized that we must be going through the Troll fjord. Tom woke up before midnight and we watched together as the fjord was very narrow and the sides were tall and very steep. It was breathtaking from our window and I was very sorry hat I had undressed and couldn’t go upstairs to watch.
(For more pictures of the Troll Fjord, click on the image above.)
Wednesday, July 6
This was a late sleeping day. We started about 11 or 1130 with a meeting, but then had lunch. We didn’t have anything really to do until about 2:15 when the boat docked at Tromso and we disembarked to walk around a little. We first went to a big rock that supposedly was connected to Carmen’s great-great-great grandfather.
He supposedly went to a bar and became obstreperous He was asked to leave, and it made him mad so he picked up this enormous rock and placed it against the front door so no one could get in or out. Chase had called a reporter who was going to interview Carmen as a direct descendant of this man. We walked around in Tromso seeing a statue of Ronald Amundsson, the captain of the Fram.
(For more pictures of Tromsø, click on the image above.)
We then went for a caviar tasting where a very composed 17-year-old fed us cod caviar and explained about cod fishing and drying. We tasted dried cod skin, which was somewhat like pork rinds. Some tasted the cod liver oil that was made there. Neither Tom nor I did.
After that we were free until 6:00 when we had to be on the boat for supper. Some went with Chase to a beer brewery, but Tom and I went to the polar museum which was interesting. It closed at 5:00 so we had only a short time there. Bernie and Carmen also went to the museum. After that, we looked into the gift shops for Tom to buy a mug. At the end, we split up. Tom kept shopping and I went back to the ship. We were both back by 6:00 for supper, and Tom found a mug he liked. After supper we watched a short documentary about the Sami people. We were supposed to have a talk by Chase about Norwegian politics, but the film took its place, and the talk will be tomorrow.
Thursday, July 7
We went to North Cape this morning. The drive was beautiful.
(For other pictures of the drive, click on the image above.)
It is almost exactly as far north as Point Barrow in Alaska and is the northern most point in Europe. It was very diferent from Point Barrow, which although almost exactly the same latidude and also at the summer solstice. Barrow had snow and ice. North cape was green and relatively warm. We went by bus. While there we saw a video of various scenes around the area—especially during the winter.
We then returned to the boat around 2:00. About 2:45 we went to see a short video about the Sami people. Then at 3:00 we had a lecture on Scandinavian politics—especially Norwegian—by Chase. The rest of the day we spent packing since we had to have our big suitcases out by the elevators by midnight.
Friday, July 8
A day to travel! We had to eat early to leave the boat by 9:00, but be out of our room by 8:00. The rest of the day was riding the bus. There was some rain, but we’ve had such good weather that we really can’t complain, and we were on the bus.. Before we left the town in which we docked, Kirkenes, we toured a bomb shelter and watched a short video about the bomb shelter. It was so cold in the bomb shelter that they supplied blankets while we watched the video. The bomb shelter was carved into the rock and was a long tunnel like a mine. There had been as many as 800 people in it at times during WWII.
(For more pictures of the bomb shelter, click on the image above.)
The people in this region of Norway are very friendly with the Russians. Our guide felt that bad feelings toward the Russians was just generated by politicians. We crossed the border into Finland with a small celebratio
We then drove a couple of hours to a campground where we had a very good lunch of reindeer casserole and other foods including Finnish pancakes with Lincoln berries and whipped cream.
After lunch, back on the bus for a couple of hours more to the Wilderness Hotel where we will stay for two nights. They have cabins here that have glass roofs for watching the Northern Lights however we stayed in a hotel building. Our first reaction to our room was how big it was after our cabins on the boat. Tom and I went over to the main building about 6:30 for dinner at 7:00 and visited with the others especially Tui and Tom Cotton. Supper was a very good: mushroom soup, salmon (somewhat good), and cheesecake (not too good). We then returned to our room to go to bed.
Sunday, July 9
Today was to be reindeer day! There was a hike, but we didn’t do the hike. Chance had said it was about 3 kilometers and we preferred to sleep. Our bus driver spoke only Finnish and Chance didn’t speak any Finnish so there was some miscommunication. The driver was supposed to drive back to The Wilderness Hotel to pick us up and then go back and pick up the hikers, but he thought he was picking up another group and told us to get off the bus so he had to come back for us after he picked up our hikers. Once we were all aboard, we wet to the Sami museum. It was very interesting and well done, but the guide was difficult to hear. There was an inside part and an outside part which had several buildings that had been moved from their original location.
We had lunch at the museum. After lunch we drove out to the Raindeer Man. We didn’t se a herd of raindeer, but we did get to pet and feed the ten or so that we saw. We were taken to a round building with tables where the Raindeer Man and his wife served us tea and coffee with a cookie using cups shaped in the Norwegian form. The traditional cups are made from the burr in maple trees and handed down in families.
(For more pictures of the Raindeer Man and reindeer, click on the image above.)
We went back to the hotel for an hour or so before heading out to our home hosted meals. There were three separate homes. Tom and I were in the last group and had a short walk to reach our home. It was overlooking a lake with a sauna house even closer to the lake. They had built the house as a duplex so that they could rent the other half. They had two very friendly dogs who were cordoned of in their own room.
Unfortunately there was a steep walk down to the house and an equally steep walk back up from the house. After supper we were picked up by the bus and taken back to the hotel where we finished packing We have to have our bags out in the hall by 6:30 in the morning. We can eat breakfast starting at 6:00 and must be on the bus by 7:00.
Sunday, July 10
Today is the day we fly to Helsinki. The airport in Inolda was not very busy—somewhat like Jackson--and we had no trouble getting through security. As we left the airport, we headed for the city and the restaurant at which we ate. It was a buffet at what was essentially a cafe. Our local guide did not show up so Chase and Sacki ( the driver) gave a n impromtu tour. Our first stop was the Lutheran church, which was built as an Orthodox Church, but is now Lutheran.
We got off the bus to see the Olympic stadium built for the 1952 Olympics. We drove by the train station and other buildings.
We next exited the bus to see the Sibelius monument which appeared to be a collection of organ pipes which resonate when the wind blows just right and a bust of Sibelius.
(For more pictures of the monument, click on the image above.)
We came to the hotel after the bus tour. Some joined Chase to find a place for supper, but Tom and I went to a grocery store on a corner about a block from the hotel and bought milk and cherries which we had for supper.
Monday, July 11
Tom and I had pretty much decided that we weren’t going on the tour today, but when we arrived in the dining room for breakfast, we found that the schedule had changed. Instead of walking to the library and then taking the ferry to the fortress island, we had a guide who was going to take us to the church in the rock and then the library and island. Since I wanted to see the church, I decided to go with the group, but Tom didn’t. He was going to find his own way to the island. The church was actually built into the rocks and had a copper dome. It had a balcony across the back.
(For more pictures of the church, click on the image above.)
We walked to the area with the Music Center and the library next. Our guide talked all the way. Chase had to ask her to walk slower twice. The Music Center and Library were near each other as well as the Sibelius Academy.
The library was fantastic! It had materials and places for many activities including 3-D printing, multimedia work, computers, vinyl cutting, large printing, music rooms and instruments, and probably more.
(For more picdtures of the library, click on the image above.)
After the library, we took the tram and at the end of the ride said goodbye to our guide. On our walk to the harbor we stopped for lunch. I went with Uie and Tom Cotton to a cafe for lunch. I had Beyond Meat patties, which were adequate. When we finisted we walked back to meet Chase and the others. While we waited we watched the military bands in a special presentation that was a big deal.
We walked to the harbor and took the ferry to the island. I had really just wanted to go to the island and see the view, so when I saw that going anywhere on the island involved a walk up a hill, I decided to go back to the hotel.
(For more pictures of the view from the boat, click on the image above.)
The Cottons and Chase were somewhat concerned about my going alone, but I did. I stopped near the harbor to buy some postcards for the grandchildren. I had little trouble finding the way, but I did get very tired—probably dehydrated—so I stopped at an ice cream stand to sit for awhile and have a Diet Coke. When I stood up and started walking again the Cottons caught up with me. They luckily had working phones and used their maps to find the correct street for the last part of the trip. Chase’s directions had not been very good. They stopped for ice cream, but I went on to the hotel. Tom was in the room. He had not succeeded in reaching the harbor, but he had had an interesting encounter with a young couple with a baby who said they were Ukrainien and had just been here for two days. They said they had gone first to Poland and then to Estonia and had nothing. We went down at 6:00 to listen to a teacher talk about the Finnish education system then have Chase give a quick overview of the trip before our farewell dinner. We leave at 9:00 in the morning.
Tuesday, July 12
We left in a car with only us since the others had different flight times. Our flight was at about 12:00 so we weren’t rushed. We had decided to check both our bags and that was a great decision since we had nothing to carry. Since we had so much time, we found a lounge where we were able to wait in relative comfort until flight time. The flight was on time and perfectly boring all the way to Dallas. At Dallas we had a relatively long wait, so again we found a lounge where we relaxed and had a little food since our flight wasn’t until about 9:00 and we would not be fed on the flight. Again, the flight was on time and perfectly boring. The only hitch was that when we received our bags in Jackson my bag had been demolished. The entire zipper for the main part of the suitcase had been torn off. There was another bag in the same shape. Luckily, nothing seemed to have fallen out of my bag. Pat Warren picked us up and we were home by about 11:30.