Tromsø and end of Hurtigruten Ferry

The last morning of our Coastal Express Ferry as we depart the Lofototen Islands near Hastad.
And looking the other direction. It is our first overcast day and a little windy day so…
…Back to relaxing with a view on the Stressless lounge chairs! Thanks Hurtigruten for your West Coast Voyage!
In Tromsø, we stayed at the With Hotel (as in Richard) by Clarion Home. We had a room with a view!!!! The hotel included a nice afternoon FIKA – dessert with coffee/tea. It also included a pleasant pasta dinner, salad, soup, breads as well as a lovely breakfast buffet. Very quiet, comfortable and enjoyable! Was it some VIP’s birthday–check the date of this post?
We learned more about harsh life and polar exploration above the Arctic Circle at The Polar Museum. Well worth our time.
Helmer Hanssen participated on the first three of Roald Amundsen’s polar expeditions. He was one of the five-man team that were the first to reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911. He lived until 1956!
The town was set up for a weekend music festival: Rakettnatt. Does that translate to Racket Night – ha!! We stopped by to assist the musicians tune the mikes with a sound check.
A music store display with the reflections of the pedestrian area of Tromsø. And Motown from Michigan! Hello Detroit by Sammy Davis Jr.
We enjoyed the Tromsø Harbour from our hotel room with a glass of wine. Very peaceful and relaxing evening.
We bought a 24-hour bus pass and crossed over the bridge to see the cathedral up close. We also enjoyed the view back towards the city.
We took the bus in the morning to Arctic-Alpine Botanical-Garden, the world’s most northern botanic garden. Wow – what a goregous arrangement of plants from all over the world! Grouped by Continents. And such a perfect day to enjoy wandering outdoors!

Above the Arctic Circle on Hurtigruten Ferry

Arctic Circle Crossing! Around 8 AM and another beautiful day to celebrate this moment!
So much blue!
We are enjoying all the islands with this amazing clear weather! Near Bodø – along the way to our first stop above the Arctic Circle. At this Latitude the tree line is at around 200m (600 feet) above sea level, compared to 11,000-12,000 feet in Colorado!!
We had some time to explore the modern town of Bodø . Felt good to stretch our legs! Of course we found a nice bakery for a nice sampling of their pastries.
WHOA! We have now entered the Lofototen archipelago, cheering as another Hurtigruten ship passed by with this impressive backdrop.
We docked at Svolvær for an evening stroll under the almost endless evening twilight of the Arctic dusk.
A magical time without trolls. We crossed through the Trollfjord in darkness on our last night onboard for us… next up Tromsø.

Tronheim and Hurtigruten Ferry

Sailing into Trondheim we received an informational talk about the history and various uses of Munkholmen (Monk Island). The islet has served as a monastery, a fortress, a prison, and a World War II anti-aircraft gun station. Today, Munkholmen is a popular tourist attraction but we are going to enjoy walking around Trondheim.
Loved the colors! Trondheim Bakkandeyt. Trondheim is Norway’s third largest city with a large student population attending its highly regarded universities.
Trondheim’s Gamle Bybro (old town bridge, 1861) over the Nidelva River led to great areas on both sides to stroll: cafes, boutiques, and restaurants.
The Nidarosdomen (Catherdral) the world’s most northerly Gothic church. Work on the church started in 1035 as a humble wooden chapel on the burial site of St Olav, the King, martyred in 1330. It was finished some time around 1300.
Another King – OlavTyggvason – founded the city in 997. Not saintly! But he did try to bring Christianity to this part of Norway.
Very fun “Street Art” umbrellas – colorful and eye catching. Luckily we didn’t need any of them on such a clear day.
Finally onboard relaxing again!
Passing the Kjeungskjær Lighthouse, built in 1880 – an octagonal shape. Nicely silhouetted against the glare of the afternoon sun.

Coastal Fjords on Hurtigruten Ferry

Late afternoon boarding in Bergen on Hurtigruten’s Richard With. Named after the Ferry Line founder who started the original Coastal Express in 1893: provided regular shipping service along with Postal delivery along Norway’s long coast.
Leaving Bergen as the sun was setting. We feel like we are following the Hansiatic on our own voyage.
Enjoying one of the nearby harbor bridges at sunset.
We woke to a perfect morning to cruise the fjords. The Coastal Express is still a Post service as this is the easiest way to reach some of the rural areas along the rugged coast.
Geirangerfjord – UNESCO world heritage site. Our port stop was only for passengers disembarking for a land excursion tour while the rest continued enjoying the fjord cruise back towards Alesund.
Luckily we spent 2 nights here in 2023. We have the same picture of the road into town!
Seven Sister Waterfalls (fussens) was spectacular in full sunshine.
Really a gorgeous day to be on deck and watch the world cruise by…
…Or hang out in the lounge in some nice Ekornes Stressless chairs! The coveted seats in the lounge and bar at the bow of the ship. We passed this way also in 2023 and saw where the chairs were manufactured.
An evening walk on shore at Alesund while the boat waited for us. More of Alesund from our visit in 2023.

Bergen Norway 2025

Sunshine greeted us on our return to Norway! This is the historic Bryggen area of the Hansiatic merchants from the 13th century. Today the city of Bergen is Norway’s second largest.
By 1250 the Hansiatic League had established themselves here – stockfish (cod) from northern Norway was traded for grain from the Baltics as well as luxury goods from England and Flanders. We toured preserved trading rooms and cookhouses in the Schotstue complex.
The fish market is still thriving – since the 1500s -it is a good area for some fish and chips! and people watching.
Overlooking the Vagen Harbor – what a view! What a day!
We stayed on the other side of the channel and crossed over this interesting pedestrian bridge. It is opening for the sail boats to access the harbor and the North Sea.
Live, Play, and Dream!  ‘Livet, leiken og draumane’ by Arne Maeland was nearby on the boardwalk. Seems like good advice: What is life without games and dreams?

Munich – Germany – Alps 32

Munich! We are starting our visit to the city at the 1972 Olympic Park. We have come full circle in the last 8 weeks on our Tour of the Alps: Anger and Almbach – Germany – Alps 1
This is where it happened: Remember the swimmer who won seven gold medals here, each setting world-record times?
Interesting glass roofs were ahead of their time in 1972.
The clouds made the tower look a bit surreal – like it was a spaceship landing.
The day cleared up nicely for a picnic lunch enjoying the Olympic Park.
BMW Welt is in the same area and was fun to visit as well as tour the BMW museum.
There is lots of BMW to turn your head here – classics to Mini’s to Rolls Royce to cars of the future.
Elvis’s US Army tour had him serving in Germany in 1958, where he bought this little sports car for his R&R . Rediscovered in 2008, it was meticulously restored and has been featured here for the last 10 years. You can sing “Return to Sender” while it sparkles in the lights.
BMW Isetta from 1958, could have been a more practical option.  The front is the door and it seats two.
The advertising for the car all had people stretching thru the sun roofs. Oh what fun!
In the center of Munich is Marienplatz with the eye catching Neues Rathaus (City Hall).
The Rathaus-Glockenspiel is a large mechanical clock. There are lots of people in the square but the clock only performs twice a day.
Munich was pretty much completely rebuilt after WWII in the traditional style.
The Ägyptische Museum (Egyptian) is an amazing collection, organized to give us greater appreciation of the type of art being showcased.
No trip to Munich in October is possibly complete without a stop at a beer garden. After a wander through the English Gardens, we thought we should enjoy this fabulous ambiance from the Seeshaus with some Bavarian Paulaner! Prost –

Ludwig’s Castles – Germany – Alps 31

The fairy tale Neuschwanstein Castle is near the neighboring town of Fussen.
Bavarian King Ludwig II put his heart and soul as well as much money into this gorgeous unfinished castle on this amazing site.
We are seeing it from Mary’s bridge, mid morning just as the sun is rising over the mountain.
We will enjoy viewing it from many angles as we walk to the front door.
It looks a bit different from the front with the red brick wall.
We met some tourists from Singapore doing the Alpine tour – it was fun to chat with them.
The view from Neuschwanstein Castle looks down on his childhood home, nestled nicely on another hill overlooking the lake with the Austrian Alps as a backdrop.
It is also a stately looking castle. Fussen area had many happy memories for Ludwig II. A related fact is that his cousin was Elizabeth, who grew up nearby, married Franz Joseph – a Hapsburg King – to become Empress ‘Sisi’ of Austria.
  Schloss Linderhof is where King Ludwig II actually lived. The family hunting lodge was on this location but he had another vision.
His idol was the French Sun-King Louis XIV and he sought to recreate his favorite parts of Versailles here.
A bit over the top in a wonderful Baroque way. We enjoyed an English tour of the inside to see the wonderful elaborate Rococo rooms. We couldn’t take photos but you can see some here.
We could appreciate some of the gardens – can you imagine strolling in 1876?
Very regal.