We’re home now, and it’s time to write about our Scandinavian saga…

As much as I looked forward to being on our cruise, I’m genuinely happy to be home again. I think two week vacations are a bit much for me. On the other hand, I can’t think of a single segment of our trip that I’d want to omit. We had a good time in Oslo and Bergen before we got on our cruise. I’m actually kind of glad we were in Norway first, as judging by the sounds of some of our fellow passengers, I would have gotten a cold on the ship. It was better to endure the first part of that ordeal on dry land, even if I was sick on my birthday!

Bill has gone to fetch Noyzi, and I’m sitting here wondering how to start this series. I read through my older posts and it looks like I did a pretty good job covering most of the Norway portion of our trip. So maybe instead of doing what I usually do and writing a blow by blow for each day, I’ll just be more concise. It’s not like I get tons of readers, anyway.

So, to sum up our trip–

*It started on June 16th with two nights in Oslo, a rather gritty city that was surprisingly hot during our visit. I saw many electric cars in Norway, but especially in Oslo! I think they are definitely the wave of the future. We stayed in the Saga Hotel in Oslo, which was a Best Western affiliated hotel in a residential area of town. There was no air conditioning, which made things kind of unpleasant, as it was hot in the room, and noisy outside.

*On June 18th, we took the Bergensbanen, an electric train, on a 6.5 hour trip from Oslo to Bergen. It’s said to be the most scenic train journey in Europe. We were in a private compartment, because by the time I booked in late April, the individual seats were all taken. We liked the compartment, except for the jerk who parked himself in front of our window during the most beautiful parts of the trip. I still managed to get some lovely photos. Pro-tip– if you ever take this trip yourself, make sure you have some local currency or bring along some food. The credit card machine went down during our journey, so we couldn’t buy lunch. I was CRANKY when we arrived in Bergen.

*We arrived in Bergen during the afternoon of the 18th. I booked us at the Clarion Hotel Havnekontoret. It’s in a historic building, and offers some unusual perks. They have a snack during the afternoon and a no frills evening dinner. Both, along with breakfast, are included in the room rate. Once again, the room lacked air conditioning, which I would have expected in Norway, of course. But since it was warm there, it was not very comfortable, and it was even louder there than it was in Oslo. If you ever stay at this hotel, be sure to go to the rooftop and see the views of the harbor area. Next door is an excellent museum that is worth a visit. There’s also a beautiful Lutheran church right there, also worth a visit. Bergen offers a lot of things to do, and we would have done a lot more, if I hadn’t gotten sick. But beware of the throngs of cruise passengers! 😉

*On June 22, we flew on a very uncomfortable, tiny plane from Bergen to Stockholm to stay for our free night at the Nobis Hotel. I say it was “free”, but actually we paid for it by booking concierge class on Regent Seven Seas Splendor. I was a little worried about the process of checking in because we were there due to the cruise. There was no problem, though. We just mentioned Regent; they found our names; and it was all set. Our night at the hotel was fine. They gave us vouchers that helped offset the cost of a late lunch. I really enjoyed the bar, as the bartender made some wonderful, unique cocktails. My favorite was the Strawberry Basil Smash, but I also loved the Stockholm cocktail. Both were very refreshing designer cocktails. I wish we’d spent at least one more night in Stockholm. I didn’t get to see much of it.

*On June 23, we were transported by bus to Regent Seven Seas Splendor at Stockholm’s port. It was at this point that I really started getting a strong hit of our fellow Americans. I don’t spend a lot of time with Americans in my everyday life, so it was a bit of a shock. Mainly, I was just surprised by just how LOUD Americans are. Everywhere we sat, we heard other people’s conversations, complaints about jobs, family members, and business deals. The funny thing is we managed to fool quite a few Europeans by acting like Germans. I also noticed that on this cruise, we didn’t really make any new friends. The couples we talked to were all from Europe, too! But I was grateful that there wasn’t any obvious political chatter. I also noticed that Regent seems to be extremely LGBTQ friendly. There were a lot of same sex couples aboard, having a good time!

Now that I’ve gotten to the cruise portion of the trip, I’m going to start my series with that, since I have many pictures to share. Then, I will be discussing our hotels and restaurants in more detail, in case anyone’s interested in booking any of them. I may also offer some commentary on attractions we visited. Writing about this trip may keep me busy for the rest of July! 😀

Below are some more photos that I didn’t share in earlier posts. The first batch includes Oslo and Bergen pics…

*“Fat here”? I bet someone did some impromptu editing…*

*My birthday dinner. Lovely presentation, but I had to send it back for more heat.*

*I hated these in our Jettingen house, but liked them in the Stockholm hotel.*

Phew… got a lot more to write. See you tomorrow!

Champagne Bucket trips

City number 2… Bergen, Norway…

Bill and I got to the train station bright and early this morning, ready to catch our 8:23 AM train to Bergen. The train, just like a lot of the cars, runs on electricity. It’s very quiet, and doesn’t run very fast, so the trip took until just after 3:00 PM. Our cab driver this morning had a Virginia ball cap on. He said he’d just been to Richmond to visit his son, who lives there. Crazy coincidence, since I’m from Virginia myself.

The train journey made me nervous, but I also eagerly anticipated it. I had read a lot about how beautiful the journey is. Now, I can say with certainty that it IS a beautiful, scenic ride. However, some people are incredibly focused on themselves. That truism was driven home as the Spanish guy in the next train compartment parked himself in front of our door and window for a long time, seemingly oblivious that he was blocking the view. That was very annoying, especially when people needed to pass him, and he’d lean on our door. I don’t know why he thought it would be okay to camp out there, especially since he had his own window. My guess is that he figured his wife would object.

I did manage to get a lot of stunning photos, though… and I also got a few videos. The scenery from the train does change with the seasons, so I might be persuaded to do it again in a different season. I’m also glad we had a compartment, as it mostly minimized irritation.

We arrived in Bergen cranky and hungry, because the credit card machine on board went down and Bill didn’t have any local currency. We did manage to get some snacks in the morning, but we missed lunch. I was in a foul mood when we disembarked, because I was a bit hangry.

But, after a slightly annoying check in at our hotel, we managed to find an Irish pub that was playing really nostalgic 90s era music. Bill loved it. I felt a little better after a blood sugar bump, then we went to the fish market and had some seafood for dinner. It wasn’t the best I’ve ever had, but it was good enough.

It’s going on 8 PM now, and we’re both tired. I think we’ll turn in early. I hope there won’t be a lot of noise.

Here are some photos from today’s adventure…

Uncategorized

Busy day in Oslo…

It’s about 8:30 PM, and we’re back from our one full day in Oslo. There’s a lot we could have done, as Oslo has many museums and activities for the curious. But Bill and I are old, and we really enjoy people watching and doing our own thing. So that’s kind of what we did today. We walked down to the center of Oslo, right by Aker Brygge, and enjoyed the day.

After a leisurely breakfast, which starts at 8 AM at our hotel on weekends, we stopped at the Historical Museum, mainly because I needed to pee. But I reminded Bill that we stopped for the same reason in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at the Museum of Modern Art. Many years later, he still talks about that visit in Puerto Rico. Today’s museum visit was very informative and interesting; we learned about Samurai Warriors, among many other things. But it was also a very handy stop for a whiz…

We had a healthy lunch at a fast food/smoothie/ bowl/wrap restaurant. Bill’s lunch was vegan, while mine had chicken in it. They were delicious bowls, which we washed down with water. Then, afterward, we took a two hour cruise around the Oslo Fjord, and met an American couple from Idaho, and a German couple. We don’t know where the German speaking couple was from, but the wife was a total hoot and very funny. I got some nice photos, although I think our Bergen pictures will be even more impressive.

After the cruise, we walked around for a bit, then stopped at a place called Beer Palace and enjoyed some beers. Then we went to an Italian restaurant called Papyon and had a less expensive and lower frills dinner than last night’s French extravaganza. Every bar seemed to be showing the Norway vs. Scotland football team. Lots of incredibly beautiful women are here, too.

We’ll be getting up early tomorrow, packing our bags, and heading to Bergen for the next four nights. I’m really looking forward to it. I have a feeling it will be amazing.

Below is a sampling of photos from today… When I do the blow by blow later, there will probably be more.

Champagne Bucket trips

Norway or bust…

Hello, folks. We arrived in Norway yesterday afternoon after a brief delay in Frankfurt. We’re in a hotel in a residential area that seems deceptively quiet, but wasn’t last night. It was light out again at 3:00 AM, too. But, I did manage to get some pretty photos as we were flying into the airport yesterday. We also had a very expensive, but delicious dinner at a French restaurant, where we found a new wine that we both love. So, so far, it’s been nice… albeit very expensive.

Today, I think we’ll walk down to the water… maybe see if we can arrange a short cruise around the local fjords. Or maybe we’ll just do a lot of people watching. I don’t remember Oslo being so busy, last time we were here. It’s also very warm here. Thank God I threw a couple of extra pairs of shorts in my luggage. But it’s not a given that the weather will be warm in June. Last time we came here, we had to buy warmer clothes. That was a June visit, too.

Below are some photos from yesterday… I’m already crafting the story in my head.

*Noyzi was delighted to go to the Hundepension.*

We had dinner at a very cute French place called Brasserie Blanche. There was a large group of very loud women sitting near us. They seemed to be very friendly co-workers, throwing a party for a departing friend. I felt like I was back in the U.S., listening to them talk. They were so noisy! But they were having a good time, and again, we did have an excellent bottle of wine to help ease the pain.

Bill says dinner was about $229. Youch!

Of course, when we are home again in early July, I will write a more detailed accounting of this saga… if I still remember everything!

Champagne Bucket trips, trip planning

In case you needed a reminder… Scandinavia is EXPENSIVE.

The featured photo was taken on a day cruise we took in Oslo, Norway, back in 2009.

It’s not so often that I travel blog during the work week. We have the pandemic to thank for that, as it made taking normal trips a lot more difficult for the past couple of years. In 2023, things are pretty much back in full swing. I expect Europe will be, once again, teeming with people this summer. In fact, I expect there will be more people than ever.

A week ago, we did a champagne bucket draw, and Finland won. That meant planning a trip that included a stop in Finland. I marvel at the changes our plans have undergone within about ten days. We went from planning a Helsinki based trip that would include land based stops in the Baltic countries, to pulling the trigger on a luxury cruise, with a week in Norway beforehand.

When you see the words “luxury cruise” in my blog post, of course it goes without saying that this trip is going to be pricey. We are going to sail on Regent Seven Seas’ newest completed ship, Splendor, in June. An even newer ship, Grandeur, will be sailing this year, but I don’t think she’s had her maiden voyage yet. So, as of this writing, Splendor, which was built in 2020, is Regent’s newest. This will also be the newest ship we’ve ever sailed on, as we usually opt for either SeaDream or Hebridean Island Cruises, both of which offer luxury on much smaller and older vessels.

One of many Regent Splendor cruise ship tour videos on YouTube.

I chose this particular cruise on Regent mostly because of the itinerary, which includes a stop in Helsinki, as well as most of the Baltic locations we wanted to visit, along with a couple of other stops. It’s not our first Baltic cruise, though.

Our very first cruise was on Royal Caribbean’s Vision of the Seas, back in 2009, and that was also a Baltic cruise. It was only four nights, and included stops in Tallin, Estonia and Copenhagen, Denmark, with embarkation in Oslo, Norway, and debarkation in Stockholm, Sweden. On that trip, we spent a couple of nights in Oslo, which we both really enjoyed. The cruise was loaded with Norwegians, and we found that we really enjoyed their joie de vivre. 😉 Later, we encountered a friendly bunch of them on our second SeaDream cruise and vowed we’d visit Norway again. So that’s why we’re doing a week in Norway, too… and staying longer, so we can see more of Norway than just the city of Oslo. Below are a few photos from our cruise from Norway to Sweden in 2009… As you can see, I need to take more photos of beautiful Norway, at the very least! That was before I had an iPhone.

When I saw Regent’s June 23 Stockholm to Copenhagen cruise, I knew it was a no brainer to book it, because I was finding it very difficult to plan a land based trip including Finland and the Baltics… And yes, before anyone comes at me, I know there’s a large body of water we’d have to cross to get to the Baltics. I was planning a few days in Finland, then a ferry ride to Tallin, where I naively thought we could arrange train travel or maybe rent a car or something… At this writing, a train route is being constructed to make that vision come to fruition in the future. As of now, though, it’s just not convenient. 😉 I also realized Bill wouldn’t want to be driving so much, and I wouldn’t want to be flying so much.

The cruise solution was simply more practical, and it was available during the time we wanted to travel. And– we had the money to pay for it, thanks to a big tax refund. Even better was the fact that the sailing I found was on sale… which was a damned good thing. In fact, I should have waited another week, because the price went down again, and it was quite a significant drop! Some people would probably tell me to cancel and rebook, but I’ve already had lots of words with my bank. Oh well… you win some, you lose some.

Anyway… last night, we were trying to decide how long we wanted to stay in the places we’re visiting before the cruise, and how we wanted to travel to them. It didn’t take us long to decide to visit Bergen, which is a very beautiful city on Norway’s west coast that offers enchanting scenery, fresh seafood, and lots to do. However, from Oslo, it takes seven hours to drive there or take the train. We could also fly; that takes just an hour. But if we fly, we’ll miss the incredibly beautiful scenery on the way, and have to deal with everything that flying entails nowadays.

I thought maybe we’d drive and stop somewhere on the way, maybe do some exploration. Unfortunately, renting a car in Norway, especially for a one way trip with drop off in another city, is VERY expensive. Gas and food are also very expensive in Norway, plus there are tolls on the road we’d be using.

The route from Oslo to Bergen is also rather devoid of places to stay. There are a lot of apartments to rent, and a few hotels that are either in the middle of nowhere or have dodgy reviews. I wouldn’t mind renting an apartment, but I’d hate to do that for just an overnight. Most of the ones I found were pretty bare bones, too. I did manage to find several hotels that allowed me to book now and pay later, and can be canceled up to the day of arrival. Clarion Hotels for the win! They even have a hotel out in the middle of nowhere that I considered booking, but then I thought again.

Finally, I think we decided we’d just take the train… which means we now have to decide if we want to leave at 8:23AM or 12:05PM. The later trip is notably less expensive, but slower. I suspect we’ll go for the morning time, so we can get to Bergen in the afternoon. If we wanted to spend another night in Oslo, we could get a really (relatively) cheap train fare… but then we’d be paying for another night in Oslo, which is legitimately a nice city, but one we’ve already seen. It’s not a super pretty town, either, although I do remember enjoying the day cruise we took on the Oslo Fjord in 2009.

So, once I found a hotel that offers parking, in case we drive after all, I went to book plane tickets. A flight from Bergen to Stockholm takes one hour and twenty minutes. I found seats on SAS– Scandinavian Airlines (although when I hear SAS, it reminds me of a cursed statistics program I had to use in grad school). I tried to book with my PenFed card, but for some reason, PenFed refuses to send texts with codes to overseas phone numbers, nor will they send the confirmation codes to emails. So that means I can’t authorize charges through their stupid two factor authentication program.

I went to USAA, which did successfully send me a text. But, even though I entered all of my information, gave them a fingerprint, and tried to authorize the charge, they still declined it and blocked my card. At 10PM, I was calling USAA– for the second time in a week– to ask them to unblock my card and authorize payment, so we can get from Bergen to Stockholm. The lady I spoke to last night was very nice and professional, unlike the other person I talked to a few days ago, who was quite rude to me.

We finally got the plane tickets sorted, and now we just have to confirm where we’ll be sleeping for our night in Stockholm. I had wanted to stay longer in Stockholm, since we never really got to see the city when we were there in 2009, but that would have meant arranging for another night there. Our night in Stockholm is already included in our cruise fare, so adding another would mean going to another hotel or paying more to Regent. I think we’d prefer another night in Bergen, anyway.

All that’s left to do now is buy train tickets, or arrange for a car to get us from Oslo to Bergen. I’ve even mostly paid off the credit card companies. I paid off the deposit and Lufthansa tickets last week, which I booked through PenFed. Then, this morning, I accidentally paid USAA for the rest of the cruise fare. I had only meant to send them $1000 today, but ended up requesting to pay the whole bill. Luckily, there was enough money to pay for it. Thanks again to Bill’s decision to pay taxes all year and get a refund, we had the cash available. Edited to add: I just got us our train tickets… good thing, too, because the seats were already sold out, and I had to get us a compartment for six people instead. That was another $500. At least it’s changeable and refundable.

Living in Germany sure has been good for us…

But dammit… the fares went down 2,000 euros this week!!!!

Oh well. We’re sure to have a great time. I look forward to blogging about it, and experiencing new places on a different cruise line. I’ll be surprised if I’ll want to give up small ship cruising for Regent permanently, but we’ll see. I suspect that if I ever spot a hot deal like the one they’re offering right now for our cruise, I’ll want to jump on it. Especially if we have the money!

If you’re curious about what we’re in for on our journey from Oslo to Bergen, have a look at a couple of videos… I think it will be unforgettable.

Let’s hope for sunny weather!

Looks good!

And yes, I know we don’t have to spend this much money to have a good time… but I have definitely done my fair share of cheap traveling. It’s nice to have an upgraded experience, and I’m grateful we have the opportunity. We never thought the day would come.

Utah

"Dirty art"…

Warning… this post includes photos of naked people depicted in murals and sculptures, all of which were photographed in public places in Europe. If you are offended by artistic nudity, please move on to your next stop on the World Wide Web.

Just a few minutes ago, I was staring at this blog, trying to decide if I wanted to post anything today. I’ve pretty much milked our recent trip for all its worth, after all. And then I visited one of my favorite online hangouts and quickly got inspired.

Someone had posted an article from KSL.com about residents in Coalville, Utah whose city was beautified by a statue called “Leaf Dancer”. Artist Milt Neely had made an abstract sculpture of a woman wearing leaves. Apparently, some of the local residents felt the statue was “immodest”, so they began collecting old clothes, which they then used to dress the statue.

The artist apparently doesn’t mind that his artwork is being altered. He says he wants people to talk about his art; otherwise why do it? I have to admit he has a point… although to me it does seem very disrespectful to take it upon yourself to cover up someone’s else’s artwork.

It then occurred to me that if any of the folks who felt that statue was “immodest” ever went to Florence, Italy, they would be in for a real eyeful. Bill and I toured a museum in Florence that featured works by Michaelangelo… nude statues that displayed the human body in all its naked glory… I have to admit, I’ve been married for ten years and I was a little awestruck by the sight of some of that art.

Two murals we saw in a Florence cathedral… The residents of Coalville would be scandalized!

On the other hand, I guess there is something to be said for having fun with art. Case in point, Mannekin Pis in Brussels, Belgium regularly gets dressed in outfits that come from around the world. Mannekin Pis wasn’t dressed when Bill and I visited him in 2008.

Mannekin Pis

Jeanneke Pis

God bless the Belgians!!

A storefront in Venice. The mannequin is wearing a pair of sparkly undies that says “I love my president…”

I guess if the artist isn’t concerned about it and the community likes it, it’s okay to cover up the “dirty art” in Coalville, Utah. At least they’re doing it with a sense of fun and not shaming the poor artist for being too “immodest” with his vision of his artwork. But it also drives home to me that I would probably hate living in Utah or any other place where people are so squeamish about “modesty”. I think it’s a stretch calling “Leaf Dancer” immodest… and feeling the need to cover up an abstract statue is weird and ridiculous. The female form isn’t nasty and sculptures aren’t actual humans. It’s the same kind of nonsense as the mom I blogged about who complained that her daughter’s Barbie dolls were akin to porn.

A naked statue in Norway.

This sculpture was in Liechtenstein…

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: Oslo