Zion National Park

The route from Bryce Canyon to Zion National Park only takes about four hours, through some broad valleys surrounded by low mountains. The car had a light dusting of frost as we left the parking lot. By the time we got to Zion, the temperatures were in the '80s.
Within Zion Park is a section called Kolob Canyons, we we visited first. Both areas are striking with steep cliffs of red sandstone with deep canyons carved by eons of water coursing through them. The Kolob Canyon has about a five-mile driving tour and takes little time to cover.
Zion Park, on the other hand, does not permit vehicular traffic past its parking lots and camp grounds. Instead, visitors are transported by shuttle bus along the Zion Canyon route to eight points of interest, getting on and off whenever the spirit moves. We stopped at three, two of which were outstanding. One was "Weeping Rock", which as the name implies, has water seeping out along the wall of the cliff in the more porous layers of sediment. Beneath the weeping rock was a small grotto into which we could go to watch from behind.
The other outstanding stop was the final one of the route which offers a two-mile round trip walk along the Virgin River past contrasting environments of swamp and desert to "The Narrows" where the river flows through such a narrow canyon that hikers have to wade in the river to continue. We decided to forego that pleasure and walked back to the shuttles. Along the way we encountered fat squirrels and at least one deer.
The only downside of Zion National Park is that its parking capacity is limited. If one arrives after 10 am, one must park in the local community of Springdale and take another shuttle bus to the park itself. Even with the shuttle transportation, we still managed to clock in 6.26 walking miles.

Bryce Canyon National Park

We stayed overnight at the Bryce Canyon Grand Hotel, one of the nicest Best Western hotels we've seen. It is just a five mile drive to the park entrance. Bryce Canyon National Park extends along another part of the Colorado Plateau and is at the upper level of the Grand Staircase. Once an area covered by lakes and rivers, silt and mud were deposited in layers. When the Utah part of the Colorado Plateau was uplifted, erosion of the relatively soft rock began, shaping the distinct landscape dotted with spires called "hoodoos".
Following more good advice, we drove the fifteen miles to the end of the auto route to Rainbow Point and worked backward, stopping at a total of eight viewpoints. Along the way we encountered deer and chipmunks and birds similar to the Eastern Nuthatch. As predicted, the viewing points became more crowded as we got closer to the beginning of the auto route, so we headed back to the hotel.
After lunch we rested, watched some football, and in the late afternoon returned to see Sunrise Point and Sunset Point, conveniently located a half mile from each other. Sunset Point was already getting crowded again, so we headed back, catching another group of deer having a late afternoon snack. Our grand total walking mileage, according to my pedometer, was 5.6 miles.
Our next stop will be Zion National Park.

Capitol Reef and Grand Staircase

This day's journey took us from Moab, UT (The Arches and Canyonlands National Parks) through the Capitol Reef National Park and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument to Bryce Canyon National Park. It was essentially a half day's driving along some very twisting highways and more beautiful scenery.
Capital Reef was named for a line of white domes and cliffs of Navajo Sandstone, each of which looks somewhat like the United States Capitol building. The local word reef refers to any rocky barrier to travel. Its history includes abandoned Indian settlements with a few petroglpyhs, and pioneering settlements, also abandoned, by the Mormons, whose crops included peaches (the orchard is still there producing fruit). In the twentieth century uranium was discovered. It is a popular hiking area so we found the Visitors Center awash with hikers checking the condition of trails.
The Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument is one of the most recent areas to come under Federal protection. Part of the name comes from the Escalante River which flows through the northern region of the area. The Grand Staircase is derived from the series of five geographical plateaus which step upward from the highest level of the Grand Canyon area to at least 9,600 feet (the highest pass over which we traveled). Along the way, the plateaus when exposed do look like steps, and in the highest level the views overlooking the valleys and canyons below were breathtaking. As an additional bonus, the leaves of the aspen trees in the mountains had turned to their gorgeous golden color.
Our exploration of Bryce Canyon begins tomorrow.

Arches and Canyonlands

Our second day in Moab, UT, a town nestled in a valley between two imposing rock walls, dawned with me feeling considerably better. After our Holiday Inn Express breakfast (the food actually tasted good) we drove a short distance to the Arches National Park. Unlike the natural bridges which actually connect two areas, a geological arch is one that nature has carved over millennia into some of the massive red sandstone monoliths that are found in this area. We started with the "Delicate Arch", a small beautiful arch which some Utah residents display on their license plate. Even at the end of "high season" the park is crowded, so after that we took some advice and drove to the end of the park route worked our way backwards.
The route to each arch viewing site was a walk varying from two-tenths of a mile to at least half a mile, up and down over rocks and sand. The weather was lovely, the temperatures were in the seventies, and we handled the walking just fine. All told, we visited seven arches and got reasonably good photos of each. My pedometer reported that we had walked just short of six miles. At between 5,000 and 7,000 feet of altitude.
After lunch we drove the the upper part of Canyonlands National Park, the area known as "Island in the Sky". As was Arches, Canyonlands provides a scenic auto route to the major sites. Unlike Arches, it is laced with hiking trails and is a hiker's paradise. We stuck to the auto route.
Two rivers -- the Colorado ad the Green -- running parallel at this point have carved out the canyons. A little like the Grand Canyon, the canyons are immense and deep, stretching for miles through the desert landscape. We added another mile in this venture.
We ended the evening with dinner in a restaurant on a cliff above Moab. It was a good ending for a good day.
POSTSCRIPT: The mal de mer returned overnight. Better in the morning.

A small bump in the road

How to add excitement to a vacation? Food poisoning. On the end of our second day, I ate something at dinner which caused a long night of unhappiness, which I will leave to your imaginations. So the next morning, feeling less than wonderful, we left the Grand Canyon and headed east, then north to drive through Monument Valley. There, we found the scenery to be outstanding, with huge red rock monoliths rising out of the desert landscape.
Then we headed for the Natural Bridges National Park, where we found an entirely different landscape -- three huge stone bridges carved out of the rock surrounding the river bed by the force of water and stones carried along during the flash floods. The rangers at the Visitors Center explained that only in one other place, China, were three natural bridges in this close proximity.
We ended the day in Moab, UT. We traveled a total of nine hours, which will be the longest segment in this trip. With any luck, I will be more or less back to normal by the morrow.

Grand Canyon, Round Two

Our second day at the Grand Canyon National Park began with a semi-private tour by Jeep along a twenty-five mile stretch of the East rim. Our guide took us to the best viewing areas and gave us a non-stop narration about the park's geological, anthropological and sociological history, as well as choice tales about the elk, mountain lions and bears that roam the area. It was well worth the price, and included admission to an IMAX theater film which dramatized much of the same information.
After a late lunch we drove back into the park and resumed our exploration along the west rim. A courtesy bus ride took us to the very end of the park at a place called Hermit's Rest. Because it was a beautiful day, the park was crowded and the buses were packed. On the way back to the parking lot we saw a number of elk along the road, and as we were driving out of the park, we came upon a big male elk standing in the middle of the road. We stopped and he ambled off, a reminder that we were in his territory.

First Glimpses of Southwest Parks

My plans to send along daily messages about our travels went awry when we discovered that Internet connections in the Grand Canyon area are way overloaded for the amount of bandwidth available.
But, we started yesterday with a great visit to the Hoover Dam, a major construction miracle back in the 1930's. On from there we took historic route Highway 66 to Williams, AZ and then north to the Grand Canyon, where we walked at least five miles along the south rim. It is as awesome as it has been described. We watched the sun set and headed back to our Holiday Inn Express and dinner at a nearby Mexican restaurant.
I hope to send along lots of pictures, but this one may have to suffice until we get more bandwidth.

Viking Star 2015 - Day 14

There's a Norwegian saying: "Only one who wanders finds new paths."  This cruise on the Viking Star has had us wandering all over the Baltic Sea region and we certainly have found new paths we would like to follow again.

Our final day opened with the approach to the Stockholm harbor through an amazing archipelago of little rocky islands.  After arrival we joined a city tour to check out the highlights of Stockholm - the royal palace, the city hall where the Nobel prizes are handed out each year, the diplomatic quarter where the United States embassy is located, the waterfront with hundreds of boats, ferries and water taxis.

After lunch we rode a shuttle bus back into the downtown area for a chance to see the sights at street level.  We found the "Queen's Street", a very long pedestrian mall, walked the distance of it and returned to the Parliament buildings for a look at the impressive architecture. And the sun was shining!

Tonight we pack for an early departure in the morning. It will be good to get home.

Viking Star 2015 - Day 13

What a delightful surprise is Helsinki!  The capital city of Finland is surrounded on three sides by the ocean, which is visible from almost any part.

Our day began with a bus tour of the old part of the city, with photo stops at the Lutheran Cathedral church  (built when Finland was under Russian rule, so it has domes like a Russian Orthodox Church), at the memorial for the famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius (above), and at the "rock church", built into the bedrock so that the chancel and nave are underground. It probably is very serene, but at the time of our visit, it was packed with tourists.

After lunch we took a shuttle bus back to the town center for a stroll along the streets and the outdoor market place. More than the usual souvenirs, vendors offered fruits, vegetables, furs, wool, and items made with reindeer antlers. Further up the streets were big name stores with the usual big name prices.

Back on the ship, which set sail for Sweden at 4 pm, we attended a lecture of the birth of Russian Impressionism by Al Miner, the Captain's farewell reception, and another lecture on "The Future of the Common Market" by Rob Warne.  Later tonight we will hear a concert of the music of that Swedish group "ABBA".

Tomorrow: Stockholm and the end of our cruise.  All good things must come to an end...

Viking Star 2015 - Day 12

The Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg is one of the largest in the world and is a tourist "must see". Jan and I toured this venerable place three years ago with the Viking River cruise. But we heard at that time of a museum repository where were stored items which could not be displayed for lack of space.

So our first tour today was to this Hermitage Repository, where we saw rooms full of icons, paintings by Russian artists, 18th and 19th century furniture stored in warehouse-style, imperial gifts and royal carriages and sleds -- all in temperature and humidity controlled rooms, ready to be moved to special exhibitions or swapped for present museum holdings.  As impressive as the number of items was the technology and security surrounding them. It was worth the trip.

The afternoon tour was to the Russian Museum, housed in Prince Michael Romanoff's former palace.  Its holdings included a vast collection of icons and works by Russian artists - tracing the history of Russian art from the icons to the 19th century realism. Our guide was very knowledgable and led us through the historical transition by showing us representative works from each period.

Our second day was also marked by warmer weather and a good deal of sunshine.  Tonight our ship is on the way to Helsinki, Finland, and we look forward to tomorrow's adventures.

Viking Star 2015 - Day 11

St. Petersburg was built on the orders of Peter the Great because he wanted a seaport in the north, and the Gulf of Finland was convenient. He had to drag nobility and merchants to this new colony but he persevered.

Our visit to this once powerful city, badly damaged by the Germans during WWII, no longer the nation's capital, but now booming again, started with a bus tour of the principal sights including the Church of the Resurrection (above), the harbor and fortress, the Cathedral Church of St. Isaac, a drive past the Hermitage, Peter the Great's statue, to name just a few.  In the "small world" department, our guide was the same person who helped guide our Russian river cruise three years ago.

By the end of the tour the sun had come out in full force, so after lunch we went swimming in the ship's main pool, had a cappuccino in our Explorers Lounge retreat, then enjoyed a three-course dinner in the main restaurant.  Tonight we will enjoy an onboard performance by a soprano and mezzo-soprano from the Marlinsky Theatre.

Tomorrow in St. Petersburg includes a tour of the Hermitage repository (areas holding items not on display) and a second tour, that of the Russian Museum, full of classic and modern Russian art.

Viking Star 2015 - Day 10

We are reaching toward the eastern end of the Gulf of Finland, one of the branches to the Baltic Sea. Soon we will reach St. Petersburg but today our port of call was Tellinn, Estonia.

Estonia is one of the satellite regions of the Soviet Union which gained its independence in 1991.  Tellinn is a beautiful city with medieval fortifications and churches, towers and cobblestone streets, a central square with beer gardens all around. Our guided tour started in the upper old town where the embassies and cathedral are located, then descended to the lower old town where business and commerce is conducted. Tellinn has much to boast about, including being the home of one of the inventors of Skype.

Our time back on the ship was marked by a preview of our coming visit to Helsinki, Finland and the gathering of Viking Explorer Club members - folks like us who had made at least one Viking River cruise. Tonight we will hear another lecture by our social anthropologist on the building of St. Petersburg.  And tomorrow we shall be there.

Viking Star 2015 - Day 9

Today was spent at sea, traveling between Gydinia, Poland and Tallinn, Estonia.  But there was nothing boring about the day.  After sleeping in we enjoyed breakfast at our usual quiet spot in the Explorers Lounge, then were treated to a cooking demonstration by two of the executive chefs onboard.

After lunch we listened to a lecture on the life and work of St. Petersburg's famous jeweler, Carl Fabrege, followed by a preview of our two coming days in that city, followed by a lecture on the history of Russia's true art form: the lacquer box.  Evolving from artisans who created icons, lacquer box artists were originally making Victorian snuff boxes. With the Bolshevik revolution, forbidden to depict religious images, they turned to depicting Russian fairy tales or landscapes. Our lecturer showed us how to determine real lacquer boxes from fakes.

The last lecture of the day was by former diplomat Rob Warne on "Russia as a Superpower?" Then we had dinner at one of the specialty restaurants onboard, a pleasant change from the regular dining rooms.  Our evening ended while writing this in the upper level of the Explorers Lounge while watching the sun set over the Baltic Sea.  Very tranquil!

Viking Star 2015 - Day 8

The trip from Warnemunde, Germany to Gdynia, Poland took several extra hours, so our ship did not dock until 1 pm today.  The morning, however was filled with lectures and a preview of our stop in Estonia two days from now.  First Elizabeth Cassell, our social anthropologist, spoke on "The Beginnings of Russia". Then we were briefed on what expect in Tallinn, Estonia, our port of call. Then Christian Allie, a gemologist, spoke on "Baltic Amber, the ancient gold of the north", with tips on how to determine real amber from fake. The tip: real amber floats in water.

Our tour to Gdansk took place in the afternoon and included a walking tour of the old town, mostly destroyed during WWII and rebuilt. Looking at the vibrant "Long Market" street, once the King's Way, it was hard to imagine the destruction - until the guide pointed out photos of what it had looked like. The area near the old town saw the real beginning of that war when German soldiers invaded Gdansk.

A second highlight of the tour was to see (though only at a distance) the Gdansk shipyard where the workers' movement known as Solidarity began which ultimately led to Polish independence and obliquely to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Tomorrow we spend the day at sea on our way to Estonia.  Maybe we can sleep late...

Viking Star 2015 - Day 7

Berlin.  It's not on the Baltic Sea, so we had to travel 3 hours by bus to visit.  But it was worth it.

Once a divided city in the aftermath of WWII and the Cold War, it is now a vibrant and united city as well as the national capital of Germany.  Our tour gave us the opportunity to see iconic sights such as the Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, and portions of the Berlin Wall that still are standing.                                                                                                                                                                                             

After the bus tour, we were on our own for a short time, and we searched for and found the much-recommended curry wurst.  After this lunch, we visited a few of the historic buildings, bought some good chocolate and returned to the bus for the 3 hours plus back to the ship.

The evening's meal consisted of four kinds of German sausage and wurst.  Our day was complete.

Tomorrow: Gdansk, Poland

Viking Star 2015 - Day 6

Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen - the words of the old song kept running through my head.

On this second day in Denmark, we arrived at the capital city.  Copenhagen means "merchants' haven" and so it is fitting that it is the home of Maersk, the shipping container giant as well as other global companies.

Our morning tour brought us to the residences of the Danish royalty, which have no political influence and live as ordinary citizens when not doing official duties.  They are much beloved by the Danes.

Our afternoon tour took us to Tivoli Gardens, the world's first amusement part and the ispiration for Walt Disney to develop Disneyland.  Although the weather was not perfect, we enjoyed walking through manicured gardens and the amusement rides.

Tomorrow : Berlin.  From the Baltic seaport we make a three hour trip to Berlin to explore it on our own before a three hour trip back.  It will be a long day.

                                                                                                                                                                                             

Viking Star 2015 - Day 5

A replica of Noah's Ark was anchored in the Aalborg, Denmark harbor.  That should have been a sign.

The morning was taken up with a briefing on what to expect on our visit to Berlin in two days, and a lecture on "The Arctic - Resources and Potential Conflict" by Rob Warne, former diplomat.  He outlined the issues caused by global warming, international squabbling over undiscovered resources, and the fact that the US is not a signatory to the Law of the Seas treaty.

After lunch we joined a walking tour of Aalborg in the driving rain.  Our guide was a transplanted Englishman, a former professor of architecture at the local college. He did his best to show us around the city, pointing out notable buildings and their history as well as some of the newer buildings and their uses.  Along those lines was the former power plant, repurposed as a community gathering for arts, cinema and sports.

In the late afternoon we were given another lecture on "Berlin - Museum City" by the art historian Al Miner of the Boston Museum of Art. The city is awash with museums and Al gave us hints as to which we might want to visit.  We will have only three hours of free time in Berlin, so we want to use it to the maximum.

Tomorrow -- Copenhagen, Denmark

Viking Star 2015 - Day 4

The sun was shining brightly as we coasted gently into Stavanger harbor.

Stavanger is the petroleum mecca of Norway.  With the discovery of North Sea oil, this once-dying town has had a vital resurgence.  The former industry was herring and sardine fishing, canning and shipping. But other countries undercut Stavagner's business and by the 1990's it was almost dead.  Then came the oil discovery and the city once again boomed.

A highlight of the walking tour of the city was a visit to the sardine cannery.  The process was incredibly labor-intensive as the sardines were threaded onto racks, then smoked, trimmed of the heads and fitted into the distinctive oval cans, all by hand.

In the plaza by the waterfront are stones cast with the footprints of various Nobel winners.  We didn't have time to check them all out, but did find those of Desmond Tutu and Al Gore.

The evening's lecture was on "The Norsemen, The Danes and The Svaer" - understanding the Vikings - delivered by Elizabeth Cassell, a social anthropologist at a Canadian university. Tomorrow we sail for Alborg, Denmark.

Viking Star 2015 - Day 3

Overnight the Viking Star traveled north to Flam.

Flam is a small village at the end of the Aurlandsfjord, an extension of the Sognefjord, the largest fiord in Norway.  We woke to find ourselves surrounded on three sides with snow-capped mountains with little waterfalls bringing the snow-melt down to the fiord.

Today's adventure was a bus trip up to the top of these mountains, on narrow roads and many tunnels carved through the mountains, to scenic outcroppings and finally a small outpost where we were treated to coffee and waffles.  There is a rugged beauty in the fiords and mountains as well as great natural resouces for hydroelectric power.

After a delicious lunch of a typical Norwegian open-faced sandwich, we lounged until mid-afternoon when the Viking Star gingerly turned around in the narrow fiord to head back to the North Sea to travel south toward our next stop, Stavanger.  In the evening we attended an enrichment lecture on "The Northern Look - Modern Scandinavian Design and Nordic Art" given by Al Miner, assistant curator at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

One of the great features of the cruise are the guest lecturers who accompany the trip.  (There is entertainment, too, but Jan and I prefer the more cerebral.)  More momorrow...

Viking Star 2015 - Day 2

It's wonderful what a good night's sleep will do.

Today began with a light breakfast and then a walking tour of the old town of Bergen.  Once an "office" of the Hanseatic League (a medieval trade consortium with roots in Germany) Bergen's outpost specialized in dried cod, which resembles lutefisk. The tour included the Hanseatic Museum and the old fish market.

The afternoon included a bus ride to visit one of the few remaining Stave churches (wooden churches built around tall pine poles - the "staves" - upon which the rest of the building hung.  Then it was on to Trollhagen, the home of Edvard Grieg.  There we enjoyed a short piano concert of some of Grieg's works and a tour of his home. (The photo is the view from Grieg's home.)

The evening started with an educational lecture on "Norway - Europe's Most Successful Nation" given by guest lecturer and former diplomat Rob Warne.  Just after dinner, the ship set out on a cruise to our next stop which is Flam, an isolated Norwegian farming community located in one of Norway's fiords.

Viking Star 2015 - Day 1

This post will be short.

Today was spent traveling to Bergen, Norway for the start of our Viking Star cruise.  We left Newark about 6:30 p.m. and arrived in Oslo about 7 hours later.  Three hours later we left Oslo for a short trip to Bergen where the Viking Star is docked.  Both flights were relatively easy and on time.

We boarded the Viking Star about 1:30 p.m. and found her to be what we expected: the ship holds four times the number of passengers on a Viking River Cruise, but even though it is larger, it still has an intimate quality.  The decor is modern with clean lines and well thought out nooks and crannies to explore and enjoy.  We have a spacious cabin with a balcony on the port side.

We've discovered that the best way to beat jet lag is to keep going, not resting.  So this evening we heard a presentation about one of the future ports we will visit followed by a delicious dinner.  Then we collapsed.  More tomorrow...