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...