We got to the boat about 35 minutes early and were one of the first on and picked out a prime spot on the top outdoor deck where there were lots of plastic chairs. It looked like a great place to take pictures and see the sights. As we pulled out of the harbor we had a great view of the Hanseatic houses along the waterfront. The recorded commentary told us about them again and I noticed that in the same way as the walking tour after briefly mentioning the fact that these merchants were from Germany the always referred to them after that as the Hanseatic merchants. It appeared that they did not want to offend any German tourist who might be in the crowd.
As we left the harbor and picked up some speed we had a review of the principle of wind chill. We moved inside the boat where we had very nice views out the windows and where I could pop out on either side of the boat to take pictures.
A Norway fact: 90% of the populations lives within 6 ½ miles of the coast. This does not mean what you might think of as the coast as you look on the map. Since these fjords are numerous and some very long, the coast line of Norway juts far into the interior sections of the country.
The trip was breathtaking. We cruised along the river-like fjord passing glassy smooth coves that were turned dark, dark green in the shadow from the mountains. Sea gulls imitating ducks paddled on the surface leaving a silver wake that recorded their progress. The waterfront was dotted with mostly lone but sometimes grouped houses along Osterfjorden. Most of the houses were well kept, a few seemed to be needy. I wondered what these people did for a living. I doubt that all of these were summer homes. Clearly some work in industries like forestry and fishing.
We passed one yellow house seemingly very isolated. From the water’s edge a family of a woman and two girls and a grandfather looking gentleman stopped to wave at the boat. The grandfather really got into it. He waved both arms over his head as if trying to stop a train. I waved back.
We had a family from New York which also lived part time in Colorado. The father’s name was Daddy and the brother’s name was Eric. I know this because every 30 seconds or so the sister would say “Daddy! Eric….” You can fill in the blank with any “tattletale” phrase you would like to choose. She had a broken arm and very nearly had a broken neck but I refrained.
The mountains along the fjord were amazing. The closer mountains were dark green and each successively further away peak that was peeking out from behind its neighbor was a bit paler and bluer. The farthest peaks are pale blue and nearly featureless. I have seen paintings that depict this scene and thought that it was an exaggeration but it was not.
After the 4 hour tour (I was thrilled that it did not turn out like Gillian’s 3 hour tour) we walked around a bit and had an ice cream lunch. We avoided the fish market on our walk because well, it stinks.
Rick Steves is back in my good graces. His book recommended a small family run restaurant near the city center but just a bit out of the normal path. First of all we found it and it was still there. We also found the food to be good. I had the Norwegian sausage with boiled potatoes and vegetables. The sausage was rather bland and was vaguely familiar. It then dawned on me that it tasted a lot like the pan fried Spam that my mother used to serve. Penny had the steak, salad and boiled potatoes. Her meat was actually beef steak this time around rather than pork which we received the last time we ordered steak in Sweden.
It has been a good day and we are about to end the vacation and head in the morning to Harlaxton and start the semester. It has been a great trip.
Ray
Quick investment tip: the BBC is all abuzz about the mortgage problems in the US. They also mentioned that Britain is experiencing a decrease in American tourist because of the bad exchange rate. On the other hand: America is on Sale! My advice: Buy stock in the tourist industry.
2 comments:
Hey Daddy! Looks like you all are having so much. I looked up ole bull for you. He was a norweigian violinist. He wrote a famous funeral procession. and They think of him as their first inernational star. He also built a castle in normway on the island Lysøen. So there you go! Love you!
Thanks.
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