After 25 hours of travel, we finally arrived home Monday morning at 4:00 a.m. We had our usual 2 hours of agony at the Reykjavik airport, where we stood among the herds of people being shoved together toward the airplane, with the boarding process halted at one point, where we stood, packed together in a sweltering crowd for probably close to an hour, before continuing to board the plane. (Note to Iceland: Get an airport first, then promote tourism!)
Joe continued to have security issues, at both the Reykjavik airport and in Boston. (Maybe the Russians called ahead!). And our flight from Boston to Pittsburgh that was scheduled for 9:30 Sunday night came perilously close to being cancelled, and finally took off at 1:30 a.m. Monday morning.
Despite the traveling woes, we had a wonderful trip. Not to sound like The Sound of Music, but we'd like to say thahka, tack, kiitos, spaseeba, tanan, djenkooyeh, danke, tak, and thank you for taking the time to read this blog. We hope you enjoyed it, and we hope you learned something new and interesting!
Monday, September 18, 2017
Saturday, September 16, 2017
Bergen, Norway
On Saturday, we arrived at the city of Bergen, Norway. Bergen is Norway's second largest city with a population of 270,000. It is Norway's second most important oil city after Stavanger. We were told that it rains a lot in Bergen, and that, in fact, it is the rainiest European city, with rain occurring on 260 days a year. However, we were in luck today, with total sunshine.
We were originally scheduled to tour the city, but the World Bicycling Championships are taking place currently in Bergen, so many roads were closed off. The World Bicycling Championship are held in different places around the world; they've been held in Australia, and in Qatar. Next year they will be in Copenhagen. But this year, it is in Bergen - at the same time that we're here. So Viking changed the itinerary to a "Bergen by Boat" excursion, so we started the day by boarding a boat and traveling up and down the waterways of Bergen. It's always interesting to get a view from the water of any city.
In addition to seeing the sights of Bergen from the water, we also learned a little about the culture and history of Norway. Norway used to be part of Sweden and also used to be part of Denmark. When Norway gained its independence in 1905, the people decided that they wanted a constitutional monarchy type of government. There was just one problem - they did not have a royal family. So who, then, would be king? The head of government was given the task of finding a king for Norway, so he asked one of the Danish princes (not the one in line of succession for the Danish crown, of course) if he would become King of Norway. He gladly accepted, and so Norway's first king was actually Danish. His name was Haakon VII. His son Olav V succeeded him, and Olav's son Harald V is the Norwegian king today. With only the third generation, Norway's monarchy is the youngest in Europe.
The people of Norway love to ski in the winter and hike in the summer. They particularly like mountain hiking, and the mountains here that surround the fjords are very tall. Our tour guide, Christina, who is actually from Germany, said that she struggles to keep up with the locals. They hike up the mountains very easily, and one man even made it to the top so fast, that his time was better than that of mountain goats. Our guide told us that after women give birth, they are back climbing the mountains with strollers shortly after, and families climb together with the small children not being carried, but hiking right along side their parents. Christina told us that Norway has one of the longest life expectancies in the world, possibly because of all the mountain hiking that they engage in.
After the boat tour was over, we walked around the town of Bergen. We walked to the city center, spent some time around the harbor, and did some shopping. It is a very beautiful city, and was bustling this morning, with the bicycling event taking place. The race wasn't actually taking place today, but the course was being used for the bicyclists to practice and familiarize themselves with the course. So we watched as groups of bicyclists from different countries sped by on the course, preparing for tomorrow's race.
Tomorrow starts our grueling 21 hour trip home. We are mostly dreading having to go through the Reykjavik airport again. We'll let you know how that goes!
We were originally scheduled to tour the city, but the World Bicycling Championships are taking place currently in Bergen, so many roads were closed off. The World Bicycling Championship are held in different places around the world; they've been held in Australia, and in Qatar. Next year they will be in Copenhagen. But this year, it is in Bergen - at the same time that we're here. So Viking changed the itinerary to a "Bergen by Boat" excursion, so we started the day by boarding a boat and traveling up and down the waterways of Bergen. It's always interesting to get a view from the water of any city.
In addition to seeing the sights of Bergen from the water, we also learned a little about the culture and history of Norway. Norway used to be part of Sweden and also used to be part of Denmark. When Norway gained its independence in 1905, the people decided that they wanted a constitutional monarchy type of government. There was just one problem - they did not have a royal family. So who, then, would be king? The head of government was given the task of finding a king for Norway, so he asked one of the Danish princes (not the one in line of succession for the Danish crown, of course) if he would become King of Norway. He gladly accepted, and so Norway's first king was actually Danish. His name was Haakon VII. His son Olav V succeeded him, and Olav's son Harald V is the Norwegian king today. With only the third generation, Norway's monarchy is the youngest in Europe.
The people of Norway love to ski in the winter and hike in the summer. They particularly like mountain hiking, and the mountains here that surround the fjords are very tall. Our tour guide, Christina, who is actually from Germany, said that she struggles to keep up with the locals. They hike up the mountains very easily, and one man even made it to the top so fast, that his time was better than that of mountain goats. Our guide told us that after women give birth, they are back climbing the mountains with strollers shortly after, and families climb together with the small children not being carried, but hiking right along side their parents. Christina told us that Norway has one of the longest life expectancies in the world, possibly because of all the mountain hiking that they engage in.
After the boat tour was over, we walked around the town of Bergen. We walked to the city center, spent some time around the harbor, and did some shopping. It is a very beautiful city, and was bustling this morning, with the bicycling event taking place. The race wasn't actually taking place today, but the course was being used for the bicyclists to practice and familiarize themselves with the course. So we watched as groups of bicyclists from different countries sped by on the course, preparing for tomorrow's race.
Tomorrow starts our grueling 21 hour trip home. We are mostly dreading having to go through the Reykjavik airport again. We'll let you know how that goes!
Eidfjord, Norway
On Friday morning, Sept. 15, we were scheduled to dock in the tiny town of Eidfjord, Norway at 7 a.m. Because Eidfjord is located at the very end of the long and beautiful Hardanger Fjord, we thought it might be interesting to get up early, go to the front of the ship, and watch as we travel through the fjord. So even though we didn't have a tour scheduled until mid-morning, we got up extra early to enjoy the unbelievable beauty of the country and it's fantastic fjords. It was certainly worth it, as we had a great vantage point to view the ship sailing through the narrow, but deep waters of the Hardanger Fjord, with mountains towering above the narrow passageway on either side. This, combined with the sun rising about this time made for some of the most natural beauty that we've ever seen.
Eidfjord has a population of about 900, and so when our ship docked and people came ashore, we more than doubled the population of this town. The name Eidfjord means land between the fjords; I love how they're so descriptive with the names. Our tour guide for the day was Stefano, and is actually Italian, although he's apparently been living in Norway long enough to be able to share the local culture and history with tour groups.
We spent the day on bus and train tours travelling through some of the most beautiful scenery of Norway. We drove along mountain roads, and alongside fjords and lakes. We drove through many tunnels. Because of the mountains that border the fjords, Norway has many tunnels, so that to get from one town to another, you don't have to drive all the way around the mountain. The tunnels can be very long - we went through one that was 15 miles long - and they are very well lit, and quite big. In fact, in some of them, there were intersections complete with roundabouts. They also installed wiring to make it possible to pick up radio stations inside the tunnels, for safety reasons, so that people wouldn't fall asleep while driving through the tunnel. We also crossed a suspension bridge, which was beautiful as it spanned one side of the fjord to the other, with the mountains as a backdrop. The bridge was about 4500 feet long, which is the longest suspension bridge in Norway, and the 7th longest in the world. The bridge has to close when it is too windy. Fortunately there was little to no wind today, and we were able to pass over the bridge, both ways (there and back again).
On the first bus ride, we rode from Eidfjord to the town of Voss. At Voss, we boarded a train. The train climbed nearly 3000 feet and traveled through 20 tunnels and over many bridges to the town of Myrdal. At Myrdal, we got off that train and boarded another. This train, called the Flamsbana, is billed as "one of the most beautiful train trips in the world". This train took us from Myrdal to the town of Flam. Along the way, we saw more spectacular scenery: mountain passes, woodland, waterfalls, snow-capped mountains, forests, lakes, rivers, and mountain creeks.
We saw many farmlands today and as is typical of farms, there were large bales of hay wrapped in plastic. There were 4 different colors of plastic used, and we were told that the colors were not just arbitrary, but that they had a purpose. The white bales were the normal colors. The pink, blue, and green ones were more expensive, and the extra money that was charged was donated to research for breast cancer (pink), prostate cancer (blue), or for the environment (green).
We also passed by a wind tunnel that was available for anyone who wanted to use it to practice parasailing, skydiving, etc.
After we arrived at the town of Flam on the train, we boarded buses again and drove back to Eidfjord with a few stops along the way. At Voss, we stopped at a hotel that served us sandwiches, coffee, tea, and water. Across the street from the hotel was a statue of Knute Rockne (legendary coach of Notre Dame) who is actually from the town of Voss. There was also a park where a couple of teams were playing some type of soccer, but they were wearing large plastic bubbles over their upper torso. Their head was completely inside the bubble, and they would bounce off of each other and fall and roll around on the ground before getting up again. I have no idea what kind of game it was - very unusual.
Most of the buildings in the town of Voss are relatively new, as the town had been occupied by the Nazis during the second world war. After some resistance from the local residents, the Nazis burned down the town. Everything had to be re-built. Also, there is a university here that specializes in training engineers in how to build tunnels - very appropriate for Norway. Stefano told us that they are talking about building a tunnel for cruise ships so that they can maneuver easily from one fjord to another without having to go all the way around.
As we drove along, we passed through many small towns. Occasionally we would see tall walls at the base of the surrounding mountains. We were told that there was a problem with avalanches coming off the steep hillsides that would wipe out the towns. So they built the walls to protect the towns from avalanches.
We were also told that they extract anorthosite from the mountains here. Anorthosite is used to make aluminum, but since it is too expensive to use it for that purpose, they use it for other purposes. They mix it with the materials for building the roads, and it makes the roads lighter in color, which makes it easier for drivers to see especially during the long, dark winter months. They also add it to toothpaste as a whitener, and add it to laundry detergent.
As we ended our day with our drive back to our ship at Eidfjord, we continued to marvel at the breathtaking scenery of this amazingly beautiful country: driving along the valley floor with mountains on both sides towering above us, sometimes looking up at sheer cliff sides; lakes that were so smooth that they appeared like glass, with reflections of the surrounding mountains, farmlands, clouds, and sky appearing picture perfect; loops and switchbacks yielding spectacular views of the valleys we had traversed or those yet to come; driving through narrow gorges, sometimes along a small creek, other times with huge boulders on the side of the road; and enjoying views that would widen out giving great overlooks of picturesque farms, churches, and other town buildings at the bottom of the valley below.
Today's tour gave us a panoramic view of some of the most gorgeous Norwegian landscape in the most beautiful of settings that we've ever seen.
Eidfjord has a population of about 900, and so when our ship docked and people came ashore, we more than doubled the population of this town. The name Eidfjord means land between the fjords; I love how they're so descriptive with the names. Our tour guide for the day was Stefano, and is actually Italian, although he's apparently been living in Norway long enough to be able to share the local culture and history with tour groups.
We spent the day on bus and train tours travelling through some of the most beautiful scenery of Norway. We drove along mountain roads, and alongside fjords and lakes. We drove through many tunnels. Because of the mountains that border the fjords, Norway has many tunnels, so that to get from one town to another, you don't have to drive all the way around the mountain. The tunnels can be very long - we went through one that was 15 miles long - and they are very well lit, and quite big. In fact, in some of them, there were intersections complete with roundabouts. They also installed wiring to make it possible to pick up radio stations inside the tunnels, for safety reasons, so that people wouldn't fall asleep while driving through the tunnel. We also crossed a suspension bridge, which was beautiful as it spanned one side of the fjord to the other, with the mountains as a backdrop. The bridge was about 4500 feet long, which is the longest suspension bridge in Norway, and the 7th longest in the world. The bridge has to close when it is too windy. Fortunately there was little to no wind today, and we were able to pass over the bridge, both ways (there and back again).
On the first bus ride, we rode from Eidfjord to the town of Voss. At Voss, we boarded a train. The train climbed nearly 3000 feet and traveled through 20 tunnels and over many bridges to the town of Myrdal. At Myrdal, we got off that train and boarded another. This train, called the Flamsbana, is billed as "one of the most beautiful train trips in the world". This train took us from Myrdal to the town of Flam. Along the way, we saw more spectacular scenery: mountain passes, woodland, waterfalls, snow-capped mountains, forests, lakes, rivers, and mountain creeks.
We saw many farmlands today and as is typical of farms, there were large bales of hay wrapped in plastic. There were 4 different colors of plastic used, and we were told that the colors were not just arbitrary, but that they had a purpose. The white bales were the normal colors. The pink, blue, and green ones were more expensive, and the extra money that was charged was donated to research for breast cancer (pink), prostate cancer (blue), or for the environment (green).
We also passed by a wind tunnel that was available for anyone who wanted to use it to practice parasailing, skydiving, etc.
After we arrived at the town of Flam on the train, we boarded buses again and drove back to Eidfjord with a few stops along the way. At Voss, we stopped at a hotel that served us sandwiches, coffee, tea, and water. Across the street from the hotel was a statue of Knute Rockne (legendary coach of Notre Dame) who is actually from the town of Voss. There was also a park where a couple of teams were playing some type of soccer, but they were wearing large plastic bubbles over their upper torso. Their head was completely inside the bubble, and they would bounce off of each other and fall and roll around on the ground before getting up again. I have no idea what kind of game it was - very unusual.
Most of the buildings in the town of Voss are relatively new, as the town had been occupied by the Nazis during the second world war. After some resistance from the local residents, the Nazis burned down the town. Everything had to be re-built. Also, there is a university here that specializes in training engineers in how to build tunnels - very appropriate for Norway. Stefano told us that they are talking about building a tunnel for cruise ships so that they can maneuver easily from one fjord to another without having to go all the way around.
As we drove along, we passed through many small towns. Occasionally we would see tall walls at the base of the surrounding mountains. We were told that there was a problem with avalanches coming off the steep hillsides that would wipe out the towns. So they built the walls to protect the towns from avalanches.
We were also told that they extract anorthosite from the mountains here. Anorthosite is used to make aluminum, but since it is too expensive to use it for that purpose, they use it for other purposes. They mix it with the materials for building the roads, and it makes the roads lighter in color, which makes it easier for drivers to see especially during the long, dark winter months. They also add it to toothpaste as a whitener, and add it to laundry detergent.
As we ended our day with our drive back to our ship at Eidfjord, we continued to marvel at the breathtaking scenery of this amazingly beautiful country: driving along the valley floor with mountains on both sides towering above us, sometimes looking up at sheer cliff sides; lakes that were so smooth that they appeared like glass, with reflections of the surrounding mountains, farmlands, clouds, and sky appearing picture perfect; loops and switchbacks yielding spectacular views of the valleys we had traversed or those yet to come; driving through narrow gorges, sometimes along a small creek, other times with huge boulders on the side of the road; and enjoying views that would widen out giving great overlooks of picturesque farms, churches, and other town buildings at the bottom of the valley below.
Today's tour gave us a panoramic view of some of the most gorgeous Norwegian landscape in the most beautiful of settings that we've ever seen.
Thursday, September 14, 2017
Stavenger, Norway
On Wednesday evening, while at sea on the open Baltic, the ship captain came on the ship's PA system and made an important announcement. He said that it was necessary to make a Medevac, and that a helicopter was on its way to the ship to evacuate a passenger. Since the evacuation was going to take place directly above the cafeteria, he asked that everyone please vacate the cafeteria. About ten minutes later, we watched the approach of the helicopter. It hovered above the ship while someone was let down onto the ship in order to prepare the patient for evacuation. While this was taking place, the helicopter hovered above the ship, pretty much right over our cabin. When the patient had been prepared, the helicopter moved back into position above the ship, let down a line with a harness attached, and procured the patient. After the patient was safely on board the helicopter, off they went to the closest hospital. Apparently the evacuation went well, and after about a half hour from start to finish, they were on their way. Hopefully the patient will recover.
On the way from Denmark to Norway, we sailed from the Baltic Sea into the North Sea. The North Sea, at least so far, is a little choppier than the Baltic.
We sailed into Stavanger, Norway Thursday morning. The harbor is very small but very deep, allowing our cruise ship to dock right in the heart of the city. Stavenger is Norway's 4th largest city, with a population of 132,000. Stavanger is the oil capital of Norway, and because of its oil production, has become an international city. Norway used to be a very poor country, but after the discovery of oil in the nearby North Sea, it is now a very wealthy country. Norway has one half of Western Europe's oil reserves, and is 3rd among the world's oil exporters.
We went on a walking tour of Stavanger. We walked down narrow, winding, cobblestone lanes with tiny wooden houses, nice gardens, parks, and flower boxes. The wooden houses date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. All of the houses are white. These are some of the best kept wooden houses in Northern Europe.
We also visited the Norwegian Oil Museum while in Stavanger. This museum is dedicated to the discovery of oil in the North Sea off the coast of Norway. The museum contained exhibits about geology and oil drilling. There were models of oil rigs, actual drill bits, and a replica of the drilling floor of a rig. There were some photographs of platforms that were used in the North Sea oil drilling. One of the platforms was the Ocean Traveler. Joe recognized it as being one that he had been on many times while working as a geologist in the Gulf of Mexico. There was also an exhibit of a basket that is used to transport people from rig to ship and vice versa. We had both experienced being transported in one of these baskets in our days as geologists.
I just want to explain why we are no longer posting photos with the blog. The internet service is very poor, and pictures are very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to download. So we gave up on that.
On the way from Denmark to Norway, we sailed from the Baltic Sea into the North Sea. The North Sea, at least so far, is a little choppier than the Baltic.
We sailed into Stavanger, Norway Thursday morning. The harbor is very small but very deep, allowing our cruise ship to dock right in the heart of the city. Stavenger is Norway's 4th largest city, with a population of 132,000. Stavanger is the oil capital of Norway, and because of its oil production, has become an international city. Norway used to be a very poor country, but after the discovery of oil in the nearby North Sea, it is now a very wealthy country. Norway has one half of Western Europe's oil reserves, and is 3rd among the world's oil exporters.
We went on a walking tour of Stavanger. We walked down narrow, winding, cobblestone lanes with tiny wooden houses, nice gardens, parks, and flower boxes. The wooden houses date back to the 17th and 18th centuries. All of the houses are white. These are some of the best kept wooden houses in Northern Europe.
We also visited the Norwegian Oil Museum while in Stavanger. This museum is dedicated to the discovery of oil in the North Sea off the coast of Norway. The museum contained exhibits about geology and oil drilling. There were models of oil rigs, actual drill bits, and a replica of the drilling floor of a rig. There were some photographs of platforms that were used in the North Sea oil drilling. One of the platforms was the Ocean Traveler. Joe recognized it as being one that he had been on many times while working as a geologist in the Gulf of Mexico. There was also an exhibit of a basket that is used to transport people from rig to ship and vice versa. We had both experienced being transported in one of these baskets in our days as geologists.
I just want to explain why we are no longer posting photos with the blog. The internet service is very poor, and pictures are very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to download. So we gave up on that.
Wednesday, September 13, 2017
Aalborg, Denmark
On Wednesday, we arrived in Aalborg and enjoyed a walking tour of the town. Aalborg is the 4th largest city in Denmark, with a population of 210,000. It was founded by the Vikings as a trading post in the 900s.
Our tour guide's name was Signe (pronounced see-nee). We first went to Aalborg Castle which, when no longer needed as a castle, was used as a "taxation building". Back then, people paid taxes in hay, sheep, corn, etc. The Castle was the only building in town big enough to store the "tax payments". Today there is still a tax collection office in the building, but presumably no more sheep and hay. The other rooms of the castle are used as offices for local businesses.
We were next treated to a live Viking display, where people dressed up as Vikings wielding swords surrounded our group. They gave us a small taste of some sort of authentic Viking drink, and invited us to view tables that were set up with various Viking items such as furs, helmets, knives, jewelry, etc. (Note to Kerry: the Viking helmets made me think of you.)
Next we visited the Monastery of the Holy Ghost. This building previously housed monks (on the left) and nuns (on the right). After the reformation, the monks and nuns were kicked out, and the building was turned into a hospital. That lasted about 40 years, and today the building is a retirement residence.
We walked past a post office with a tall tower next to it. Near the top of the tower were tiny windows that have since been bricked up. In former times, the windows served as entrances to homes for the post office's tiniest employees: carrier pigeons.
We then visited St. Budolf Cathedral. This was a small white brick building, and is, we were told, the only white brick Lutheran Cathedral in the country, and is also the smallest Lutheran Cathedral in Denmark.
Along our walk, we passed a pre-construction archaeological dig. As mentioned earlier, no new construction can take place without first having archaeologists determine if there is a bit of important Danish history on the site. And just as our tour guide pointed out yesterday, the archaeologists on this particular dig seemed to be using a teaspoon, or at least a teaspoon-sized instrument. Our tour guide, Signe told us that at this particular dig, they had indeed found something of interest. They found a piece of jewelry and thought that perhaps it had belonged to a Viking. Or perhaps it belonged to a Viking cruise passenger who lost an earring. Okay I made that last part up.
We walked down the most picturesque street in Denmark - a narrow lane with very colorful houses on each side. Signe told us that there was an agreement between the residents of this street and the city that the residents would leave their curtains open in the evenings, as that presented a more appealing picture. The pedestrians were simply asked not to look into the homes. Signe confessed that she had indeed looked; apparently the temptation was too great! On the door of one of the homes was posted a list of everyone who had lived in that home, which went back to the 1700s. Also, one of the homes is for sale. It is 1200 square feet, and is listed for the equivalent of half a million U.S. dollars.
Our next stop on our walking tour was at the Church of Our Lady (Lutheran). In this church was a small ship hanging from the ceiling above the aisle in the middle of the nave. The word nave comes from the Latin word navis, which means ship. We learned that it is not uncommon in Scandinavian and Baltic country churches to have a ship hanging in the nave. And in some languages, the same word means both nave and ship. Before we left the Church of Our Lady, we were treated by the locals to some coffee, water, and a treat. The treat consisted of what we might call a sandwich cookie, but what they called a creamy biscuit.
As we continued our walk, we passed by the library. In Denmark, every municipality is required by law to have a library.
Our last stop was at a building that housed a Lego display. Legos were invented in Denmark.
Our tour guide's name was Signe (pronounced see-nee). We first went to Aalborg Castle which, when no longer needed as a castle, was used as a "taxation building". Back then, people paid taxes in hay, sheep, corn, etc. The Castle was the only building in town big enough to store the "tax payments". Today there is still a tax collection office in the building, but presumably no more sheep and hay. The other rooms of the castle are used as offices for local businesses.
We were next treated to a live Viking display, where people dressed up as Vikings wielding swords surrounded our group. They gave us a small taste of some sort of authentic Viking drink, and invited us to view tables that were set up with various Viking items such as furs, helmets, knives, jewelry, etc. (Note to Kerry: the Viking helmets made me think of you.)
Next we visited the Monastery of the Holy Ghost. This building previously housed monks (on the left) and nuns (on the right). After the reformation, the monks and nuns were kicked out, and the building was turned into a hospital. That lasted about 40 years, and today the building is a retirement residence.
We walked past a post office with a tall tower next to it. Near the top of the tower were tiny windows that have since been bricked up. In former times, the windows served as entrances to homes for the post office's tiniest employees: carrier pigeons.
We then visited St. Budolf Cathedral. This was a small white brick building, and is, we were told, the only white brick Lutheran Cathedral in the country, and is also the smallest Lutheran Cathedral in Denmark.
Along our walk, we passed a pre-construction archaeological dig. As mentioned earlier, no new construction can take place without first having archaeologists determine if there is a bit of important Danish history on the site. And just as our tour guide pointed out yesterday, the archaeologists on this particular dig seemed to be using a teaspoon, or at least a teaspoon-sized instrument. Our tour guide, Signe told us that at this particular dig, they had indeed found something of interest. They found a piece of jewelry and thought that perhaps it had belonged to a Viking. Or perhaps it belonged to a Viking cruise passenger who lost an earring. Okay I made that last part up.
We walked down the most picturesque street in Denmark - a narrow lane with very colorful houses on each side. Signe told us that there was an agreement between the residents of this street and the city that the residents would leave their curtains open in the evenings, as that presented a more appealing picture. The pedestrians were simply asked not to look into the homes. Signe confessed that she had indeed looked; apparently the temptation was too great! On the door of one of the homes was posted a list of everyone who had lived in that home, which went back to the 1700s. Also, one of the homes is for sale. It is 1200 square feet, and is listed for the equivalent of half a million U.S. dollars.
Our next stop on our walking tour was at the Church of Our Lady (Lutheran). In this church was a small ship hanging from the ceiling above the aisle in the middle of the nave. The word nave comes from the Latin word navis, which means ship. We learned that it is not uncommon in Scandinavian and Baltic country churches to have a ship hanging in the nave. And in some languages, the same word means both nave and ship. Before we left the Church of Our Lady, we were treated by the locals to some coffee, water, and a treat. The treat consisted of what we might call a sandwich cookie, but what they called a creamy biscuit.
As we continued our walk, we passed by the library. In Denmark, every municipality is required by law to have a library.
Our last stop was at a building that housed a Lego display. Legos were invented in Denmark.
Jazzy Canal Boat Cruise
On Tuesday evening, we took a canal boat tour of the city of Copenhagen. We listened to a live classical jazz band, a quartet of really enthusiastic Swedish and Danish musicians, on board the canal boat. Champagne was served as we cruised across Copenhagen Harbor and into some of the smaller picturesque canals around the city. We also passed by many of the sights that we had seen earlier in the day from the bus: the Little Mermaid statue, some palaces, the very colorful and popular Nyhavn Canal, the Marble Church that's not really marble, and of course, the garbage-burning, ski-sloping power plant. There were lots of house boats, some of which were very nice, parked along the canal. There were also some very nice apartments right on the waterfront. Copenhagen is a very lively place in the evenings, apparently, as there were many people engaging in outdoor activities: biking, jogging, kayaking, canoeing, and paddle-boarding. The jazzy canal boat cruise was a very unique and enjoyable way to end our time in Copenhagen.
I continued to connect with the locals by saying thank you to our tour guide in Danish (tusind tak) when our cruise ended, and again it was greeted by giggles, excitement, and asking if I speak Danish. It's amazing the warm response you get when you say even the smallest thing in the native language!
I continued to connect with the locals by saying thank you to our tour guide in Danish (tusind tak) when our cruise ended, and again it was greeted by giggles, excitement, and asking if I speak Danish. It's amazing the warm response you get when you say even the smallest thing in the native language!
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
Copenhagen, Denmark
Copenhagen is a beautiful city, one of our favorites so far on this trip. Denmark is a small country; we were told that it could fit inside Lake Michigan and there would still be room for fishing. This part of Denmark is comprised of many islands. The capital city of Denmark, Copenhagen, is located on the largest of these islands. The population of Denmark is 5.7 million people; the population of Copenhagen is about 1 million. Denmark is one of the richest countries in the world; there is not a lot of poverty here. As mentioned, Copenhagen is a beautiful city, with lots of parks and greenery, as well as canals, running through the city. There are also a lot of bicyclists here, and we were told that they are trying to overtake Amsterdam as the most bicycle friendly city in the world.
We started the day with a - what else - bus tour of the city of Copenhagen. Our local tour guide's name was Ursula. Our first stop was at the Little Mermaid statue. Hans Christian Anderson, he of fairy tale fame, lived in Copenhagen. He apparently wrote a fairy tale about a mermaid, and so they built a statue of a mermaid and placed it at the Harborfront, to honor him. We were told that the statue had been decapitated twice, and each time they had to make another head to repair it, so now they just keep spare heads on hand. Little Mermaid is not Hans Christian Anderson's best known fairy tale, but the theme fits in with Denmark, so they chose that to honor the man. Apparently Walt Disney used the Little Mermaid story and in his version, he gave all the characters names. In HCA's original fairy tale version, they were nameless. They were just called mermaid, prince, witch, etc. Our tour guide is not a fan of Walt Disney because apparently he gave the witch in the Little Mermaid the name of Ursula.
Denmark is a constitutional monarchy form of government. The current head of the Royal family is Queen Margrethe II. She can trace her ancestry back to a Viking King in the 900s. Margrethe's husband is not called the King because he is of French descent. So he is called Prince Consort Henrik (Henri). Queen Margrethe has 2 sons: Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joakim. Crown Prince Frederik is married to an Australian lady named Mary. Frederik had gone to Sydney a number of years ago, and was thrilled to be able to walk around the city without being recognized. He met his future wife Mary there, and did not tell her that he was the Crown Prince of Denmark for a long time. Finally when their relationship became serious, he told her. Today they are married and have 4 children. The oldest is named Christian. All of the kings of Denmark are named either Frederik or Christian, so it is required to name a child one of these two names if he is the Crown Prince, or in line of succession. When Crown Prince Frederik becomes King of Denmark (upon Queen Margrethe's passing), Crown Princess Mary will become Queen Mary. She is allowed to bear the title of Queen even though she is not of Denmark descent, because the title of Queen is lower than that of King. Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, although royalty, try to live much like ordinary people. Instead of having a driver take their children to school, they get on their bicycles like everyone else, and ride them to school. Apparently they do a lot of other everyday things, and mingle with the citizens of Copenhagen. They are very much loved by the locals.
A large corporation located in Denmark is Maersk, which is the largest container shipping company in the world. Mr. Maersk, who founded the company, was one of the richest people in the world, but, we were told by Ursula, that he paid very little taxes. (I guess they have tax loopholes here, too.) Supposedly he felt bad about not paying taxes, so he had an Opera house built in Copenhagen for the people of the city to enjoy. The Opera house is 14 stories tall, with 5 of the floors being below ground. It is on the harborfront. We were told that the harbor water is so clean that you can swim in it (and not glow, like in Russia!).
We passed by a power plant in Copenhagen. There are 2 things that are very unusual about this power plant. First, the plant generates power by burning garbage. In fact, they import garbage from Sweden for the power plant. Secondly, the building is a very unusual shape, with inclined, angled sides. Apparently the people of Copenhagen love to ski, but there are no hills or mountains here. So they built the power plant with inclined sides to use for skiing. They do not use snow for skiing, but they use another surface that feels like snow. They ski on the sides of the garbage-burning power plant building year round.
They also use wind turbines here for energy, and the landscape is filled with them. However, they produce more wind energy than they can use, and apparently you can't store bags of wind.
Our next stop was at Palace Square, where the royal palaces are located. This is also called Amalienborg Palace. The royal palace buildings border an octagonal shaped square, complete with guards. One of the buildings is the home of Queen Margrethe. Our tour guide told us she tried to make an appointment for us to have tea with the queen today, but that she was too busy. There was also a guest house that was as big as the Queen's residence, another building that housed a museum on the first floor, with more guest rooms on the upper floors, and the home of the family of Crown Prince Frederik.
We viewed, from a distance, Frederik's Church that is locally known as Marble Church, this despite the fact that it is not made of marble. When they began to build the church, they planned to use marble. However, shortly after, Norway, which was once a part of Denmark, gained its independence. Unfortunately for the Danish, the part of the country where all the marble was located was in Norway, which now would have to be purchased. Since the marble was too expensive to purchase from Norway, they decided to use limestone instead. They polished the limestone and shined it up to make it look similar to marble, and so still call it Marble Church. The dome of the church, as are most domes, is made of copper. But that posed a problem as well, for the copper reserves of the country resided in the Norway part of the land. Again, too expensive to purchase. So they asked all women to please donate the pots and pans of their kitchens, which at the time were all made of copper, which was then used to build the dome of the church.
One of the most picturesque parts of Copenhagen is a part of town called Nyhavn (pronounced new-hown). This is an area in the city where a very narrow harbor inlet is surrounded by brightly colored buildings, with wooden ships lining the sides of the canal.
Next we drove by Rosenborg Palace. This is the summer residence of the Royal family. We also drove by the Botanical Gardens, which contains 5 artificial lakes that were created in the early 18th century. The lakes were originally created to supply drinking water to the city, but the water was not potable, apparently, and resulted in many people getting sick. So instead they turned the lakes into recreational use.
As mentioned earlier, Copenhagen is a very bicycle-friendly city. Our local tour guide gave us some interesting numbers: 62% of the people in Copenhagen use bicycles to go to work or school; 21% use public transportation; 8% walk, and only 9% use their own personal car for commuting. Car ownership is 25%.
Tivoli Gardens, the famous amusement park of Copenhagen, is the second oldest operating amusement park in the world. When they built Tivoli Gardens, they included "thousands and thousands" (according to Ursula) of flowers to create a landscape not only consisting of rides, but also of lovely gardens. Walt Disney had visited Tivoli Gardens and was so impressed and inspired by the landscaping that he went back to the U.S. and patterned Disneyland after Tivoli.
We passed by City Hall, which has a statue of Hans Christian Anderson located outside. There is a lot of construction taking place in the city, and we were told that before any construction can begin, there is a requirement to call in an archaeologist. The archaeologists then dig very carefully (using teaspoons, according to Ursula) to be sure that none of the rich history of Denmark would be destroyed in the new construction. Only after the archaeologists' approval are they allowed to build.
Next we drove by Christiansborg Palace, which is the seat of government in Copenhagen, housing the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister's office, and the Supreme Court of Denmark.
This concluded our tour of Copenhagen by bus, but this evening we will enjoy a canal boat tour of Copenhagen complete with Jazz Band. Stay tuned.
We started the day with a - what else - bus tour of the city of Copenhagen. Our local tour guide's name was Ursula. Our first stop was at the Little Mermaid statue. Hans Christian Anderson, he of fairy tale fame, lived in Copenhagen. He apparently wrote a fairy tale about a mermaid, and so they built a statue of a mermaid and placed it at the Harborfront, to honor him. We were told that the statue had been decapitated twice, and each time they had to make another head to repair it, so now they just keep spare heads on hand. Little Mermaid is not Hans Christian Anderson's best known fairy tale, but the theme fits in with Denmark, so they chose that to honor the man. Apparently Walt Disney used the Little Mermaid story and in his version, he gave all the characters names. In HCA's original fairy tale version, they were nameless. They were just called mermaid, prince, witch, etc. Our tour guide is not a fan of Walt Disney because apparently he gave the witch in the Little Mermaid the name of Ursula.
Denmark is a constitutional monarchy form of government. The current head of the Royal family is Queen Margrethe II. She can trace her ancestry back to a Viking King in the 900s. Margrethe's husband is not called the King because he is of French descent. So he is called Prince Consort Henrik (Henri). Queen Margrethe has 2 sons: Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joakim. Crown Prince Frederik is married to an Australian lady named Mary. Frederik had gone to Sydney a number of years ago, and was thrilled to be able to walk around the city without being recognized. He met his future wife Mary there, and did not tell her that he was the Crown Prince of Denmark for a long time. Finally when their relationship became serious, he told her. Today they are married and have 4 children. The oldest is named Christian. All of the kings of Denmark are named either Frederik or Christian, so it is required to name a child one of these two names if he is the Crown Prince, or in line of succession. When Crown Prince Frederik becomes King of Denmark (upon Queen Margrethe's passing), Crown Princess Mary will become Queen Mary. She is allowed to bear the title of Queen even though she is not of Denmark descent, because the title of Queen is lower than that of King. Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary, although royalty, try to live much like ordinary people. Instead of having a driver take their children to school, they get on their bicycles like everyone else, and ride them to school. Apparently they do a lot of other everyday things, and mingle with the citizens of Copenhagen. They are very much loved by the locals.
A large corporation located in Denmark is Maersk, which is the largest container shipping company in the world. Mr. Maersk, who founded the company, was one of the richest people in the world, but, we were told by Ursula, that he paid very little taxes. (I guess they have tax loopholes here, too.) Supposedly he felt bad about not paying taxes, so he had an Opera house built in Copenhagen for the people of the city to enjoy. The Opera house is 14 stories tall, with 5 of the floors being below ground. It is on the harborfront. We were told that the harbor water is so clean that you can swim in it (and not glow, like in Russia!).
We passed by a power plant in Copenhagen. There are 2 things that are very unusual about this power plant. First, the plant generates power by burning garbage. In fact, they import garbage from Sweden for the power plant. Secondly, the building is a very unusual shape, with inclined, angled sides. Apparently the people of Copenhagen love to ski, but there are no hills or mountains here. So they built the power plant with inclined sides to use for skiing. They do not use snow for skiing, but they use another surface that feels like snow. They ski on the sides of the garbage-burning power plant building year round.
They also use wind turbines here for energy, and the landscape is filled with them. However, they produce more wind energy than they can use, and apparently you can't store bags of wind.
Our next stop was at Palace Square, where the royal palaces are located. This is also called Amalienborg Palace. The royal palace buildings border an octagonal shaped square, complete with guards. One of the buildings is the home of Queen Margrethe. Our tour guide told us she tried to make an appointment for us to have tea with the queen today, but that she was too busy. There was also a guest house that was as big as the Queen's residence, another building that housed a museum on the first floor, with more guest rooms on the upper floors, and the home of the family of Crown Prince Frederik.
We viewed, from a distance, Frederik's Church that is locally known as Marble Church, this despite the fact that it is not made of marble. When they began to build the church, they planned to use marble. However, shortly after, Norway, which was once a part of Denmark, gained its independence. Unfortunately for the Danish, the part of the country where all the marble was located was in Norway, which now would have to be purchased. Since the marble was too expensive to purchase from Norway, they decided to use limestone instead. They polished the limestone and shined it up to make it look similar to marble, and so still call it Marble Church. The dome of the church, as are most domes, is made of copper. But that posed a problem as well, for the copper reserves of the country resided in the Norway part of the land. Again, too expensive to purchase. So they asked all women to please donate the pots and pans of their kitchens, which at the time were all made of copper, which was then used to build the dome of the church.
One of the most picturesque parts of Copenhagen is a part of town called Nyhavn (pronounced new-hown). This is an area in the city where a very narrow harbor inlet is surrounded by brightly colored buildings, with wooden ships lining the sides of the canal.
Next we drove by Rosenborg Palace. This is the summer residence of the Royal family. We also drove by the Botanical Gardens, which contains 5 artificial lakes that were created in the early 18th century. The lakes were originally created to supply drinking water to the city, but the water was not potable, apparently, and resulted in many people getting sick. So instead they turned the lakes into recreational use.
As mentioned earlier, Copenhagen is a very bicycle-friendly city. Our local tour guide gave us some interesting numbers: 62% of the people in Copenhagen use bicycles to go to work or school; 21% use public transportation; 8% walk, and only 9% use their own personal car for commuting. Car ownership is 25%.
Tivoli Gardens, the famous amusement park of Copenhagen, is the second oldest operating amusement park in the world. When they built Tivoli Gardens, they included "thousands and thousands" (according to Ursula) of flowers to create a landscape not only consisting of rides, but also of lovely gardens. Walt Disney had visited Tivoli Gardens and was so impressed and inspired by the landscaping that he went back to the U.S. and patterned Disneyland after Tivoli.
We passed by City Hall, which has a statue of Hans Christian Anderson located outside. There is a lot of construction taking place in the city, and we were told that before any construction can begin, there is a requirement to call in an archaeologist. The archaeologists then dig very carefully (using teaspoons, according to Ursula) to be sure that none of the rich history of Denmark would be destroyed in the new construction. Only after the archaeologists' approval are they allowed to build.
Next we drove by Christiansborg Palace, which is the seat of government in Copenhagen, housing the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Minister's office, and the Supreme Court of Denmark.
This concluded our tour of Copenhagen by bus, but this evening we will enjoy a canal boat tour of Copenhagen complete with Jazz Band. Stay tuned.
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