OneSixtyToOne

You must sign up for all included excursions on MyVikingJourney.com. Viking needs to determine ahead of time how many busses and tour guides are needed. Be aware that the Sistine Chapel (it’s part of the Vatican Museum tour) is closed on Sundays and can be closed because of other events or religious holidays. We just happened to dock in Rome on Easter last year and needless to say, we didn’t want to go near the crowded Vatican, so be sure to check the date the ship will be in port. Rome is inland and requires over an hour to get there. That significantly cuts down on your available time to see the sights. We’ve done Viator tours in Rome but that was during independent travel and we were there for several days. We took separate tours of the Vatican Museum(skip the line) and an in depth Forum / Colosseum tour with an archeologist that allowed us access to non-public areas. Both tours were excellent. I’m not sure why you just want to “see” the colosseum without going inside and also touring The Forum, but to each their own. You can probably accomplish that driving by and maybe stopping for a photo op with one of the Viking Rome excursions. Only you know if you are comfortable enough to do an independent or DIY tour. Remember, the ship is not going to wait for you and the cheapest way is sometimes the most expensive.

Currently the Viking website has an End of Summer sale for this cruise. No promo code. Looks like next summer sailings are filling up. I wouldn’t wait too long to book. https://www.vikingcruises.com/oceans/cruise-destinations/baltic/icelands-natural-beauty/index.html?startLocation=reykjavik&endLocation=reykjavik&year=202

Some Special Future Guest promotion codes only work when you call in.

The 824 indicates an August 2024 promotion. The previous code contained 724. The new one should contain 924.

Day 16 - “Much Munch” Today we have a half day included tour of Oslo followed by free time to explore the city. We boarded our Royal Coach and did a drive by of points of interest near the seat of government, my one decent picture from the bus was of the parliament building. Our first stop was at the world renowned Vigeland Sculpture Park. The park contains 200 sculptures by Gustav Vigeland in bronze, granite, and cast iron. The statues are all nudes because Vigeland wanted them to be timeless, capturing the cycle of life from infancy to old age. The most famous of which is called Angry Baby, his hand looking polish from the public rubbing it. Interestingly, the only clothed statue in the park is of Vigeland, which was added at a later date. The park is a wonderful experience but one guest was upset about the content. Supposedly the woman who posed for this statue fainted when it was revealed. From the sculpture park we now traveled to a peninsula across the harbor where various museums as well as the Royal summer palace is located. We passed the Royal Farm where the cows are let out to pasture after a long winter indoors. The locals come to watch the cows frolic as it is considered the unofficial end of winter. We stopped at the Maritime Museum and sat for a short presentation of how the staff is building a replica of a Viking boat that was buried about 900 AD and found almost a millennia later. The boat was built using the same techniques that were used to build the old boat we saw in Iceland on Vigur Island and shared a lot of similarities. The docent gave an excellent presentation and displayed how the boards of the hull are overlapped, fastened together, and gaps filled with pitch covered cord and baleen. The museum also displayed other artifacts, paintings, and ship models. After the bus tour we headed out to do some sightseeing on our own. The hotel is in a great location. Walking through the train station brings you out on a large plaza that is across the street from the Oslo Opera House. The Opera House is designed to look like an iceberg rising out of the water. We were told the effect is very dramatic when it is covered in winter snow. Walking to the top offers fabulous views of the city. You might even make a new friend. Next door is the Munch Museum. We headed there to spend the rest of the afternoon viewing Edvard Munch’s prolific collection. He donated all his art to the city and a museum was constructed to house all the works. Munch’s best known work is The Scream and there are several versions of the piece. The museum presents three of these: a painting, a drawing, and a print. They each appear for 30 minutes at a time on a rotating basis in a specially designed room limiting light exposure. People wait, camera ready, for one of three doors to open on the hour and half hour, hoping for the definitive shot. I was really surprised by how extensive the collection is. The entire building is filled with only Munch’s work. It is very impressive. The top floor offers an observation area with a magnificent view. After a tiring day as well 16 days of go go go, we headed back to the hotel to pack. Tomorrow we have an 8:30 AM departure to the airport and a very long day flying home to California. As always, it’s been a very enjoyable 2+ weeks traveling with Viking, seeing sights we may never see again but giving us memories that will last a lifetime.

Day 15 - “Tunnel Vision” Today we leave the Viking Venus and begin our Viking Oslo extension. After an early breakfast we vacated our room at 8:00 AM and headed to our designated meeting spot in the atrium. We are on the 11:49 AM train to Oslo and our disembarking time is 10:30, so we camped out in a comfortable chair and read a book for the next couple of hours. Other people we met were on an earlier train to Oslo and they disembarked at 5:30 AM. I think I would have preferred the early train because we will not arrive at our hotel until almost 8 PM. This means we will have no time to do anything in Oslo today. We arrived at the train station around 11:00. It was well organized and they handed out seat assignments. We waited about 30 minutes before boarding so I took some photos of the station and train. Once onboard we settled in for our 7 hour journey, following fjords and streams, climbing about the tree line to the Finse plateau, and then slowly descending towards Oslo. Along the way we entered 182 tunnels, which made picture taking a challenge. You’d set up a shot, then…. tunnel! About an hour in we were served a box lunch that included a tasty chicken wrap. Not sure I would eat this on the Ides of March. By the luck of the draw we sat on the right side heading towards Oslo. They say there is great scenery on both sides, which is true with a caveat. In my opinion, the most breathtaking scenery is around the fjords near Bergen and that is almost exclusively on the left side for the first hour of the ride. After that it’s a mixture of both sides, with the best view of the glaciers at Finse on the right. Also, on the late train the right side will get the setting sun shining in so as you approach Oslo, you are on the wrong side for any photography. Finse is a treeless plateau where many of the famous Arctic and Antarctic expeditions came to train in the winter. It’s also where The Empire Strikes Back filmed the scenes of the snow planet. Many locals were used as extras in the film and they throw a reunion party every few years. They said the costumes were not designed for the cold so they could only shoot outdoors for 20 minutes at a time. Here you can see two parts of the glacier, emerging from the eroding mountain. The scenery on this trip was fantastic, I just wish the conditions were better for photography. Upon arrival in Oslo we were guided through the train station, across a pedestrian bridge, and into the Radisson Blu hotel. We were told it’s the tallest building in Norway. The guide also said if you grab a cab or Uber don’t refer to it as the Raddison as there is another one in town. Due to its location on the Sonja Henies Plaza, this one is referred to as The Plaza Hotel or Raddison Plaza. It was now 8 PM so we wandered over to the local mall that is connected to the train station. Here we found a place serving some of the best pastries we’ve ever had. A shout out to Bit. Delicious! Tomorrow we explore Oslo.

Yes, I was referring to the picture of the Grieg statue. It's across from the bandstand. The violinist statue is across the street, in a treelined park.

Day 14 - Part 2 “The Bergen Phonebook” After lunch we took the late afternoon included tour. By this time the rain had stopped and the sun peaked through the clouds, making picture taking much easier. Also, the old Bergen waterfront buildings face south making it an ideal time of day to capture them in full sunlight. We started our tour by boarding an electric bus. We have taken dozens of excursions over the years and this a first for us. Way to go Norway! Our first stop was opposite where our ship was docked. We had a preview of the location from our port side veranda. From the dock opposite our ship we had a great view of the harbor and old town. The late afternoon light was at our back, making photographic conditions ideal. The area where our ship is docked is the site of an enormous explosion during WWII. A Dutch cargo ship full of explosives blew up, destroying all the buildings in the area except the nearby fortress. The explosion was so great the anchor was thrown atop the hills above the harbor where it remains today as a monument. Docked next to our ship are various odd looking vessels. These are used to service the oil platforms in the North Sea. We then walked across the street to a parish church. The church had also been damaged by the WWII explosion and rebuilt. Outside the church we discovered what Bergen has done with their obsolete phone booths, they have turned them into miniature book sharing libraries. Quite inventive. We entered the church through a basement door to discover the remains of a medieval castle. The tour guide told us stories of how this basement was used throughout the ages as a prison and was eventually converted into a place of worship. The upstairs has an interesting configuration. The altar is on a wall in the middle perpendicular to entrances and seating. I don’t believe I’ve ever seen such a configuration before. On our way to our next stop I was able to take a shot of what the area looked like pre-explosion. This area survived the blast. Notice all the white buildings, indicating this was a wealthy area. The hillside beyond is where the anchor from the explosion ended up. We then stopped at the National Theater. Outside stands a statue honoring Henrik Ibsen. Ibsen is considered one of the most important playwrights since Shakespeare. He spent many years as the theater director in the building behind his statue. The statue is famous for its oversized dimensions and the crazy eyes. From the theater we walked down a lovely tree lined street through a park to where a bandstand and a monument to composer Edvard Greig are located. This is a lovely area surrounded by sculpture, fountains, and museums. We boarded our bus again for one last stop at the old town where the setting sun provided us one last photo op. From there it was back to the ship for always the most melancholy time of a cruise, packing for tomorrow’s departure.

Only one of the Viking cruises that visits Panama doesn’t do a full transit, the Panama Canal & Central America itinerary.

In recent years MVJ has upgraded their airline search capabilities. You can search for a different flight and even a different airport. We live close enough to two major airports where we’ve been able to change flight, assign seats, depart from one and return to another all without using Air Plus. If after Viking assigns flights not to your liking and you’ve search MVJ for alternatives, you can then add Air Plus. No need to start off paying more without a reason.

We’ve always been able to pick our seats. Typically they are assigned by Viking but you can go into MVJ or the airline’s app to change it. Seats are at a contract rate so not all locations may be available. Also, some carriers do not assign advance seating unless you pay an additional fee, you get a seat at check in. More and more airlines are trending this way. Major carriers like BA have been doing this for years. We encountered this with one leg of our trip back home from Florence on a regional carrier. MVJ listed our seat assignments as not available at this time with this carrier. We went on the airline’s website and paid a fee to get our advanced seat assignments.

We found it well worth the cost since it includes transportation to the hotel and to the ship in Valparaiso. I’m all for seamless transfers and baggage transport. This is an expensive cruise and I’m not about to nickel and dime it with a DYI roll of the dice to save maybe a couple of hundred dollars. There is an old saying, sometimes the cheap is expensive. As far as location, the modern hotels are found in this area. The downtown area is where the tourist attractions are and is not the most attractive or safest part of town. The central plaza is in the red light district. I’m not sure I would stay anywhere near there.

I resemble that remark

Day 14 - Part 1 “Norwegian Wood” Today we arrived at our last port of call, Bergen. This morning we took the optional Snapshot of Bergen excursion, a 4.5 hour tour of the city. Being our first time in Bergen, we wanted to see as much of the city as possible and this tour also includes a ride on the funicular to Mt. Floyen and a spectacular view. Even though it was raining, it did not disappoint. By the luck of the draw we had an excellent guide for this tour. Greivin is a Costa Rican who met a Norwegian woman in college in Costa Rica. He later moved to Bergen and married her. This experience allowed him to convey to us what Norwegian life is like from the perspective of an outsider. He was insightful, informative, humorous, and entertaining. The 4 plus hours we spent with him was very enriching and enjoyable. After a ride past the fish market and port area our guide talked about the rain and emphasized how much it rains here. He came from a tropical rainforest and thought it couldn’t be worse. His wife however told him to prepare because it is worse. It rains almost every day and even he was amazed as how much rain there is. Because of this the locals will take any opportunity when the sun appears briefly to head outside. Any green open park space quickly fills with throngs of people sun bathing. Our first stop was at Fantoft Stavkirke, a replica of a stave church, built after the original was destroyed by fire. Reaching the church required a short walk along a trail through a grove of trees. Our guide then described the passion Norwegians have for hiking. There are hiking trails of every length imaginable from minutes in duration up to weeks. He recounted on his arrival in Bergen his wife encouraged him to accompany her and some friends on a “short” hike. Four miles into the hike he almost collapsed and thought it was the finish line. Turns out it was the half way point. Eight miles is considered a short hike. He said that in kindergarten they start taking children on walks and then hikes regardless of the weather. Hiking is ingrained from an early age and is a social activity. His wife told him if he wanted to socialize and make friends, he had to hike. He said that Norwegians can appear distant at first but when you are hiking there is a bonding experience and they open up about all kinds of personal stuff. Hiking is where you make friends. In a small clearing the church appeared. The early churches, built when Christianity first arrived, incorporated elements of Norse mythology, with dragons predominantly extending from the roof. Outside there is a stone cross from the Middle Ages that is believed to have been made before the construction of churches. Inside the smell of pine was phenomenal. The woodworking, complete with intricate mythological carvings, was amazing. Isn’t it good, Norwegian wood. Our next stop was at the funicular. Close by is the oldest McDonald’s building in the world, dating from the 1700’s. McDonald’s was originally going to raze the building but protesters prevented it and saved the facade. We were told that inside is like any other McDonald’s. We rode to funicular to the top of Mt. Floyen to catch a spectacular view of the city below. It was very windy and rainy so we sought shelter in the nearby cafe where our guide recommended the cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate. He also said this is one of the better spots in Bergen to find good coffee. Back on the bus. Greivin elaborated on the Norwegian coffee situation. “Basically,” he said “it sucks.” Coming from Costa Rica he said he’s use to the best coffee in the world. This I agree with. I’m a home coffee roaster and I buy small batches of green coffee beans from a company that sources them from small micro coffee growers around the world. The best coffee I’ve had has been from Costa Rica. It’s mountain grown in volcanic soil. Greivin went on to describe how he and his wife will go back to Costa Rica during the dead of winter for a few weeks of needed sunshine. On his return he fills an additional suitcase full of coffee. When he arrived at customs in Amsterdam he was pulled into secondary inspection for hours and interrogated as to why all the coffee? He told them that Norwegian coffee sucks. They started opening bags looking for drugs and finally he offered to brew them some coffee to try. Everyone had a cup and they let him continue onto Norway. Next year the same thing happened. While in secondary one of the guards from the previous year showed up and said “Your the guy with all the coffee. You know I went to Norway and you’re right, the coffee sucks.” They again brewed some coffee, had a laugh, and he was on his way. Our final stop of the tour was at the iconic Bergen waterfront. Here we paused for 20 minutes for some pictures and some quick shopping. Our guide also pointed out the unique manhole covers. Some were being stolen for souvenirs so they now have a locking mechanism on them. This excursion usually includes a tour of the Hanseatic League museum. Unfortunately it is closed for the next couple of years for renovations. Our guide then explained how the whole area is sinking, which becomes obvious when you take a close look at the buildings. To preserve these structures a new technique is being tried. The entire structure is being carefully lifted and new foundations are being constructed. If successful the whole block will be redone in this fashion. We then walked through an alley to a different museum where the Hanseatic meeting houses and kitchen are located. Because of fire danger stoves, fireplaces, furnaces, and chimneys were banned. The only fire allowed in the area was in the kitchen of the meeting halls. Here an enormous hearth exists with furnaces connected to a common chimney placed in rooms to conduct the heat. This was the only place to warm yourself in the winter. In the main administrative hall decisions were made by a panel of three leaders. It was considered an insult to point your finger at someone so instead during judicial proceedings a pointer would be used. During restoration some of the original paint and decorations were found on the wood beams. We exited next to the cathedral, which is also a short distance to the ship. On the way back we also passed the fortress, which is literally next to our docking location. At the conclusion of our tour Greivin presented all of us with a small gift, a coaster replica of the famous city manhole cover. We are not sure if this is something that our tour guide did personally or if all the Panoramic Bergen tours do this. Has anyone else received this thoughtful gift? Back on board we had lunch and prepared for our afternoon included tour. BTW I promised the trivia answer in this post, so here it is……. Lassie

PV and above have four mini bottles of liquor and 2 cans of beer replenished daily. You can asked for any combination of whisky, rum, gin, and vodka. You can also asked for wine instead of liquor. Cocktails are not included.

You can also swap the champagne for a bottle of wine.

We didn’t leave the ship for the Oslo train until 10:30 but had to vacate our rooms at 8 AM.

Not many waterfalls, but lots of spectacular scenery. Glacier Express

Day 13 - “Black and White and Red All Over” Today we arrived in Flåm. The charming village lies eight hours inland through Aurlandsfjord and we’ve been sailing into it most of the night. I can see how cruising Norway during the summer solstice would be a big advantage for photographers. Today’s forecast is heavy rain most of the day, but I did manage a few gorgeous photos when the sun peaked through. This morning we took the included tour which consisted of a stop at a lookout on top of the fjord followed by stops at a small town and two churches. Today turned out to be the local annual triathlon. Hundreds of participants had just swam in the fjord and were now climbing to their next destination on their mountain bikes. This made for a slow ascent by bus as the road is single lane in most places, interrupted only by the occasional blue M sign, indicating a meeting place where a small turnout exists. The hairpin turns were especially slow and challenging as bicyclists filled the rainy roadway. At the top I managed a couple of shots as the sun attempted to peak through for a brief moment. You might even spot a faint rainbow. We then descended back down to the local village where a small river meets the fjord. Here we caught a glimpse of a few people fly fishing for trout. Along the way the tour guide pointed out something we would hear a few times over the next couple of days: why the old churches are black, why houses are white, and why barns are red. The oldest structures like stave churches were originally covered in pitch to protect them from the rain. After paint was developed, the cheapest color was red because it was made with abundant iron pigments and the blood of slaughtered animals. Therefore all of the barns and outbuildings are traditionally painted red. Eventually white paint was developed but since it required expensive imported zinc to make, it was a considered a status symbol. If you wanted to show off your wealth and prestige, you painted your house white. Many of the churches from this era have interiors that resemble a ship’s hull, mostly because the local builders were shipwrights. This afternoon excursion’s was a ride on the world famous Flåm Railway. Being a train buff this was one of the highlights of our cruise. It did not disappoint, although the rain did put a damper on picture taking. The scenery was spectacular. The zig zag on the side of the mountain is the original construction work road. We are climbing to the top of that waterfall where you can see the snow shed covering the track at the upper left. At the top we visited the local hotel for cake and coffee. We had a hour to kill and it was too rainy to go outside but I did get a picture from the back porch. I also found a pool table in the lounge and played a bit while talking to some backpackers from the Netherlands. Back aboard the ship we attended tonight’s lecture about the Hanseatic League, an extensive maritime network of trading ports that covered the Baltic and Northern Europe from the 13th through the 15th centuries. This background information definitely enhanced our upcoming tour of Bergen. The league was what we would call today a cartel. Each port city specialized in a commodity. The league regulated shipping, controlled supply, and set prices. Bergen was the supplier of dried fish, Bruges supplied textiles, London provided wool, ports in Russia supplied furs, etc. As we shall soon see, DW decided to take control of the Bergen league office. Tonight was the final trivia contest of our cruise. Unfortunately we came up one point short of a win, missing only 2 questions. I was however the only person in the room that knew the answer to a piece of trivia I’ve retained since childhood. What major motion picture star of the 1940s and ‘50s, and later TV Star in the ‘50s and ‘60s, played a female even though they were male? Answer in my next posting.

They also have a large selection of books on art and photography. I read one on the complete works of Renoir while waiting for our train to Oslo. We were there from 8-10:30 AM.

Day 12 - “You call this New Art?” Today we arrived in Ålesund, Norway. Our only scheduled tour is this morning’s included Art Nouveau Walking Tour. The city was destroyed in 1904 by a fire. A favorite vacation spot of the German Kaiser, he personally funded much of the reconstruction. Rebuilding was done in the prevailing Art Nouveau, or “New Art” style of architecture of the time. The ship docked right in the heart of town making this our easiest excursion to date. We assembled on the dock and walked a few short blocks to our first stop, the parish church of Ålesund. The church is so close to the ship, we heard the PA announcements being made on deck. Although the church looks very old, it is not. The original church was damaged in the 1904 fire and rebuilt. The first stone of the current church was laid in 1906 by King Haakon. Most churches face east for a variety of cultural and theological reasons. However this church was rebuilt facing west. Why? To block the bitterly cold prevailing winds when entering. There is a lovely garden outside. We now continued our tour towards the old, reconstructed section of town. The Art Nouveau movement in the late 19th and early 20th Centuries was a reaction to the Industrial Revolution’s mass produced aesthetic . The concept was to return to nature, so you’ll see flowing lines, decorative pieces of flora and fauna, and intricate patterns. The pinnacle of this is found in Barcelona in the works of Antonio Gaudi, where almost no straight lines exist. The buildings of Ålesund are of a more subdued nature, but is in sharp contrast to the gothic and neoclassical style that preceded it. This yellow building was used in WWII as Gestapo headquarters. Our tour guide said many resistance fighters were tortured inside. Only Real Americans can eat here. The small harbor area is picturesque. Our tour concluded a little abruptly in the business district when a band started playing for a local street fair. The Quietvox was no match for Norwegian Death Metal. Instead of returning to the ship we departed the tour to do some shopping. After buying the obligatory Christmas ornament, we found a small ice cream stand that served blood orange gelato, a flavor I hadn’t had since we were in Florence. Very tasty. High five to all the newsies out there. The ship docked very close by. Back on board I took the opportunity to use the thermal spa, as most people were still out and about. I actually fell asleep on the heated stone lounger. This evening’s lecture was on a topic I never head of before, “Searching for the Northwest Passage to the Pacific and Ending up in Bergen.” In 1619 the king of Denmark and Norway decided he would beat the other European powers to the Far East by finding the Northwest Passage. He sent Jens Munk on an expedition that resulted in only three survivors. Somehow Munk and two men made it back to Bergen, where he became a folk hero. https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/jens-munk-north-west-passage-expedition-1619-20 This evening we lost another tiebreaker in Trivia. As we approach the end of our cruise, our chances of a threepeat are diminishing rapidly. Tomorrow we take a train ride in Flåm.

The menu is the menu. You may asked for some substitutions of some courses but there is no alternate menu.

Day 11 - “Seven Sisters and a Suitor” Today we arrived in Geiranger, Norway. Awaking at around 5 AM, we found ourselves deep within Geirangerfjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With partly sunny skies, it was a spectacular view, with the sunrise adding color to what has been mostly a gray sky. Our port side cabin had a view of the Seven Sisters Waterfall on our sail-in. We will be getting up close to this spectacular site on this afternoon’s tour. On approach we saw another ship using the docking facilities, Cunard’s Queen Anne. Therefore, this will be a tender port, the one and only on this cruise. Our morning tour is the included Eagle’s Bend Overlook & Panoramic Drive. It stops at two observation points above the fjord and then winds its way up a mountain road, climbing above the tree line to a glacier lake. Low hanging clouds in the fjord were blown quickly by the wind. At the 2nd stop we were at cloud level and the was an eerie effect of seeing clouds moving towards us, totally engulfing us, and moving on, leaving only a lingering wisp of white in its wake. The views were awe inspiring. By the time we reached the high point of our tour, the skies were completely grey. Rain is predicted for this afternoon. We stopped at a restaurant for a break and some souvenir shopping. We’ve entered troll country. The ride back down the mountain offered spectacular views. On the way back to the ship some people asked to be let off at the Norwegian Fjord Center. This center is at the top of the Geiranger waterfall walk. Exiting here allows you to walk back to town and the dock by taking the downhill path along the scenic waterfall. If we hadn’t had an afternoon excursion and were pressed for time, we would have exited here, as it seems like the smart plan to walk downhill. After a quick lunch and some tendering, we headed to our afternoon excursion, a Taste of Norway. Contrary to what the name implies, this tour is not a foodie tour. We took this tour because it’s a boat ride up the fjord for a close encounter with the spectacular Seven Sisters and Suitor waterfalls. On the way back you are given a small sample of local cheeses and cured meats along with a flight of beer from the local brewery. The tour boat departs right next to the tender dock. While waiting we took some photos of the town and then the forecasted rain began. There are many ways to tour the fjord. Tours are offered by RIB, kayak, and boat. Today we are glad we chose an enclosed tour boat, as the skies opened and it started pouring rain. The boat spent about 30 minutes at the main attractions of this tour, the waterfalls. The Seven Sisters is so named because several waterfall cascade down the cliffs and merge together. We went on deck in the downpour to capture the view. After viewing the Seven Sisters we crossed to the other side to view The Suitor. This massive waterfall is directly opposite the Seven Sisters and is said to be their Suitor. On the return we enjoyed a fleet of local beers ranging from light to dark, the light Pilsner being my favorite. The bite size cheese and meats were nothing to write home about. Back onboard we had dinner in the World Cafe, which gave us panoramic views of the sail away through this magnificent fjord. It also allowed the occasional visit to the outdoor terrace to snap photos of our last view of one of the most spectacular sights on earth. After dinner our trivia team assembled and we won our second contest. Mimosas for all as our waiter included himself in our victory toast. Tomorrow we arrive in the Art Nouveau city of Ålesund.

Yes, Richard showed us a screen shot on Happy Whale of one of his whales traversing the Atlantic.