Thursday, June 7, 2012

Norway Cruise Experience & Diamond Jubilee!

The Norwegian anniversary excursion was a blast!

We flew into Oslo on Saturday evening and were able to walk our luggage over the Radisson hotel across the street. We were glad for that because it was almost 11PM (and yet strangely... still pretty light out!). Earlier that day, a few minutes before we were picked up to go to the airport we discovered that there was a strike going on in Norway and our ship would not be leaving from Oslo anymore, but instead Gothenburg, Sweden.

Contrary to what you may think: Oslo is not near the Oslo airport. You take the train to get there!

Fortunately, we knew that all we had to do was get to the correct pier and busses would be taking us down to the new port. This is easier said than done! There were far more piers in Oslo than we expected. We had to catch a cab to take us to the correct one--2 km away! Let me tell you, if you ever plan on going to Norway, plan to spend quite a bit of money, especially if you want a cab. 2 km ended up costing us 269 NOK, which is about $45! Fortunately, the rest of the cruise included every other expense so we hardly spent any money at all! (A few post cards and a Christmas ornament memory excluded, of course.)

The bus ride down to Gothenburg wasn't so bad because we were just too excited to be put off by the excursion. I have become an official amateur in Bejeweled thanks to the iPad and the 3.5 hour journey.


Once we arrived to the Plan-B port, which looked a lot like a shipyard, we joined a queue and became official cruisers! We had a ton of fun exploring the ship and watching everyone slowly join the group; I was told there were about 1900 guests.

Shuffleboard is cool.
The Queue


The name of our ship
Day 2 : Gothenburg! The day after we got to the ship we got to roam around the great Swedish city of Gothenburg. We loved it! The people are so friendly and everyone speaks English! This came in handy because the only Swedish words I know are Ogren Vän = friend (Nonnie taught me that one!)
We went shopping and bought a dress!


Charming old town


Gustav Adolf

The Volvo plant right next to our Ship's pier!
 Back on the ship... we were occasionally surprised with adorable towel animals on the bed. How did they find my RayBans?























Formal night was on the day at sea between Gothenburg and Bergen, Norway. We met some friends on the cruise and they helped make the trip even more enjoyable! It's always nice to have good conversation with great food!
We all look super sharp!


We both won a Spa Raffle! I got a foot and ankle massage. :)





Ice cream was in no short supply on the ship. I frequently partook!! 


Bryggen : Wharf of Bergen. UNESCO World Heritage site










Final stop on the tour: Geiranger, Norway.

We got up early so we could watch the ship navigate through the fjord. It was amazing! There are so many waterfalls and occasionally we could see a lonely cabin on the side of the mountains. That's my kind of living! :)

brrr
A cup of coffee and brilliant scenery!

Our favorite photo. This was taken on a hike up to the Storsetter Waterfall

LONG HIKE UP! 

We made it! The foot and ankle massage will come in handy tonight!

 The end of the hike offered many rewards including homemade waffles, jam, cream and coffee, spectacular views and a visit to the local kids (goats)!




The Vision of the Seas in Geirangerfjorden!

The cruise was an incredibly romantic vacation, perfect for our anniversary celebration!



When we returned back to England on Saturday we stayed with a friend and went to London for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Flotilla! It was spectacular to see all the beautiful sights of London with all the Union Jack buntings and row boats on the Thames.

We love all the patriotism!

Excited in the rainy weather!!!

Definitely got pretty cold after a while!!!

All worth it to see the queen and her royal family!!!