Leaving Oslo, late evening, we sailed towards Germany. Day 3 was spent at sea doing various activities aboard ship. I was up just after 0500, having food and coffee from my window seat, watching the sun come up. Debby soon joined me on deck for the sunrise. Ron and Nancy slept in for a few more hours.
The day at sea was relaxing. I had great massage in the Spa. Our evening dinner was a "dress up" occasion enjoying fine dining and great food. Afterwards we grabbed some blankets and lounged on deck to watch STAR WARS on the big screen.
Still at sea throughout the night, we finally docked at the resort town of Warnemunde, Germany about 0700. I was on deck having coffee and making sure the Captain parked this rig okay. Not needing my help, I returned to our Stateroom for a dry roll and more coffee.
There would be an excursion train taking many b of our passengers to Berlin, a 6 hour round trip event. We opted to not go to Berlin, as we spent 4 days there a few years ago. Instead, we would explore Warnemunde today.
Friday, September 9, 2016
OSLO, NORWAY
We boarded the Princess yesterday afternoon and pulled away from Copenhagen about 6:30 PM. We docked in Oslo, Norway about 10:30 AM after traveling all night.. unfortunately the cruise ship The Queen Mary got here first, taking the best docking station.
We disembarked and made our price way to the Hop On zhop Off city sightseeing Bus. We rode the bus the complete circuit times two.
Oslo is a modern city with people who look and smell much like us. There were many people out and about, filling the parks and checking g out the events around town. There were also two other cruise ships in port.
The Viking Museum was fun to see. It housed old rowing boats, carts, sleighs and many other articles once used by the Vikings.
The Vigeland Sculpture Park sported 212 bronze and marble sculptures that depicts the nakedness of man and shown as being active in various events and family life. This was the work of one sculpted: 212 sculptures over a 20-year period of time. Quite unique, this is the largest collection of sculptures by one man, in the world.
There was some kind of Pokémon Go event going on inside the park. Dozens, if not hundreds, of kids (and a few adults) were looking for Pokémon's. It was a screeming frenzy of excited children running from one place to another.....much like what's happening with my grandkids! The same was happening in Copenhagen. I guess kids are much alike no matter where they are living!
It was nearly 11:00 PM when we disembarked and left Norway.
We boarded the Princess yesterday afternoon and pulled away from Copenhagen about 6:30 PM. We docked in Oslo, Norway about 10:30 AM after traveling all night.. unfortunately the cruise ship The Queen Mary got here first, taking the best docking station.
We disembarked and made our price way to the Hop On zhop Off city sightseeing Bus. We rode the bus the complete circuit times two.
Oslo is a modern city with people who look and smell much like us. There were many people out and about, filling the parks and checking g out the events around town. There were also two other cruise ships in port.
The Viking Museum was fun to see. It housed old rowing boats, carts, sleighs and many other articles once used by the Vikings.
The Vigeland Sculpture Park sported 212 bronze and marble sculptures that depicts the nakedness of man and shown as being active in various events and family life. This was the work of one sculpted: 212 sculptures over a 20-year period of time. Quite unique, this is the largest collection of sculptures by one man, in the world.
There was some kind of Pokémon Go event going on inside the park. Dozens, if not hundreds, of kids (and a few adults) were looking for Pokémon's. It was a screeming frenzy of excited children running from one place to another.....much like what's happening with my grandkids! The same was happening in Copenhagen. I guess kids are much alike no matter where they are living!
It was nearly 11:00 PM when we disembarked and left Norway.
Our first full day in Copenhagen was frought with trying to figure out how to use the kiosks to get train tickets, reading non-scaled maps for determining walking distances, and understanding the language, tho many English speaking Danish-kins are eager to help. (Is "Danish-kins" even a word?) We started our morning with a visit to a local bakery inside the huge next door mall and a sit down coffee inside Starbucks.
Ron and I quickly grasped the monetary exchange rates but the girls had difficulty with the math. One Danish Krone equals 15 cents....or 7 to 1...pretty easy. But things are expensive enough. A burger at Burger King runs about $12. Gasoline is about $7/gallon. A sit down meal costs above $20 (for even a beef burger and fries!).
We thoroughly enjoyed the canal ride and open air water taxi, hop on/hop off and seeing the city from gorgeously blue water. Nudism is quite acceptable here, which created a few embarrassing moments for those of us not accustomed to seeing that. Even nude sunbathers at water taxi stops did not appear concerned with boat loads of tourists with cameras! This was one of those times when this half blind codger's eye condition came in handy! Ha Ha! Some of that stuff you DON'T WANT TO SEE!! 😅😅
Tivoli Gardens has vastly improved since my first trip to Copenhagen in May of 1968, but that was 48 years ago! Hard to believe it's been that long! But it's every bit as beautiful as I remember...and more. It's certainly moderniźed with more exotic rides, restaurants. The entertainment is much the same. In fact, the Pantomime Theatre still has the same act that it has always had since it opened! Makes me want to go home and dig out my old Kodachrome slides and check it out!
We came in late because we enjoyed the night lights of Tivoli so much. We did leave just before the Laser Light show at 10:45 as we didn't want to fight hordes of people for a taxi!
Today we are taking the train and Bus 86 to see the Little Mermaid, Copenhagen's iconic statue. But first, a sweet roll and Starbucks was more important.
Later, as we stood looking down at the Little Mermaid, I struck up a conversation with a lady who seemed very knowledgeable and interesting to talk to. She was a codger, like me.
Ron and I quickly grasped the monetary exchange rates but the girls had difficulty with the math. One Danish Krone equals 15 cents....or 7 to 1...pretty easy. But things are expensive enough. A burger at Burger King runs about $12. Gasoline is about $7/gallon. A sit down meal costs above $20 (for even a beef burger and fries!).
We thoroughly enjoyed the canal ride and open air water taxi, hop on/hop off and seeing the city from gorgeously blue water. Nudism is quite acceptable here, which created a few embarrassing moments for those of us not accustomed to seeing that. Even nude sunbathers at water taxi stops did not appear concerned with boat loads of tourists with cameras! This was one of those times when this half blind codger's eye condition came in handy! Ha Ha! Some of that stuff you DON'T WANT TO SEE!! 😅😅
Tivoli Gardens has vastly improved since my first trip to Copenhagen in May of 1968, but that was 48 years ago! Hard to believe it's been that long! But it's every bit as beautiful as I remember...and more. It's certainly moderniźed with more exotic rides, restaurants. The entertainment is much the same. In fact, the Pantomime Theatre still has the same act that it has always had since it opened! Makes me want to go home and dig out my old Kodachrome slides and check it out!
We came in late because we enjoyed the night lights of Tivoli so much. We did leave just before the Laser Light show at 10:45 as we didn't want to fight hordes of people for a taxi!
Today we are taking the train and Bus 86 to see the Little Mermaid, Copenhagen's iconic statue. But first, a sweet roll and Starbucks was more important.
Later, as we stood looking down at the Little Mermaid, I struck up a conversation with a lady who seemed very knowledgeable and interesting to talk to. She was a codger, like me.
Wednesday, September 7, 2016
Copenhagen or Bust
You might not think that an overnight plane ride to NYC with a short stop in Boston, then making connections for an International flight out of Newark could rack up over 6500 steps, but it certainly did! Stalking planes, trains, trams all day to get us to our final flight out of the U.S. of A. made for a long, hard day!
We had time to make a stop in Manhatten to have lunch with our beautiful Niece, Andrea Williams, inside Penn Station. Priceless!
Catching a train over to Newark took us inside the air terminal for International flights. We soon met up with our good friends, Ron and Nancy Pinkerton, from NW Arkansas. They have been life-long friends for many years. We love traveling with them and have had many adventures together. Although they are younger, you wouldn't know it by looking. 😁
We made it through Security without a hitch or a glitch... somewhat out of the ordinary for us! Only thing was that my perfectly packed carry-on entered the ominous scanner but never exited. The conveyor belt continued to convey but wouldn't spit out my bag. It seems as if ATF or FBI, TSA or whoever, pulled it wanting to explore it's contents and swipe it for explosives residue. I guess that's what an electronics loving half blind guy gets for hauling in charging cords, transformers, adaptors, two flashlights and a box of batteries.
Lufthansa was running late and we feared connecting with our next leg out of Munich to Copenhagen, as there was only a 20-minute window to change planes. Good thing the pilot put the pedal to the metal! We shall see. We did land on time. Our connecting gate however, was a MILE POINT 2 away from where we landed...not to mention a Passport security checkpoint in between! There were still a few people in the boarding line as we panted from our 35 minute workout, resulting in much heavy breathing through the turnstile. The kids I'm traveling with were worn out!
We managed to actually find our way to our hotel in Copenhagen. Our reservations were a little messed up and and we ended up in a dormatory style hotel room. Our tiny room has .... get this.....BUNK BEDS! (NTS: Use caution when making online reservations....even at $120 a night). 😂😂 But now, a hot shower, clean up and a quick nap before dinner.
Dinner was good. About a half block away is a HUGE indoor, multilevel shopping mall, with a very large food court, sporting restaurants and several American food places like KFC, Burger King and others. But no Cracker Barrel or Chic FIL A or anything really good like that.
Back to the Cabinn Metro Hotel to crash and burn. After 16 hours of traveling through two nights and 6 or 7 time zones, we are ready to hibernate
.....even on bunk beds!
Mike
You might not think that an overnight plane ride to NYC with a short stop in Boston, then making connections for an International flight out of Newark could rack up over 6500 steps, but it certainly did! Stalking planes, trains, trams all day to get us to our final flight out of the U.S. of A. made for a long, hard day!
We had time to make a stop in Manhatten to have lunch with our beautiful Niece, Andrea Williams, inside Penn Station. Priceless!
Catching a train over to Newark took us inside the air terminal for International flights. We soon met up with our good friends, Ron and Nancy Pinkerton, from NW Arkansas. They have been life-long friends for many years. We love traveling with them and have had many adventures together. Although they are younger, you wouldn't know it by looking. 😁
We made it through Security without a hitch or a glitch... somewhat out of the ordinary for us! Only thing was that my perfectly packed carry-on entered the ominous scanner but never exited. The conveyor belt continued to convey but wouldn't spit out my bag. It seems as if ATF or FBI, TSA or whoever, pulled it wanting to explore it's contents and swipe it for explosives residue. I guess that's what an electronics loving half blind guy gets for hauling in charging cords, transformers, adaptors, two flashlights and a box of batteries.
Lufthansa was running late and we feared connecting with our next leg out of Munich to Copenhagen, as there was only a 20-minute window to change planes. Good thing the pilot put the pedal to the metal! We shall see. We did land on time. Our connecting gate however, was a MILE POINT 2 away from where we landed...not to mention a Passport security checkpoint in between! There were still a few people in the boarding line as we panted from our 35 minute workout, resulting in much heavy breathing through the turnstile. The kids I'm traveling with were worn out!
We managed to actually find our way to our hotel in Copenhagen. Our reservations were a little messed up and and we ended up in a dormatory style hotel room. Our tiny room has .... get this.....BUNK BEDS! (NTS: Use caution when making online reservations....even at $120 a night). 😂😂 But now, a hot shower, clean up and a quick nap before dinner.
Dinner was good. About a half block away is a HUGE indoor, multilevel shopping mall, with a very large food court, sporting restaurants and several American food places like KFC, Burger King and others. But no Cracker Barrel or Chic FIL A or anything really good like that.
Back to the Cabinn Metro Hotel to crash and burn. After 16 hours of traveling through two nights and 6 or 7 time zones, we are ready to hibernate
.....even on bunk beds!
Mike
Monday, August 22, 2016
To Germany
Leaving Oslo, late evening, we sailed towards Germany. Day 3 was spent at sea doing various activities aboard ship. I was up just after 0500, having food and coffee from my window seat, watching the sun come up. Debby soon joined me on deck for the sunrise. Ron and Nancy slept in for a few more hours.
The day at sea was relaxing. I had a great massage in the Spa. Our evening dinner was a "dress up" occasion enjoying fine dining and great food. Afterwards we grabbed some blankets and lounged on deck to watch STAR WARS on the big screen.
Still at sea throughout the night, we finally docked at the resort town of Warnemunde, Germany about 0700. I was on deck having coffee and making sure the Captain parked this rig okay. Not needing my help, I returned to our Stateroom for a dry roll and more coffee.
There would be an excursion train taking many b of our passengers to Berlin, a 6 hour round trip event. We opted to not go to Berlin, as we spent 4 days there a few years ago. Instead, we would explore Warnemunde today.
Thursday, August 11, 2016
All packed and ready to go!
My Friends,
We are only 3 days away from the first leg of our trip to Europe! Airline tickets have been purchased to Copenhagen via NYC. Looking forward to seeing my awesome Niece, Andrea Williams, perhaps having lunch with her on Monday! In NYC we meet up with our favorite traveling companions, Ron and Nancy Pinkerton, as we begin a new chapter of traveling for the next two months.
Monday night we catch the Red Eye to Copenhagen, Denmark. I haven't been there since 1968! We will sightsee the area for the next three days.
From Copenhagen, we board a Princess Cruise ship for an 11 day boat ride on the Baltic to Sweden, Finland Norway, Estonia and St Petersburg, Russia. That should be fun!
Back to Copenhagen and we catch a flight to Budapest, Hungary. After three days in town we board the Viking River Cruise ship for a little 8 day ride down the Danube through Vienna and into Germany. Looking forward to docking most every day to tour amazing cities and sample tasty cuisine along the way.
After 3 weeks of resting, if we aren't tired yet, we grab a rental and drive to Oberamagau, Gernany, near Garmisch - Partenkirchen (my favorite place in the world since 1967). A few days later we drive near Interlaken, Switzerland where we have rented a .......now get this .....Wait for it .........Wait for it....a two bedroom camper, parked on the lakefront! Is that crazy, or what??
A few days later we drive to Milan, Italy to catch a flight to Tirana, Albania where a long time friend will pick us up and take us to Lushnje. Tom Bonner is our Missionary friend and fellow contender in the Faith, from our church in Gresham, OR. We have known Tom since 1974 when we lived in Hood River. It will be good to see him and spend a couple of days in his element.
Back to Milan to catch a train to Manarola, Cinque Terre, Italy where we have rented an apartment barely a stone's throw from the awesome blue water of the Mediterranean Sea. Three weeks of this life and we fly back to New York.
But wait! There's more! 3 or 4 days later Deb and I catch a train to Vermont to check out the Fall colors!
My Debby is my very own personal Travel Agent. She has spent several months putting all this together. This is the trip we have chosen to celebrate our 45th Wedding Anniversary, Debby's Retirement and my 70th Birthday!
I will be writing blogs and posting photos on www.mikeanddebby.blogspot.com, if you want to follow us. Or, try Googling us at "Where in the World are Mike and Debby?"
Happy Trails!
Saturday, October 17, 2015
A ONE-DAY ROAD TRIP
Friday looked like a good day for a mini road trip. Debby finished school early, planning to finish up her work on Saturday, so we decided to take a drive. Packing a sandwich and other necessary snacks, we set out for a drive to Lost Lake. It was a good day. The sun was shining and the temperature hovered in the 70’s.
The drive took us East on Interstate 84, where we exited at Hood River, a small town nestled in the Hood River valley between Mt Hood to the South and Mt Adams to the North. We made our way out through familiar territory, as we lived here for a few years. We turned off the highway at Dee, crossing the West Fork of the Hood River and headed deeper into the hills along farmlands of pears and apples.
The gate across the entrance to the Lost Lake was locked. We parked and walked the mile back to our destination. The campground workers were busy winterizing the
camp for the season. They stored all the boats and water toys in the barn and winterized the General Store to prevent freezing damage to pipes and goods.
The lake was gorgeous. It brought back memories of many trips we made here for boating and picnics with friends and family, beginning way back in the early 70’s. The camp has changed over the years. More spaces have been added for tent and RV camping. Group sites have been constructed. The shoreline camping spots have been closed and no camping is allowed close to the lake like we used to be able to do. It’s mostly for day use or hiking now.
We walked around to a viewpoint on the North side of the lake to get a good view of the 11,240’ Mt Hood that now sits dry and barren of snow. It’s been a rough, dry, hot summer in Oregon. Last winter’s snow is gone. The glaciers are melting back at astounding speed. Soon they will probably be gone. Water levels in lakes and streams are down. The Hood River looked bleak and puny compared to the roaring, boulder pushing, noise maker it has been.
The mountain had a hazy covering that made it appear to be shadowy. There were few people visiting here today, as its closed and one must hike a mile to get to our vantage spot. We sat a while before strolling back towards the store and on up to our Sienna. It’s beautiful around here in the fall.
We headed back and took a turn at the Dee Highway to go up to the small town of Parkdale where we wanted to visit Kiyokawa Orchards and purchase some fruit. We always enjoy coming to this particular orchard because they are the only farm in the NW that grows Arkansas Blacks. I picked up a nice sack of those, plus a Winesap apple, a few pears, including Japanese pears and a jug of fresh Ciider. This is a great place to come as there is always entertainment and fun stuff going on for the kids to enjoy.
We continued our way South on Hwy. 35 to Hwy. 26 and made our way to Trillium Lake. It was a perfect time to be there. Mt Hood was reflecting in the calm water and several people
were out enjoying nature. A young couple visiting Oregon from Nashville took a photo for us. I took theirs as well.As we drove home we thought about the day’s events and decided it had been a good day to make the 150 mile loop.
Friday looked like a good day for a mini road trip. Debby finished school early, planning to finish up her work on Saturday, so we decided to take a drive. Packing a sandwich and other necessary snacks, we set out for a drive to Lost Lake. It was a good day. The sun was shining and the temperature hovered in the 70’s.
The gate across the entrance to the Lost Lake was locked. We parked and walked the mile back to our destination. The campground workers were busy winterizing the
The lake was gorgeous. It brought back memories of many trips we made here for boating and picnics with friends and family, beginning way back in the early 70’s. The camp has changed over the years. More spaces have been added for tent and RV camping. Group sites have been constructed. The shoreline camping spots have been closed and no camping is allowed close to the lake like we used to be able to do. It’s mostly for day use or hiking now.
The mountain had a hazy covering that made it appear to be shadowy. There were few people visiting here today, as its closed and one must hike a mile to get to our vantage spot. We sat a while before strolling back towards the store and on up to our Sienna. It’s beautiful around here in the fall.
We continued our way South on Hwy. 35 to Hwy. 26 and made our way to Trillium Lake. It was a perfect time to be there. Mt Hood was reflecting in the calm water and several people
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