Tag: Europe

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Tour of Scandinavia, Day 4: Cruising Through a Norwegian Fjord

We started the day by visiting the spectacular 100-meter-high Trollafossen Waterfall, which means Waterfall of the Trolls. Then our group was treated to an unforgettable boat cruise through the narrow Sogner Fjord, where we found ourselves surrounded by jaw-dropping cliffsides rising from the blue water on both sides, with crystalline waterfalls snaking down the faces from distant peaks.

After the boat cruise, we visited the positively Seussian Borgund Stave Church, possibly the best preserved and most distinctive Norwegian stave of the 13th century, featuring lavishly carved portals, crosses, and carvings of dragons’ heads on the roofs.

Note Lisa’s new scarf and Bob’s jacket, both purchased in Norway.

ITINERARY

This is what the TourRadar itinerary listed for the day:

Day  4. Domingo, 25 De Septiembre De 2022
BERGEN , OSLO 
Total distance: 510 km.

Scenery: Spectacular scenery. Impressive views of mountains and fjords and landscapes permanently covered in snow.
Note: Have warm clothes at hand to enjoy the snow and the short stretch by ferry between the fjords. The schedules of the cruise can be modified; according to that the schedule of the rest of the day may also undergo changes.

07.45hr. – Bergen –Departure-. We set out amidst beautiful scenery and enter the fjords region.

09.45hrs- Waterfall of Tvindefoss. Short stop to admire this beautiful waterfall 100m of height also call Trollafossen or waterfall of the Trolls. Its waters have the reputation not only of rejuvenating but also of increasing the sexual potency.

10.15hrs- Departure to Sogner Fjord, the largest Norwegian fjord and often considered the most beautiful one. We continue our journey through impressive landscapes and come to Gudvangen.

10:30 h. – Gudvangen. We visit this tiny city and then take a boat cruise on the fiord (departure scheduled for 12.00 h.). The cruise lasts for just over 2 hours and takes us near impressive cliffs. We recommend having lunch on board.

At about 14.10 h. we land in Flam, and then continue our journey surrounded by woods, lakes, isolated mountains with peaks covered in snow all the year round and glaciers.

After passing through the 24.5km Aurland tunnel, considered one of the longest in the world and using innovative techniques to rest the eyes and avoid the monotony of the drivers, we will arrive to the Borgund wood church, possibly the best preserved Norwegian temple of the 13th century, where we will make a brief stop to admire and take a photo (entrance included).

19:30 h. – Oslo –Arrival-. Free time in this pleasant Norwegian city next to the fjord that bears its name and surrounded by mountains. We can visit its port, streets and the works of art of the Frognerparken.

INFO:

Tourradar
Europamundo
Narrow Fjord Cruise 
Borgund Stave Church

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Tour of Scandinavia, Day 3: Breathtaking Bergen, Gateway to the Fjords

Another incredible breakfast kicked off the third day of our Tour of Scandinavia before we headed out on the bus through Norway, with breathtaking views of fjords and sea landscapes. After a stop at a statue called Three Swords in a Storm, built to remember the Vikings who forged so much of European history, it was off on another ferry ride, with the Norwegian Alps all around us. Next, we rode a bus through the world’s deepest tunnel. Finally, we took another short ferry ride to the port city of Bergen, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The only drawback was the man who kept coughing behind us on the bus. We were masked but most people were not.

Bergen was indescribable. Surrounded by seven mountains and with a historic harbor on a breathtaking fjord, Bergen offers scenic Bryggen Wharf as a walking history lesson as you pass by colorful wooden houses that are centuries old. You can enjoy mountain hikes, city walks, shopping (Bob found a winter coat), water activities, culture, and even a funicular up Mount Flouyen, which offers a spectacular mountaintop vista.

For lunch, we were faced with a choice: reindeer sausage or a moose burger? Bergen demands more time for exploration. Enjoy!

ITINERARY

This is what the TourRadar itinerary listed for the day:

Day   3. Sábado, 24 De Septiembre De 2022
STAVANGER, BERGEN
Total distance: 170 km

Scenery: Beautiful fjord and sea landscapes. Many bridges that will make you feel you are travelling between the “sea and the land”. Deep tunnels. Two sections travelling by boat.
Notes: Wear warm clothing during the boat crossings. There may sometimes be queues to board the boats, and we may arrive at Bergen later than planned.

07:30 h. – Stavanger –On leaving the city, we will stop at the “Swords in Rock” monument, where we will remember the Vikings before continuing on along the coast and soon come to Mortavika where we take a boat and cross Skunden fjord, which takes just over half an hour.

Arrival at Aarsvagen where we continue to travel through amazing scenery dominated by the sea. We then pass through the deepest tunnel in the world, below the sea.

At approximately 11.30 h. we arrive at Sandvikvag where we make a boat crossing lasting 45 minutes surrounded by spectacular fjords.

13:30 h. Bergen –Arrival-. We ascend on the funicular railway to Mount Flouyen (price of trip included) where there are fantastic views of the city and its fjords. Then visitors have a free afternoon in Bergen, to enjoy its lively atmosphere.

INFO:

Tourradar
Europamundo
Bergen

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Scandinavian Tour, Day 2: Crossing the Baltic Sea

After an awesome buffet breakfast at our hotel, our bus took us to the first ferry of our tour. It was mostly a travel day with tiny pockets of exploration. We crossed the Baltic Sea to Norway, and got our first view of the magnificent fjords.

ITINERARY

This is what the TourRadar itinerary listed for the day:

Day 2. Viernes, 23 De Septiembre De 2022 – AARHUS, FERRY, KRISTIANSAND, STAVANGER 
Total distance: 420 km

Scenery: Attractive woodlands and mountains in Norway; first view of fjords.
Notes: The times of the ferries between Denmark and Norway often vary and so the times during this part of the circuit will depend on those changes. We recommend you wear warm clothing for the boat crossing. In Norway, the currency is the Norwegian Krone. We suggest your change your currency on the ferry.

08:00 h – Aarhus –Departure-. We set out for the northern part of Denmark, amidst attractive scenery. 

10:30 h – Hirsthals. We take a tour of this city and port before embarking on the modern ferry to cross the North Sea to Norway-. Normally our boat sails at 12.15 h. The crossing takes about three hours. We advise you to change your currency on the boat and have lunch.

15:30 h. – Kristiansand – We land and then continue our journey-.

17:00 h. – Flekkefjord –A town on a fjord, with wooden houses and tiny restaurants. Time to explore.

17:45 h. – Flekkfjord –Departure-. The scenery is even more attractive.

19:45 h. – Stavanger –Arrival-. Free time to explore this beautiful lively city next to the sea.

INFO:

Tourradar
Europamundo

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Tour of Scandinavia, Day 1: Copenhagen…

… or Our First Experience Being Led Around by the Nose

During our extensive travels, we’ve always been completely in charge of own travel itinerary, a process that involves extensive planning and research, and can be frankly exhausting. For our first big trip post-COVID, we decided to give ourselves a break from logistics and try an organized tour. We looked over the endless options, our budget in mind, and chose Scandinavia, a region neither of us had ever visited.

So in September 2022 we embarked on a three-week clockwise tour around Scandinavia, from Copenhagen to Helsinki, that incorporated buses, ferries, and fjords. All we had to do was pack, then hand our luggage to the bus driver.

We booked this tour through Tour Radar, which offers a huge selection of multi-day travel experiences for all budgets. Their tour operators take care of everything from logistics to meals to experiences to friendly guides. The operator of our Scandinavian tour was Europamundo. We’ll do a whole blog later about the tour experience. It was a bit of a whirlwind, so don’t expect a lot of details in these videos!

Our tour of Scandinavia kicked off with a walking tour of Copenhagen, followed by a bus ride to Odense, hometown of writer Hans Christian Andersen.

Join us as we visit the famous Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen (the book was written by Andersen, author of many beloved fairy tales), the Denmark Royal Palace, the romantic Copenhagen Town Hall, Andersen’s childhood home, and the Odense Cathedral. We ended the first day with a cozy outdoor dinner beside a scenic canal in the vibrant city of Aarhus, one of the oldest cities in Denmark.

Speaking of Andersen, you can do a whole vacation that centers around this beloved author, who in addition to The Little Mermaid wrote The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen, and many others. (Link below.)

Our tour route

ITINERARY

This is what the TourRadar itinerary listed for the day:

Day   1. Jueves, 22 De Septiembre De 2022 — COPENHAGUE , ODENSE, AARHUS 
Distance: 315 km
Scenery: Pleasant hills in southern Denmark

At 08:00 h. we start out on a comprehensive tour of the Danish capital; the largest of the Scandinavian cities is a city of contrasts: its popular “Tivoli”; Christianborg Palace; the terraces of Nyhavn, and the mermaid… The visit ends at about 10:30 h.
11:30 h.– Copenhagen –Departure-. We will travel to the Jutland Peninsula, passing through pretty landscapes with hills and crossing the 20 km long bridge that connect Jutland to the island on which Copenhagen stands.
14.00 h.- Odense- Arrival. Free time to explore and have lunch in this pleasent city where you can visit its gothic cathedral and the house of Andersen.
16.00 h.- Odense. Departure.
18.15 h.- Aarhus –Arrival-. Free time. We recommend a visit to this pretty city, the Danish city with the second highest population.

INFO:

Tourradar
Europamundo
Copenhagen
Odense
Aarhus
Hans Christian Andersen Tour

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Second Day in Copenhagen: It just keeps getting better!

A daylong stroll around this pleasant city offered up some delightful discoveries, as we visited the Royal Copenhagen China store (it’s beautiful and expensive) and did some watch shopping. Our jaws dropped at the incredible bicycle culture – I wish they saved this much gas by using their legs in American cities!

The National Museum of Denmark was stunning. In the Kongens Have Garden, we found the Punch and Judy Marionette Theater and a statue of Hans Christian Andersen, Copenhagen’s most famous resident. And, of course, the obligatory European Castle!

Info:

Copenhagen
Map

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First Day in Copenhagen

We launched our first big trip (sort of) post-pandemic with a three-week tour of Scandinavia in fall 2023. We delighted in flying again; even the airport lounge was a novelty after lockdown.

We arrived a couple of days before the tour started to enjoy some time in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Danes rank among the world’s happiest people, and in Copenhagen, it was easy to see why. The lively city combines royal history, modern architecture and loads of culture with a mouthwatering restaurant scene. And bikes! So many bikes!

It was a little chilly in September, so far north. We were still wearing masks and not eating indoors for fear of getting COVID, so we did a lot of exploring on foot outdoors on our first day. We sought out outdoor dining experiences and were happily rewarded when we discovered a district of canal-side restaurants with warming fires, blankets, and Irish coffee – such a cozy way to enjoy a meal. But the best part of Day 1 was the disco taxi back to the hotel!

Info:

Copenhagen
Map

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Europe In Pictures

Before we leave for Mexico, we wanted to share some of the best pictures from our trip to Europe.


Visiting six countries in five weeks, we saw some spectacular sights: Ancient ruins, mammoth rocks, jaw-dropping waterfalls, amazing architecture, turquoise seas, fiery sunsets and too much more to list!

Let’s let pictures tell the story:

Germany

Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall, Hamburg

St. Michael the Archangel Church, Hamburg

England

London Eye

London Eye

London Eye

Kensington Gardens

Kensington Palace

Spain

Gaudi rooftop

Montserrat

Greece

Temple of Zeus

Poros Island

Italy

Palatine Hill from Coloseo
Capri
Solofra countryside

Iceland

Skalatjorn Homestay, Iceland

Harpa Concert Hall, Reykjavik
Thingvellir National Park, Iceland
Skogafoss Waterfall, Iceland
Dryholaey Nature Preserve, Iceland

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The HoHos (Hop-on, Hop-off Buses)

(We leave for Mexico soon, so we have to quickly churn out some of the European blogs we have in the can.)

One of the things we did in almost every city we visited in Europe was to take one of the Hop-on, Hop-off (hoHo) buses. We did it in Barcelona, London and Athens. I had a great time on them. Here’s the story!

Barcelona

In Barcelona, there were several routes to choose from. We all took Route 1, which took us through the downtown area and along the gorgeous port area and waterfront. We got off to look around at the unexpectedly beautiful Playa on a 75-degree day when we wished we had swimsuits on, and then at the world-famous Sagrada Familia, a strikingly original cathedral designed by Antonin Gaudi, for exploration and lunch.

View of the playa from the Barcelona HoHo

 When we got back to the starting point we walked with Lexie back to our apartment to give her a little break, and Lisa and I went back and took Route 2, which took us up onto the mountain, past the Olympic facilities, and then stopping at a Decathlon store for a little shopping before finishing well after dark.

We thought the HoHo buses were a great way to get an overall orientation of Barcelona, since we only had a couple of days. They allowed us to pick and choose where we would get off, and gave us ideas for what we wanted to explore in future days.

London

In London, Lexie and I again took the HoHo while Lisa went to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter studio. We started on top of the double-decker bus, as that always gives the best views, but it was just a little chilly for that and we eventually moved down inside. Since we had already been to the London Eye and were planning on doing something the following day with Lisa, Lexie and I essentially used the HoHo as a HoSo (Hop-on, Stay-on). We did get off in some now-forgotten neighborhood to have delicious fish and chips for lunch, and eventually got off at Buckingham Palace to walk around a bit.

Grand view from the top of the London HoHo

The London routes are pretty long and the literature told us that the routes would take over 4 hours in total, but by now it was getting close to 5:30. We were planning on staying on for another 15 minutes or so to meet up with Lisa in Trafalgar Square, but we were unceremoniously booted off the bus at Green Park and were told that the buses stopped running at that time. This was quite the shock to us since we had only days earlier ridden the Barcelona buses to well past 8 PM. Nonetheless, we were off the bus, and at rush hour, forcing Lexie and me to take a long walk to Trafalgar Square, essentially ruining our nice relaxing day of butt sitting and sightseeing. Nowhere in the literature did it mention the early stopping time, again a contrast with the Barcelona buses. I was quite mad, but there wasn’t anything we could do (except warn you!).

No HoHo in Rome

Rome has HoHos and it was our plan to take them. However, once we got there, examined their routes and did some research, we realized that they weren’t as convenient as Barcelona and London and didn’t get as close to some of the major tourist destinations as we would have liked due to city congestion and restrictions. Instead, we took the Metro and walked. Other than the information we might have heard during the tour, we don’t feel like we really missed out on anything.

Athens

The HoHo was just a block from our hotel in Athens, so we hopped on again the first day and got a great overview of the city. We saw some places we wanted to get off and visit in more depth. After going around the route, Lexie returned to the room and Lisa and I went around again so we could get off at the Olympic Stadium and walk to the Temple of Zeus, where we got some excellent sunset pictures. We finally made our way back to the hotel by walking through the Plaka, an old neighborhood with excellent shopping.

Rushing by Hadrian’s Arch on the Athens HoHo

The next day we used the HoHo as transportation to get us to the National Archaeological  Museum. It is considered one of the greatest museums in the world and contains the richest collection of artifacts from Greek antiquity worldwide. Given its reputation, we were surprised at how few people were actually in the museum. We stayed for several hours before getting tired and hungry and recatching the HoHo to get us back to our hotel.


What’s not to like?



In summary, we loved the HoHos. Sure, they’re touristy. But they are also a great way to get around, get an overview of a new city and get an idea of places you’d like to go back to and spend more time getting to know.

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Extraordinary Weather

We were extraordinarily lucky with regards to weather on our trip. We knew that traveling in October and early November would be iffy, but other than just a few days, the weather was absolutely beautiful.

Iceland

We had one good weather day in Iceland, the rest not so great. This stop was the beginning of our trip, the first few days of October, and I’m glad it wasn’t at the end. To begin with, we were literally assaulted by the wind as soon as they opened the cabin doors of the plane so we could walk down the steps, onto the tarmac and into waiting buses. We should have expected that, as I could see the sideways rain and the water just being pushed across the runway as we taxied. 

Lexie holding onto her hat in Iceland
However, it was still a surprise when it was difficult to walk down the steps with what must have been 50 mph cold wind and driving rain.
(Note from Lisa: Airports generally protect you from the elements when you get off a plane and enter the terminal. But in Iceland, where weather can be brutal and winters are cold and windy, you walk down the airplane steps and across the tarmac to a bus completely exposed to whatever Mother Nature throws at you. And it didn’t help that we had flown out of sunny, 81-degree Northern Virginia!) 
It was even difficult driving the rental car, which kept getting pushed sideways by the ferocious wind. I’ve experienced that driving my high-profile truck, but a little car, on somewhat narrow roads, was a completely different story. We needed gloves and winter coats during our entire stay in Iceland.
The first thing Lisa and I did after we arrived at our goat farm lodging on the south coast was to hightail it to the nearest town with our swimsuits to sink into a hot spring and warm up!
The next day was our prime sightseeing day, and the weather cooperated beautifully: not too windy and no rain. And, it allowed us to see the Northern Lights!
The following day, we experienced wind, rain and even snow. Our visit to the waterfall was so brutal that Lexie stayed in the lodge. We still saw what we wanted to see, including geysers, waterfalls and a spectacular national park, but at times it wasn’t pleasant. The same could be said for our days in Reykjavik. We did and saw what we wanted, but the nasty weather was a significant obstacle to our enjoyment.
In the end, I went running in every place we visited except Iceland. I’m still torn on whether I should have run while we were there, but the wind was just too brutal.

Hamburg, Germany

Just absolutely perfect weather. Sunny every day, temperatures in the 60s, no wind. 
Glorious weather in Hamburg


Barcelona/Reus, Spain

Again, just absolutely perfect weather. Even warmer, low 70s! (Note from Lisa: I wished I had time to lie on the beach there, it was so nice!)
 

Great beach weather in Barcelona

England

We were certainly expecting the worst here, especially over the course of eight days, but again, absolutely perfect weather. Mostly sunny, high-40s at night, the mid-50s to mid-60s by day. Never a drop of rain, either in Newcastle-Under-Lyme visiting Aryk, or in London, sightseeing. 
Strolling on a sunny London afternoon

Italy

Rome – The weather we had for our stay in Rome was again perfect, until the last day. Then the rain started,  the morning Lexie and Lisa left for the train station for Naples. Since I was staying another day, I waited out the heavy morning rain and then headed out for my explorations. I did get drenched heading home that evening, but all in all, we had really nice weather while in Rome. 
During our stay in Italy, the entire country was seeing really bad weather. Venice was 75% flooded, schools throughout Italy were closed, and Italian television was continually showing mudslides, flooding and washed-out roads and bridges.
Rainy Rome the last day
Naples – It rained nonstop in Naples. One day there was such a violent windstorm/thunderstorm that the road to our lodging was closed down because of flying debris. We were going to go to the Archeological Museum that afternoon and decided to stay in and ride out the storm.
Pompeii – Our day in Pompeii was again just absolutely beautiful, sunny and high-60s. I remember walking around in a short-sleeved T-shirt.
Sorrento – The forecast was for one good day of weather while I was in Sorrento, so I took a boat tour to and around Capri. The weather started changing in the afternoon, and it was colder and windier on the boat trip back. The next day was, for the most part, rainy, which gave me the opportunity to have a relaxing, easy day. It rained the next day as I traveled back to Naples to meet up with Lexie and Lisa.

Athens

Again, Athens gave us just absolutely perfect weather. Warm and sunny.
Perfect weather for Greek island hopping

All in all, we couldn’t have asked for better weather. (Note from Lisa: Except maybe in Naples.) We know we were lucky and we took full advantage of that!

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