Jul 8, 2018 - Lillehammer to Oslo

We left Lillehammer on our way to Oslo. Lillehammer is a small town but it also hosted the 1994 Olympics . The town is very neat and clean. There is farmland around the town and lots of trees and greenery in town. There's a nice park behind the Townhall and you can still see the ski jumps on the hills from the 1994 Olympics. To show how much Lillehammer has progressed since the Olympics there is a McDonald's in town. Lillehammer after we left town we headed toward Hammer which is the town along the way to Oslo. Headfirst the road we were on...

Jul 6, 2018 - Geiranger

We left the hotel this morning at 8 AM on a new batch for today. Almost immediately after leaving the hotel the bus started up a steep road with many switchbacks each switchback was named after the crew or the foreman of the crew who constructed the switch back/hairpin turn. The purpose of our journey today where to see the spectacular feats of nature in the area to include cascading waterfalls, cliffs And some tremendous scenery. We took a ferry across the fjord and started on our drive on the Eagles road for amazing views of towering...

Jul 6, 2018 - Geiranger to Lom to Lillehammer

We left Geiranger at 8:00 a.m. to the strains of the Beatles "Here Comes The Sun" which is played every day on our departure. We started up the narrow winding road with many hairpin turns. Weather is cloudy and foggy and temp is 14 degrees centigrade. The weather has definitely changed. We are leaving the fjord land and heading east over the mountains to the farmlands.On our way over the mountains it is 7 degrees c. And there still is a fair amount of snow on the peaks. The melting snow feeds the waterfalls, rivers and streams. Many of the...

Jul 5, 2018 - -Sognefjord (Leikanger)-To Geiranger

Left the turtle hotel and drove up into the mountains to a glacier. Very impressive with small waterfalls from the melting glacier. The gift shop was a building with a sod roof. A few cows were wandering in the area and looked overdue for milking. Then we were off again and we stopped along the way for a photo op of a fjord with small towns nestled in the hillside. Headed to our next destination. Norway's incredible glacier surrounded us as we followed the Sognefjord and Geirangerfjord with their deep blue waters, snow capped peaks and lush...

Jul 4, 2018 - Sognefjord (Leikanger)

Left Bergen at 8 and drove through beautiful scenery including snow capped mountains and fjords to the railway station in Voss - a large ski area and town where Knut Rockne was born. Took a short train ride to Myrdal pick up the Flam railway. The Flam is 20 km long with a 640 meter change in elevation, going through 20 tunnels, 18 of which 18 were dug by hand. We passed more beautiful scenery and dramatic waterfalls. We stopped halfway down the ride to get out to see the spectacular waterfall Kjosfossen the continued on. Along the way we...

Jul 3, 2018 - Bergen

Today was a day of leisure-no tours or bus rides scheduled. We rose late and after breakfast walked into the Bryggen district which was just a few blocks from the hotel. We decided to take the funicular up to the top for a fantastic view of the city. The line was long but we persevered and were rewarded with a spectacular view of the city center and the harbor. We then raced to the Bryggen museum to join the noon walking tour of the city, only to find it was sold out. Nothing left to do but have a beer and plan what to do next. It was...

Jul 2, 2018 - Bergen Norway

Left this a.m to go to Bergen. We drove through Norway's spellbinding natural landscapes. The way to Bergen is over and under the ocean through many small islands. There are long underwater tunnels, bridges and we also took two different ferries. The weather was once again warm and clear (unusually so according to locals) and while on the ferry we were able to see one of the glaciers that is usually not visible. We sailed along Norway's rugged coastline across majestic fjords, islets and islands. We arrived in Bergen around 1 and visited...

Jul 1, 2018 - Stavanger

Great breakfast this morning. Made sandwiches for lunch. Bags out at 8:00 a.m. bus left at nine. Took an hour and a half to get to the ferry then boarded at noon. The ferry was huge. The ride was about 3.5 hours and we landed in Norway. We ate our sandwiches on the boat, hit the duty free shop and sat around until we landed. We all went down to the car deck, boarded the bus and drove off into Norway. We landed at Kristiansgard and headed north. Norway is gorgeous with granite hills and mountains and lots of lakes. The scenery is...

Jun 19, 2018 - Stopped for 2 days

Dear all, Well it is Tuesday morning and we are at Geiranger, Norway. We arrived yesterday mid afternoon and leave again tomorrow. We were supposed to go out this morning but it he trip was put off until this afternoon so an easy morning. No rush with times to meet. I am even sitting in our room with no shoes on which is a luxury. With being on the go all the time get are covered in shoes all the time except for showering and bed. Paul is off viewing old cars on display in the hotel somewhere so I am catching up on the blog. Wifi is a bit...

Jun 19, 2018 - Last days

Dear all, Well the first coach tour has come to an end. We arrived in Oslo yesterday afternoon but we were quite tired and didn't have many photos to share. Although we were out again all morning we retraced our steps mostly from the last time so no real new photos this time. I did manage to snap a swan and some roses so hope you enjoy these. I have developed a bit of a cold so hoping it will go soon. Time for a bit of a rest before we pack. We fly to England tomorrow mid morning so hoping for warm weather. It is about 10 C today with a...

Jun 17, 2018 - Beautiful Scenery

Dear all, Well here we are in Trondheim for the night. Shorter drive passed some amazing scenery today. I am especially partial to water and reflection scenes. The snow is still with us on the mountains but today has been quite warm. They are talking about the return to the cold weather , will have to wait and see. Kind regards, Dianne and Paul

Jun 16, 2018 - Crossing back south of the Artic Circle

Dear all, It was another long day in the coach today. The highlight was crossing back south of the Artic Circle line. Last night a group of us walked to the base iof a cable car then rode to the top. Our hotel was at sea level and the top of the cable car was 640 meters above sea level. The wind was blowing really strong when we got to the top. Took pictures then decided to have dinner up there. Ordered dinner but before it came we were approached and told that they were closing the cable car and we had a choice. Cancel dinner and they...