Day 18 - Åndalsnes, Norway

Andalsnes has a gondola that takes you to the top of the peak for spectacular views.  Enough said!!  Just gorgeous!

 

Day 17 - Ålesund, Norway

We awoke to rainy skies for the first time on this trip and it looked like it might be a dreary day making us question the hiking excursion we had chosen for the afternoon.  However, the skies started to clear by lunchtime and the sun came out just in time for our 1:15 excursion.  We climbed to the top of sugar lump mountain (Sukkertoppen), a challenging 1 1/4 mile hike that provided beautiful views of Alesund, the harbor, fjords, and surrounding islands.  If any of you have watched the show “Vikings”, this is where Rolo comes from.  We also learned that Rolo moved to France to marry and that Normandy is named after him since that land was given to him by France (Norway Man).

Day 16 - Maloy, Norway

Today we took a boat ride out to Selja Monastery, built in the year 900 during the last years of the Viking period.  The legend is that an Irish princess was being pursued for marriage by a Viking King due to her angelic reputation.  She decided to flee from Ireland to escape him and put her faith in God to save her and her followers.  They landed on Selja island but the local heathens were angered by her Christian ways and tried attacking.  The princess fled to a cave where the cave collapsed and they all perished.  The fate of the princess was discovered many years later and the abbey and monastery were built in her on honor.

Cool street art in Maloy

Day 15 - Gudvangen, Norway

Every morning, the first thing I do is open the curtains to our room to get my first glimpse of whatever port we are in (we have room darkening curtains in our room since the sun is only down between 11:30 pm and 3:00 am).  This morning, I opened the curtains to our ship sailing through a Norwegian fjord on its way to our destination, Gudvangen.  I can’t begin to tell you how beautiful this place is.  I quickly dressed and went to the upper deck to see green mountains on both sides of our ship and waterfall after waterfall!!  Our excursion today was a 12 km kayak through the fjord with lunch at a campsite, visiting sheep included.  Now we’re just relaxing and soaking up the incredible views!!

Quick update

I wanted to let those of you who are following along that I haven’t forgotten about you but I do not have WiFi on the boat, only when we are in port.  And when we’re in port, we’re out exploring.  We boarded the cruise ship last Tuesday and have explored Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Scrabster, Thurso, and Lerwick (Shetland Islands), all in Scotland, and yesterday and today, we have been in Torshavn in the Faroe Islands in Denmark.  Here are a few pics.  I’ll provide more details of our travels when I have more internet time (we’re departing in 30 minutes so no more internet - kind of nice considering the bad international news we’re getting wind of)!  Next stop, Norway on Wednesday.

Edinburgh Castle

Street in Edinburgh that Harry Potter Diagonalley is based on

St Machal University in Aberdeen

William Wallace statue in Aberdeen 

Shetland Ponies

Coastline on the Shetland Islands

Old town Torshavn (notice the grass roofs)

Port in Torshavn

Day Five - Isle of Skye

 JR and I awoke to cloudy skies but no rain.  Our guide, Niall, arrived right at 9:00, kilt and all, and we were off for another adventure.  First up, Loch Ness!  Niall filled us in on the history and some fun facts of the Loch.  23 miles long, 700+ feet deep, and contains more freshwater than all of the other lochs combined, not too mention one evasive monster😆, which we unfortunately did not get to see.  The ride to the Isle of Skye took over 2 hours so Niall filled us in with many facts on the Jacobite revolution and the torrid relationship between Scotland and the British Monarchy.  I asked him what he thought of Queen Elizabeth since she was so fond of Scotland.  His reply was that he loved her and thought she was a brilliant woman just not his rightful monarch.  Another interesting fact is that when William becomes King he will be the first king with Scottish ancestry, from his mother’s family line, tied to the last “rightful” Scottish monarch.

Along the way to Skye, we admired some absolutely beautiful landscapes as we drove amongst the highlands.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many shades of green.  We stopped and toured a lovely castle, Eilean Dorian, ancestral home to the MacRae clan.

Once over the Skye Bridge we had finally arrived to the Isle of Skye.  We stopped at a local pub in the main town of Portree for a lunch of fish and chips and a pint of ale (we were lucky to find a place since it was Father’s Day).  The town has some cool buildings of various bright colors and water views every way you look.  Niall took us on a short hike to a lovely waterfall and before we knew it it was time to head back.  We stopped at a ruined old church and graveyard, which also belonged to  the MacRae clan, and were treated to a bagpipe performance by Niall himself!  Another hike to a waterfall and before we knew it we were back in Inverness.  We said our goodbyes to Niall, thanking him for an unforgettable and informative day. If you ever find your self in the Scottish Highlands, look up Niall at www.highlandlegends.co.uk.  We highly recommend spending a day with him.

It was a long day so after a quick bite, JR and I got some much needed rest to get ready for another travel day back to Edinburgh.

If you put your face in this stream of water for 7 seconds you will open a portal to the fairy world and granted eternal beauty!  JR and I did it but are not sure it worked🤣

Day Four - Edinburgh to Inverness

Sorry for the delay in posting.  I’m running into a few WiFi limitations so more posts and photos to come soon.

Day Four - Edinburgh to Inverness 

Our luck with the weather finally ran out and JR and I awoke to rainy skies in Edinburgh.  Luckily, it was a travel day and we only got a little bit wet on our way to the train station.  Bonnie and Todd were staying in Edinburgh for the next few days so we left our big suitcases with them so that we only had to travel with our backpacks and small rollers.  The train ride lasted a little more than 4 hours.  Along the way we passed the William Wallace memorial and the Dalwhinny distillery (whose Scotch JR just had to try later on that evening :)  By the time we arrived in Inverness, the rain had stopped and we made our way to the Glen Mhor Hotel, Brewery and Distillery.  This was a large complex of old Scottish Building and we stayed on the top (3rd) floor of the Alexander Building which overlooked the River Ness.  There was a festival also going on at the Brewery so JR and I headed down to join in the fun.  It was like an open mike night where different performers would get up and sing 4 or 5 songs and then the next one would go on.  Lots of varying styles of music and entertainment.  The last guy who got up was dressed in drag and was definitely the most talented and entertaining of them all.  He had a particular love of Disney songs and sang the Louis the Ape song from the Jungle Book and everyone sang along.  It was a really fun time.  We were off for a wonderful dinner afterwards where JR enjoyed a 12 hour stewed highland beef fillet and I had Atlantic Salmon.  We had a big adventure to the Isle of Skye planned for the next day so made it an early night.

Photos still to come!

William Wallace Memorial near Stirling

Day Three - London to Edinburgh

We lucked out with another sunny, beautiful day and headed out to the train station to travel to our next destination, Edinburgh, Scotland.  The train ride lasted about 4 hours and we passed through beautiful countryside with no lack of sheep along the way.  We also passed through Newcastle, where they brew one of my favorite ales, Newcastle Brown ale.  Newcastle holds a special place in JR's and my hearts because we have vacationed there a number of times since JR also worked in nearby Cramlington as part of his assignment with MSD in the Netherlands.  Once in Edinburgh, we checked into our hotel and headed out to meet up with our travel buddies, Bonnie and Todd, and their friends from Switzerland, Caroline and John, who JR and I had not seen in 10+ years.  We had a lovely dinner at the Old Chain Pier Restaurant in Leith (Edinburgh's Harbor area), catching up with old friends and enjoying the lovely seaside views.  After dinner, we headed back to rest up for our next travel day up to Inverness, Scotland.

Notice all of the boats stuck in the muck at low tide

Day Two - London / Day Three - London to Edinburgh

After a good nights sleep, we were fully recovered from our jet lag and raring to go.  Once again, we lucked out with beautiful sunny skies and warm 77 degree weather. First off we headed to my favorite cathedral in the world, St Paul’s.  Sorry that we don’t have any pictures of the inside.  We have been inside before and passed on going inside this time around.  After St Paul’s we walked across the Millennium Bridge, where JR was fascinated by the gum art, past Shakespeare Globe theatre, to the Anchor Pub on the Thames, where we stopped for a lovely pub lunch of beef and raclette pie and the ever present chips (French fries to most of us).  With our bellies full we moved on down the Queens Walk for beautiful views of the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.  We crossed back over the Thames on the Tower Bridge and took another break at the Hung, Drawn and Quartered Pub.  We had some pretty morbid thoughts of times past, grateful for the present times as we sat and enjoyed our gin and tonics.  After lots more walking (22k steps in all) and a lovely dinner in Chinatown, we returned to our hotel for a good nights sleep and to prepare for our train journey to Edinburgh the next day.

St Paul's Cathedral

Our lunchspot

Millenium Bridge

Shakespeare's Globe Theater

Sir Francis Drake's map of circumnavigating the globe (just like we are doing)

Sir Francis Drake's ship "The Golden Hinde"

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

Chinatown

JR and Kim - Chinatown

The Hung Drawn and Quartered Pub

Kim and Paddington Bear