Floating Around Norway on a Cloud

[patnlcc]

Enjoying your reports, guys, keep it up. Am also following Ron on the Australian Frequent Flyer blog. Vicarious trips are almost as good as real ones!

[colonelretwes]

Dr.Ron, thanks for your excellent update. If u get the chance please pass Ida and my very warm regards to Rowena and her husband Marlon (if he is on board w/u).

 

 

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[drron29]

Will do Wes.Marlon is back home at present.

So here is a picture just for you-

[duct tape]

Harstad today. Quite cool, damp, raining occasionally. There is a very interesting mural on the wall of the building where we are docked. Maybe drron will post a picture.

[drron29]

So Saturday June 20 and we board the Cloud at about 1pm.Lunch in the dining room and then up to our verandah suite-

 

And the view from the ship-

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[TLCOhio]

Finally caught up with my sleep deprivation and starting my internet access. So this wont be a live blog but hopefully I can catch up as the days go by. But first our meet and mingle-a small but delightful occasion-

 

duct tape: Windy' date=' chilly, rocky sea day, 65 degrees latitude. Love it. Jacko, your friend, Suzanne, is here. Capt Palmieri; HD, Sujith Mohan; [b']CD, Alan King[/b]; maitre'd is Sergio. Do not know their schedules but will try and remember to ask! Enjoy your trip from Tower Bridge, one of my favs.

 

Appreciate these great updates, details and visuals from duct tape and drron29. Keep it coming!! Very fun and interesting!! Loved seeing this above picture. I recognize and remember well one of the faces shown from when she sailed with us on our July 2010 Silver Cloud sailing up and down the Norway coast.

 

Glad to know of Cruise Director Allan King being on your sailing. We super enjoyed Allan and getting to know him and his wife during our Silver Cloud sailing earlier this year. For those who have never connected with Allan, here below is one visual sample of him in action. We loved Allan’s colorful socks, corny/fun jokes, etc.!! Tell Allan we said "HI!" and look forward to hooking up with him on the Silver Cloud in February 2016 for a South Africa sailing.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 180,020 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

 

 

Here is one visual example/sample of cruise director Allan King doing a little “country western” music during his evening program. Notice his "low-key" jacket?:

 

[drron29]

It was midsummer weekend so lots were out camping-in the middle of the city!

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People came to look at us whilst we gazed at the larger cruise ships excluded from the city centre-

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Whilst this lot were drinking wine and not looking at anybody-

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[drron29]

So here ithe mural duct tape mentioned today in Harstad.It was a major place for the Vikings departing for other lands so this mural is quite appropriate-

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The top reads-"In the town where I was born there lived a man who sailed to sea and told us of his life in the land of.......

 

At 0930 today the temperature was 10C,1130-8.5C,1830-7.5C

[duct tape]

Hannalee? Good tour today will report later.

[Stumblefoot]

Great to see the updates from Ron, Ann, DT. Spot on, each of them.

 

Not much to add here other than our butler is the wonderful Rowena. Very nice to have her taking care of us. We enjoyed a great mountain hike today in the fog and heavy mist. The temps are cold enough at altitude to see your breath. It all seemed a bit surreal for late June. Fingers are crossed for better weather in Tromso tomorrow.

 

 

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[colonelretwes]

Dr.Ron; Thanks for sharing that smiling butler pix esp. of Rowena and sharing your outstanding voyage pix as well---bravo--know this takesyourvaluable Cloud cruise time. Absolutely concur Brian/Stumblefoot "wonderful" describes Rowena's intuitive--exceptional butler suite service.

 

 

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[drron29]

Interesting to see bag screening done on embarkation-

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Some famous Copenhagen landmarks nearby-

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And some not so famous such as the naval museum-

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On sail away we passed preparations for a Saturday night party and a young lady was having less attention paid to her-

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And stumblefoot count me as officially jealous.Rowena is definitely a great butler.

Edited June 25, 2015 by drron29

[drron29]

Some sights as we left the harbour-

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[drron29]

That night we shared our dinner with 3 Americans and a Danish couple.One of the great pleasures of small ship cruising.A great night.By the time dinner ended this was what it looked like outside-

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The next day was a sea day.Went to the destination lectures,trivia and golf but mainly slept.Passed evidence of North Sea oil-

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First formal night which we shared with the Hotel Director Sujith,The casino manager and 4 Americans.Everyone just clicked.Much laughter and last to leave the dining room-the show was well and truly over.But at 11.30pm I was up on deck 8 in my Tux taking pictures of a magnificent sunset at sea-

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[mysty]

Thanks so much drron29! Beautiful pictures! Brought back many fond memories of this area.

[RachelG]

Anyone who has Rowena as their butler is in hog heaven!

[Herman The Cat]

For the hikers: don't miss the hike in Geiranger. Steep and long but beautiful and you can climb down behind the waterfall.

 

The Norwegians are serious about their hiking.

 

Thank you for the commentary and wonderful photos--enjoy!

[drron29]

Unfortunately the weather is against a lot of outdoor activities.Scandinavia is having it's coldest May/June since 1949.Ours is not the beautiful blues of water and sky contrasting with the green of the mountains.Our trip is more contrasting shades of grey and white.So a last sunset picture to lift my spirits before our entrance to Bergen-

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[duct tape]

Yup. Sunrise and sunset are not even listed in the Chronicle for the last few days...probably because neither happens! Yesterday's trip around Harstad was enjoyable, if cold, damp and windy! The Trondenes Church, which sits high on the coast, is from the 13th C. It has exceptional Medieval German statuary. The walls are 70 inches thick! There is a good little museum adjacent to the Church. A little further up the road we stopped at the Adolf Gun, a fully restored 16" cannon. The bunker where the soldiers lived and worked are extensive. The mechanics for loading the gun were extremely efficient! Tromso today, lunch, I think.

[mysty]

Yup. Sunrise and sunset are not even listed in the Chronicle for the last few days...probably because neither happens! Yesterday's trip around Harstad was enjoyable, if cold, damp and windy! The Trondenes Church, which sits high on the coast, is from the 13th C. It has exceptional Medieval German statuary. The walls are 70 inches thick! There is a good little museum adjacent to the Church. A little further up the road we stopped at the Adolf Gun, a fully restored 16" cannon. The bunker where the soldiers lived and worked are extensive. The mechanics for loading the gun were extremely efficient! Tromso today, lunch, I think.

duct tape, thanks for your excellent play-by-play! The never-setting-sun was the coolest thing about our cruise in that region. It was something we had never experienced before. Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[drron29]

Some more of the approach to Bergen-

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Edited June 26, 2015 by drron29

[drron29]

Now to some scenes around Bergen.It started off cold but soon the sun appeared and it has been the best weather of the cruise so far.

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The last is called Bergen castle but by the plaque it is a relatively recent structure.There is certainly some beauty around Bergen-

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But thankfully they got rid of this fellow-

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[drron29]

More on the way to the fish market including a delightful wooden boat-

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[Stumblefoot]

So glad everyone is able to enjoy Dr. Ron's pics.

 

Sure wish we could see what this sky of the midnight sun looks like. But, alas, Mother Nature seems intent on shrouding it from us as we haven't had but more than a peek since entering the arctic circle.

 

After a 30-minute drive outside of Harstad yesterday to hike to the summit Mount Keipan, we learned the trail was much to dangerous to follow as the clouds socked in the entire area. So, we headed back into and across the city to the other side of the harbor to hike a smaller mountain. The Guides did a good job and even added on a side trip to the church Duct Tape referenced above to "make-up" for canceling the Keipan hike. A good time seemed to be had by all.

 

 

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[Stumblefoot]

Today, we arrived into the city known as the "Paris of the North"; Tromso. I don't know if it's the continual heavy overcast sky, or incessant light mist, but I don't quite understand how anyone thinks this place resembles Paris.

 

Once again, we did our best to enjoy another dreary day in the north. The pier where the Cloud is docked is only about a 30 minute walk from the Arctic Cathedral, so we enjoyed a good hike over the harbor bridge and back in order to get a bit of exercise. It seems the salty air here in the arctic circle is really shrinking my clothing. Either that, or my over-indulgence in the great food being served here on board the Cloud is doing me in.

 

Upon our return to the ship this afternoon, we received notice of a change to tonight's scheduled entertainment. We are now going to be treated to a performance by Sebastiano Brusco, a classical pianist from Italy. After visiting Edvard Grieg's home in Bergen and enjoying a live afternoon performance of some of his works, we are looking forward to tonight's concert on board the Cloud.

 

Lastly, Col. Wes, I wanted you to know that I passed along Ida and your well wishes to Rowena. A big smile came over her face as she accepted your warm thoughts. A lovely soul she is and we are enjoying her gracious service this voyage.

 

 

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