We are in North Iceland, at the port of Akureyri. A full day tour started off with a visit to Godafoss, the “Waterfall of the Gods”. Then onto Skutustadir, with its craters and

lakes. Note how thin the soil is over the old lava and ash flows. A lunch of fish and potatoes next in a local hotel, followed by a short drive to Dimmuborgir.

This was the most interesting stop, with lava fields interspersed with stunted birch trees in full autumn colour. It could have been a set out of the “Lord of the Rings”, especially as the Icelanders think a lot of the formations are trolls turned to stone.

Our final stop was at Namaskard, a geothermal area. This was a rather muddy pit and lake of sulphur smelling mud and boiling water, not quite up to some of New Zealand sites we’ve seen. Tomorrow sees more geothermal activity once we’ve moored at Reykjavik, and it’s our last day onboard…..

Our Captain warned us last night that the weather could get a bit rough, so he was altering our course and slowing down to let it pass. There was a little bit of movement this morning but we’ve passed the worst and are now heading for Iceland. It’s going to be a busy 2 days with full excursions, and I’ve got a sore throat/ stuffie nose…..nursie has dosed me up on drugs and I’m not going to let it slow me down!

Thanks for all the comments, we read them all but the internet is so slow it’s hard to reply without the mail program timing out.

We are moored in some majestic scenery, with huge mountains and no trees. It reminds me of the Scottish highlands, but on an even bigger scale.

Our tour guide was an 18 year old still in high school. Passionate about his country he is a great ambassador, and conveyed many of the islanders ideas and traditions. It was great to see some American reactions as he talked with disdain about Trumps idea to buy Greenland. The North Atlantic Islands obviously stick together. No guns, no violence and little to no crime. There have only been 4 murders since 1950!

The roller landscape with undersea tunnels and hairpin bends made driving exciting.

Whilst the colourful little villages provided a spark of colour in the immense landscape. Overall a most interesting experience, I couldn’t live here as there are no trees and few gardens, but it will be an interesting place to watch from afar, especially as they try to wrest their sovereignty from Denmark.

Leaving Bergen yesterday the Captain informed us of swells ahead and closed some of the upper decks. The motion was lively during dinner at Polo Grill, but seemed to settle later on, and we moored at Lerwick in the Shetland Isles OK. Apparently it was rough south of us, and we have been joined by another cruise ship who could not get into Kirkwall, Orkney Isles. We have also got all the guides and coaches for our Cruise line, so there are a lot of tourists wandering around, some unhappy…

It’s our second visit, and we love the place in summer, During winter life could get a bit rugged, with violent storms sweeping across the islands. Our local lassie guide gave a very personal tour. Apparently the TV series Shetland is popular around the world, for those who watch it you will know the building above, as it’s featured a lot. Some of the buildings go back to the 1700’s, whilst garage roofs are used as boat stores.

The town hall had a magnificent array of stained glass windows. I had not realised that although Scottish their history is mainly Scandinavian, until Included as part of a dowry when King James of Scotland wed a Danish princess. As depicted below

The town is a maze of little lanes, with shops clustered around the harbour. We have a few island souvenirs, fortunately they post as our suitcase is getting heavy, the island knit ware and Sea Otter books being particularly attractive ! Hazel greatly enjoyed her mini Scottish holiday, especially listening to that Scots accent.

A threatening sky greeted us in Bergen, and our excursion to Ole Bull’s island in a local fjord. During the early 1800’s he was a noted musician, actively promoting Norway.

Reached by a tiny ferry our group of 15 or so, were the only guests so it was a very personal tour with a knowledgeable guide. Despite numerous money problems, and wives, (not necessarily related I might add) he actively promoted Norwegians to use their language and folk music, until then Sweden had dominated the arts. His “house” or retreat on the island was a mixture of styles from all the countries he had visited, for instance the 3 different chandelier styles. This produced a fairy tale effect.

He was friends with Greig, and the island had a similar feel to Greigs house where he composed music, and is in fact only a short distance away. Set in some delightful gardens, surrounded by a mossy forest it felt a real haven.

Hazel comparing Rivera’s docking technique to T42.

As mentioned in the previous blog our boat trip along Lysefjord did not look promising weather wise, BUT halfway along the rain stopped and the cloud lifted to the higher peaks only.

The Captain nosed the ship into tiny bays and along sheer cliff edges. One of them had a few grazing goats that seemed awaiting their hourly apple ration.

Pulpit rock was up in the clouds, but would have offered a scary view overhanging the edge. There was a large waterfall in the distance, so off we go….

By this time I was on the front of the vessel, and got drowned with another visitor when we refused to budge as he nosed us under the waterfall ..So overall a great day!

It’s a long transit from Oslo to Stavanger so we didn’t dock till midday. This involved some skilful piloting to slot in front of another large cruise ship. Unfortunately it’s pouring with rain with low cloud. Not so good for a boat cruise planned for this

this afternoon. We did get out to walk through the old town, very pretty with cobblestone roads and quaint wooden houses. Most of them were decorated with hanging baskets, pots and pocket handkerchief gardens. The city center was equally attractive but most shops seemed closed apart from the cafes. A bit strange considering there are 2 cruise ships in town with a thousand people plus wandering around with money to spend.

The internet is very slow uploading at present, I’ll try and upload some more pictures later on, perhaps the sun will break out over our fjord cruise😎

A wet and grey morning in Oslo did not deter us from walking into town. We did get rather wet though, and soon retreated back to the ship as the shoes got soaked. This afternoon we had a tour themed Oslo’s Maritime History with 3 ship museums.

First up was Kon Tiki, where Thor Heyerdahl and crew sailed a balsa raft from Peru to the Polynesian Islands. Done in the late 40’s it was an early example of experimental archeology, and made a big impression on me as a child. It didn’t disappoint and I greatly enjoyed visiting it again as the museum had been considerably enlarged.

It also housed the papyrus raft RA, numerous artefacts from Easter Island and a well patronised shop. In a building next door was housed the vessel FRAM. Used in numerous Polar expeditions it is best known for the part it played in the first successful expedition to the South Pole. An extremely interesting display where you could board the vessel, as well as view artefacts, informational films, etc.

Our final visit was to the Viking Ship display, which we’d visited when cruising aboard Voyages of Discovery. The overall size coupled with level of carving still impressed. A quick bus back to the ship saw an almost immediate sail away. The sun is out with blue skies now as we sail down Oslo fjord, hopefully it will last to Stavanger tomorrow.

An early start saw us seeing the sights of Gothenburg by 8.30 this morning. Our guide made up for yesterday’s big time. Animated, interesting and good English, what all guides should be! Our tour started around the city docks, then going up the local “mountain”, a smallish hill in most people’s mind. Since Sweden was flattened by the ice age any point of elevation seems to be called a mountain. The fish market was an

oddly shaped Church like building. We then moved onto the botanical gardens, in particular the rock gardens which was reached by a Rhododendron valley. It would be attractive during spring. Most of the colour was in the herbaceous borders. A final

stop at the local church, with its characteristic wooden inverted hull type roof was complemented with good views. On return to the ship we walked to the Volvo museum. An excellent array of vehicles beautifully arranged in a newish building. A couple of their ideas could be incorporated into the new one at Launceston. Overall a great day, hopefully tomorrow is equally good with us visiting Kon Tiki and Ra

A Volvo P1800, as used in the the TV series “The Saint”.

A grey day, with a little rain, saw a late start to the City of Roskilde, an hours drive from where we are moored in the center of Copenhagen. Unfortunately our guide was not the most dynamic personality, and the tour had been poorly arranged. First up was the Viking museum where 5 boats, that had been sunk in the entrance to a Fjord, have been preserved. All 5 have also been copied and built in a traditional manner in a shipyard next door. One could talk to the builders, who were still building a replica.

Time was limited here so we had to forgo the educational film, tea rooms and replica boats that you were allowed on. Instead we drove a short distance to Roskilde Cathedral. It is the burial place for the Danish Monarchs, with their crypts containing elaborate coffins ! The Church has been rebuilt and added on numerous times, it was interesting but we spent way to much time there…..everybody wanted to go back to the ships but the guide said it wasn’t possible……why not we said, because we must go back now…..a small mutiny averted by the promise of an additional stop….which turned out as a drop off in center of town as well as the ship. At least we’ve got something to write about in our mid cruise comments feedback.

Gothenburg, Sweden tomorrow, let’s hope the tour is better.