Norway--Tromso

We awoke to warm bright sunshine and watched as our ship approach Tromso and docked as we ate breakfast. By the time we donned our layers of clothes (we expected it to be cold), the ship was cleared for disembarking for our day in the scenic town known as the “Gateway of the Arctic.” It is from here that many of the Arctic expeditions set out.

A shuttle bus from the pier took us to a spot near the center of town (about a 20 minute ride) and we set off from there to find our way across the bridge that spans the water between two of the three islands on which the city is located.

About 40 minutes later, we were across the bridge and staring up at the landmark Arctic Cathedral. Since it was Sunday and services were being held, we couldn’t go inside but it was easy to see why this structure is so outstanding. The roof is glassed and the sun shines through giving it an open air feeling. There is a glass mosaic on the back wall but the sun was not coming from the right direction for us to capture the colorful picture in a photo.

Heading up the road from the church, we followed the Cable Car signs and found the Fjellheisen (funicular). For 99 kroner each (about 15USD) we rode up the steep mountainside to the observation area high above the water and the city below. By this time, we realized we didn’t need quite so many layers and began shedding. The sun was quite warming.

We enjoyed the fantastic view and the fresh air. Attracted to a young man with a baby on his back (we are such grandparents!), we struck up a conversation and were astonished to hear his Americanized English—so much so that we thought he was from the USA. No, he told us, he was a local. Apparently they watch so many American movies with no subtitles that the English they learn in school is easily Americanized. Our conversation was about comparing economies, healthcare differences,

Norway--Arctic Circle Crossing

Shortly after breakfast our ship, the Century, turned inland and began navigating through the outcropping of islands that fringe the coast. We passed remote clusters of homes, some small villages and a few areas where there were fish farms.

At noon, the announcement was made that we were about to cross the Arctic Circle. On a small island there was a large sphere that marked the latitude of the Arctic Circle. North of this imaginary line, there are periods of time during the summer when the sun does not set and in the winter, when night lasts all day.

The scenery we passed continued to get more beautiful as we progressed north. We noticed a fish farm where we assumed they were raising salmon. Whatever was in the round fenced in areas kept jumping out of the water.

After lunch, the captain deemed the weather good enough to turn into a fjord that contains the largest glacier in northern Europe. While it didn’t come all the way down to the water, what we could see from the ship was very impressive.

A day at sea usually means a formal night for dinner on a cruise ship. This evening was worth getting dressed up for as we were invited to the captain’s table in the dining room to dine with the staff captain, Capt. Panagiotis Klousis (Capt. Panos). We had a great dinner, enjoyed the Captain’s good humor and met two other wonderful couples besides our tablemates who were also invited.

At eleven, when it was time to call it a day, we looked out our window to see that it was still quite light outside. We were truly entering the land of the midnight sun.

Wordless Wednesday

Norway--Alesund

Thursday, the first full day of our cruise was spent crossing the North Sea from Amsterdam to Norway on our way to our first port of call, Alesund. Thursday night was the last sunset we would see in the North Sea. As we headed north, eventually there would be no sunset or sunrise. The sun would be in the sky 24/7 even though at times behind thick rain clouds as it was on Friday when we arrived at the port of Alesund.

We dressed in layers and donned new windbreakers with hoods we had found on sale at the ship’s store. Grateful to have something that shed water and wasn’t a plastic poncho, we embarked on our expedition into Alesund from the cruise pier to find the Bytoget (the City Train). Expecting a small shop at least from which to purchase our tickets, we were surprised to find the ticket place was only a stand like one from which you would purchase hot dogs or such at a fair.

The City Train pulled up to the stop shortly after we purchased our tickets and we boarded to get out of the misty drizzle that surrounded us. Once aboard, the driver handed out lightweight flannel throws for the ride to the top of the observation point of the city. The ride up was not terribly interesting although we did learn that the city at one time had been burned to the ground and reconstructed.

Once we were at the top of the observation area (about 35 minutes ride) we got out and took the required tourist pictures, told our driver we would walk down from there and set out down the 430 steps or so to the bottom of the large hill. Thankfully the steps were easy to manage and were not slippery from the rainy weather.

At the bottom, instead of taking the path to the city center, we opted to be adventurous and take the path less traveled. It led us to an old church with a quaint graveyard. (Can graveyards be quaint?) We then followed along the waterfront to find our way back to the center of Alesund.

Along the way, we discovered a large replica frigate, a Swedish boat, the Goetheberg, that was used by one of the oldest shipping companies in the area. Quite impressive. If I understood correctly, the crew is made up of young people who take her from port to port to display the ship.

As we made our way back to the ship, the sun began to break through the clouds. We spent the rest of the day enjoying the view from our balcony and anticipating the next day of sailing through our first Norwegian fjords.

The Netherlands--Corrie Ten Boom House

From the train station we hurriedly pass through the streets of Haarlem taking care not to make a wrong turn. Time is of the essence. We must arrive at our destination by 15:30. We turn a corner and it is there!

The little clock shop, its wooden façade bids us welcome. We turn into the alleyway and see others milling about. In the window to the left of a green door sits the triangular sign with the word Alpina in black letters against a white clock face on a red background. It is the name of a brand of clock but to the Jews who passed through this alley, it was the word for freedom—the signal that the passageway to freedom was safely open.

A lovely white-haired Dutch lady opens the door and bids us enter. We climb a steep narrow staircase to a small hallway entrance with a dining room on one side and a sitting room on the other. We pause briefly to imprint in our minds the linen-covered oak table and cabinets in the dining room and then are directed to the sitting room where we are made comfortable in chairs.

For the next twenty minutes or so, our hostess, Betty, tells us the incredible story of the Ten Booms and their part in helping many Jews escape the Nazis who pursued them. The story is not only spellbinding, it is also interlaced with the message of the love of God for all of us. It is what Corrie Ten Boom would tell us were she there to do so. It is the message that she shared while sharing her experiences in the Nazi camps where she and her sister were taken after their home was searched and too many ration cards were found. The Gestapo never found the six Jews in the special hiding place in the wall.

The hiding place from which Corrie Ten Booms most popular book got its title is a space behind her bedroom wall barely large enough for person to stand in. It is here that the six Jews ran when given the warning that the Gestapo were at the door. Ducking through a small crawl space beneath the last shelf in a linen closet, they scurried through to the small space and there waited until after the Ten Booms were arrested and another Jewish sympathizer was able to free them.

Corrie lost her father and her sister but she returned to this little home and determined she would continue to spread the word of God’s love and His presence in even the direst of circumstances. Betty ends her story with the account of Corrie meeting the guard of the prison camp who had treated them so badly. He had become a believer and begged her forgiveness. It was a difficult thing for Corrie to do but she found freedom in forgiving him.

I glance back at the little triangular sign in the window as we leave. Freedom has a different meaning now.

The Netherlands--Windmills

In blowing rain that was at times horizontal, we made our way to Central Station in Amsterdam and took an early train to Koog-Zaandijk. (We showed the name printed in our travel guide to the ticket seller. No way could we pronounce it.) By the time we arrived, the rain had slowed and showed promise of stopping.

Following the posted signs to the Zaanse Schans ferry, we made our way through the town and down an alley to where we boarded a barge-like ferry to the open air museum where there are a half dozen working windmills from an early industrial era. It is said that this is the oldest industrial area in the world.

The museum area is actually inhabited by people much like the Williamsburg area in Virginia. Gardens with bridges crossing over small irrigation canals surrounded quaint little homes. It is like a picture out of the impressionists’ gallery of paintings.

Since it was still raining, we opted to explore the Zaanse museum and the Verkade Pavilion. The museum highlights the building of the industrial era from the 1600s on. Most of it was in Dutch but we were able to figure out a good deal of it. The Verkade Pavilion was the truly fun place with a mini chocolate factory and a biscuit (cookie) making machine. The Verkade company has been in business over 100 years making biscuits and chocolates.

Outside, the sun broke through and the rain stopped. We opted for a tour of the saw mill that was run by wind power. (One windmill tour was included with our museum ticket). A video showed the restoration of the windmill in 2007. Amazing how all the parts come together to be powered only by the wind. The saw blades alternated between a relatively fast pace and almost stopped as the wind gusted and then stopped as well. One ten foot timber was estimated to be cut into planks in about 2 ½ hours that day. Imagine waiting on wood for a home at that rate!

As the afternoon progressed, we realized we were downwind from a cocoa factory. I was practically drooling by the time we were ready to leave.

We got some wonderful pictures of cows, sheep, and windmills and hurried off to catch the ferry and train back. We wanted to take a little side trip to Haarlem. There we hoped to make it in time for the last tour of the Corrie Ten Boom house.

The Netherlands--Historic Triangle

From Amsterdam it’s a forty-two minute train ride to Hoorn where we found the “Stoomtram,” the steam train. Across the tracks from the modern-day railroad station sits a quaint old station with a roundhouse that holds old steam engines, one of which was to take us to Medemlik where we would catch a boat to Enkhuisen which completes what they refer to as the historical triangle.

We were delighted to see the steam engine that pulled out of the roundhouse for service for the day. It looked exactly like Thomas, the storybook engine so popular with our grandsons. Then as we had a look around the museum area, we found that there were several other engines and cars that looked like the familiar ones in the Thomas storybooks and videos.

Climbing up to the signal house we watched as the conductor pull levers to change the tracks and put the road barriers down. All of this was explained in Dutch but was quite obvious in its function. (I’m sure he would have gone over it again in English but we didn’t ask.)

The train ride to Medemlik was about 1 ½ hours with one stop at another station and a few stops along the way where the conductor got out and actually stopped traffic the old fashioned way with a flag. The country side was beautiful. Very flat as you would expect for a place that has been reclaimed from the sea.

Arriving in Medemlik, we took a quick stroll around to enjoy the quaint town and then boarded a large steel boat that looked more utilitarian than passenger-oriented. But we were surprised when we boarded and found the inside lounge to be quite lovely with upholstered chairs and tables for dining.

Lunch was a tuna sandwich for me that was open faced. One side was the tuna salad and the other side had a beautiful arrangement of cucumber, tomato, lettuce and egg. Bob ordered a hamburger which came with a sauce on top of it. It tasted more like a veggie burger though.

The boat trip to Enkhuizen was a leisurely 90 minutes of Dutch shoreline mostly consisting of dikes. But we passed a lot of sailboats and enjoyed the fresh air and sunshine.

Enkhuizen is a town that needs to be explored more and we hope to return. Lots of interesting buildings, marinas, and sidewalk cafes we hope to see again sometime.

On the way back to Amsterdam (an hour train ride from Enkhuisen) we passed several fields of flowers in bloom. Too quickly however to capture a picture. Several fields were nothing but peonies but not in bloom. How beautiful they must be at the right time of year. Holland certainly deserves its reputation for flowers.

Wordless Wednesday