Farewell Scandinavia

What a dinner!  

Modern Nordic fare in a stunning setting.  Flavours ranging from spruce scented jelly to tarragon granita and the freshest of fish spread over 4 delicious courses.  A slowly swaying "iceberg" and a departing super ferry in the background all added to the atmosphere.

Another memorable night to round off our trip.

Farewell Scandinavia

What a dinner!  

Modern Nordic fare in a stunning setting.  Flavours ranging from spruce scented jelly to tarragon granita and the freshest of fish spread over 4 delicious courses.  A slowly swaying "iceberg" and a departing super ferry in the background all added to the atmosphere.

Another memorable night to round off our trip.

A little dose of culture to finish our trip

Oslo is a relatively big bustling city and feels huge after our smaller urban adventures.  

it is jam packed with museums and art galleries but on yet another sunny day, we opted to skip Munch and Ibsen in favour of the Viking Ships which were found a bit over a century ago, excavated carefully, preserved and put into a very simple museum building out on an island in the harbour.  The boat trip across gave us a good view of the city from the water and a short walk brought us to the museum.  

Wow!  Not only are the ships extraordinary but the grave goods which filled them are amazing.  Intricately carved sledges and carriages, the finest fabrics, beautifully made homewares and agricultural implements.  These people were sent on their way to the next world well equipped.

After dropping in on the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace we mooches down to the opera house.  Built right on the waterfront, this modern building hints at the Sydney Opera house as it is large, white and structurally striking but internally it works even better than Sydney in many ways.  The building can be explored by walking on the roofs which offers great views of the city.  It has a restaurant on the waterside so we're planning to finish our trip in style with a seasonally inspired dinner menu there tonight.  

Last long train journey

Trondheim in the morning sun was gorgeous so we strolled along the riverside for a hour

 then took a tour of the Royal residence we'd seen from the outside the day before.  A good deal of the interior is influenced by Queen Maud, the first Norweigian Queen in the latest era of its monarchy.  She was British and there were some touches of her Victorian taste in the decorations and furnishing.

Coffee in the square listening to the medieval musicians again brought the morning to an end and we took ourselves down to the station for our trip to Oslo.  The journey is about 6.5 hours through the countryside visiting Lillehammer, site of the Winter Olympics.  

It was a very picturesque trip which we enjoyed in Norway's not quite First Class carriage.

Arriving in Oslo after 9PM really isn't a problem on these long light evenings and the sun on the lakes and fjords as we approached the city was lovely.  

Fun at St Olav's Festival

Trondheim is having its annual party and we're in the midst of it.

There are concerts, shows and activities for children and a splendid Medieval Fair and pageants around the Archbishop's old palace.  There are craftsmen at work, costumed actors and enthusiastic period musicians adding a colourful atmosphere to the occasion.

We've had a day of strolling the streets of the older parts of town, along the River Nyd and the marketplaces.  We joined an international group for a walking tour which gave us lots more information about the history and culture of the City, an early capital and still the city where Royals are crowned or appointed rather than Oslo.

Lakes, fjords and glaciers

Today we returned to the mainland.  The day started with breakfast on the deck outside in the morning sun before a leisurely drive back to Evenes airport.  It was a really lovely day so the colours and scenery were magnificent.  We stopped for a quick lunch and arrived at the airport in good time.

The plane arrived on time and the 1.5 hour flight in a prop plane meant we flew relatively low over the mountains and fjords all the way to Trondheim.  Norway has very large expanses of show-stopping scenery with no access or dwellings over hundreds of square miles.  Finally a few farms and towns started to appear and we landed at Trondheim.

A bus from the airport dropped us more or less at the door of our very swish glass and steel hotel and we took a stroll out into town to find dinner.  It looks like a very interesting place to explore on Monday with an old harbour area, a large cathedral and historic areas not to mention some posh shops!  With Norweigan prices, I suspect it will be more window shopping than anything more....

to the coast and beyond

We've spent 3 days in an internet free zone, so here's a snapshot of how life can be after the web......

About an hour after leaving Narvik in a hire car, we reached the end of the mainland and crossed the bridge to the islands.  

Here traffic thinned, roads became a little narrower and the scenery scored 11 out of 10.  Every turning brought another mountain, fjord or picture postcard perfect view.  We stopped on the side of a fjord for lunch

and the tropical coloured waters we just beautiful.

Eventually we arrived via tunnels, bridges and causeways at the further most of the Vesteralen Islands, Bo and the southern most point we arrived at Skagakaia, an old fish factor's property set on a point.

There are stunning views in every direction.  Our bedroom is on the upper floor overlooking the inlet with views to the snowy Lofoten peaks.

Whilst here, we gave driven to some lovely villages, mostly small fishing settlements.  The drives have been stunning.  When you see a map with an outline of a sea eagle on it, you don't exactly expect to drive up and see one, two, three or more, but we did!  

Some of these remote spots also offered good food or just peaceful picnicking.

As we travelled, we enjoyed lots of other bird and wildlife.  The Elk was only 100yds from Skagakaia and the kittiwakes and their chicks were feet from us!