We’re on our one-day cruise from Trondheim to Bergen. It’s another beautiful day but the deck gets cool when we’re out in the open, mainly from the strong wind. This is a very small ship, probably no more than a couple hundred people on board. It has absolutely no amenities other than a tiny shop, snack bar and dining room. We’ve spent most of the day in one of the forward lounges with very comfy chairs and a beautiful view. In fact, the view is what this cruise is all about. It’s really stunning. Here’s a video of us leaving port this morning.
This is the last day of a 12-day cruise that started in Bergen on the 1st and sailed north to Kirkenes, then headed back down. It stopped at 33 different ports on the trip north but most of them are only 30 minutes long. Seriously, what can you see in 30 minutes. Absolutely nothing but apparently people use that time to get off the ship and stretch their legs on land. Several of the biggest stops were 3-4 hours long but there were only a few of them. So, there may have been 5-6 port calls per day for a grand total of 2-3 hours on land but with only 30 minutes, there’s not much outside the dock you can visit. We already had one today, so Lynn used it to run out and grab a couple of beers and sandwiches for dinner. We didn’t know this but only breakfast was included in our ticket. We could have bought dinner, but it was $150 for the two of us and there were only a couple of dishes to pick from, so we decided we’d just wing it. We got on board early enough to grab stuff from the breakfast buffet for lunch and during our short stop in Kristiansund, Lynn ran off the ship and picked up a couple of sandwiches and beers. There isn’t much available in the snack shop but what is there is very expensive. We have another stop tonight from 9-9:30pm so we might run off again to find something else. We wouldn’t be really happy if we were staying for any length of time but for only 30 hours we’ll manage. We dock in Bergen tomorrow at 2:30pm then spend the rest of tomorrow and Friday sightseeing in that port town. Then it’s a full day trip back to Oslo.
Unlike the France and many of the other countries on the continent, Norway wasn’t liberated during the war. It wasn’t part of the invasion plan in 1944 and remained occupied until the end of the war. The surrender was signed on May 7, 1945, and word got to Norway on the 8th, 73 years ago today. So, instead of being liberated, the Germans laid down their arms and went home. We found all of this out today when we visited the Resistance Museum in Trondheim. Actually, we hadn’t planned to go there but it was in the same compound as the Norwegian Crown Jewels, and it was free. It was basically the same stuff we saw in Oslo, so Lynn walked through pretty quickly and found a comfy place to sit and wait for Peter to visit at a more leisurely pace.
Riding bikes
As we mentioned yesterday, we rented bikes today. It worked out quite well, much better than in Utrecht last month. There we were competing with about 5,000 other people on bikes where here we practically had the bike path to ourselves, except for the school kids. We picked up the bikes at the hotel across the street from where we’re staying. Then we headed to the harbor where tomorrow we’ll pick up the cruise to Bergen. We hadn’t gotten any information about when to board, so we decided to check it out while today’s ship was still in port. Once we got that info, we rode down the harbor path. We were following a tourist walking route on our map. We did a little backtracking as we didn’t always know where to turn but we eventually got to where we wanted to go.
We’ll be on a ship just like this tomorrow (Wednesday)
At one point we had competition for the bike path from about 2500 school kids. The route took us past the Trondheim Stadium where the kids seemed to be having some sort of sports day. We think every kid in Trondheim was there. We also ran into some construction that took us off our desired route, but we managed to get back on track.
Nidaros Cathedral
After riding for about 2 hours, we stopped at the Nidaros Cathedral. It is an 11th century church built over the burial site of St. Olav, an 11th century king of Norway. It was a major pilgrimage destination and because authorities were afraid of people taking relics, no one knows for sure exactly where St. Olaf is buried. The best guess, though, based on scans and X-rays, is that he is buried under the high altar. Like the cathedral we saw in Oslo, this one is very simple with a mix of modern and old. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside but here are a couple from google. The Cathedral is where the kings/queens of Norway are consecrated. Since the early 20th century, they no longer have a coronation but a religious consecration ceremony.
Inside the Cathedral
Beautiful rose window
Part of the Archbishop’s Palace with Cathedral in background
After the Cathedral, we went to the Archbishop’s Palace which has an archeological museum and the Crown Jewels. The archeological museum had lots of artifacts from the Cathedral and original Archbishop’s Palace. Finally, we visited the Resistance Museum which also had weapons and uniforms from the different periods of the Norwegian Army.
From the 12th century
From the 11th Century
One of the original arches
Amy Museum
Weapons from the Viking era
From the other side of the river on our way to drop off the bikes
Then it was time to get back on our bikes and head to the hotel. By this time, it was almost 3pm and we were a little tired. The bikes are easier on Peter’s ankles than walking but are not so great for Lynn’s knees. But, overall, we did quite nicely.
A beautiful day for a ride
We stopped for drinks then headed back to our hotel for a rest before dinner. Not sure where we’ll eat tonight but there are a ton of restaurants within a stone’s throw of the hotel so I’m sure we’ll find something.
Tomorrow we’re cruising south to Bergen. We’re taking the Norway in a Nutshell tour that we booked several months ago. Here’s a link to the website so you can see what we’ll be doing. While it’s called a “tour” it’s not guided so we were able to add as many days as we wanted to several different stops. We choose to add one night in Trondheim and another night in Bergen. Then we’ll head to Oslo via a train, bus, 90 cruise through the fjords and the Flam railroad. It should be beautiful. We probably won’t post again until we hit Bergen, so we’ll fill you in then.
Here’s a video from yesterday’s train ride. It was so beautiful!
Well, the ride we thought was 6 hours was actually almost 7 hours, but it actually went very quickly, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The pictures don’t do it justice as they were taken while we were moving. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground and a lot in the mountains. But once we got to Trondheim, there was no snow at all, and the sun was shining.
Once we walked from the train station to the hotel and got settled, we headed straight to tourist information. Trondheim was founded in 997 as a trading post, and it served as the capital of Norway during the Viking Age until the early 13th century. It’s a relatively small city but is the 4th largest urban area in Norway with a population just under 200,000. We saw a lot of younger people which makes sense as this is a major college town, with several large universities located here.
Diner’s delight at the harbor
Since it was still relatively early, only 4pm, we decided to walk around the city center for a while and have dinner. We ended up eating at the harbor, which like Oslo, has streets lined with restaurants. Since Scandinavia is all about fish and neither one of us (Peter less than Lynn) are huge fans, we ended up back at our new favorite Italian restaurant…. Olivia’s. Apparently, it’s a chain here in Norway so we ate there…. again. And it was just as good as it was in Oslo.
The harbor area is beautiful with colorful houses along the river, very similar to Amsterdam. We plan to rent bikes tomorrow (say a prayer for us please) so we’ll explore this beautiful city on wheels.
Oldest bridge in Trondheim; it’s only for pedestrians and bikes
Not much else to report so we’ll say night for now. Love to all.
Here we are at the laundromat…. again. It seems like that’s all we do is laundry, but we only have 5 sets of underwear, and we leave tomorrow for another 6 days without Airbnb, so we thought we’d better do another load of wash before we leave.
Not sure which church this is but we passed it on our way to the laundramat
It was a beautiful day in Oslo. We tried going to City Hall as it’s supposed to be a beautiful building and it’s where the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held. But even though the brochure says it’s open on Sunday, apparently, it’s not. Bummer. Instead, we walked to the Akershus Castle which is closed for renovation but is where the Norwegian Resistance Museum is located. Lynn was there with mom in 2002 and remembers it being a very good museum. For once, her memory was correct. It was very well done. The Norwegian resistance was very active throughout the entire war and this museum went into a lot of detail about their accomplishments.
Castle grounds
Resistance fighters executed by the Gestapo
Radio used by the resistance
Other artifacts
Harbor from Castle grounds
City Hall; closed on Sundays 🙁
National Theater
Royal Palace
After the museum we headed to the Royal Palace. Since the royal family lives there we couldn’t go inside but we at least wanted to see the building. Then we walked down the main drag to the Cathedral. It’s relatively small, especially when compared to the Cathedrals we saw in France, Spain and Portugal, but it was still beautiful.
Parliament Building
Oslo Cathedral
By this time, it was close to 5pm and we were hungry so we found a place to eat where we could sit outside in the sun. It was a gorgeous day, sunny without a cloud in the sky. We were actually a little warm in our jeans. We had a delicious dinner and splurged on dessert (we are so going to need to go on a diet when we get home) before heading back to the hotel to pick up the laundry.
Tomorrow we’re off on our Norway in a Nutshell trip and have an 8:10 train to Trondheim. It’s a 6-hour ride but it’s supposed to be beautiful county side so we’re looking forward to it. We’ll chat again tomorrow.
Yes, faithful followers we have a new world’s record; at least for us. Five museums in one day…OMG. But more on that in a second.
Yesterday (Friday) was primarily a travel day but we had several hours before we left to wander the streets of Gothenburg. We ended up back in the park in which we walked the day before, but it was a beautiful day, so we didn’t mind.
It took 4 hours to get to Oslo but much of it was a beautiful ride. The countryside was so pretty. We tried to take pictures out the window but weren’t too successful; the train was going too fast. We arrived in Oslo close to 5pm but before we left the station, we picked up our tickets for the Norway in a Nutshell trip we’re doing next week and stopped at tourist information. We decided to get a one-day Oslo card as it gave us free transportation as well as entry into the museums we wanted to see today.
The hotel is only a short walk from the station so, even with our luggage, it was an easy walk. The hotel is nice and very close to the things we want to do while we’re here. That’s a nice switch from the last several Airbnb flats where we had to commute from the outskirts of town. This is so much more convenient.
Oslo Harbor
After getting settled into the decided to head to the harbor, just a few minutes away, for dinner. After a delicious meal and after dinner drinks, we came home for a good night’s sleep.
Oseberg Burial Ship; 90% of the wood is original; best preserved Viking ship in the world
Today we took what they call the museum ferry. There are several museums on the other side of the harbor and while we could have taken a bus, the ferry was much faster. We started at the Viking Ship Museum, which was very cool. There were 3 ships that had been excavated in relatively good shape. At least the pieces were in good shape. One of the ships was in about 1,000 pieces but because of the way they were buried, archeologists were able to “rebuild” the ships. Two of the ships are virtually intact but the 3rd looked more like an unfinished boat. There were also quite a few artifacts that were found with the ships. All 3 had been used as burial ships so the artifacts were things that had been buried with the deceased. One of the ships had skeletons of the women who were buried on the ship. They weren’t intact but the archeologists were able to piece the girls together. The picture isn’t very good because of the low light and reflection off the glass but if you look closely, you can see the bones.
From above
Two wealthy women buried in the Oseberg Ship
Items found with the women
Beautifully carved animal head found in Oseberg burial ship
Gokstad Ship
Gokstad Burial Chamber
Tune Ship
After the Viking Museum, we took the local bus to the Fram Museum. This one is dedicated to the exploration of the North and South Poles by the Norwegians. There were to fully intact exploration ships….the Fram (which was used for both Poles) and the Maud, which was used in later explorations. The Norwegians were instrumental in mapping out the Northwest Passage and Roald Amundsen won the race to the South Pole in 1912, beating the British and Captain Scott. The story is fascinating and there are several youtube videos if you want to learn more about it. The one linked above is only 10 minutes long but there are several longer documentaries.
The Fram
Windmill powered the lights in the cabin compartments
The museum had tons of fascinating artifacts and pictures from both expeditions. We spent a ton of time here, about 3 1/2 hours. Most of that was Lynn waiting for Peter to read every word on every sign, but she used her downtime well, making friends with a couple from Perth. We saw them at the ferry in the morning and kept running into them at the museums. They’re a very nice couple and hopefully we’ll have a chance to visit them in Perth Australia someday.
One of the dog sledges used in the Race to the South Pole
British Captain Scott at the beginning of the Race; didn’t turn out too well for him.
Roald Amundsen and his ment at the South Pole.
Tent the Norwegians used at the South Pole
The Maud; used in the 20s during additional exploration of the North Pole
There were two other museums on the same block, so we hit the Maritime Museum next. Lynn really wasn’t interested in this one at all, so she spent her time charging Peter’s phone and making more friends. This time with a retired Admiral and his family. She didn’t know he was a Vice Admiral until he gave her his card as they were leaving. They live in Williamsburg VA, which is someplace we’re planning to visit someday. Turns out Peter didn’t stay long in this one either, so we don’t have any pictures.
The final museum on that block was the Kon-Tiki Museum. This one was a lot smaller than the Fram Museum, but it was very interesting. This one told the story of Thor Heyerdahl’s Kon-Tiki expedition of 1947. The 25 word or less version is that he and his 5-man crew sailed 4,300 miles across the Pacific in a raft. The intact raft was in the museum as was the Ra II which he and his crew sailed across the Atlantic in 1970. He had tried the crossing in 1969 but the boat broke up before it reaches the Caribbean. His second try, though, was a success. It was very hard to imagine sailing across a lake in these “boats” let alone across the ocean.
Kon-Tiki; imagine sailing this across the Pacific
Ra II
We took the ferry back to the main harbor where we hit our 5th museum of the day, The Nobel Peace Center. This museum was about the Nobel Peace Prize which is decided and awarded in Oslo. We saw an exhibition Generation Wealth by the award-winning filmmaker and photographer Lauren Greenfield. It was a photo exhibit that depicted the pursuit of status, beauty and wealth. The photos were excellent, and the stories were interesting, but we weren’t sure why it was being exhibited at this museum. It had absolutely nothing to do with the Nobel Peace Prize and seemed an oddly out of place.
On the ferry
There was, though, one room dedicated to the Nobel Peace Prize. It included a short bio of every winner of this prestigious prize. By the time we finished in this museum it was after 5:30 and even Peter had had enough of museums. So, strolled the harbor looking for dinner. Tonight, it was delicious pasta at the same restaurant where we had eaten pizza yesterday. Most of the restaurants here are heavy on the seafood and since Peter’s not a fan, we’re looking for alternative dining options. Since we usually can’t go wrong with pasta and pizza, we decided to play it safe. Both nights were delicious. Hopefully we can have more traditional Norwegian fare tomorrow. We’ll let you know.
The morning started out dreary and wet but turned into a cold, but sunny day. We started off together at the City Museum but Lynn left after about 90 minutes to get to her hair appointment. It was a very interesting museum giving the history of the Gothenburg area from prehistoric times. This city as it is known now was settled in 1621 but had been populated as early as 5000 years ago. We saw a skeleton of a 23 year old man from 4500 years ago. Unlike Otzi in Bolzano Italy, this guy was just bones but it was still pretty cool.
Prehistoric man
Prehistoric pottery
The Askekarr Ship; from the Viking period
There was a pretty large display from the Viking age which was from about 700-1050AD. The things we saw were in remarkable condition. The entire museum was very well done.
Viking Battle Axe
Comb; also from Viking Period
Carvings from the 15th century
Found on the chest of a female skeleton; probably from 15th century
Bible from 15th or 16th century
There was a room full of minatures
We met for lunch after Lynn’s appointment and had a traditional Swedish meal, our first since getting to Sweden 5 days ago. We’d been making sandwiches and eating at home, so it was nice to taste the local cuisine.
After walking the city center and a pretty park, we headed for home. Tonight is laundry night (again) but at least we have a washer and dryer at the house. Lynn found a 20 minute wash cycle but the dryer will take 2 hours. Not sure why it takes so long to do laundry in Europe but she’s looking forward to getting her washer/dryer at home up and running.
Tomorrow we head to Oslo for about 9 days in Norway. Our train doesn’t arrive until about 5pm so you probably won’t hear from us until Saturday. Till then…. love from us.
There isn’t much to report over the last couple of days. Yesterday (Tuesday) we took the train from Malmo to Gothenburg. It was a high-speed train, so it only took 2 1/2 hours. But, when we arrived it was cold, windy and rainy so once we got to our flat, we went for groceries and then settled in for the evening.
Ferry to Styrso
Today, though, was beautiful. It was cool and windy but sunny. We took the bus to tourist information to pick up our maps and brochures of things to do. Since it was sunny today and the forecast for tomorrow is rainy, we decided to stick to outdoor activities today. We took a ferry to the island of Styrso. There are a lot of islands around Gothenburg but Styrso is one of the larger ones. We took a tram to the ferry and then had a 20-minute ride. Even though it was pretty windy, the water was calm so it was a nice ride. The island is mainly car-free except for delivery and repair vans. Everyone else uses bikes, mopeds or golf carts. We could have rented a golf cart but were told that the walk to the next town was only 20 minutes. Since it was a nice day we decided to walk. After about 30 minutes we wished we had gotten a cart. When we finally found the coast again, we had overshot our target but only by about 15 minutes of walking so not too bad. When we got there, though, there was absolutely nothing there. We expected a cafe and maybe a couple of shops but there was not a thing, at least open. We did see one cafe but it was closed. Our two choices were either to wait about an hour for the next ferry or walk back to where we got off to see catch the ferry there. Since it had taken us an hour to walk out, we decided we were better off hanging around where we were.
Many of the houses on the island were huge
The island was actually quite beautiful and very peaceful and we thoroughly enjoyed the ferry ride. It was really cool to see all these tiny islands, many with one or two houses on them and others no bigger than really large rocks with a little grass. There are 4500 regular residence of the Archipelago but that number doubles in the summer season.
Gothenburg harbor
After we got back to the mainland, we took a bus to the city center where we took a short walk to the harbor. Then it was a bus ride home, where we missed our stop but only by one stop. By the time we got home we had walked over 15,000 steps so we were happy to have dinner and relax.
After over 9 weeks in Europe, we’re both getting a little tired of museums, churches and palaces but Peter is going to check out a couple more tomorrow while Lynn goes for a cut/color. If it’s not raining too badly, we may check out the Volvo Museum when Lynn is done. We’ll play it by ear.
Yesterday (Sunday) we took the train from Copenhagen to Malmo, Sweden. It’s only a 35-minute ride so it was quite uneventful. It was a beautiful day, so we checked our luggage at the central station and walked around the town. The streets were pretty deserted and just as we were wondering where everyone was, we found a large, beautiful park and pretty much all the residents of Malmo. A river threaded its way through the park and there was also a good-sized lake. There were a lot of people there but because the park is so large, it didn’t seem crowded.
Malmo; very near the central train station
The big building in the background used to be a hotel; now it’s a casino
Windmill in the park
Beautiful day to hang around the outdoor cafe
On our way out of the park, we found an outdoor café that was just packed with people. We had some refreshment before heading back to the train station to get our luggage. Even though we had directions for how to get to our flat on public transportation, we have found it easier to take a taxi the first time. We don’t want to take the chance on getting lost while dragging our luggage behind us, especially since Lynn’s hip and back are still giving her fits.
We found a large grocery store about a 15-minute walk from the flat, so we had a delicious chicken and some mashed potatoes for dinner. Then it was some Rummikub, Cubs baseball (swept the Brewers) and bed.
Malmo Castle
This morning (Monday) we headed back to the city center on the bus. We planned to rent bikes and ride around the park, but it was quite a bit cooler today and crazy windy. So, we decided to take a pass on the bikes and visit the Malmo Castle instead. The castle was originally built in the early 15th century, partially demolished in the early 16th century and then rebuilt in 1530 by King Christian of Denmark (at that time Malmo was part of Denmark). In the late 16th century, the third husband of Mary Queen of Scotts was imprisoned there after his ship ran aground in Bergen Norway. Not sure how he got from Norway to Malmo, but he was there for 5 years.
We visited 3 different museums and an aquarium. The museums were small but quite nice. While we were touring the Castle the sun disappeared and it started to rain. Since Lynn had pulled out her cane and Peter’s neck was feeling a bit stiff (we are a couple of wrecks!!) we decided to head back to the flat.
Found Nemo!!
A woman used this boat to try to sail from Malmo to the US. She didn’t succeed (big surprise). She did survive, though, so that’s good.
Could go into the sub but had to crawl through the hatch between compartments; we took a pass.
Roller skating anyone?
Great hall of the castle
King Christian III bed
And his bible
By the time we got off the bus the sun was out again, so we stopped for a pre-dinner drink at a local restaurant. Dinner was a repeat of last night followed by another few games of Rummikub. The Cubs play at 6pm which is the middle of the night for us so no baseball tonight. 🙁
Tomorrow we’re on the train to Gothenburg about 2 1/2 hours north of here. We’re looking forward to a relaxing ride along the coast. Hopefully it will be a sunny day; we’ll let you know.
We didn’t post Friday as not much happened. The flight from Paris was uneventful. We checked into our beautiful townhouse in Copenhagen. Then walked about 10 minutes to the Metro from the 4-stop ride to central Copenhagen. We had a delicious lunch in one of the outdoor cafes, then it started to rain, and the temperature dropped about 15 degrees. We didn’t have the umbrellas or Lynn’s sweater, so we decided to make it an early day. We did a load of laundry, played Rummikub, watched the ballgame (Cubs won 1-0) then went to bed…. very exciting.
Kitchen in our Copenhagen house; bigger than our entire Paris apartment
Living room
Beautiful backyard which we didn’t use.
Yesterday, though, was a full day. Our first stop was to Tourist Information where we got all the scoop on Copenhagen. Lynn has been here twice, but it’s been 16 years since the last visit with mom, so she didn’t remember much. We decided to visit the Carlsberg Beer Experience just outside of city central. They have a shuttle bus, so it was very convenient. The museum told the story of Carlsberg beer and we saw the Jutland horses. These are very stout, strong horses that used to pull the beer wagons but now are used for special events. We had time to kill before the return shuttle, so we took a wagon ride around the little town. It was actually very nice. We capped off the visit with our complimentary glass of beer then headed back to city central.
Carlsberg Beer Experience
Kaj; one of the Jutland Horses
Then they switched to trucks
Copy of the Little Mermaid; the original (now in Copenhagen harbor) was donated by Carl Jacobson, son of the founder
Wagon ride
Enjoying a Carlsberg Pilsner after the tour
We walked the Stroget (pedestrian street; actually quite a few streets), Peter had a Danish hot dog for lunch and, of course, ice cream for dessert. Then we headed over to the canal for a one-hour ride through the Copenhagen canals. The day had been cool but sunny and clear but about halfway through the canal ride, the sky got cloudy, the temp dropped, and it rained just a little. Luckily the rain stopped when we got off the boat, so we walked the Stroget some more on our way to the Tivoli, stopping to check out the Round Tower. It was built in 1642 and is used as an exhibition hall. There were a couple of art exhibits and a nice view from the top.
Copenhagen City Center
The weather was nice so the streets were quite crowded.
Peter enjoying his Danish hot dog; messy but good.
Canal cruise
All along the canal you could see people just hanging out on the dock; must be the thing to do on a nice day
How would you like that yacht?
Little Mermaid; someone took off her head about 30 years ago and they never recovered it; this one is a replica. Peter wasn’t interested in going back to see the front.
Ameliaborg Palace and the Marble Church. We were going to go back to see the church but as you can see the weather turned so we took a pass.
Round Tower
Peter adding our names to the graffiti board in one of the exhibit halls in the tower
View from the tower
We stopped for dinner in yet another outdoor café (we are loving our outdoor cafes) before arriving at the Tivoli around 7pm. We got there just in time to watch a cute show at one of their outdoor theaters. After the show we checked out the rest of the park. It’s been over 25 years since Lynn visited the Tivoli, so she didn’t remember any of it. There are over 20 rides and tons of restaurants and shops. We’d already eaten so we bypassed the restaurants and didn’t ride any of the rides. We couldn’t believe how expensive the rides were. First you have to pay to get into the park then each ride cost from $6 each for the children’s rides to $17 each for the adult rides. Crazy expensive! Actually, all of Copenhagen is very expensive. We’re not sure if it’s because of a bad exchange rate or the cost of living but we paid $30 for a 10-minute cab ride on Friday. That same ride in Lisbon cost $6.00. Even Paris wasn’t this expensive. Anyway, we actually only stayed at the Tivoli about 90 minutes before heading back to the train. We were both tired and, as usual, Lynn’s hip was sore so going home seemed like a good idea. By the time we figured out what train we needed to take from the central station back to our Metro (also not as easy as Paris) it was 9:30 before we got home. It had been a 12-hour day, so we were tired. So, tired that Lynn barely stayed awake for the last 2 innings of the Cub game (we won 3-0) before falling asleep.
Tivoli
Hans Christian Anderson; he’s looking across the street at the Tivoli
We have a more leisurely morning today. We’ll leave our townhouse mid-morning for the central station, then catch a train to Malmo in Sweden. The trains run every 20 minutes and it’s only a 35-minute train ride. We’ll spend two nights in Malmo before heading up to Gothenburg Sweden. These are two cities Lynn has never seen so she’s looking forward to new sights. We’ll fill you in later.
Okay, so where are we on our last night in Paris? The laundromat!! But we found a cycle on the washer that’s only 34 minutes instead of 56 so hopefully we’ll be out of here in an hour.
We actually did have a nice last day. Peter went to the Museum of the Army at the Hotel des Invalides (Hotel of the Invalides) which was originally built to be a home for injured war vets. Now it’s a museum. Lynn really wasn’t interested in another war museum, even if it was primarily a different war (Napoleonic) so she sat this one out. While Peter was at the museum, Lynn went to the café for hot chocolate and a snack, then waited for him in the Dome Cathedral where Napoleon is buried. Just as she was starting to wonder where he was (it had been 3 ½ hours which, even for Peter is a long time in a museum), he showed up.
He said the museum was filled with weapons, uniforms, miniature soldiers and even Napoleon’s horse (seriously; it was stuffed but it was there). While it was mostly about Napoleon’s era, there were sections on WWI and WWII. Here are just a few of the 100 pictures he took.
Napoleon’s favorite horse Morengo
This is one of the enigma machines from WWII. It was what the Germans used to send coded messages. The Allies captured it from a Uboat and the Germans never knew. Having it helped end the war.
St. Louis Cathedral is a fairly small church within the compound.
Dome Cathedral
Napoleon’s Tomb
Then we walked about 2km to the tourist information where we arranged for a cab to the airport for the morning. Unfortunately, Lynn was confused about which airport, so the taxi thinks we’re going to Orly when in fact we need to be at Charles DeGaulle. Hopefully we won’t run into problems in the morning, but we’ll deal with that if it happens.
We did enjoy a delicious last meal in France at café near the tourist info office. We splurged on drinks, dinner and dessert…it was wonderful.
Last dinner in Paris; Peter had a serious case of order envy when he saw Lynn’s steak.
Dessert was delicious; a raspberry tart for Lynn and an ice cream puff thing for Peter. Lynn also tried some Cointreau, an orange liqueur….so good.
So, this is our last night of the second leg of our European adventure. We thoroughly enjoyed our time here. We spent about 3 weeks in France with the remainder of the time in the Benelux countries. The weather was much better, even summer-like for a few days in Paris and we spent quite a bit of time driving through the French countryside. We don’t feel a big need to come back to Paris, but we would like to explore the Alabaster Coast and Brugges a little more. We’ll add it to our list of places to revisit but that will only happen after we see places we haven’t been before.
French Countryside
Beautiful little village
Saw acres and acres of this…. rapeseed plants have oily seeds that from which they make rapeseed oil; France is biggest producer in the world.
Tomorrow we’re off to Copenhagen. We were planning to spend 3 nights, but we had difficulty finding lodging so we’re only staying 2 nights before moving on to Malmo, Sweden for 2 nights. The biggest difference on this leg of our adventure is going to be traveling by train instead of car and the money. For the last two months we’ve been using the euro. Now we’re moving to countries that have their own currencies so for the next month we’ll be switching between the Danish Krona, the Norwegian Krona and the Swedish Krona. A pain in the rear but it’s what it is. I’m sure we’ll manage just fine. We’ll let you know how it goes.
