An Adventure Of A Lifetime

As I sit here at approximately 9:45 AM on Sunday, June 25 in Norway, I trust most of you are all nestled quietly in your beds back on Marco as I write this. Today we are cruising up one of the most spectacular fjords across the Atlantic. This is one of the most extraordinary trips I’ve had the privilege to take during my lifetime.

Most of my travels up to this time have been domestically or internationally for business, with the exception of those great trips I took on the motorcycle, and I always enjoyed sharing them with you on these pages. Those, too, were extraordinary experiences that I will never forget, as our nation offers wonderful travel opportunities.

The raw beauty of this area of the world, however, is simply stunning, to say the least. These are very gentle and kind inhabitants of a land that is at times very harsh but, at other times, extremely welcoming and full of beauty. We are fortunate to be visiting during the start of a period that is some of the most welcoming of the seasons.

Oslo is a wonderful and welcoming city itself. Its rich history and wonderful mix of old and new architecture make for a beautiful setting here in the heart of Scandinavia. Of course, a stop to view the famous ski jump facility in Oslo is certainly a must on my recommendation to anyone visiting the area.

We chose to travel by rail to our embarkation point in the City of Bergen. This is where we joined with another 80 or so fellow travelers on our wonderful 85-passenger ship that cruised along the Norway coast and into some of the most picturesque fjords which dot the Coast of Norway.  

Our travels today up this fjord are some of the most spectacular of our trips here in Scandinavia. The tops of the mountains on either side are still snow capped and, in many places, have waterfalls tumbling down the sheer rock faces of the mountains carved from the glaciers thousands of years ago.

The people of Norway are proud of their heritage and the important part played during WWII, which resulted in defeating the Axis powers that once sought to enslave them and the remainder of other peace-loving men and women of Europe. They, along with other resistance forces, defeated those same Axis powers from creating a successful plan to build an atomic device that may have changed the outcome of the war. 

I’ve really come to appreciate traveling with a relatively small group of voyagers on this ship. We are dwarfed by the size of cruise lines which accommodate upwards of 5,000 passengers plus crew. Many of the excursion professionals are of Norwegian, Danish, or Swedish origin and are very well-spoken. There is even one individual who is an American and married to a lady from Oslo.

Those taking advantage of this cruise are from all four corners of the United States and are some of the most delightful people I’ve ever had the privilege to meet.  The casual conversations are as if we were sitting at a local coffee shop on Marco. We seem to all share the same experiences and challenges. This morning I sat with two couples, one from Annapolis, Maryland and the other from the Bay Area of San Francisco. Had they not told me where they were from, I would have thought they were neighbors, worrying about the house being built beside them because it looks gigantic, as well as increased traffic in their neighborhoods. It seems nothing ever changes!

The same can be said for my newfound Norwegian friends, all of whom have been very friendly and welcoming. From shop owners to taxi drivers, they worry about the future for their children as well as some of the same issues we all deal with on a daily basis.

In another week or so I’ll be home and look forward to speaking more to you then.