Author: Henberta

The Silver Shadow is a relatively small ship with fewer than 300 passengers on board; as such, it can berth in relatively small harbors along the way. It embarked on a 16-day cruise from Belfast….

Our group assembled a couple of days before departure…

Belfast

Belfast is part of Northern Ireland, with plenty of history, past and present…. Caught here between rain showers and drizzle.

It may seem an odd thing to do just before boarding a cruise ship, but we felt compelled to visit Belfast’s Titanic Museum. The ill-fated ship was built by Irishmen in Belfast, but they are quick to point out that it was sunk by an English crew! In any event, it is a dazzling venue.

“Rearranging the chairs on the deck of the Titanic” is a phrase often heard about a futile effort or pointless plan of action…… it was touching to see the real thing on display.

Here is the last photo taken of Titanic as she made her way toward the Atlantic for her date with destiny….

Undeterred by the memory of the doomed ship, Lily is excited and ready to go! (Be sure to click on the image for video and sound….)

Isle of Man

First port of call is Douglas on the Isle of Man

The Isle of Man is known for its annual motorcycle race called the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy, or TT. The race is distinguished as it is run on public roads (that are closed for the race) at average speeds of well over 120 mph. There have been more than 250 fatalities during its 100+ year history!

We all got to tour the course at a much slower speed on trikes – driven, fortunately, by experienced professionals…..

Native residents of the Isle of Man are called Manx…… who knew that The Bee Gees were Manx?????

The other Manx we met were warm and welcoming…. Like these two who maintain an exquisitely-manicured garden along the sea wall.

Dublin

Next stop, Dublin in the Republic of Ireland, a part of the European Union that is in the middle of Pride Month…..

One of Dublin’s most famous sons from the world of Rock…..and an amazing philanthropist….

The Book of Kells is a gorgeous illustrated manuscript that dates back to the 9th century… it is lovingly maintained in the library at Ireland’s oldest university, Trinity College, Dublin.

Some of us chose to taste Irish whiskey….. bringing back a lovely engraved flask for Henry’s favorite cream liqueur. (Thanks again, guys.)

A few other whimsical sightings in Dublin…..

Liverpool

The symbol of Liverpool is a mythical bird called a liver….

It’s perched on the top of several public buildings…..

Other famous Liverpudlians include, of course, the Beatles, who first became popular performing here at The Cavern.

Some of us chose to explore Liverpool’s green places and gardens by bicycle….

Liverpool boasts the largest Chinese arch outside of China, a gift from its twin city, Shanghai.

It’s always a treat to find evidence like this of linkage between cultures…. Maybe we will find more in our future travels!

Fishguard, Wales

Fishguard is a picturesque town of about 3,500 people on the coast of Wales. It was the filming site of a little-remembered film based upon Welsh author Dylan Thomas’ play called “Under Milk Wood”……..starring iconic Welshman Richard Burton, in addition to his mousy wife Elizabeth Taylor and his drinking buddy, ho-hum British actor Peter O’Toole. Didn’t see the movie, never heard of it, but my, what fun they must have had making it!

Fishguard was also the site of the last attempted invasion of the British Isles…..an almost-comically futile attempt by the French in 1797. That episode, however, is Fishguard’s major claim to fame, and was memorialized by some of its citizens with a stunning hand-woven tapestry that relates the events sequentially in both Welsh and English…..

Cardiff, Wales

Our entry into the Cardiff harbor required passing through a lock, much like those in Panama….. a very cool procedure to watch…..

Cardiff Castle was host the night before our arrival to a concert by Sting, another English gentleman from the world of rock and roll.

The castle keep with American invaders…..

A famous inhabitant of this castle was George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence, who had a significant role in the English War of the Roses. He flip-flopped sides during the conflict and was eventually convicted of treason and executed in 1478 by drowning in “a butt of malmsey wine” at the tender age of 28. His perfidy earned him a role in a couple of Shakespeare’s historical plays.

Iain was anxious to see a street sign in the Welsh language…… here you are!

A series of animals adorn the outer castle wall

Falmouth – Cornwall, England

Entry into Cornwall was celebrated with the consumption of a Cornish pasty……

And Matt’s acquisition of a very special gin flavored with squid ink in a striking copper tin…..

Pendennis Castle has long guarded this southerly tip of England against outside invaders…

Falmouth was also an important staging area during both World Wars I and II….

Now, of course, it has tourism invaders, like us….. having fun with photos.

Weymouth – Dorset, England

Weymouth is a very popular seaside town, quite crowded during the summer months.

More imaginative yarn art…..

Weymouth is connected by causeway to Portland Island, where white limestone has been quarried for many centuries – used to build St. Paul’s Cathedral and Buckingham Palace in London, and even the United Nations headquarters in New York City, to name a few. No longer actively mined, the landscape along the coast bears the scars…..

A gypsy horse and her baby browse along the walking paths.

One MUST sample the famous crab sandwich at a shack near the lighthouse, where a weary traveler later has a snooze…..

More later from land and sea!

Rouen, France

With the ship docking overnight here, the younger contingent decided to visit the D-Day landing beaches in Normandy, while the elders chose to stay in the historic city of Rouen.

As with many of the places we visited, Rouen officially displayed its support for Ukraine by flying its flag near the city hall….. as well as a plea for peace in Gaza…..

No stranger to conflict, Rouen was the seat of government of Normandy, which William I (later William the Conqueror) ruled before he went on to defeat England in the year 1066, an event which changed the face and future of medieval Europe.

Joan of Arc was executed in Rouen’s market square in 1431 after leading French forces to several key victories over the English in the Hundred Years War….

Rouen was intensely bombed by the Allied forces in the days leading up to D-Day in 1944… to weaken the occupying German logistical networks in the area. Many buildings were damaged or destroyed, including the courthouse. Rouen was liberated just a few months later. As the city began to rebuild, they decided to leave some of the damage in place in memory of the many losses during the war. ….. Skip forward 60 years, and a French/German artist collected used Lego bricks from the children of Rouen to partially fill in the shell-pocked outer wall of the courthouse to highlight the building’s history.

The first cathedral was built in Rouen on this site in the 4th century; it has been razed and rebuilt many times; construction of the current Gothic cathedral began in the 12th century. We secured a room with a nice view…..

The Rouen Cathedral was famous as the tallest building in the world for about 4 years in the late 1800s….. and in the 1890s, the Impressionist painter Claude Monet commemorated it in a series of about 30 paintings exploring the reflection of light on the front façade.

Today, you can see a light show of a totally different type – undreamed-of by William the Conqueror, Joan of Arc, the cathedral’s architects or even Claude Monet…..

Bruges, Belgium

Bruges was rainy, but the town square is always a treat in these medieval cities with lots of character and so many diverse people milling around.

The local antiquities market does not allow the sale of any item less than 50 years old….which made for great browsing.

We got a sweet painted Delft tile from the 18th century…..

And a contemporary waffle!

Rotterdam, The Netherlands

The historic center of Rotterdam was almost completely leveled by German bombing in 1940. A bronze memorial called The Destroyed City was installed in 1953 as an emotional reminder of this event….

One of the few buildings to survive the bombings is the White House, built in 1898… at 10 stories, the first high-rise building in Europe.

The people of Rotterdam, however, chose to embrace modern architecture going forward after the devastation of World War II…… including huge public spaces, pedestrian shopping streets, and some fabulous buildings, including the market hall…..

The Cubes…. An art installation with commercial and residential space….

And an art storage facility called the Depot of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen…..

Amazing that bicycle, motorized vehicle and human traffic coexist so comfortably in this modern city……

Gothenburg, Sweden

Gothenburg deserves more than a single day to explore, but art was in the forefront for our short stay, starting at the Art Museum…

Street art……

And fiber art!

Caleb found a lot to like in the Swedish meatballs…..

From Gothenburg, we spent a last night together on the Silver Shadow……

….. before arriving in …..

Copenhagen, Denmark

A highlight for all of us was an evening at the home of a Danish couple who are close friends with Margaret, a buddy of Henry’s from way back. Jette and Hans Otto gave us a delightful dinner, but even more fun was the lively conversation. We had a chance to trade our personal stories, and our perspectives on things happening in both our countries. So much to think about and be grateful for…..

Holly, Matt, Lily and Caleb are heading home from Copenhagen, but not until after we visited the giant Lego store there…..

….. Helped out with the changing of the palace guards…..

… and – in spite of rain showers – managed a visit to Tivoli Gardens, an entertainment venue that was one of the first amusement parks in the world.

The rain slacked off, we had a nice dinner, and concluded the evening at a live concert by the American band Train, which coincidentally was one of Holly and Matt’s favorites from their college days…..

We enjoyed having Matt, Holly, Caleb and Lily on this part of the trip with us….

We hope they enjoyed it and learned as much as we did about this part of the world. They now return to their lives in the US while we continue on with explorations of Scandinavia ….. by land.

Copenhagen

Our favorite food venue….. 7-11. Just as in Japan, this convenience store shows up all over the city, with an amazing array of fresh food, coffee, booze and other products…. AND it reflects values that are embraced in this society…..

Also colorful were a series of fabulous tapestries depicting Denmark’s history that were commissioned for Queen Margrethe in 1990. (She retired as queen in 2024, relinquishing the crown to her son Frederick X.) The detail is dazzling.

A little bit of street art….

Town Hall Square had a rhino on blocks… a reminder of the importance of the natural world.

From Copenhagen we wandered a bit…. For those of you who may not be familiar with Denmark’s geography, I have marked up this map to show our path…..

Praesto/Møn

From Copenhagen, we moved south across the eastern island of Zealand to visit Møn Klint, a towering chalky cliff.

We stayed near the town of Praesto at a wonderful bed and breakfast with delightful hosts Anette and Filip

Odense

From there, we went to Odense on the middle island of Funen – where they have a good zoo with some happy manatees…..

This fine statue of Oceania occupies a central square…. But she doesn’t get a lot of respect from the local children…..

Henry finally got a chance to ride on one of the rental scooters that are commonly used for transport..

Billund

A Mecca for children and AFOLs (Adult Fans of Lego)….. Billund, the home of Lego. A carpenter here named Ole Kirk Kristiansen began making wooden toys during an economic slowdown in 1932. He named them Lego in 1934, derived from the Danish phrase for “play well”, and started making the plastic interlocking bricks that we now know so well in 1947….. an incredibly successful and enduring business.

Even in summer with so many families on vacation, the Lego people have activities well-organized and only sometimes are we elders overwhelmed with the crowds…

You can make your own mini-figure with artwork that is exclusive to Lego House in Billund…..

Silkeborg

And now we return to what has become a theme on this trip….. peat bogs! Do you know about the bog people? Peat bogs are uniquely suited to preserving things…. Including human remains.

Tollund Man is one of the finest preserved corpses ever found…. In 1950 in a peat bog near Silkeborg, Denmark. His death occurred in the early Iron Age between the years 405 and 380 BCE…. 2400 years ago! It is most reliably believed that he was sacrificed by hanging (the rope was still around his neck when his remains were found.)

Visiting Tollund Man was an intimate and stirring experience. You creep into the room quietly, because you truly feel like you just might wake him up!

Nobody knows what kind of religion or spiritual beliefs people had in the Iron Age. Humans then and today yearn to understand something about why we are here and what may lie beyond this existence. Folks in the Iron Age may have regarded the bogs and wetlands as portals between the everyday world and that of the gods….. making the bogs likely places for rituals… including human sacrifice.

Scientists have generated a model that projects what Tollund Man may have looked like….

Viborg

Viborg is in the same lake region as Silkeborg, but not quite as crowded with summer travelers. We enjoyed just wandering around, visiting the small market to buy some mead (wine made with honey) and chatting with locals.

Near Viborg lies Kongenshus Memorial Park, set in a valley in a beautiful moorland. Over 1200 stones have been erected in tribute to the simple farmers and their families who converted the wild heath into crop land. How refreshing to celebrate the “common” folk and the sacrifices they made to feed themselves and others…….

Now, of course, naturalists are working to restore the original ecosystem with good results. Another example of just how powerful Mother Nature is, especially when she gets a little help from human partners.

Skagen

Skagen is a picturesque town at the northern tip of Denmark…

Its cuteness and proximity to pristine beaches means it is covered up in summer with holiday merry-makers. We managed, however, to find a remote bit of coastline with some beautiful challenging sand dunes and nice walking paths.

And a selection of the usual pix – animals, food and flowers

From here we take a ferry across to Sweden. More later!

Pater Noster is a lodge on a tiny island on the coast of western Sweden north of Gothenburg. The lighthouse there used to be operable; now it provides a backdrop for an upscale getaway….

Sooner or later we would have to try pickled herring in Scandinavia…..

Maria and Håkan were engaging and fun to visit with…. Their Pater Noster retreat was a gift from Håkan’s employer for his 50th birthday! Ahh, sweet youth!

On the ferry from Denmark to Sweden, many people were loading up on cases of beer, wine and alcohol…. Håkan explained to us the cross-border alcohol trade…. Norwegians go to Sweden to get cheaper booze; Swedes to Denmark; Danes go to Germany; and Germans go to Poland…. As illustrated in the map below!

Taxes in these countries are high in any event, but particularly on lifestyle items like alcoholic beverages; in both Sweden and Norway, alcohol sales are strictly regulated through state monopolies.

Even though its cultivation and use is mostly banned in Sweden, we are pretty sure this was a field of cannabis along a country road…..

And another pretty plant… a flower grown openly in the town square….

Jönköping is a town renowned for its match industry…… the first phosphorus matches were made here beginning in the middle 19th century…..

Unfortunately, the business early on depended on child labor (because their little fingers were adept at folding and filling match boxes)….

Sadly, too, phosphorus poisoning spoiled and ended many lives before a less-toxic alternative was found.

The match industry is a sad story in many respects… only somewhat relieved by the imagination and artistry that went into the labels!

Speaking of excess, Henry had never been to an IKEA store…….so we made a quick stop there, including a Swedish meatball lunch.

Skövde is a town of about 57,000 people in southern Sweden with a large Volvo manufacturing facility that is not on the typical tourist track…. But we really enjoyed meeting the local people and wandering around.

Another chance meeting with a guy tooling around Skövde in a low-rider…..

….. led to the tip that a large parade of vintage American cars would be happening in the nearby town of Falköping. We hurried there to witness literally hundreds of classic vehicles in varying degrees of preservation, some driven with dignity and pride, and others with not a little bit of youthful spirit. Please note that alcohol may have been a factor in the enthusiasm of some of the participants, but we were solemnly assured that the drivers were strictly obligated to remain sober.

The town of Kosta is the home of Kosta Boda art glass…..a brand I remember from my childhood in the ‘60s when my parents acquired a piece, an expensive investment that was treated reverentially thereafter. The glassworks are still going strong today….. with galleries, outlet stores, and a hotel that features glass installations, including a brilliant blue bar with glass seating and tiles.

Not every glass-blowing demonstration includes the frantic recovery of a red-hot vase that was dropped as it neared completion…..

Kalmar Castle in far Southeastern Sweden was the site of the formation of the relatively short-lived Kalmar Union in 1397, when Sweden, Norway and Denmark were unified for the first and only time under a common monarch. The Union was formally dissolved in 1523, and territorial disputes and wars returned and continued for centuries.

Ales Stenar is a magnificent megalithic monument in the outline of a ship on top of steep cliffs overlooking the sea.

The stones are thought to have been placed around 550 CE, near the end of the Iron Age. Opinions on its function vary. It could have been a grave monument or cult center, or even a sun calendar, because of its positioning in relation to certain lunar events and the summer solstice. The stones keep their secrets, while parasailers take advantage of the updrafts along the cliff walls…..

We seemed to continually miss festivals in many towns we visited…. Usually by just a few days, darn it!

We crossed back into Denmark from Malmo, Sweden to take the overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo, Norway. These ferries are one-day cruise ships, with dance clubs, bars, swimming pools, children’s play areas, multiple restaurants, private cabins… and the all-important duty-free shop. Quite a mob scene all around during the summer vacation months.

And as we left for Norway, an also-colorful sunset

We will return to Sweden – my gosh, we haven’t even mentioned ABBA yet! But for now we will be exploring Norway largely by train. Happy rails!

Oslo

Oslo was mostly wet and overcast….

Tributes to the common hen are not common anywhere, but Henry found one!

Maybe they deserve more respect with the price of eggs commanding so much attention nowadays. And speaking of which, Norwegian groceries have begun using electronic shelf labels on many products so that they can adjust prices in seconds many times a day, to stay competitive and to keep up with supplier price hikes.

Gustav Vigeland was a sculptor who designed and populated Frogner Park in the early 20th century with over 200 of his works in bronze, granite and wrought iron.

The sculptures of human forms are intended to capture all aspects of the human experience, from birth, joy and love to isolation, loss and death. It’s an intriguing collection.

From Oslo, our journey will continue through parts of Norway and Sweden by train, our driver (Henry) wanting to enjoy the travel process, rather than dealing with traffic and roundabouts. Here is the planned route:

The first leg from Oslo to Stavanger will take over 8 hours in total, first by bus and then by train.

Stavanger

Stavanger is on the North Sea, a key center of offshore oil exploration. Its Norwegian Petroleum Museum documents the history of the industry in the area…

Of greater interest to the average consumer are the Norwegian Canning and Printing museums, two closely-tied businesses. Please note that when we say “canning” in Stavanger, we are talking primarily about sardines…..

The invention of lithography in 1798 enabled mass production of multi-color pictures…. As the canning industry emerged in the late 19th century, marketing depended on colorful labels, thus aligning the two industries in Stavanger…….

The modern sardine enthusiast enjoying an open-face smoked-fish sandwich…..

Stavanger celebrates its multi-cultural ties…. Here a tribute to the Norwegians who emigrated to America….

And this is a replica of an archaeological artifact from the ancient city of Nineveh from about 700 BCE. A winged deity, the Lamassu had stood near modern-day Mosul, Iraq until 2015, when it was destroyed by ISIS in the aftermath of the Iraq War.

The artist intended this work as a reminder of the devastating impact of political conflict in less-affluent countries, the importance of culture and its monuments, and especially how human lives are affected…. Those that are lost and those that continue to search for sanctuary.

Unfortunately, similar scenarios continue to play out across the globe….. hopefully enlightened leadership will continue to strive for peace.

Bergen

Onward by bus and ferry to Bergen, generally considered the rainiest city in Europe…

Plenty of rain and drizzle, but a fortunate brief break in the weather allowed a glimpse or two of the harbor and historic waterfront…..

Rainfall is measured graphically on this bright arts-y rain gauge.

A fascinating conversation with a young man whose father makes tin soldiers, the only craftsman in Norway to do so in the old way, casting in molds and painting by hand. The son is learning the trade!

We acquired a tin “Nils Olav”, a king penguin who is the mascot and a Major-General in the Norwegian King’s Guard. Here’s a photo of him in real life inspecting the troops….

Bergen was the site of the most chaotic second-hand store either of us has ever seen….

Some other miscellaneous images from Bergen….

Norway in a Nutshell – from Bergen to Voss to Gudvangen to Flam to Vatnahalsen to Oslo

Norway in a Nutshell is a tour package that takes one from Bergen through small towns by rail, bus and ferry…. Through magnificent fjords and mountains covered with waterfalls. Unfortunately, it is oversubscribed and mostly crowded. Probably best experienced in the off-season.

The train made a brief photo stop and dance performance next to a waterfall….

From Oslo, we will travel by rail on to Stockholm and further experiences in Sweden.

A journey by rail is not always smooth sailing. The train from Oslo to Stockholm was delayed once while local police conducted a search for a fugitive (maybe the train was sealing off an escape route!) and again when a bridge was damaged. But eventually we arrive in….

Stockholm

Okay – I promised a salute to ABBA. (In case you don’t know, ABBA is a pop music group that burst onto the international stage when they won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1972 with their song “Waterloo”. They are one of the most renowned and successful musical groups in history.) Their music is joyous and energetic; the museum rather pedestrian. Stood in line a while, stood in line again, learned a few things, but would rather have spent the money downloading and listening to their greatest hits while eating a nice dinner.

This guard at Sweden’s Royal Palace looks similarly inspired…..

Nearby on the lawn of the Swedish state house, a tribute to the first five female members of the Swedish Parliament who have served since ladies were allowed to vote and run for office beginning in 1921…..

Kulturfestivalen is a huge street party thrown by the City of Stockholm in the Old Town and surrounding areas. There are live music performances, dancing, mini-parades, eating and drinking. The entire venue is free to all comers – young and old people from many different cultures…. even senior visitors from “away”. And the weather was just perfect after days of drizzle.

A couple of cultural notes….. Confined to a limited wardrobe, many articles of clothing were in desperate need of refreshing. We were lucky enough to track down the ONLY laundromat in Sweden!

Nicotine and tobacco pouches are amazingly popular, especially among young people who are drawn to the many strengths, flavors and bright packaging in stores like this one.

Sweden By Rail

A central feature of our planned train itinerary was the Inlandsbanan, a one-car train that traverses much of the length of Sweden over the course of two very long days on board. Unfortunately, our first day was cancelled due to downed trees on the tracks; instead they put us on a bus. Not quite what we had hoped for. The second day, however, we spent a full day on board with a couple dozen other passengers, stopping for brief lunch and coffee breaks.

Östersund

Particularly enjoyable was stopping in small towns along the way, such as Östersund, a city of about 50,000 people located on a large lake in the central part of Sweden.

Quiet but with pleasant parks and public areas, access to lots of outdoor sports…. It would be a great place to raise a family. Several colorful highlights…..

The Inlandsbanan took us north of the Arctic Circle….

Gällivare

And on to the town of Gällivare, which is undergoing a fascinating transition…

This region of Sweden is devoted to mining iron ore… and has been since the 17th century. The state mining company controls production, and over the last 15 years has embarked on a huge project….. shifting most of the population of 15,000 to a refurbished urban center so that production can be expanded into new areas. This process entails buying people out of their property and constructing new public buildings, housing, churches, schools, medical centers, roads, entertainment venues, and all the other infrastructure that makes up a town. Hundreds of meetings were held with community representatives to ensure that they had a voice in their new world.

Change, as you know, is hard. Many of the residents have adapted to the changes; some have left; but lots of other people, including immigrants, are happy to earn the more-than-competitive wages of the mining industry…. And to enjoy the spanking new town facilities. Sæko at the Visitors Center spent lots of time explaining the history and the transition…. She was excited and proud to share their story.

We plan to check back to see how the progress continues in the future!

Abisko

Leaving Inlandsbanan behind, the traditional railway carried us even further north, to the outdoor sports center of Abisko. Jillions of people come from all over for hiking and camping in pristine Arctic settings.

We continued on to Norway for a while, but that is a subject for the next posting. Our return on the Swedish train from the north to Stockholm was on a sleeper train – not exactly high-end but it got the job done.

One note about train travel with people who have been camping and hiking……

God love them, after being out in the wilds for a week or two….. the BO is eye-watering – especially as they get comfortable on the train by divesting themselves of their outer coats and footwear. Just a cautionary word.

Some pretty pictures from our final few days in Sweden…..

Finally, one doesn’t usually think about an Arctic landscape being colorful, but please look at these close-ups of lichen, moss, plants and berries…. The textures and contrasts are marvelous.

Coming up next will be an entry from the far north of Norway.

The train from Sweden ends in Narvik, a Norwegian town far north of the Arctic Circle. Its harbor nonetheless is favored as it does not freeze in winter, owing to the influence of the Gulf Stream…..

This ice-free port is critical to the export of Swedish iron ore…. A strength that was not overlooked by the German forces during World War II. Norway declared itself a neutral state initially, but was drawn into the conflict and forced to capitulate in 1940. (Interesting side note: the Norwegian who headed Nazi Norway during the occupation was named Quisling; his name is now synonymous in English and Scandinavian languages with “traitor” or “collaborator”.)

But this post is really about the majesty of the archipelago of Lofoten…. Indicated on the map below for those of you who may need a little geographic orientation.

This is another of those places that, when mentioned, everybody says, “Oh, it’s beautiful there.” They are correct.

The approach to Narvik by train had everybody straining toward the windows in anticipation…..

Driving there is also quite dramatic, as roads clearly had to blast through or be carved into the rock that plunges down to the valleys and waterways created by glaciers over the millennia.

There is no culture or history that is apparent to the common visitor…. Just the magnificent fjords and the fishing villages nestled alongside.

Drying racks for fish extend along the roadsides, often with interesting scarecrows (recalling Calvary) to divert the birds….

Weather was drizzly and overcast at first….enlivened by gray landscapes, minor monuments, dramatic rock faces and sea birds.

The primary activity here is hiking. Views are dazzling when the weather clears a bit….

The walks we took were advertised as easy…. However, they looked a whole lot like climbing as we ascended 300 to 400 meters.

Other animal friends joined us along the way.

Another ascent provided views of a fjord-side golf course….

These ascending and descending videos are obviously in time-lapse…. To save us all some agony!

Fireweed – also common in Alaska and the Yukon – is a colorful part of the landscape, but considered by many to be invasive.

Some more pretty pictures…

A typical fishing village along the fjord, similar to where we stayed….

Sea urchins beneath the deck…. Who knew they were pink?

And a final sunrise as we prepare to leave Lofoten and Norway behind.

Åland Islands

Between southern Sweden and Helsinki lies the unique geo-political archipelago called the Åland Islands, a fairly short ride on one of the many ferries that serve the Baltic. (Again, a helpful map for the geographically-challenged.)

The Åland Islands have a unique relationship with the world and the nation of Finland, of which they are formally a part.

As noted proudly on the sign, the islands are self-governing for the most part and demilitarized. Through a complex history involving exchanges between Finland, Sweden and Russia over the last couple of centuries, this region, while part of Finland:

• enacts its own domestic legislation (excluding foreign affairs, the court system and state taxation), and
• is neutral in times of war, does not support any military activity and its citizens are exempt from Finnish military service.

The sole official language is Swedish, not Finnish; its currency is the Euro (same as Finland)….. but it has its own postal service. Here is a beautiful Åland stamp.

SIDE NOTE: If anyone enjoys stamp collecting or knows someone who does, please let me know, as we have a collection of interesting pieces from both Åland and other countries that we would love to share.

The biggest sector of the economy is shipping and trade…. Which makes sense considering its key location on the Baltic Sea.

The total population of the islands is about 30,000 souls; Mariehamn is the largest town and capitol city with almost 12,000 people.

It’s a charming place with its own atmosphere of contentment, tolerance and pride….

The traditional dish is the Åland pancake

Turku

From Mariehamn, it’s a 5-hour ferry to the first major city on the Finnish mainland – Turku, or Åbo in Finnish.

We stayed in a cool hotel that used to be a prison….

With only one full day in Turku, we visited one “sight” – the Luostarinmäki outdoor museum. It’s a 200-year-old district of wooden houses and craftsmen’s workshops… a realistic simulation of how people lived in the pre-industrial 1800s.

The “play area” provided an opportunity to revisit an old skill….

More fun street (and waterway) art…

The Finns do like their canine companions – and often take them along on trips.

A common display in Finland relates to the war in Ukraine….. certainly an issue of concern in a country that shares a border (and a history as a victim of aggression) with Russia.

Side Notes on Travel

The ferries that service the cities and towns that circle the Baltic Sea are really impressive – whether you are bringing along a car or not.

Panoramic windows, lounges, clean and comfortable overnight cabins, children’s activities, dining alternatives, bingo and bars and live music!

It would be very cool to take an unstructured trip using the ferry system to go from one city to another, circling around or criss-crossing the Baltic from Copenhagen to Oslo to Stockholm to Helsinki to Tallinn to Hamburg (even to Turku and Åland!) You could spend as much or as little time in each location as whim and time constraints dictate. You would not need a car…. Most of the docks are in walking distance from the city centers. And getting there would be a big part of the fun, with a front-row seat to port activity and shoreline. Very cool.

Speaking of cool, maybe you remember Henry’s acquisition of a walking stick way back in June in Ireland…. It has accompanied us all along the way, proving quite useful as we were often waved to the front of security and passport control lines.

Final Note from Finland

The Moomins are cartoon characters dreamed up by a Finnish author who first published their story in a children’s book in the mid-1940s. They are large soft trolls that resemble hippos who have adventures together with their friends. Extremely popular in Finland, as well as the rest of Scandinavia (and Japan!)…. In books, comic strips, theme parks, television and of course, merchandising.

Finnair, the national airline of Finland, incorporated Moomin art on a couple of its aircraft…..

Back now in the US, we look forward to enjoying the fall and winter weather (which we hope will come soon). Until next time, we wish you peace, civility and kindness – please take some and pass it around.