Oslo, Norwary

We had so much we wanted to see but so little time.

The Viking Museum is here and houses some ships of the era dating back to 800 AD. Massive ships that measure 70 ft long, 17 feet wide and almost 5 feet deep with room for 30 oars. Other artifacts include intricate carvings, treasures and skeleton keys just to mention a few. Leif Eriksson and his father Eric the Red are probably the most known Vikings.

Also Vigeland Sculpture Park with a total of 212 different sculpture of various sizes in bronze and granite. Named after the artist, Gustav Vigeland (1869-1943. He modeled all in full size without any assistance of pupils or other artists and they are all nude except of himself which is fully clothed. His work portrays the full range of human life.

We got our first view of Oslo from aboard ship during lunch

The parts of Oslo most impressive are the cobblestone streets, tiny smart cars and the architecture of the buildings. There are more motorcycles here than bicycles and the license tags are very different. (Last 2 numbers whited out for privacy reasons)




The Royal Palace (top) is where the King and Queen reside along with the daily work of the monarchy. The Pariament Building (below) known locally as the Stortinget meaing "The Great Thing/Assembly".




Town Hall (top) where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded ~ Akershus Fortress (below) was used in 1592 to protect Oslo from sea attacks.




The Holmenkollen Ski Jump lies within the suburbs of Oslo and has become famous all over the world.

Copenhagen, Denmark

I learned a lot about Copenhagen from searching the net since we missed exploring this city.

During our 20 min bus ride to the pier I saw lots of unique buildings and LOTS of bicycles everywhere!! Parked or with riders they swarmed the city.

The city bikes are world famous, a quick and a free alternative to getting around faster than by any other means of transportation. There are no mandatory bike helmet laws and the City provides public bicycles with your deposit refunded upon return. Denmark's 5.4 million citizens own 4.2 million bicycles and only 1.8 million cars.

We saw the windmills and learned that the government expects to turn 50% electricity consumptions into offshore wind power by 2030.



By the harbor sits the Little Mermaid statue from a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale. She is the sea king's daughter and is half woman and half fish. The story says she has to wait 300 yrs on her rock to enter the world of human beings. She was created in 1913 and is supposedly the most visited attraction in Denmark.



There is far more to the city online than I have posted here.

Historic Flood of '09

We're off for the airport around noon on Mon Sept 21st during the historic flood of '09 in Atlanta, Ga!


South Cobb County

Atlanta Freeway

6 Flags Over Georgia

These pictures were the aftermath of the Mon and Tues rains. We drove to the airport in heavy down pours and arrived to find all flights grounded due to the weather. Our 5 pm flight finally left at 9:30 pm. We land in Chicago 20 mins after our flight to Copenhagen departed!

Atlanta assured us we will have accommodations and meal tickets since we are an international flight but upon arrival in Chicago we are told different.

After firm insistence on our part we received our hotel and meal tickets; survived a long wait for the hotel bus and finally checked in at 1 am! A too short 12 hours later we are sitting at Chicago O'Hare Airport for our 10 pm flight, 9 hours in the future.

Finally we board a fully packed flight with 8 more hours ahead of us til arrival in Copenhagen. With dinner and breakfast served the flight goes rather quickly altho no sleeping as the seats are unbearable! We arrived with just enough time to board the bus from the airport to the ship.

Golden rule: Leave early to not miss ship for cases like this even tho we missed our extra day to explore this city!

Stay Tuned, Don't Touch that Dial!

Don't know if another trip will come our way before we head out again this September. So like the title says, "Stay Tuned" and continue to check in at times, cuz you just never know ...

Our next cruise is for 18 days in the North Atlantic Sept 21st - Oct 11th. I'll try to have pictures up soon afterwards. For a larger view, click the map.

And for all you that visit, I want to give a big ...

Orange Lake Flordia

June 13 - 20, 2009

Have owned a timeshare in the Kissimmee area for 21 yrs now. We go down every year since it's about an 8 hour drive.

Orange Lake Country Club has grown so much over the years. There are several areas to our complex with pools, restaurants and of course golf! For more info Click Here

We are the beige circle area to the left on this map. As you can see, right in the heart of everything Disney and otherwise related!



Our condo is on the top floor center of a building much like this.



We have a grand time each year making memories and visiting with family down that way. Cookouts and watching the fireworks off the back screen porch from Disney every night.

Our children now have their own children and the memories go on from here ...

Alaska Tid Bits

Animals? Did we see animals ~ Oh yes we saw animals or rather mammals

We saw the black and white colors of baby Orcas, fins and spumes several times and once while I was on my own, saw several humpback whales playing in the water. Sad to say, I didn't have my camera with me! Along with seals frolicking in the water, they were much fun to watch. Here is a fin of something, it never did surface.



A pretty island out in the middle of nowhere and the sun 'setting' on the water



We disembarked in Vancouver, Canada, bussed to Seattle for an overnight and then flight home to Atlanta the next day.

Didn't witness any wild bears or calving of icebergs, time to go back to Alaska!

Ketchikan

Saturday May 23, 2009

Ketchikan has an average yearly rainfall of 162 inches. It rains almost 240 days a year. The day we were here it was cloudy, the first we've seen in 2 weeks, but it never rained. We were blessed!



Because of so much rain, their baseball fields look like this. Notice what's missing? (answer is the grass!)



Ketchikan is about a half mile wide and seven miles long. There is 16 to 18 hours of daylight during the summer months. We saw many bald eagles here with their nest high in the air, but no pictures of them flying high from their nest.

Totem Poles are not of interest to either of us. Ketchikan if full of them. Along with master carver Nathan Jackson



Thought it interesting that totem poles were never worshiped as religious objects as the early missionaries believed. They were carved to honor the dead, proclaim wealth and status and support the oral traditions.

We visited The Discovery Center and found these 'babies' ~ in order, a horned owl, falcon and of course our national bird, the eagle!

Juneau

Friday May 22, 2009

Juneau is the capitol of Alaska and is the largest capitol in the USA by land size (3,248 square miles). There are no roads in our out of Juneau, it's only accessible by ship, plane or birth canal :)

The most visited Glacier in the world and quickly shrinking is here, the Mendenhall. I was impressed with the amount of decent sized icebergs in the lake nearby.




The Macaulay Salmon Hatchery was very interesting with a 5,000 gallon salt water aquarium filled with colorful and unique fish. Some aquatic can be touched and that is my specialty. Like this sea cucumber, he looks sharp but actually felt like jello. The star shaped one was soft as well.


















On to the Mount Roberts Tramway and the view of our ship down below.




The town of Juneau

Skagway and the Yukon

Thursday May 21, 2009

We took the "Experience the Yukon" excursion from Skagway and I would highly recommend this!! It was by bus and not the popular White Pass Train. A few words to always remember ... Trains are great BUT they do NOT stop for pictures!

Some of the scenery on the way to the top of the Mt.





At the top. This is how thick the ice still is in late May




Final destination was Caribou Crossing for lunch and sights to see. Then the town of Carcross which is short for the former. We had our passports stamped here since we are in British Columbia, Canada. Next we visited the "World's Smallest Desert" yes in Alaska! The Carcross Desert is 642 acres and has been recognized by Guinness.



Got our pictures taken at each of the 3 signs ~ Welcome to Alaska, Yukon Larger than Life and Welcome to British Columbia, Canada. Remember IF you take the train, you do not stop for these signs!

The history and pictures behind the Gold Rush is fascinating and much to much to go into here. So visit Pictorial History of the Yukon by Carcross Community School You won't be sorry!

And Skagway by it's self?

Glacier Bay

Wednesday May 20, 2009

Much of Glacier Bay is over 1,000 feet deep and does not freeze in the winter due to the tides and wind. It was discovered by Captain George Vancouver in 1794.

The Margerie Glacier shown below is about one mile wide and 250 feet high with a base around 100 feet below sea level. It extends for 21 miles back into the mountain range.



Picture is blue because it was taken thru the ship window. Smaller boat gives better size comparisons.


Nearby is the Grand Pacific Glacier. It is 2 miles wide and is dirty because of the avalanches, rock slides etc causing an accumulation of dirt and rock.



The view around the both of these glaciers while we were idling is magnificent! Very serene. We were not fortunate to witness the calving of an iceberg. Was told it sounds like a gunshot when it cracks.




Glaciers form when the snowfall exceeds the snow melt. Huge icebergs can last up to a week or more and they provide perches for many animals and birds.