Aug. 16-23, 2024
$1 US = 10 Norwegian Krone, 0.91 Euro and 130 Icelandic Krona
The village of Alesund was founded in the 9th century by Rollo, in the middle western coast of Norway, remaining a small village until the 19th century when Norwegian townships were given self governance. The village grew to a town and then to a small city of 11,700 people by 1900, becoming an important trade and commercial hub for the region. And, like so many places where wood was the main building material – the entire town was gone in the single night of the Alesund fire in 1904. Kaiser Wilhelm loved the area, often summering in nearby Sunmore, and sent four warships full of building materials to the devastated town. Architects and planners of the age arrived, and the municipality was rebuilt in brick and stone – in the Art Nouveau style of the age. Side note – Scandinavian Art Nouveau is not nearly as elaborate as French/American Art Nouveau- giving the downtown a very uniform look.
The weather was not great so we ducked into a coffee shop to enjoy a pastry and coffee
And up to the Church of Alesund – rebuilt between 1910 and 1924. The exterior of stone, but inside they incorporated traditional wooden elements. Entry fee for tourists – 50Kr ($5).
Of historical interest – the first covered lifeboat was invented by Captain Ole Brude of Alesund. Inspired by the sinking of The Norge – a large passenger vessel that sank in the North Sea in 1904 – 635 died, many from exposure in the open lifeboats. Brude called his inspiration the Uraed (the “egg”). Only four were initially made. To prove its seaworthiness, he sailed it across the Atlantic – through one of the worst fall/ early winters in the North Atlantic history, eventually landing in Gloucester, Massachusetts five months later. Although he’d proved the safety and effectiveness, the cost of his little “eggs” were twenty times that of the normal open lifeboat. It would be over 70 years before the covered lifeboat became the standard.
When we were in Olden, I’d seen a cute mid weight zip-up tech jacket that I’d liked – I didn’t need, but I liked, so I decided I’d look for it in Alesund – nope. Then decided – I’d look again in Bergen – except that there were protesters now in Amsterdam blocking cruise ships from entering the locks. So instead of further north to Bergen – we turned back south to Amsterdam.
Our first two attempts to enter the locks were thwarted by the protesters (it was very early in the morning – so I missed getting any photos of them). When the locks are closed – there is a narrow public street over them – so the protestors simply needed to get onto the street and refuse to move. We went back to sea while Royal Caribbean and other ships begged and pleaded with the town mayor to help- eventually, the protestors relented and we entered Amsterdam at about 8PM for an overnight.
John and I had spent four days here in 2023 (https://let-me-show-you-the-world.com/amsterdam-2023/) – and found a few things we hadn’t done the last time round.
Very close to the Anne Frank House are two small museums we didn’t check out last time – the Cheese Museum (free to enter) and tons of free samples (it’s more of a shop with some displays in the basement)…
…and next to it is the Tulip museum (€5pp) – which also has a shop, but all the bulbs packed to be OK for US import were the same kinds I could pick up for much less through the Brecks Gardening catalog. It was a cool museum – I even learned that the lovely variegated types of tulips (such as the very valuable Semper Augustus) I like best are that way due to the Tulip Breaking Virus- aka “tulip mosaic virus”
After the museums – we joined a “Rude Bastards” tour of Amsterdam – led by a woman from Ireland who was studying in Amsterdam. Our previous tour had focused on the maritime history and free state of Amsterdam – this one focused more on the quirks. The train station’s towers not only have a clock – but a wind vane on the side.
A covered alleyway with environmental themes has a funky public water bottle refilling station.
And the signs around the city to indicate the proprietor’s job – some are obvious, others we no longer have a clue.
And I couldn’t resist posting the requisite picture of the canals…
Before returning to the ship – we were treated to a parade!
We had some rough seas on our way to Iceland.
We had two days to enjoy Iceland, so the first day we joined Andrea and John to see some of the many waterfalls and the Puffin cliffs. We’d considered going to the Blue Lagoon, but my nephew Sean had been in the area a week earlier and had been warned off by a local vulcanologist due to the likely imminence of an eruption- so we went the other way.
And then to the black sand beach, where the cliffs house a large Puffin colony
Near the beach, we ate at a local restaurant, where Andrea and I had the local – very thick – fish stew.
A note on prices in Iceland – expensive – even a basic meal in a restaurant – without alcohol – ran about $30+ pp.
We couldn’t resist a quick stop to get photos of the adorable Icelandic ponies. A quick note – they’re very rarely exported, and when they are they cannot return in order to protect the herds from common infections seen throughout the world.
That night, we were happy to have not gone to the Blue Lagoon.
The second day, we toured the city of Reykjavik (for trivia buffs – the northern most capital city in the world). Reykjavik has one of the most interesting themed museums in the world – The Phallological Museum.
The museum started because Sigurdar Hjartarson was given a pizzle (a type of whip) made from bull penises when he started working as a headmaster in Akranes, and personal fascination with animal phalluses began.
And I learned an amazing amount about the mating habits of many mammals.
Breeding habits of the Ringed Seal (and yes, a preserved member was in formaldehyde in a jar below).
We walked a couple of miles to the whale museum – and watched a video about how loud the oceans have become with so many ships, and sonar and other technology mapping the ocean floor that disrupts the cetaceans and their ability to communicate. Some of the blasts from sonar have disrupted entire pods and forced beachings of the animals trying to escape the noise.
With only a couple of hours before the last shuttle to the ship, we meandered the old city for a few last photos and to pick up magnets!
That night we had a “Christmas in August” celebration, so we dug out our Santa hats and green and red clothing and used it as a good excuse to party!
Next up – Greenland then on to Canada!