Texas Twin Sis
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 6, 2018
Alesund Norway July 29, 2019
After a great night sleep and breakfast we are really enjoying the weather! 70 degrees at 8:30am and by 11am it was near 88 degrees with lots of sunshine all day. In fact we got hot! Since we had a later all ashore time of 9:30am we had time to sit out on deck and watch coming into dock. From the views coming into this city I expect this will be the most picturesque stops on the whole trip. From pre-trip research I knew our tour today AL-01 Alesund Highlights was going up to a high lookout that could be reached by more than 400 steps zig zagging up the mountain. We got a great view of these steps from the ship. But being 65 and walking with a cane we chose a tour that drove up. You could take a city tram up (looked like the Casey Jones train from Dumbo), but we also wanted to see the other stop on this Disney tour. We moved down to deck 4 to get out of the sun and were able to double check the time change with the church clock as we waited for our tour time.
Off on bus #1, first stop Mountain overlook, then to the Sunmore Open Air Museum and City tour. We were really interested in this town because of our love of Art Deco architecture and we were not disappointed. So up the mountain we went. Our guide called the mountain “he” which we found interesting. On the way up we learned that throughout the German occupation the mountain was off limits to locals and big gun emplacements and bunkers were up top and long our route. Also the walking trails on the mountain were lit by streetlights through the forest, due to the many days of darkness in the winter. It was a narrow road with a lot of tight turns and small parking area, so if you are a rent a car person you need to be alert and give way to buses. Luckily we were on the first bus from Disney to arrive. What fabulous views! We had plenty of time to look around the lookout terrace. There was even time enough to walk up hill to one of the bunkers left by the Germans. The water was so stunning. We learned later that all the little island communities were connected by underwater tunnels to the city. Looking down to the port we could clearly see the Magic. Such a beautiful sight. On the way down we passed a group on electric bicycles making their way up to the look out. Such a variety of house designs here, not like in the city center which due to a city wide fire was rebuilt in the Art Deco style.
Again bus #1 was first to arrive at the outdoor museum. Here were buildings from Viking era through 1930's in landscaped groupings. Just a note: The paths here are small gravel and sometimes steep. Also many of the building's steps do not have railings and are uneven. It was so humid and hot we broke off from the group and took a short cut down to the visitor's center exhibits. In an adjacent building were boats from various historical time periods, including a full Viking long boat that has been found in a clay bog. Outside on the canal was a historical reconstruction of a long boat that you could take ticketed rides on the canal but seeing our time to get back on the bus drew near we took a break in some shade and ate a Norwegian frozen snack.
Back on the bus we drove through the rebuilt part of town after the 1903 fire that destroyed the city along King Street and the canal. All buildings built since then are required to have non-fl amble roofs of slate or steel. The Art Deco style was stunning. Back on the ship by 1pm we changed to our Mickey Ahoy shorts and t-shirt combo and enjoyed lunch on deck 9 by the pool. We had a great view of the canal with all the boats, kayaks, and people walking enjoying the weather. Soon I couldn't resist it any longer. I donned my Donald Duck swimsuit and hit the adult pool soon to be followed by my sis.
After our refreshing swim and a 4:40pm pull away we got ready for our last dinner at Rapunzel's Table. We were entertained by a group of minstrels on fiddle, flute, percussion and guitar they were excellent. We had heard them earlier on the ship in the Atrium and at Preludes and enjoyed them very much. They played throughout the dinner entertainment and the Lantern Lighting show.
Off to the Walt Disney Theatre for a Disney Magic exclusive show, Once Upon a Song. It was a montage of Disney Movie music with choreographed dance numbers. Excellent.
We all wanted to stay up for some more night life on the ship, but the spirit was willing and the body was weak. He hit the rack to a calm sea was we sailed down the coast to Stavanger, Norway.
Stavanger, Norway July 30, 2019
Woke up to off and on light showers in Stavanger. All ashore was 9:45am. After breakfast we had hot tea on the aft deck of Cabanas and watched the docking. At this port the ship had to back into it's parking spot at the dock and this was the best place to have a dry seat and watch it. We didn't have an excursion until noon, and since it wasn't raining at all ashore time we walked around the quaint cobblestone streets looking at the houses close to the dock. We grabbed a quick lunch on deck 9 quick serve as soon as they opened at 11:00 then off to meet our group for our tour.
We exited the ship aft, had to walk to near mid ship along the dock to go our through the security tent and then walk pass the aft of the ship to the parking area where the buses were. The rain was holding off for now, but we brought our light rain gear as it was in the high 60's. Our tour was SV13 Iron Age Farm and Sightseeing. Our guide on the bus asked what countries were represented and it turned out we were all from the USA. I would say that at least 2/3s of the ship or more were from the USA. We did meet people from Dubai, England, Scotland, France and Germany while on the ship. As our guide was giving us the weather report that the rain was going to blow out it started to drizzle, keeping our fingers crossed.
Our first stop was an observation point above a communications platform. By the time we got there drizzle had turned to light rain. On the way we drove by typical houses for the area and did a drive by the 3 swords statues on the waterway commemorating the three klans joining to start the creation of Norway. We arrived at the newly opened Iron Age Farm visitor center to a consistent light rain. Thank goodness for rain gear. We were met by a fully costumed female interpreter who represented the head of the farm. We were then led inside a reconstructed, historically accurate Iron Age long house resting on it's original foundation. Iron Age was pre Viking. The homes were dry stack stone with log and turf roofs. It consisted of 3 rooms with the short side of the house oriented to the North. The first earthen floor room was food storage, then we proceeded into a long interconnected room with bunks on the sides and working fire-pits (with a fire today) in the center and exhaust hole on roof. The third connecting room was for animals. On the grounds were also sheep, native grasses, and other sights still to be excavated. After the guided tour we had time to explore the exhibits and gift shop. Back on the bus we were learned how to sing “the wheels on the bus go round and round” in Norwegian as the final passenger boarded. We drove through the city and arrived at the city square. Here we left the bus and would finish our tour on foot. We walked across the street to visit the cathedral which clearly displayed three architectural styles as changes were made throughout the centuries. Still raining we started our walk about of the “old town” area and realized we were very close to the ship and had done this area on our own this morning without rain. Since we had seen this area we asked our guide if we could split off. OK was given and we walked back to the ship for a hot shower and dry clothes. All aboard was 4:45pm and right on time we started on our way to Sweden.
Our show tonight was a group out of England called Junk. The show was very much like Stomp in the USA. As the winds were picking up again we headed to the stateroom. Here we had another surprise. Remember we have a hidden porthole room with a metal basket obstructing part of the large porthole. Well according to the bridge report on the TV we were up to a 51 knot wind and it was howling through the basket on our side of the ship. It sounded like a sound track for a horror film. All the rest of the trip the starboard side was getting this treatment, so I guess you could count us lucky it was only for one night until we took the East turn towards Sweden. Ah well, the joys of cruising. On to Gothenburg, Sweden.
After a great night sleep and breakfast we are really enjoying the weather! 70 degrees at 8:30am and by 11am it was near 88 degrees with lots of sunshine all day. In fact we got hot! Since we had a later all ashore time of 9:30am we had time to sit out on deck and watch coming into dock. From the views coming into this city I expect this will be the most picturesque stops on the whole trip. From pre-trip research I knew our tour today AL-01 Alesund Highlights was going up to a high lookout that could be reached by more than 400 steps zig zagging up the mountain. We got a great view of these steps from the ship. But being 65 and walking with a cane we chose a tour that drove up. You could take a city tram up (looked like the Casey Jones train from Dumbo), but we also wanted to see the other stop on this Disney tour. We moved down to deck 4 to get out of the sun and were able to double check the time change with the church clock as we waited for our tour time.
Off on bus #1, first stop Mountain overlook, then to the Sunmore Open Air Museum and City tour. We were really interested in this town because of our love of Art Deco architecture and we were not disappointed. So up the mountain we went. Our guide called the mountain “he” which we found interesting. On the way up we learned that throughout the German occupation the mountain was off limits to locals and big gun emplacements and bunkers were up top and long our route. Also the walking trails on the mountain were lit by streetlights through the forest, due to the many days of darkness in the winter. It was a narrow road with a lot of tight turns and small parking area, so if you are a rent a car person you need to be alert and give way to buses. Luckily we were on the first bus from Disney to arrive. What fabulous views! We had plenty of time to look around the lookout terrace. There was even time enough to walk up hill to one of the bunkers left by the Germans. The water was so stunning. We learned later that all the little island communities were connected by underwater tunnels to the city. Looking down to the port we could clearly see the Magic. Such a beautiful sight. On the way down we passed a group on electric bicycles making their way up to the look out. Such a variety of house designs here, not like in the city center which due to a city wide fire was rebuilt in the Art Deco style.
Again bus #1 was first to arrive at the outdoor museum. Here were buildings from Viking era through 1930's in landscaped groupings. Just a note: The paths here are small gravel and sometimes steep. Also many of the building's steps do not have railings and are uneven. It was so humid and hot we broke off from the group and took a short cut down to the visitor's center exhibits. In an adjacent building were boats from various historical time periods, including a full Viking long boat that has been found in a clay bog. Outside on the canal was a historical reconstruction of a long boat that you could take ticketed rides on the canal but seeing our time to get back on the bus drew near we took a break in some shade and ate a Norwegian frozen snack.
Back on the bus we drove through the rebuilt part of town after the 1903 fire that destroyed the city along King Street and the canal. All buildings built since then are required to have non-fl amble roofs of slate or steel. The Art Deco style was stunning. Back on the ship by 1pm we changed to our Mickey Ahoy shorts and t-shirt combo and enjoyed lunch on deck 9 by the pool. We had a great view of the canal with all the boats, kayaks, and people walking enjoying the weather. Soon I couldn't resist it any longer. I donned my Donald Duck swimsuit and hit the adult pool soon to be followed by my sis.
After our refreshing swim and a 4:40pm pull away we got ready for our last dinner at Rapunzel's Table. We were entertained by a group of minstrels on fiddle, flute, percussion and guitar they were excellent. We had heard them earlier on the ship in the Atrium and at Preludes and enjoyed them very much. They played throughout the dinner entertainment and the Lantern Lighting show.
Off to the Walt Disney Theatre for a Disney Magic exclusive show, Once Upon a Song. It was a montage of Disney Movie music with choreographed dance numbers. Excellent.
We all wanted to stay up for some more night life on the ship, but the spirit was willing and the body was weak. He hit the rack to a calm sea was we sailed down the coast to Stavanger, Norway.
Stavanger, Norway July 30, 2019
Woke up to off and on light showers in Stavanger. All ashore was 9:45am. After breakfast we had hot tea on the aft deck of Cabanas and watched the docking. At this port the ship had to back into it's parking spot at the dock and this was the best place to have a dry seat and watch it. We didn't have an excursion until noon, and since it wasn't raining at all ashore time we walked around the quaint cobblestone streets looking at the houses close to the dock. We grabbed a quick lunch on deck 9 quick serve as soon as they opened at 11:00 then off to meet our group for our tour.
We exited the ship aft, had to walk to near mid ship along the dock to go our through the security tent and then walk pass the aft of the ship to the parking area where the buses were. The rain was holding off for now, but we brought our light rain gear as it was in the high 60's. Our tour was SV13 Iron Age Farm and Sightseeing. Our guide on the bus asked what countries were represented and it turned out we were all from the USA. I would say that at least 2/3s of the ship or more were from the USA. We did meet people from Dubai, England, Scotland, France and Germany while on the ship. As our guide was giving us the weather report that the rain was going to blow out it started to drizzle, keeping our fingers crossed.
Our first stop was an observation point above a communications platform. By the time we got there drizzle had turned to light rain. On the way we drove by typical houses for the area and did a drive by the 3 swords statues on the waterway commemorating the three klans joining to start the creation of Norway. We arrived at the newly opened Iron Age Farm visitor center to a consistent light rain. Thank goodness for rain gear. We were met by a fully costumed female interpreter who represented the head of the farm. We were then led inside a reconstructed, historically accurate Iron Age long house resting on it's original foundation. Iron Age was pre Viking. The homes were dry stack stone with log and turf roofs. It consisted of 3 rooms with the short side of the house oriented to the North. The first earthen floor room was food storage, then we proceeded into a long interconnected room with bunks on the sides and working fire-pits (with a fire today) in the center and exhaust hole on roof. The third connecting room was for animals. On the grounds were also sheep, native grasses, and other sights still to be excavated. After the guided tour we had time to explore the exhibits and gift shop. Back on the bus we were learned how to sing “the wheels on the bus go round and round” in Norwegian as the final passenger boarded. We drove through the city and arrived at the city square. Here we left the bus and would finish our tour on foot. We walked across the street to visit the cathedral which clearly displayed three architectural styles as changes were made throughout the centuries. Still raining we started our walk about of the “old town” area and realized we were very close to the ship and had done this area on our own this morning without rain. Since we had seen this area we asked our guide if we could split off. OK was given and we walked back to the ship for a hot shower and dry clothes. All aboard was 4:45pm and right on time we started on our way to Sweden.
Our show tonight was a group out of England called Junk. The show was very much like Stomp in the USA. As the winds were picking up again we headed to the stateroom. Here we had another surprise. Remember we have a hidden porthole room with a metal basket obstructing part of the large porthole. Well according to the bridge report on the TV we were up to a 51 knot wind and it was howling through the basket on our side of the ship. It sounded like a sound track for a horror film. All the rest of the trip the starboard side was getting this treatment, so I guess you could count us lucky it was only for one night until we took the East turn towards Sweden. Ah well, the joys of cruising. On to Gothenburg, Sweden.
