August 6, 1994
Fadia took me to airport in my car and stayed to see me off. The gal at the Delta ticket office gave me four free coupons for headphones or drinks. Fadia gave me some too - very nice as drinks are now $4. Late getting into Atlanta, but made my plane. Going to Atlanta sat beside mom and daughter going to Omaha, Nebraska for a speed roller skating national competition. Both skate. Very nice gal and her daughter age 10. A black man sat next to me going to NYC. He didn't talk - lives in NYC visiting his mom in Georgia. No problems in NYC plant to Copenhagen at next gate. Talked to pilot. He visited with me. Clerk at check in counter upgraded my ticket - a very lovely thing for her to do! A small first class, only 10 seats - I sat 1st seat behind 1st class 10-13 in business class - same leg leather seats and lots of room!! Unbelievable service - champagne, daily papers from many countries, wine after we took off with dish of large mixed nuts, more drinks or wine when ever you needed or ask for it. One glass of wine and one champagne was enough for me! I sat (2 on a side) with a young gentleman sophomore at a college in Pennsylvania. Service was great "ask and you shall receive". Dinner was OK - pretty lovely salad - tough rolls BUT electricity went out in their cooking stove - so I was served at 12:15 PM my time - too late to eat much deliveries of chocolate with coffee after and not so good veal. Very tired but could only sleep a little off and on. Arrived in Copenhagen at 10:10. Met 2 ladies at baggage counter from Insight tour - we shared a cab. Nice room - not too small nice hotel very near the water. Largest ship I've ever seen in harbor - many old wooden sailing ships tied up - walked until 2:30 - napped for an hour.
Elevator comes, but you must open the door - very small elevator! Nice clerk at desk. Lots and lots of tables and umbrellas, canals, small restaurants by the inlet - hundreds of people - amber jewelry popular here. Shops closed on Sunday - beautiful fountain and marble church - lovely brick square, brick walls everywhere - cabs Mercedes - trucks Volvo - no air conditioning - beautiful sunny day - not too hot.
8/7 Tour group 35 in all had dinner and cocktails - event to Tivoli at 745 home by 1030.
New gal joined group - Gail form Albuquerque, New Mexico. Very nice! We will sit together. Marble bathroom - Swedish modern furniture in bedroom.
8/8 In early morning Gail and I visited in my room last night Lights at Tivoli lovely. Up by 545 - showered, bag outside room by 645. Breakfast in hotel dinging room - very ample - buffet juices, cereals, fruit, rolls, danish, ham, jellies, bread with nuts and soy beans. On the bus by 730 and large 4 deck ferry boat - trucks, tour buses, cars, campers all on board. Everyone leaves vehicles while boat sails the 20 minutes crossing into Sweden.
Everyone on board bus before it arrives off boat. A long ride through Sweden today. Stockholm flat, farm land, grains, tour guide gave history of the 3 country and mostly Sweden - no shoulder on roads - road smooth but not marked with yellow line. After an hour - into rolling hills of pines and evergreen. Guide played music - bus large - air conditioned, large windows you sit high so can see well - bus very clean! Stopping at noon for lunch. Slept while touring - lunch & dinner on motorway.
Alcohol is expensive in Sweden. Morning call - hotel calls each place - put luggage outside door 45 minutes before leaving each morning. 20% - tax free - say tax free - clerk fills out form and when you came to border you get your money back. Everything you buy in Sweden, Denmark, Norway get a tax refund from each shop. Shops close 1 on Saturday and close on Sunday. All houses painted dark brick red trimmed in white. 24000 islands around Sweden.
8/9 Countryside in Stockholm not too unusual but is beautiful - islands, bridges, water, boats every where water show in progress, lovely shops, department stores, beautiful boats, large and small very pretty people, clean not strict people.
Most people speak English. Ferry boat ride, large ferry takes buses and RVs and trucks - walk on ferry - on bus before leaves ferry. Glass factory like Pigeon Forge - he asked me to help blow a vase bought blue wine glasses. Bus ride was rather tiring. Royal Palace lovely, guards at gate (didn't' see inside) working on outside didn't look like palace - square plaster and stone building.
City Hall unbelievable - large beautiful designed - gold room beautiful - Nobel Prize banquet held here - weddings - style shows - lots of marble, marble stairs.
Saw St, George and Dragon in Cathedral - marble - many buried in church.
Cruised on boat for one hour for dinner - private home - wine and toasts for dinner delicious salmon, potatoes, other fish for first course. Bus drove us home to hotel. Room small but nice - shops after last ride and while on bus before driving on small island for dinner.
8/10 Long ride to Mora - scenery not too interesting.
Bus driver excellent! Lake Malaren beautiful, very clean and clear.
Saw the wooden horses.
8/11 Wide ledges around roofs to keep snow from falling on you. Fences with slanted sticks and grass or hay covering them to keep snow from piling up on roads which are very narrow - one lane crossing bridges. Driver very good - smooth ride. Washes bus even. Seats comfortable - we move up on one side. Monica is our guide and she's great - thinks of everything - reads poems, stories, explains about history, government, labor, products of each country and plays music. Gjovik, Norway - We're getting into forests and hill country. Very pretty pine trees.
Lillehammer is very quaint. towns walk down main street no cards on main street, lots of shops - fun shopping.
Museum to see Norway's rural life - old farms - like Cades Cove except grass growing on roofs - small rooms - lovely wooden churches, lovely carvings on homes - many farm houses with flowers - everything so green.
Years ago people given land to go to Northern, Norway. Farms go to oldest child - passed down when eldest dies - impossible to buy farms now. Each child - as they have many - has a house on farm. Strawberries, cherries, potatoes, berries and beautiful fields of grain - cows in roads, no fences - sheep with short legs in roads - saw very few people on roads or in fields - some picking strawberries.
8/12 Geirangerfjord, Norway
Beautiful day - high green and rocky mountains, with fjords, cascading icy glaciers, waterfalls - blue, green water - waterfalls everywhere. A ferry rides past Seven Sisters Waterfalls - over high rocky cliffs - unbelievable.
Hotel at end of lake. Lovely room with davenport, single bed, table, 2 chairs, cushions on all beds so comfortable. Hotel has lovely gift shop, disco downstairs, buffet. Cemeteries have live flowers. In Norway many small vacation huts, small square buildings, grass growing on roofs, flowers all around, roads pretty good but narrow - not same driver - too fast.
8/13 Troll Road - Snowed in the night so road to top closed, too icy - waterfalls more shops, more music, more stories about Trolls in mountains - rocks on top of rocks - trolls work in the night. Stone Church closed for funeral.
8/14 Sognefjord, Norway
Waterfalls, snow in the road, people could pet reindeer - saw 7. Woman grabbed my shirt because I didn't have 5 kroner to pay for toilet. I promised to come back, she finally let go. Our driver took it to her. She sacred me as I was alone int he restaurant with her - she was mopping the floor an ugly woman - but first one - first unpleasant person I'd met. Our lunch was cafeteria style, breakfast and dinner night before buffet.
8/15 Naeroyfjord, Norway
Railroad ride and highest point in Norway. Waterfall, sheep, deer, kids on bikes, hikers, huge rocks, evergreens, grassy hills, lots of fields. Saw Hardanger Plateau where glacier carved their paths. Hotel run down and food not very good - tiny room. Red houses once again farmers cutting grain. Buffet dinner not very good. Getting very tired and in room early. Walked Voss and the small houses with lots of flowers around houses. City has lovely lake, prettier hotels than we're staying in - the promise of larger room tomorrow. Had a picnic lunch by lake.
8/17 Oslo. Saw 10th century church so beautiful in color blues. Mural on walls - no place to sit in church - small narrow benches for elderly along wall - everyone stood. No windows - small holes in walls - openings at top of building. Baptismal under wooden floor. Seaport town - last day Hans Christian Anderson Day - Market Day. Crowded town, ate by warf, cool, windy night. Shopping.
8/18 Oslo - Sight see at a ski jump. Nice hotel with quiet room. Buffet. Tour of town and Frogner park - vineyard, sculptures, children playing, smiling faces, people climbing statue, gardens, flowers, levels and levels of fountains and green lawns.
Akershus castle
and palace.
Museum about skiers - elevator up - 200 stairs - view was unbelievable. Glass apartments and business district many shops around. No factories in Oslo - more commercial and more factories in Denmark than Norway. Palace having work done - Viking Museum - they were buried and well preserved, saw about 6 ships berth on 5th level. Lamb dinner only one table with window. Night club with band and show and dance floor. Disco on 1st floor.
8/19 Jutland Denmark - large windmills, lots of new 3 blade windmills on farm land. Driving by water along the coast.
Kolding, Denmark - 10 million pigs, country for insulin, sound tells how much fat a pig has and how much it is worth. Stopped in Lego Land - Hans Christian Anderson House - flowers, children's play
nice hotel, sit down dinner - coffee and cocktails in lounge. Craft shops near a pretty day. Saw plaster barns, cows, sheep, horses, brick homes, hay rolled perfectly covered with white plastic for winter and remained in fields.
8/20 Copenhagen - buffet, beautiful morning, very seldom fruit on buffets. Road to ferry was lovely,, large ferry with dining room, blue napkins, buffet. Brick streets and walks with small houses built together. North Sea to Baltic - many ocean lines going by - they're building large, long bridge half finished. Lunch saw hotel from first of trip. Museum before heading home - more on Hans Christian Anderson.
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