Days 5,6 & 7.   To lose some weight I left my my laptop at Rebecca’s house and it appears it’s difficult to update a blog on an IPad in sequence so I’m starting a new blog.

Not sleeping as well as I’d like but still enjoying the trip.  On day 5 we decided to clean the house in preparation for the Trip to Norway.   In the evening Rebecca and Dave treated us to a broadway musical ‘Hamilton’.   It was fantastic. The next day we arose early to fly to Oslo and then Bergen.  I was surprised by how much snow we could see from the air.   However Bergen itself was dry, warm and inviting.   We boarded the Hurtigruten ship ‘Trollfjord’ last night and signed up for a few hikes during upcoming stops.   Some port stops are 15 minutes but others are up to 3 hours.

Day 8.   Might have added a day – it’s possible this is only day 7.   Regardless We (all 4 of us) are on the Trollfjord and today’s major stop was Alesund.  It’s the first major stop after Bergen which we left at midnight last night.  We joined the Expedition crew and 6 of us with 2 guides hiked up to the summit of a hilltop overlooking the harbour and town of 25000.  Actually the town is spread over several islands also.  It was a strenuous hike for me.   Definitely not as smooth as I once was

.Staying pretty despite the gusty winds

Day 9.   After yesterday’s hike my legs are really feeling it but I managed to walk around Trondheim today – twice.   Woke up at 6:00 and as everyone was asleep I headed out to see the city.  It’s the second or third largest in the country and was once the capital.  Came back for breakfast and all 4 of us walked the town again.  A very sleepy town on Easter Sunday

Bridge to ‘old Trondheim’

.Lonely 20 metre lighthouse once inhabited

Day 10 I guess and going quickly.    Today we leave the ship but not until 7:00 pm Norway time.   So we had s bus excursion to a set of rapids and whirlpools that are advertised as spectacular.   To be honest in the driving rain it was difficult to get excited.   I did get up early and caught this early morning shot sometime around 5:00 am

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Day 11, 12,13

dont know why but text disappears and photos move around.  Very difficult to manage on my ipad.   It’s April 24 and we are still on the islands of Lofoten and enjoying the long arctic days, balmy weather, great vistas and wonderful food.   We move to Senja just up the coast a ways tomorrow.   So here are a few images from our last few day

Magnificent waterfalls

View from our restaurant last night

View from our cottage window

Typical Lofoten village

Cod fish heads drying on the flakes

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A walk on the beach

Beautiful day in Lofoten

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10 pm sunset at Senja

DAY 14.   Last full day on Lofoten.  Tomorrow we make a long drive and ferry to Senja

Long haired cow with calf

Drone view from Lofoten cottage

View from our restaurant window

Lofoten vollage

Beach view from mountain crest

Taking a rest during to mountain crest

Oyster Catcher

10 pm sunset at Senja

Day 15   Our Last Day on Senja    Tomorrow we leave beautiful surroundings in our cottage by the sea surrounded by reindeer and sea birds   Today we drove almost the entire island and it’s spectacular mountains hundreds of metres high reaching straight up from the fjords are amazing.   unfortunately., we leave Rebecca and Dave somewhat stranded   Due to SAS pilot strike, the two have to stay an extra day in Tromso and fly back a day late to London

Reindeer near cottageb

Pony at river runoff

Senja’s Spectacular mountains

View from cottage

Blue Heron

Grebes

Day 15, 16.  Travel from Senja to Narvik by bus and then train to Lulea Sweden

Made multiple stops on the bus as Dave And Rebecca dropped us off in clear sunshine nea4 Olsborg Norway to catch a bus to Narvik   Arriving around 2:30 we walked the streets of this very tired city of Narvik   We noticed a ski lift still operating immediately behind the city    Later that night our guesthouse filled up with skiers   We caught a 10:52 train out of Narvik the next morning and were surprised by the number of stops at ski lodges   We arrived at Lulea Sweden at 6:00 pm and walked to our hotel less than 1 km away again in bright sun   A much nicer city than Narvik, we splurged on a great meal on the Main Street

Day 17    Made it to Finland – Kemi to be precise   I always wanted to visit Finland but I know nothing about the country nor do I have any reason for choosing Kemi as a stopover place   But we arrived, after taking 2 short bus rides from Lulea and had time for a long hike through a very quiet town and a leisurely meal   The highlight was sitting at an outside wharf cafe while a large Finn group took turns singing karaoke style.   The rest of the old timers like us all waltzed, or did the 2-step  tomorrow will be an early start as we have a 5 hour train ride south from here

Last 2 days in Scandinavia.  Our last 2 days were a touch wet and rather cool.  Still we head fun.  We sat in first class coach which for most of the  trip from Kemi to Tampere was our coach alone.  When we arrived we walked to a hotel/hostel which was full of young people.   It was May 1st and the whole city was full of young and old wearing white caps and multi-pants.   Some wore strange costumes as well.   It was a national holiday and, as we found out, the hats were for graduation from high school and the pants were for college entrance.    We went for a walk to find the new grads being dunked in the local river from large cranes.   Today we did the city walk again but I believe most of the city was hung over as it was a much more somber city for sure

Froshdunking

Lutheran cathedral

Returning in the rain

Muumimo figure at museum

Muumimo sign

It was 20C before we arrived

One of many bridges across the river

so now, after visiting the Moomin museum in honour of Tove Aaaaa, we sit at the tiny Tampere airport   We arrived early somewhat paranoid that SAS would cancel our flight due to a pilot strike

First Day Back In London:   So with rain threatening all day it was time for Shari and I to do the mundane tasks of travelers   We did laundry,  waited for a dentist to see Shari about an infected, cracked molar and rushed to catch the train southwest to Woking    Ann and Norman Penty met us and drove us to a local pub where they insisted on buying us lunch.  Great beer, fish and chips and then repeat the trip back to London.    A great day but not exciting

BLOG TO BE CONTINUED:   Now that we are BACK IN UK, please see Scotland blog.