Stavanger

This small city of about 130,000 people is the center of the petroleum industry in Norway.  Since oil was discovered under  the sea off Norway in 1969 it has become one of the world's wealthiest countries.  After breakfast we met our group in the Star Theater and joined our guide for a walk through the city to the Petroleum museum.   The old wooden city center was quite charming but it was very quiet as this was Sunday morning.  Once at the museum we decided to tour it on our own.  The history was pretty interesting and has changed the wealth of the country in a short time.  There was a film about the development of oil that the guide and guidebooks touted but it seemed to be a way for some people in Norway deal with the guilt they must feel over this wealth.

After the museum we strolled through town and headed back to the ship for lunch.  In the afternoon we walked back to the view the inside of Stavanger's Cathedral dedicated to St. Swithun.  It was begun around 1100 and suffered a fire in the 1200s so the architecture in the rebuilding was more gothic than Romanesque.  It is small compared to cathedrals we have visited such as Notre Dame and York Minister.

Across from the ship's dock is an area of old wooden houses which seem to be typical of some Norwegian cities and they have efforts to preserve those that have not burned down over the years.  In Stavanger they are painted white.  In the old harbor area of Bergen they are mostly shops and painted different colors.  We enjoyed the sunniest weather of the trip so far.  Too bad most of the shops were closed on Sunday in Stavanger as I would have liked checking some of them out. 

 Jewelry shop in one of the old houses.

Shop selling traditional Bunad dresses

 Stavanger Cathedral

Our ship in the back ground

Eidfjord

When we booked this cruise months ago one question we had was how we would handle the motion of the ship.  We seem to be pretty good sailors.  We came prepared with seasick patches from our doctors but have not used them,  We traveled the open sea last night and could feel the difference from the fjords around Bergen but it was kind of fun.  Anchored off the little town of Eidfjord we can see whitecaps this afternoon and feel more movement at anchor than this morning.

At the end of our day in Bergen yesterday we stopped at one of the customer service desks to ask about what to expect being tendered for our excursion today.  The young woman answered our questions including what time to be ready and what deck the tenders leave from.  What she forgot to tell us is that we would be assigned to a group and that group would first meet in the Star theater.  Since we were on the 9:30 tour to the Norsk Nature Center she recommended we be there at 8:45.  We go down to deck 1 at the appointed time, board the boat and in Eidfjord ask one of the Viking staff where we go next.  He was a bit snarky in his corrections when a simple "Perhaps there has been a mix-up" would have done.  I was surprised to find a Viking employee with attitude having never encountered one on our river cruise a few years ago or in the months leading up to this trip.  Let's hope he's the only one.

Since we were so early we enjoyed the front seats on our group's bus.  The ride to the nature center was short but we drove through what must be one of the longest tunnels I have ever traveled through.  The nature center was at the edge of another small town and consisted of two buildings; the very modern looking center and across from it a large log building with a restaurant, gift shop and 3 little goats grazing on the roof.  Based on all the photos being taken those goats were the highlight.  The center helps explain the history and unique terrain of the fjords.  It included a panoramic film flying over the fjords much like "Soaring" at California Adventure without the sense of motion.

Bergen

After a restful night and good breakfast we walked into the historic center of Bergen, the first stop on our cruise.  It wasn't raining so we decided to take the funicular up Mount Floyen for the view which was amazing.  Easy to get there just walk east from the cruise ship, turn left at Starbucks and head up the hill.  Even with cloud cover we could see the islands in the distance and how spread out city of Bergen is.  When we came down we were glad we did the funicular first thing because the line was now making it's way down the street.

After lunch we strolled through the old town area called Bryggen, checking out a few shops and taking photos.  We were still pretty jet lagged and returned to the ship to rest before our muster drill.  No life jacket fashion show like on the Viking River cruise but everyone on the Viking Sky seemed to take it pretty seriously.

Finally it was time for dinner.  The night before in World Cafe the staff were really pushing the fresh fish buffet.  That told us to dine in the Restaurant and it was less crowded as we expected.  While at dinner the ship began the trip to Eidfjord.  Between the rocking of the ship and jet lag we are both having difficultly staying awake so more later.

 

It wouldn't be Europe without scaffolding

Our ship is on the right

Rain in Bryggen

Sailing away at dinner

Safety drill

This is a drill right?

We made it to Norway

It's been a long 3 days but we are enjoying our first full day in Norway.  We were so trashed from the long flights that we didn't expect to sleep as well as we did.  And we discovered, if it weren't so far from everywhere else in Europe, that Bergen is a good place to begin a cruise.

Wednesday June 19:  Air France flight 65 from LAX to CDG in Paris went without a hitch.  We have taken that flight a few times and treat ourselves to premium economy.  This time I could identify and eat the gluten-free meal so that is an improvement over 2 years ago.  Unfortunately neither of us slept well which is unusual for me.  We had a 3 1/2 hour layover in Paris before boarding a 2-hour flight to Bergen.  Thankful it was only 2 hours because the passenger space on that flight is pretty meager.  Viking staff met us in Bergen, directed us to a small bus and we rode to the ship.  Check-in for the ship was easy with TSA style security clearance and we were soon in our cabin.

We decided to upgrade one level and are very happy we did.  As first-time cruisers we had no idea how cramped the smallest cabin might feel after the first week.  This cabin is a bit longer and wider with additional seating.  We don't have to squeeze around the bed to access the closet or the desk/dressing table.  Will, our steward, gave us a quick tour of our cabin and how everything works then we went off to World Cafe for dinner.  This is Viking's buffet and it is nicely done.  I rarely eat steak but enjoyed a very petite filet mignon and a small baked potato along with veggies, salad and gelato--mmm.

We were thrashed and went to bed early to be ready for our first day as cruisers.

Countdown to Cruise

From the Viking website.  I'll report if we actually see this view

It's getting close to cruise time, we leave next week.  Temperatures have warmed a bit and we are seeing some highs over 70 F.  In a recent email Betsy warned us that it rains in Bergen at least a little nearly every day then the sun comes out.  Bergen is where our cruise begins.  It sounds a lot like Kauai only not as warm.  We have a full day to explore Bergen and plan to do this on our own.

We bought a small chrome book to replace my old iPad mini and now I have a keyboard.  My thumbs do not want to peck away on a screen anymore.  We hope to "easily" transfer photos from camera to chrome book to post here.  If you don't see any photos you'll know that didn't work!

You can follow our ship online at www.marinetraffic.com and search "Viking Sky" under Search Map.  We are scheduled to join it on Thursday June 20.

Pre-cruise

Mr. Wonderful and I are going on our first ocean cruise in June.  We have been on a river cruise but never an ocean cruise.  I wanted to visit Scandinavia and see my friend Betsy as well as visit some places we haven't been.  The cruise had to stop in Gothenburg, Sweden so that Betsy could reach us by train.  We did not want to spend money in Russia so we are missing out on some Baltic ports.  And we also wanted a small ship.  Put all that together and we came up with the Viking Sky, yes that Viking Sky, which we hope is now the safest ship on the sea.  

Betsy suggested we travel in summer and that the midnight sun in June might be interesting for us.  The cruise begins in Bergen and ends in Copenhagen.  Like our Viking River Cruise it spends 2 nights in port at the beginning and end of the cruise so we have a full day in each.  It also spends two full days in Oslo after traveling the coast of Norway then visits ports in Sweden, Germany and Denmark.  

                                                     Viking Ocean Cruises Map and Itinerary