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Göteborg and Aarhus

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 August 15 We arrived in our only Sweden port, Göteborg, but decided not to do the excursion again, opting to get around on our own. We figured out the public transportation (tram, bus) and our first stop was the World of Volvo.  Then we used the tourist information map to see the recommended sites in the historical area - the Cathedral, the Fish church market (resembles a church), a food market, and the Haga neighborhood. There we split a sandwich (chicken and pesto) and a local beer. We opted to shuttle back to the ship and hang by the pool for the rest of the afternoon.  The next morning, we arrived in Aarhus, Norway. We thought this was a great city! We walked and walked and covered all of the sites. We visited the Cathedral, the Viking Museum where you descended 9 meters down to the level of the ground in the 900s where actual Viking houses and artifacts were discovered. Then we went to a very cool two story rooftop garden atop a department store called Selling. Then...
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Oslo

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 August 15 As we await our flight home, I’ll reminisce about the last several stops on our amazing Scandinavian cruise.  After Ålesund, we were on our way to Oslo for an overnight stay. Our first excursion was a World War II tour with a fair haired Norwegian young woman. She brought us to a large, still intact Nazi bunker underneath a school. There she told us about how Hitler occupied Norway (a country that wanted to remain neutral) because he loved their Arian genes - blond hair, blue eyes. He encouraged the Germans to make babies with the Norwegian women. A woman who had 10 babies were awarded a gold star. Their Jewish population, who Norwegians considered similarly to how Muslims are considered in today’s society, were shipped off to concentration camps and their neighbors pilfered their homes. Even today, Norwegians prefer not to dilute their gene pool by immigrants, but after a anti-immigration fanatic mass murdered Oslo citizens in 2011, they talk of being more inclusiv...
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Fjords and Vikings

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 August 9 We’ve been blessed with better weather these last several days.  We had to skip our Olden stop due to seas of 18 feet and 60 mph winds, so we hung out on the safe fjords and instead went to Skjolden. Not much to do there but we made the best of it.  Onward to Åndalsnes where we took a kayaking tour and then went up to the top of a nearby fjord feature via cable car and took some pictures and enjoyed a local beer.  Our ship from atop the mountain  From there, our ship traveled to Trondheim. There we took a walking tour in a sunny day and then once back on board, enjoyed an afternoon onboard by the pool.  Nidaros Cathedral The angel at the top of the cathedral has the face of Bob Dylan.  The rose window. This cathedral was built on the site of King Olaf’s burial ground. Started in 1070 Trondheim’s old bridge In the evening, we had a nice dinner and then enjoyed a concert by a polish violin virtuoso. Fabulous!! Today, we visited Ålesund. Really ...
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