DAY’S 1 AND 2 – Tuesday, August 21 to Wednesday,
August 22, 2018
Here
I go. I’m on another solo travel
adventure abroad; this time for 16 days.
I’m doing the Contiki Scandinavia
(End Helsinki) Tour from August 24, 2018 to September 5, 2018. I decided to fly into Berlin, Germany, the
tour start city, a few days early so I could explore myself.
How
did I get here? Let me tell you…
It
started back in 2016, when my Contiki friend Emma Hardy and I were talking
about how much we miss the tour we just did.
We met on the Contiki Great Britain and Ireland Tour. We had a blast, and we bonded for life! Well,
in August 2017, we finally decided to do Contiki Northwest Passage, which was
supposed to go around Canada. In October
2017, Contiki canceled and discontinued that particular tour. We got our money refunded, and for a couple
months we didn’t know what we wanted to do.
We just couldn’t decide.
I
began researching other companies and tours, because I knew I was going to
travel regardless. I wanted this next
Contiki to celebrate my 30th birthday. It was also meant to be…kind of a last hurrah
before I get married in August of 2019.
However, at the time, I wasn’t engaged yet. Through my research, I fell in love with
Contiki Scandinavia. I told Emma which
tour I was leaning towards doing, but she wasn’t interested. You see, Contiki Scandinavia is practically
ALL HOSTELS, and she doesn’t like staying in hostels. She didn’t want to go, and was a bit indecisive,
so I booked it and decided to go on my own.
In
January 2019, I booked Contiki Scandinavia.
Originally, the tour cost $2,619.00, however, when I booked it, the tour
was on sale! It was about $800 off the original price. I then got another $400 off for being a
return traveler with Contiki. The tour
was looking to be $1,419.00. I had to
book!! How could you not pass up that price! The tour itself was 12 nights and
13 days, with 16 meals included!! My travel agent friend, Trisha Kovaly, also
found me a plane ticket through IcelandAir for $700 round trip!! It was just
all aligning, and I had to jump at the opportunity.
I’m
so excited! I also added a few days on to Berlin, so that I could explore
Berlin myself. Day’s 1 and 2 were
basically travel days. IcelandAir
actually canceled my flight, but put me on Lufthansa. I flew from Denver to Munich, Germany and
then connected to Berlin, Germany. When
I got into Berlin, I kept the first day relaxed. I ventured out and took the subway to the
Hard Rock Café, so I could get my City Pin.
I collect those from all around the world. This trip I hope to also get the Copenhagen,
Denmark; Oslo, Norway; and Helsinki, Finland City Pins.
Today,
(day two), because of the eight hour time change, I did dinner at a cute
restaurant in a garden and shopped around.
I then headed back to the hotel and called it an early night. Tomorrow, I’ll wake up early, enjoy breakfast
at my hotel, and go on a City Walking Tour of Berlin. I also plan to go to a Russian Tea House for
a Russian Tea Ceremony.
DAY 3 – Thursday, August 23, 2018
Today,
I woke up at 8:00 AM and enjoyed a nice relaxing breakfast at the hotel. I’m staying at the Westin Grand Berlin. This hotel is first class! I’m surprised my
travel agent got me such a great deal! It’s nice to have a hotel, because the
rest of the trip, while on Contiki, I’ll be in hostels. Following breakfast, I joined up with my City
Walking Tour of Berlin. We saw
everything!
Berlin
Cathedral (German: Berliner Dom) is the short name for the Evangelical Supreme
Parish and Collegiate Church in Berlin, Germany. The current building was finished in 1905,
and is a major work of historicist architecture of “Kaiserzeit.”
Neue
Wache – Central Memorial of the Victims of War and Tyranny – The Neue Wache
(New Guardhouse) was built in 1818, on behalf of the Prussian King, Frederick
William III, according to a design by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. From 1818 to 1918, the Royal Palace guards
were located here. In 1931, the Prussian
Government had the guardhouse redesigned.
Heinrich Tessenow created a “memorial to those who fell in the world of
war.” In the center of the room,
designed to invite reflection, stood a block of granite with a silver wreath of
oak leaves. Shortly before the end of
the Second World War the Neue Wache was severely damaged by bombs. In 1960, it was restored to serve the GDR as
a “Memorial to the Victims of Fascism and Militarism.” In 1969, an eternal
flame was lit in the middle of the room; the mortal remains of an unknown
soldier and an unknown concentration camp prisoner were laid to rest
there. They are surrounded by earth from
the battlefields of the Second World War and from Concentration Camps. Since 1993, the Neue Wache has served as the
“Central Memorial of the Federal Republic of Germany.” The interior design from the time of the
Weimar Republic was largely restored. An
enlarged replica of the structure by Kathe Kollwitz, known as “Mother with her
Dead Son,” stands in the center of the memorial. It was made by hand by Harald Haacke.
Berlin
Wall, (German: Berliner Mauer) – This was a guarded concrete barrier that
physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Constructed by the German Democratic Republic
(GDR, East Germany), starting on August 13, 1961. The wall cut off (by land) West Berlin from
virtually all of surrounding East Germany and East Berlin until government
officials opened it on November 9, 1989.
The demolition officially began on June 13, 1990, and was finished by
1992. I was 4-years-old in 1992! That
was so interesting to see! How shocking history is! Germany is filled with so
much history…most of it quite upsetting.
I couldn’t imagine going to work in East Berlin one day, and losing my
job due to the wall going up the next. I
can’t imagine going to West Berlin to see a friend, and being stuck there for
years, because I can’t get home due to a wall! It really hasn’t been that long
since the wall has been gone! Only, 26 years! WOW!
Check
Point Charlie – (Also known as Checkpoint C), was the name given by the Western
Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and
West Berlin during the Cold War (1947-1991). Soviet and American tanks briefly faced each
other at this location during the Berlin Crisis in 1991. That was the last major politico-military
European incident of the Cold War about the occupational status of the German
Capital City, Berlin, and the post-world war II Germany. Checkpoint Charlie is the 3rd
checkpoint. There’s also Checkpoint
Bravo (or Checkpoint B) and Checkpoint Alpha (or Checkpoint A).
The
Jewish Memorial (or The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe) – Also known
as, the Holocaust Memorial; this memorial in Berlin is for the Jewish victims
of the Holocaust and was designed by architect Peter Eisenman and engineer Buro
Happold. It consists of a 4.7-acre site
covered with 2,711 concrete slabs, arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping
field. The slabs vary in height, and
they are organized in rows.
Brandenburg
Gate (German: Brandenburger Tor) – This is an 18th Century
neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian King Frederick
William III after the (temporarily) successful restoration of order during the
early Batavian Revolution. One of the
best-known landmarks of Germany, it was built on the site of a former city gate
that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg an der
Havel, which used to be capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Throughout history and its existence, it was
often the site of major historical events and is today considered not only a
symbol of the tumultuous history of Europe and Germany, but also of European
unity and peace.
What
a tour! It was fantastic! Following the tour, I went on to explore the
city. I went to Tadshikische Teestube, a
Russian Tea House and had Russian Tea.
It was beautiful inside. From
there I went back to the Berlin Cathedral and climbed to the top of the dome to
see the beautiful views of the city. I
then went to dinner at an Italian Restaurant called, Sagrantino. Maybe it was the fact that I didn’t really
eat since breakfast…but this place was so good! I shopped around some and found
some cool clothes, as well as, a pair of earrings. It was a busy day. Tomorrow is another early start. I’m just so excited, it’s hard to sleep!
DAY 4 – Friday, August 24, 2018
I’m
at the hostel! I’m with Contiki! OMG! Tonight, I explored around East Berlin
and I saw the Berlin Wall that has all the art work on it! It’s pretty cool,
and the wall goes on forever and ever! Following
that I had dinner by myself at an Asian Fusion restaurant called, “Umami
Indochinese Asian Fusion.” It was so
good! I also had a nice glass of wine…or two.
The way I think of it is I’m on vacation. I’ve skipped lunch the last 3 days! So, I’ll do
nice dinners. This evening was nice and
low key. The day itself was busy!
Today,
I did a Holocaust Memorial Tour. I went
to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp, in Oranienburg. It was a Nazi Concentration Camp primarily
used to house political prisoners from 1936 to the end of the Third Reich in
May 1945. After World War II, when
Oranienburg was in the Soviet Occupation Zone, the structure was used as an
NKVD special camp until 1950. NKVD is a
camp used by the Soviet occupying forces to detain political prisoners. This camp also had Nazi functionaries held
there. By 1948, Sachsenhausen, was
renamed Special Camp No. 1, which became the largest of three special camps in
the Soviet Occupation Zone. The camp
grounds and remaining buildings are now open to the public as a museum.
It
was a very moving experience. I enjoyed
it a lot, and I also learned other things that I did not know! I learned that
prisoners were only allowed to use the restrooms and sinks/baths in the
mornings and evenings after roll call, occasionally during the midday
break. Whenever they were permitted to,
they would only have a few minutes.
Sick, weakened, or older inmates, who might have fallen down in the
rush, were trampled by others and remained on the floor covered in excrements. Anytime, anywhere – including the lavatories
– the SS staged regular acts of torment.
Prisoners, who were unable to work, had to stand, without moving a
muscle, all day long in this unaired space.
Some inmates have actually been drowned by SS men in the water
closets. The bathrooms were just as bad
as the lavatories. At certain times, up
to 400 men would be squeezed into a barrack.
They had only 30 minutes for waking up, rations being handed out,
washing, then on to roll call.
Consequently, 8 to 10 people would be standing at only 2 basins with
only cold water springing – like a fountain – from the middle. The washrooms were another site of
terror. SS guards are known to have
drowned prisoners in the basins for washing feet.
I
also learned that one thing that started at this camp, was making fake doctor
offices and killing inmates. Prisoners
would be told that they are going for a checkup or that they need their
uniforms re-measured. So they would go
in for something that seemed normal, but when their height was measured… they
were shot in the head! There was a gap between the measuring equipment and a gap
in the wall it was against. Two SS
officers would be in another room, and would fire the gun into the head,
killing the person. If it wasn’t that
office visit…other fake scenarios were done to lead them to gas chambers. So horrific! I learned about the Holocaust a
lot in school. I really found the topic
interesting, but even today, I learned something new. I am so glad that I had the chance to
experience this. It was great to get to
pay my own respects in a way. I just… I
hope the world can change and we can all LOVE!!
Tomorrow
I’m off with Contiki to Copenhagen Denmark!!
DAY’S 5, 6, AND 7 – Saturday, August 25 to
Monday, August 27, 2018.
COPENHAGEN,
DENMARK!!!
Contiki
and I took the Ferry from Berlin to Denmark and drove into Copenhagen. The first night there we enjoyed dinner at
our hostel and went out to Stereo Bar, a local favorite. The following day was a busy one, and we all
did a lot. The day started with a city
walking tour, and then we had our own “Me Time”. Following the walking tour I went to the Church
or Our Savior. Built, I believe in 1732,
this church has a dome that you can walk to the top of the Cathedral. It’s an outdoor climb, and beautiful! The city
views of Copenhagen were stunning! Contiki actually used one of my photos that
I posted to my Instagram (a social media site where you post photos), and
shared it on their Instagram!! It was gorgeous!
More
about the Church of Our Savior – (Danish: Vor Frelsers Kirke) is a baroque
church in Copenhagen, Denmark, most famous for its helix spire with an external
winding staircase that can be climbed to the top, offering extensive views over
central Copenhagen. When Christian IV
planned Christianshavn in 1617, it was intended as an independent merchant's
town on the island of Amager and it therefore needed a church. A temporary church was inaugurated in 1639,
but construction of the present Church of Our Saviour, the design of Lambert
van Haven, did not start until 1682. The
church was inaugurated 14 years later in 1695 but important interior features
like the altar had a notoriously temporary character and the tower still had no
spire. The church got its permanent
altar in 1732, but plans for construction of the spire was not revitalized
until 1747 under the reign of Frederik V. The new architect on the project was Lauritz
de Thurah. He soon abandoned van Haven's original design in favor of his own
project that was approved by the King in 1749. Three years later the spire was finished and
the King climbed the tower at a ceremony on 28 August 1752.
Following
the church, I went to Christiania. It’s
an island, separate from Denmark and really has become an artist’s
playground. There is many artists’
selling their own art, as well as, creating it.
More
about Freetown Christiania – Also known as Christiania (Danish: Fristaden
Christiania or Staden), is an intentional community and commune of about 850 to
1,000 residents, covering 34 hectares (84 acres) in the borough of
Christianshavn in the Danish capital city of Copenhagen. It was temporarily closed to residents in
April 2011 by the Danish government, but later re-opened.
Christiania
has been a source of controversy since its creation in a squatted military area
in 1971. Its cannabis trade was
tolerated by authorities until 2004. Since then, relations between Christiania
and Danish authorities have been strained. As of 2018, cannabis trade is ongoing and
Danish police officers are in place to disallow the use or trade of other drugs
like cocaine and heroin.
The
area of Christiania consists of the former military barracks of Bådsmandsstræde
and parts of the city ramparts. The
ramparts and the borough of Christianshavn (then a separate city) were
established in 1617, by King Christian IV by reclaiming the low beaches and
islets between Copenhagen and Amager. After
the siege of Copenhagen during the Second Northern War, the ramparts were
reinforced during 1682 to 1692 under Christian V to form a complete defense
ring. The western ramparts of Copenhagen
were demolished during the 19th century, but those of Christianshavn were
allowed to remain. They are today
considered among the finest surviving 17th century defense works in the world.
Following
Christiania, I went to a popular juice chain called, “Joe & the Juice.” It
is original to Denmark, and it was pretty good! Ginger Shots should be an
everyday thing! I just need a Joe &
the Juice in Denver! Once I drank my smoothie, I dashed over to the Hard Rock
Café and got my City Pin. WOOHOO!
I
also saw the Little Mermaid Statue! It’s a bronze statue by Edvard Eriksen,
depicting a mermaid. The sculpture is
displayed on a rock by the waterside at the Langelinie promenade in Copenhagen,
Denmark. Based on the fairy tale of the
same name by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, the small and unimposing
statue is a Copenhagen icon and has been a major tourist attraction since the
unveiling in 1913. In recent decades it
has become a popular target for defacement by vandals and political activists.
The
statue was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of
Carlsberg, who had been fascinated by a ballet about the fairytale in
Copenhagen's Royal Theatre and asked the ballerina, Ellen Price, to model for
the statue. The sculptor Edvard Eriksen
created the bronze statue, which was unveiled on August 23, 1913. The statue's head was modelled after Price,
but as the ballerina did not agree to model in the nude, the sculptor's wife,
Eline Eriksen, was used for the body.
Carlsberg
Brewery – This global brewer, was founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen, the
company's headquarters is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since Jacobsen's death in 1887, the majority
owner of the company has been the Carlsberg Foundation. The company's flagship brand is Carlsberg
(named after Jacobsen's son Carl). It
also brews Tuborg, Kronenbourg, Somersby cider, Russia's best-selling beer
Baltika, Belgian Grimbergen abbey beers, and more than 500 local beers.
Tivoli
Gardens – Tivoli is an amusement park and pleasure garden in Copenhagen,
Denmark. The park opened on August 15, 1843,
and is the second-oldest operating amusement park in the world, after
Dyrehavsbakken in nearby Klampenborg, also in Denmark.
With
4.6 million visitors in 2017, Tivoli is the second-most popular seasonal
amusement park in the world after Europa-Park. Tivoli is the most-visited theme park in
Scandinavia, and the fifth most-visited theme park in Europe, only behind
Disneyland Park, Europa-Park, Walt Disney Studios Park and Efteling. In fact, it was Tivoli that inspired Walt
Disney to create Disney Land and Disney World.
Copenhagen,
Denmark has been a blast!! We did a lot in just a few days! Contiki Scandinavia is off to Oslo, Norway in
the morning with a 6 ½ hour drive!
DAY 8 – Tuesday, August 28, 2018
OSLO,
NORWAY
What
can I say? Norway is beyond beautiful!! Most of the time, I felt like I was
driving around Colorado, but then you come to one of the many fjords and your
mind is just blown by how beautiful everything is! We arrived yesterday, and
our time in Oslo stated with a city tour.
We
also stopped at the Gustav Vigeland Sculpture Park which was pretty amazing! The Vigeland Park is the world's largest
sculpture park made by a single artist, and is one of Norway's most popular
tourist attractions.
The
unique sculpture park is Gustav Vigeland's lifework with more than 200
sculptures in bronze, granite, and wrought iron. Vigeland was also in charge of the design and
architectural layout of the park. The
Vigeland Park was mainly completed between 1939 and 1949.
HISTORY: In 1919, the City Council in Oslo decided to
build a new studio for Gustav Vigeland at Frogner. The final contract, signed in February 1921,
stated that Vigeland would bequeath all his works to the City Council in return
for the right to continue using the studio until his death. It was also decided that the studio would
become a museum to house Vigeland’s works after his death, and to build an
apartment on the 2nd floor of the building.
In
1924, Vigeland moved into the apartment at Frogner where he was to lead a quiet
and uneventful life with his wife Ingerid. He was completely absorbed by his work and was
seldom seen outside the studio. In the
evenings he preferred to sit in the library drawing, reading or making
woodcuts.
Vigeland
was associated with many highly skilled craftsmen; both plaster casters, stone
masons, and smiths. The number of
craftsmen in residence varied depending on his needs. They helped build the iron armatures inside
the sculptures and roughly covered the larger sculptures with clay according to
the sketches. His assistants also carried out plaster casting and stone
masonry. The efforts of these assistants
were decisive for the realisation of the Vigeland Park.
Vigeland
lived at Frogner until his death in 1943.
His studio was reopened as a museum in 1947. At present the museum has approximately 1,600
sculptures, 420 woodcuts and 12,000 drawings, in addition to a collection of
the artist’s notebooks, several thousand letters and his large library and
collection of photographs.
Today
was a busy day. Our day started with a
stop in Oslo City Center. This hub is
surrounded by hotels, train stations, and shops. It’s also home to a tiger. This 4.5 meter bronze tiger made by Elena
Engelsen is something Norwegians are familiar with. The city’s nickname Tigerstaden (The Tiger
City) was first used by Norwegian poet Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson. His poem "Sidste Sang" from 1870
describes a fight between a horse and a tiger; the tiger representing the
dangerous city and the horse the safe countryside.
Since
then Oslo has been known as "The Tiger City", but these days it's not
necessarily meant as a negative thing. "The Tiger City" can be an
exciting and happening place rather than dangerous.
There’s
also another statue of Thor’s hammer hitting a swastika. It was sculpted to express Norway’s stance on
WWII. They were against the war and the
actions of Hitler.
From
the Oslo City Center we walked to Oslo Cathedral (Norwegian: Oslo domkirke) – formerly
Our Savior's Church (Norwegian: Vår Frelsers kirke) – is the main church for
the Church of Norway Diocese of Oslo, as well as, the parish church for
downtown Oslo. The present building
dates from 1694-1697.
The
Cathedral is also home to a small red heart.
The memorial that stands out front of the church is for those who died
in the 2011 Norway attacks. There were
two sequential lone wolf terrorist attacks by Anders Behring Breivik against
the government, the civilian population, and a Workers' Youth League (AUF)-run
summer camp. The attacks claimed a total
of 77 lives.
From
our city walking tour, we met our friends at Viking Biking! Yes, I wore a
Viking bike helmet, and biked 8 miles all around Norway!! It was a lot of
fun. We were split into two groups, and
biked to the Viking Ship Museum. We saw
two Viking Ships. The first ship had a
curly-q type bow, and it was practically intact! It was called the Oseberg
Ship. The Oseberg Ship was found in a
large burial mound at the Oseberg farm in Slagen in Vestfold County in 1903. The ship was built in western Norway around AD
820 and had been in regular use for a number of years before it served as a
grave ship for two prominent women in AD 834.
Their bodies were placed in a burial chamber in the center of the ship,
along with a rich assortment of grave goods.
The
ship is built of oak and measures 22 meters in length and 5 meters in
width. The ship was rowed, as well as,
sailed, however, wasn’t designed for long sea voyages.
The
second ship we saw there was the Gokstad Ship.
It had a missing sail, and with the remnants looked like a small cross
to me. Anyway, this ship was found in a
large burial mound on the Gokstad farm at Sandar in Vestfold County in
1880. The ship was built in AD 890 and had
been in use for some years before a local chieftain was buried in it around AD
900. His many grave gifts included beds,
boats, a tent, a sleigh, dogs, and horses.
This ship is built of oak and measures 24 meters high and 5 meters in
width. It was the largest of three
ships, with space for 32 oarsmen.
The
third ship we saw, I didn’t see a name of it.
It was just ruins, but still really neat! The Viking era is so
fascinating!
Viking
Biking continued around Oslo’s greenbelt area.
Basically it was a portion of land near the city center, that is
entirely filled with farms, trails, and wooded areas. We stopped at the beach, and saw one of the
beautiful fjords, and then made our way back to the city.
Upon
arrival, Shuchita and I decided to check out Akershus Fortress (Norwegian:
Akershus Festning) or Akershus Castle (Norwegian: Akershus slott) is a medieval
castle that was built to protect and provide a royal residence for Oslo, the
capital of Norway. The castle has also
been used as a military base, a prison and government offices. Sadly, while we were there it was closed for
renovation, but we were able to walk around the grounds. It is not known exactly when the construction
of the castle started but it is believed that it took place around the late
1290s, by King Haakon V, replacing Tønsberg as one of the two most important
Norwegian castles of the period (the other being Båhus). It was constructed in response to the
Norwegian nobleman, Earl Alv Erlingsson of Sarpsborg’s earlier attack on Oslo
that occurred in 1287. In the aftermath
of the attack, it became clear that the city’s existing defenses weren’t
effective and therefore, a stronger defensive center was needed.
The
castle is mentioned in written sources for the first time in 1300 in a letter
from King Haakon to a church in Oslo. However, the letter does not mention how
far the construction of the castle had progressed by then.
The
fortress has successfully survived all sieges, primarily by Swedish forces,
including those by forces led by Charles XII in 1716.
We
continued our day with a visit to see Oslo City Hall. The municipal building in Oslo is open to the
public, and it’s beautiful inside. The
building constructed between 1931 and 1950, is home to beautiful frescos. It’s also home to the Nobel Peace Prize
ceremony which takes place every December.
Before
dinner, Shuchita and I dashed to the National Museum of Art, Architecture, and
Design in Oslo. Its right near the Hard
Rock Café in Oslo, where I got my third city pin! We made a quick stop at the museum to see the
classic painting, “Scream” by Edvard Munch.
Painted in 1893, Munch's The Scream is an icon of modern art, the Mona
Lisa for our time. As Da Vinci evoked a Renaissance ideal of serenity and
self-control, Munch defined how we see our own age - wracked with anxiety and
uncertainty.
Essentially
The Scream is autobiographical; an expressionistic construction based on
Munch's actual experience of a scream piercing through nature while on a walk,
after his two companions, seen in the background, had left him. Fitting the
fact that the sound must have been heard at a time when his mind was in an
abnormal state, Munch renders it in a style which if pushed to extremes can
destroy human integrity.
Shuchita
and I enjoyed dinner at an Indian Restaurant, and then concluded our night with
a walk to the Oslo Opera House. It was
beautiful. We walked to the top of the
Opera House and saw beautiful Oslo at night.
We finally got back to the hostel at 10:40 PM, after probably a 13 hour
day.
DAY 9 – Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Today,
Contiki Scandinavia took us to Voss, Norway.
We departed early and made a stop at Holmenkollen Ski Museum and Ski
Jump Tower, near Oslo. This was awesome
to see! The museum expressed Ski Jumping history in Oslo, and you could even
take and elevator to the top of the Ski Jump Tower. The views of Oslo were spectacular!! I always
wondered how ski jumpers got to the top of those hills!
From
there we drove through Hardangervidda Plateau.
We made our way to Voss, Norway, with multiple photo stops along the
way. My favorite stop along the way to
Voss was at Voringsfoss. It’s like two
water falls that fall and flow into a river, in the middle of a canyon. It’s stunning!
The
night in Voss, Norway was a quiet one.
We did a Polar Plunge into a lake, just out back of our hostel, and we
all enjoyed a quiet evening relaxing.
DAY 10 – Thursday, August 30, 2018
We
had an early rise, with bags to coach by 7:00 AM! We left Voss and drove
through more beautiful Norway!! We had many photo stops of the breathtaking
fjords, mountains, and even glaciers! That’s right! One stop was at another
waterfall called, Tvindefossen. It was a
waterfall that fell down the side of a mountain. It was so neat, because we all got up close
and personal with it! We had lunch at Boyabreen Glacier, and marveled at the
majestic blue of the jaw dropping glacier!
Passing through more fjords, we ended our driving day in Hellesylt. A number of us (including me) did a second
Polar Plunge!! This time into the Hellesylt Fjord!! There was a diving tower at
the end of a dock, and we all jumped off of it into the fjord waters!! It was
amazing!! Now I can say I did a polar plunge into Loch Ness in Scotland and
into a fjord in Norway!! What an amazing trip this is turning out to be!
DAY 11 – Friday, August 31, 2018
Today
was the day we’ve all been waiting for! A cruise on the Fjords!! We woke up
early to make our 8:00 AM cruise of the Norwegian Fjords. This cruise was just for us! It was all
Contiki Scandinavia, which felt so neat! We were able to enjoy hot chocolate,
and the unbelievable scenery! My photos can’t even capture how stunning and
breathtaking this cruise was! We started on the Hellesylt Fjord and made our
way to Norway’s iconic Geiranger Fjord!! Enjoying this journey has been amazing!
It’s nice to just “BE” in a place, and not have to buy souvenirs or gifts, just
to enjoy the moment.
Following
our cruise we embarked on our journey to Gjovik, Norway. First, we stopped at a beautiful photo area,
where you could see the Geiranger Fjord from above! We then made a lunch stop in Lom, Norway,
where we saw a 12th Century Stave Church, completely made out of
wood and enjoyed pastries from a famous bakery; Bakeriet I Lom, which literally
translates to Lom Bakery! Haha!
From
Lom, Norway, we made one last stop in Lillehammer, Norway, home of the 1994
Winter Olympics! We stopped at the
Lillehammer Bobsled Track, where each and every one of us took part in a
bobsled ride!! NO JOKE! This was one of my favorite moments of the entire trip
so far! Riding an actual bobsled, down a real bobsledding track! Let me tell
you…I wish I could bobsled every day! It was so fun!! Our stop in Gjovik was
short and sweet; really we just had dinner and enjoyed a quiet evening, because
the next day, we’d make our way to Stockholm, Sweden!
DAY’S 11 AND 12 – Saturday, September 1 to
Sunday, September 2, 2018
STOCKHOLM,
SWEDEN
I’m
back!! I was in Stockholm, Sweden in 2016, as part of my big #WorldAdventure
around Iceland, Holland, England…before I joined the Contiki Great Britain and
Ireland tour. This part of Contiki
Scandinavia was basically a repeat for me.
The day we arrived we had a Smorgasbord Feast of traditional Swedish
food, and afterward we went to an Ice Bar! It was the same exact Ice Bar that I
went with my friend Rachel Cullimore in 2016.
NO JOKE!! I turned the corner, and knew exactly where I was. It was so crazy! This time in Stockholm, I
had a more leisure visit. I went back to the ABBA Museum and I went back to the
VASA Museum. I don’t care that I had
already been to those museums; it was nice to experience it again in a
different way. At VASA, we had a guided
tour, so that was really neat! At ABBA, I was able to enjoy more of the interactive
portions of the museum. I also was able
to go back to Glama Stan (the Old Town) and walk around more. The last time I felt rushed at moments.
Glama
Stan is the Old Town, or original Stockholm.
It’s beautiful! I enjoyed walking around the small, cobble stone
streets, and getting lost in the cute shops.
This time, I also went to the Medieval Museum, where you could see the
old, old, Stockholm, where current Glama Stan sits. It sounds confusing…
The
Museum of Medieval Stockholm (Swedish: Stockholms medeltidsmuseum), centrally
located north of the Royal Palace, was constructed around old monuments
excavated in an extensive archaeological dig (dubbed Riksgropen,
"National/State Pit") in the late 1970s. Part of Stockholm's city wall, dating from the
early 16th century, was also found. In
order to make the finds accessible to the general public, a planned
subterranean garage had to give way to the Museum of Medieval Stockholm, which
was inaugurated in 1986. Museum director
Margareta Hallerdt created a visionary state-of-the-art museum, designed by
artist Kerstin Rydh, which received both national and international acclaim and
won the European Museum of the Year Award in 1986.
The
museum enables visitors to experience medieval Stockholm, with its brick houses
and booths, workshops, harbor and gallows. It relates the medieval history of the city
from the 1250s to the 1520s.
DAY’S 14 AND 15 – Monday, September 3 to Tuesday,
September 4, 2018
Following
the morning in Sweden, Contiki Scandinavia boarded a cruise ship! We took to
the Scandinavian seas and enjoyed an overnight cruise on a luxury boat and
sailed across the Baltic into Helsinki, Finland!! The night on the seas was
nice and calm, which was good! We had rooms below the water! NO WINDOWS! We
were stuffed into these small cruise ship rooms, four to a room. Luckily, I had fun roommates. We enjoyed a fun night aboard ship. We enjoyed the top deck with drinks, and took
in the views, before we went to dinner.
Our included buffet dinner came with all you can drink and eat! I
enjoyed 3 big glasses of wine that night! Oy vey! We then went to the onboard
night club for karaoke and dancing on the seas, before crashing in bed in the
early morning hours. We enjoyed a
wonderful buffet breakfast before disembarking the ship at 10:00 AM.
HELSINKI,
FINLAND
We
really only had Tuesday in Helsinki, since we all flew out or continued on
traveling the next day. As the end of
the trip draws near, the sights were still out there to see!
Once
we got off of the cruise ship, we boarded the coach, and drove around Helsinki,
Finland. We stopped at Senate Square and
saw Helsinki Cathedral. If you know the
classic Techno song, “Sandstorm,” these church steps, is where the music video
took place! I actually have a fun story about “Standstorm.” In high school, at
every single theatre cast party it was tradition to play it! We’d all RAVE to
it as we danced and laughed!! Such great times!! So, seeing the site of the
music video was actually pretty cool!
We
also saw the Government Palace, which of course houses the senate of
Finland.
From
there we went to the Sibelius Monument in Helsinki. The Sibelius Monument (Finnish: Sibelius-monumentti)
by Eila Hiltunen is dedicated to the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius
(1865–1957). The monument is located at
the Sibelius Park. The sculpture eventually
won a competition organized by the Sibelius Society following the composer's
death in 1957. The competition took two
rounds after one early winner was abandoned. Originally, it sparked a lively debate about
the merits and flaws of abstract art and although the design looked like
stylized organ pipes it was known that the composer had created little music
for organs. Hiltunen addressed her
critics by adding the face of Sibelius which sits beside the main sculpture.
It
consists of series of more than 600 hollow steel pipes welded together in a
wave-like pattern. The purpose of the
artist was to capture the essence of the music of Sibelius. A smaller version of the monument is located
at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. A work with a similar concept, also
designed by Hiltunen, is located at the grounds of the Headquarters of the
United Nations in New York City.
From
there we drove back to our hotel (that’s right! We have a hotel now), and
checked in. We actually had a hotel in
Stockholm too! We were still four to a room, but at least we had amazing
breakfasts!! Once we were all settled, we embarked on Helsinki. Everyone went to see the Church in the
Rock!! It’s beautiful!!
Temppeliaukio
Church (Finnish: Temppeliaukion kirkko) is a Lutheran church in the Töölö
neighborhood of Helsinki. The church was
designed by architects and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in
1969. Built directly into solid rock, it
is also known as the Church of the Rock and Rock Church.
From
the Church in the Rock, Shuchita and I, along with our friend Steph, wandered
around Helsinki. I found the Hard Rock
Café, where I got my fourth City Pin!! YAY!! I didn’t get the one in Stockholm,
because I found the Hard Rock in 2016.
We went to the Train Station and walked around, as well as, found our
way back to the Helsinki Cathedral. We
enjoyed lunch at the local market, and even did a 4D Flying Over Helsinki movie
ride experience. This was actually
perfect, because it showed me everything, even the sights I ran out of time to
see. It was a wonderful day! Helsinki doesn’t have as much to do as
Stockholm or Oslo, but Finland in general I’d love to visit again. Finland is home to Europe’s most forested
lands and Europe’s most land with lakes!
I’m sure outside Helsinki, Finland becomes beautiful like Norway. I’ll have to find out sometime.
The
day in Helsinki ended with a gathering at a local restaurant/bar, where we said
our, “Goodbyes."
DAY 16 – Wednesday, September 5, 2018
Goodbye,
Helsinki, Finland.
I
woke up first at 3:30 AM to say goodbye to one of my new friends, Kelly Brooks
from Tennessee. Then I woke up at 6:30
AM to say goodbye to Shuchita Mehey from Edmonton, Canada. I sat with her in the restaurant as she
enjoyed breakfast, and then I went back to bed.
I myself didn’t eat breakfast until around 9:00 AM. A bunch of us flew out in the afternoon, like
me, so I was able to enjoy breakfast with Lucie Muddell from London. I didn’t walk around Helsinki, because I
really didn’t have a lot of time. It
turned out that two Contiki friends were on my flight from Finland to Iceland,
so we made our way to the airport together.
We enjoyed our time (thanks to Kurt) in one of the airport lounges. He had “guest passes”!! We had some wine,
enjoyed a nice lunch, and it was all FREE! We were all taking IcelandAir to
Iceland where we then caught our connecting flights to Washington D.C.,
Toronto, and Denver.
It
was a great trip. I enjoyed it!! I’m so
glad I did this, and I did make some new friends! I will definitely keep in
touch with Shuchita, Steph, Kelly, and Lucie! They were all sweet girls! I’m
thankful for this experience, and I’m blessed to have been able to go. Even the radio station still paid me, even
though I didn’t really have vacation yet.
My boss was so kind, and I will never forget this #WorldAdventure!
Thank
you!!
Love,
Jennifer
