"God Dag" from Norway.
It was a beautiful, warm sunny day when the ship docked in southern Norway.
The 'capital' of this area is Kristiansand, a pleasant town of 70,000, making it
the fifth largest town in Norway, and situated at the mouth of the River Otra.
Kristiansand is a thriving port and tourism is expanding as the city has become
a popular Summer resort.
Exploring on foot was easy as distances were not great.
Walking from the dock we passed the colorful fish market,
shops and restaurants.
The waterside was lively, boating obviously very popular and we were told most
citizens owned a boat of some type.
Beautiful swan families along the riverbanks………..
Charming architecture and local ladies………..
….and this surprise, a McDonald's in an elegant historic building.
That's definitely taking fast food to another level!
The time here went by much too fast and soon it was time to return to the ship for
our sail back to home port, Southampton.
Queen Victoria set a south westerly course passing over 'Jutland Bank', famous
from the naval battle of WWII. Later that evening, after transiting the North Sea,
she joined south west bound traffic lanes to once more pass through the
Dover Straits in the late evening, en route for an early morning arrival in England.
Crossing the North Sea.
Hard to get back to real life after two weeks of being spoiled, and visiting
many beautiful places in and around the Baltic. However, with some time ahead
in my real home, England, before heading back to the States, I was ready to disembark
and sally forth knowing there were family and friends to see, and new places to visit.
So, next travel story will be about time spent in Bath - hope you will come
back to share the wonderful visit to an amazing historic city.
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