Tour Managers Tales

Sunset in Balestrand  We have now come to end of the tour, arrived in Bergen this afternoon, for once the weather is good, no rain forecast, but that  means nothing here .... here are some photographs from the tour ...  Geiranger Fjord Scandinavian Discovery July 12th -26th 2010  The Headless Moose Fredensborg Palace, Denmark  Singing in the rain !! Trollstig Waterfall  Boyabreen Glacier Kronborg Castle (Elsinore) Denmark Stockholm City Hall 

Sunday 25 th July Bergen, Norway About Bergen Bergen is an international town with small-town charm and atmosphere. The inhabitants love to show off their beautiful and many-sided city. They are proud of Bergen’s shipping, trading and cultural traditions. The city with its 250,000 inhabitants is like a spectacular amphitheatre clambering up the mountainsides, overlooking the sea, embracing you. You can roam through living history in this modern city, the gateway to the wildest and loveliest fjords of Norway. Tradition, initiative and drive have made Bergen one of Norway’s most vigorous cultural cities. It is not merely by chance that Norway’s biggest cultural event, the Bergen International Festival, is held here each year, or that the town was chosen to be one of the European Cities of Culture in the year 2000. The old parts of town are living history, and the museums and galleries keep both art and the ancestral heritage alive. The Hanseatic wharf Bryggen, the Fish Market, t

Saturday 24 th July Flam, Norway Spectacular natural beauty You will find the beautiful small town of Flåm nestled deep in a tributary of the world's longest and deepest fjord, the 204 kilometre long and 1308 meter deep Sognefjord. Surrounded by steep mountainsides, roaring waterfalls and deep valleys, this area is a paradise for everyone looking for a one-of-a-kind experience with nature. Modern transportation makes today's Flåm a junction that is easily accessible whether you are travelling by car, boat, train or by bus. Large cruise ships in the harbour are a daily site throughout the spring and summer months, and it is only a short walk from Flåm Port and the many fjord boats to a trip on the Flåm Railway  The name "Flåm" means "little place between steep mountains," and at the end of the 1800's many cruise ships with English and German travellers found their way here to experience Norwegian fjords, mountains and waterfalls. The ships'

Friday 23 rd July Balestrand, Norway Balestrand  is a  municipality  in the  county  of  Sogn og Fjordane ,  Norway . It is located in the  traditional district  of  Sogn . The administrative center is the village of Balestrand. The municipality is situated at the junction of the  Sognefjord  and Esefjord, the major industries are tourism and farming. Balestrand became popular early due to the interest of artists, such as  Hans Gude , Alfred Heaton Cooper,  Hans Dahl  and  Johannes Flintoe . Their paintings of the scenery around Balestrand inspired visitors, and Balestrand maintains its connection with art. Besides  tourism ,  farming  is one of the traditional sources of income. Other industries include made-to-order kitchen interiors, local apple juice, and  Nesseplast  which produces industrial  plastic . Kvikne's Hotel Built in the 19th century, the Kvikne's Hotel is one of the most famous buildings in Balestrand. The Kvikne family, who own the place, took i

Thursday 22 nd July Geiranger, Norway The Geirangerfjord The fjord landscape, with the Geiranger Fjord as its centrepiece, has been described as both unique and exceptionally beautiful. This has been confirmed by UNESCO by its inclusion on the  World Heritage List . You would have to be exceptionally blasé if you failed to be impressed by this astounding creation of Mother Nature, emphasised by the will of man to maintain a foothold on the steep mountain sides and glean a living here. Impressive  waterfalls  cast cascades of thundering water from almost vertical mountain sides among them the famous falls,  De syv søstrene (the Seven Sisters),   Friaren (the Suitor)  and  Brudesløret (the Bridal Veil) , or tease the cliffs with feather-light gossamer veils of mist whose mission seems to be to create a never-ending display of ever changing rainbows to fill you with delight and wonder. Trollstigen Mountain Road Snaking its way up steep mountain sides, passing waterfalls, edged

Wednesday 21 st July Geiranger, Norway Geiranger is spectacular, it is a beautiful setting one of the most magnificent in western Norway, the fjord hemmed in by sheer rock walls interspersed with waterfalls, ferries and cruise ships bobbing about on the blue waters below. This is very much a tourist centre and therefore all facilities are geared towards this. The Fjordland Museum is worth a visit opposite our Hotel, open late every evening. Maihaugen – Folk Museum The largest of its type anywhere in northern Europe. Incredibly, the whole collection represents the lifetime's work of one man Anders Sandvig. The Maighaugen contains around 140 relocated buildings, moved here from all over the region, including a 17 th C. presbytery, a 13 th C. stave church fro Garmo, a thick log storehouse and smokehouses, summer grazing huts and various workshops. Kvam a modest town, that witnessed some of the worst fighting of World War II. Once the Germans had occupied No

Tuesday 20 th July Lillehammer, Norway Lilliehammer - is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. The population of the town of Lillehammer is approx 21,000. The city centre is a late 19th century concentration of wooden houses, which enjoys a picturesque location overlooking the northern part of lake Mjøsa and the river Lågen, surrounded by mountains. The area has been settled since the Norwegian Iron Age. It is also mentioned as a site for council in 1390. It had a lively market by the 1800s, and obtained rights as a merchant city on 7 August 1827, at which point there were 50 registered residents within its boundaries. The town of Lillehammer was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 Mora There are signs of human activity in the surroundings of Mora dating from 4000 B.C. Th

Monday 19 th July Falun, Sweden Sigtuna Sweden’s first town, founded in the 10th century. Small-scale and pedestrian friendly, with charming wooden buildings by Lake Mälaren, less than an hour outside of Stockholm. Good selection of stores, cafés, restaurants and hotels, plus an interesting museum. The district is rich in rune stones, to fascinate history buffs. One toilet in the Tourist Office !! Uppsala Silver Bible The Silver Bible,  Codex argenteus  - which means the "Silver Book" - is Sweden's most valuable book and one of the world's most famous manuscripts. It was written in Italy at the beginning of the 6th century. The Silver Bible is despite its name not a complete Bible but the four gospels written in the Gothic language. The translation from Greek to Gothic was done in the fourth century by the Gothic Bishop Ulfilas, who also constructed the Gothic alphabet. The Silver Bible was probably copied in Ravenna in the period under the Ostrogot

Sunday 18 th July Stockholm, Sweden Drottningholm Palace - History Drottningholm Palace has been the home of The Royal Family since 1981. The name Drottningholm (literally "Queen's Island") originated in the late 16th century, when King Johan III built the first Palace on this site, for his Consort, Queen Katarina Jagellonika. The 16th century Palace was destroyed by fire on 30th December 1661. Earlier that year the Queen Dowager, Hedvig Eleonora, had bought the Palace. Nikodemus Tessin the Elder After the fire, the architect Nikodemus Tessin the Elder was commissioned by the Queen Dowager to design a new building, and in 1662 work began on the Palace, as we know it today. At the time, Hedvig Eleonora headed the Regency for the young King Karl XI. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 had made Sweden one of the most powerful states in Europe, and, according to the contemporary way of looking at things, the Queen, as head of the Government of Sweden, had