Stopover in Oslo

It was a lovely arrival into the city of Oslo. We travelled up the fjiord very early in the morning so it was a picture perfect morning to stand out on our balcony and watch the myriad  of islands with their colourful fishing villages and holiday houses perching on the edge of the cliffs pass by.
This is the prettiest harbour we have visited thus far, lots of low  forested hills, fishing boats and pleasure craft plying back and forth. Always exciting coming into a new place that you have read about and formed impressions of a small, proud Nordic country with majestic scenery and a people who lived sustainably with generous social security for its peoples.  In recent times it has been generous in its acceptence of refugees from Europe.

The waterfront

We berthed right in the city area. We can see the new Opera House on the water front with its distinctive roof line to represent an iceberg, the ski jump on the hill overlooking the town an the old fortress where our walk starts from. The city has strong environmental policies about building in the city and the preservation of its harbour and skyline so new builds are often dug into the hill and a large area is underground so the height can be kept within the height restrictions. There were several innovative designs nearby and the harbour had been redesigned to be a recreation area with walkways and special seating areas, performance spaces and green areas. Historic ships were berthed here too.

Best of all we are berthed beside the Akershus fortress, an impressive building which guards the city. The city burned down in 1624 and the king rebuilt the city under the walls of the fort. Franklin D. Roosevelt has his statue here too.
The Akershus Castle and Fortress (1299) is 700 years old and it has a rich history of warfare between the Swedes and more recently the Germans in WW11.

 The day is overcast, cloudy and at 7.00am a little cool but the forecast promises twenty degrees later in the day, our warmest day to date. It turned out to be a stunning day, summery and calm, just what we needed. We had a great day in Oslo, no doubt helped by the warm temperatures  but it was a very accessible city.

After breakfast we joined our walking tour around the city. If we had known we were berthed so close to everything we may not have taken a tour but we would have missed much of the interesting details provided by our guide.

The Palace

It was a three hour tour which took us to the Palace, the Houses of Parliament, Ibsteins  Museum and former home, the Town Hall and the National Theatre.  Ibsteins' words were etched into the pavemants we walked around and it was obvious he was a favourite son of the city.

We went to the Nobel Peace Museum, built here in 2005 in honour of Alfred Nobel and the Peace Prize Laureates, we visited the galleries featuring  past and present winners of the awards honoured in an impressive display. I saw Barack Obamas award and Mother Teresa's citation amongst many others displayed in the Wall Papers and the Nobel Chamber.
The current winner is the Columbian President, Juan Manual Santos who has averted civil war in his country and he is rebuilding the country from its dependency on the cocaine harvest and he has dedicated the award to the victems of the civil war that has lasted more than fifty years. We also saw a compelling display on the lives of Syrian refugees  told through their eyes and detailing their stories of loss of their homeland and their culture. A very moving testimony to a human tragedy.

Nobel Peace Centre 

The city is attractive, lots of trees and outdoor spaces, play areas for children and clean! The transport is clean and green too and recycling initiatives are very visable.

Our guide told us a lot about their lives here. It is expensive to live  in Norway,taxes are high but people love their country and their welfare support for people  so they often have two jobs, they shop over the border in Sweden, and education is free. An enviable society.

After the tour we went back for lunch on the ship, changed into lighter clothes and set off to find the National Gallery where we hoped to see the Edmund Munch Exhibition featuring, 'The Scream, Madonna, and The Sick Child', among other notable displays of Nordic artists work.

We had luck on our side as it was a Thursday and entry fees were waived. We did not have any krona so we were trying to work out how to change our money but it was free so in we went.
We spent time looking at various exhibitions of Norwegian artists and also some of the great Impressionists-  Monet, Gaugain,Cezanne, Van Dyck, Reubans etc. The gem was the Munch Room with a number of his originals displayed there.
Too soon it was back to the ship and a chill out. I had planned a swim but on going up to the pool area I found it was all set for the 'Sailing Away' party. A peculiar British custom where everyone sits around the pool waving British flags and singing patriotic songs as the ship sets sail. Not keen to display my white body in front of the crowd I fled for the safety of the cabin and a read in the sun  on the deck instead. I finished my Anita Shreve book-The Stars  are Fire. A good read.
That night we went to a great concert in the main theatre featuring the Strictly Come Dancing Team.

Southampton,the start of our Adventures at Sea

The day had arrived. The cruise was imminent. Lou escorted me to the Archway tube station so I could connect to Waterloo Station where I was meeting Beryl and Brad for lunch before we set off by train to Southampton for the big adventure.......

It is evident from our first walk in Southampton that we were in an old maritime city. Brass plaques on the high street testify to the  rich history  played out here. From the Pilgrim Fathers  who departed here in in the 16th Century to the Titanic in the 19th Century, along with the wars and  navel battles history had  attributed to this town. 

The maritime history is celebrated in the museums but also in the buildings and monuments, anchors and installations found along our walk down to the wharf to see where we would depart from. How many women would have farewelled their men over the centuries? No such sorrow for us!

We had left London after a lovely lunch and catch up with Beryl. We met up at  at Waterloo Station and walked along the South Bank looking for a lunch spot The sun was out so we made the most of it and sat outside at the Wharf restaurant on Gabriels Wharf. There is something a little exotic to catch up with friends who normally meet on the other side of the world!

 Dreadful news later that night about the terroist attack at the Borough Market and London Bridge, not far from our lunch spot.

Brad and I caught the  2.35  train from Waterloo to Southampton where we enjoyed some  entertainment from fellow travellers. One local enquired of some Japanaese with very large suitcases if they were moving house!!. A rather large man attempted to catch our attention but eventually he moved off to be replaced by a couple of women who insisted Brad remove her suitcase because she could not ride backwards on a train. Brad had her case on the seat next to her so a few black looks!!!

We got a taxi to the hotel and found we were staying in a hotel used by Jane Austen for her 21st birthday bash! 

One of the rooms had a label on the door as the Jane Austen Suite. The hotel was old but comfortable, quirky might describe it best and it had a malfunctioning lift which is not helpful when you are three floors up.

We took a walk down to the dock area to see where our ship would be berthed. We saw the QE11 come in and what a business to berth her.
Our day finished with a nice Italian meal near to the hotel.
Sunday dawned. Cool and crisp so I was grateful for my puffer vest as we shopped around for breakfast at a local bakery before exploring the historic area around the hotel. We walked along the old walls  and saw buildings which had escaped  damage from the bombings  during WW 11, plus a gorgeous old pub with hanging baskets bursting with colour. I am always envious of their skill with plantings a variety of colour and great shapes.

Later we collected our cases from the hotel and we made our way down to the cruise ship terminal where our ship loomed high on the skyline. It looked impressive the closer we got. 
Our suitcases,  resplendent with their new locking devices, were swallowed up into the chute while we waited several hours in the terminal area for our boarding call.  Soon we were on our way down the gangplank and inside our floating hotel. Enormous on first sight and all a bit confusing but we will find our way no doubt with in a short time.Our cabin is lovely. On the 12th deck and forward of the ship. The holiday begins......

Exploring Lively lisbon

We were delighted with our apartment in Lisbon,very close to the transport needed,as well as the scenic areas of Cais de Sodre. We were in Alecrim Street which was a link to the waterfront area and the old suburb where the 28 tram left from. We were in the pink light area too with the road below us painted pink and home to a number of late night strip shows.Thank goodness for our triple glazing. Our landlady explained this was to keep us quiet from the late night antics.

Catching a' Hop on Hop off Bus' is the first step towards orientation of a new city so we were out and about early to make good use of our time today.There were several possible routes to choose from so we fitted in two of them which enabled us to see much of the scenic highlights of the city.
We also managed to fit in a visit to the nearby produce market  for fruit and breakfast stuff before hopping on the bus  as we were up early and we decided to check out the local produce on offer. It is a very big market and all under a big roof so easy to access rain or shine. Els recommended the 'Time Out' market adjacent for Tartare beef dish to die for! needless to  say we sampled it before we left. Delicious indeed.

This was our second trip because I wanted to see the Monument to The Discoveries up close as well as the Torre de Belem and the Monastery of St Jeronimos out in the Belem district. It was a coolish day, overcast with a strong wind so my jersey came in handy. We were expecting warmer weather but hopefully it is due to warm up over the next few days.

Belem is in a coastal area and marks the meeting the meeting of the Targus  river and the ocean so this area features lighthouses and promenades which allow for attractive walking spaces. The harbour has lots of yachts sailing in the blustery conditions, bigger racing yachts sailing upwards against the wind towards the suspension bridge. The area also boasted a spa, an up market art gallery,marinas,parking and food stalls.

There was an art installation of hearts on the walkway. It was created in the word LOVE to raise money for children with congenital  heart defects in Mozambique. You purchased a metal lock and attached it to the sculpture  it was an interesting place to wander about in and people watch from the walkway.
. We walked along to see the Tower of Belem which once stood on an island in the harbour and guarded the entranceway to the harbour. The queue was so long to get into the tower so we just observed the crowds and walked along to the Military museum which was not built when Brad was last in the city but it was an impressive memorial guarded by sailors in military dress. The monument celebrated 100 years of services by their service men and women.

The Monument to the Discoveries was erected in honour of Henry the Navigator in 1960 and marked five hundred years  since Henry the Navigator  explored and discovered new lands and territories for King John, his father and King of Portugal.
It is a stunning limestone memorial  standing on the bank of the river and depicting the epic event with family, palace courtiers, monks and King John farewelling  him on his epic voyage. It is a really eye catching memorial made in stone with carvings and symbols of importance. Each of the stone figures represents a real person present at the sailing. Around the monument is an eye catching mosaic design gifted by the South Africans called a Compass Rose and laid out the voyage,compass points etc.
Brad had been here before so she decided not to climb up the tower but people watch instead.
 I decided to go up to the top of the tower as I could see people on the top level so I bought my ticket but found you went up by a lift so not too strenuous after all. What a great view of the coastline. The bridge  to the south bank  which was for a long time the longest suspension bridge in the world spans a a large stretch of water plus, the Tower also overlooked the pleasure gardens in front of the monastery with a view back over the  city towards the hills.

The city has many maritime heroes and their conquests made them a leading global maritime nation in past centuries. The theme continued as we crossed the road bridge to see the Monastery  of Jeronimoes, a Manuelian style construction and huge! It is now a place of several museums. Some parts were open to visit but the queues were immense so we decided not to go into inside as we have seen several other monasteries while with Victor in Sintra.
 I did venture into the Church/chapel where  I saw the sarcophagus of Vasco de Gama and the poet who described his epic voyage in verse.

We also wanted to  visit the shop which was home to the Portugueses custard tart but the bus had passed it by before we realised and our opportunity was lost. Need to return for this delicacy. We were ready for a break, some lunch and a timeout slot at our apartment.
After the afternoon break we had a great trip exploring the old town of Alfama,an old Moorish quarter full of steep,cobbled streets and markets.