#409 GPS Happy Ending

Sadly, Geography Awareness Week is over. But we all know geography matters all year round, so let's not wait until next year to enjoy this GPS story from Kathy.

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"Hey there! So, the other day, me, Mark, and Tiffany found ourselves looking for something to do on a Sunday in Norway. We decided to drive south from Oslo to Fredrikstad and check things out. On Sunday night we were driving back up to Kongsberg where we have been working. The "lady in the box" (GPS!) was bravely barking out directions as Tiffany drove us north toward Oslo, so we could then head west to Kongsberg after getting around the bay (Oslofjord). The GPS turned us off of the freeway, westward, which seemed a little confusing at the time, because we were well short of Oslo. As it became clear we were headed toward water, I figured we must be coming up on a bridge. We drove closer to the water, but couldn't see very well in the dark & the big line of cars waiting ahead of us. We passed through a toll booth & were surprised at how expensive it was. When we saw the cars stopped again, we then rationalized it was a toll bridge. Of course, in retrospect, that would have had to be the longest toll bridge ever. I don't know who spotted it first, but we (eventually!!) discovered that we were in a line for a ferry. We were completely boxed in with other cars waiting when we started wondering where the ferry was going. After a short wait, we drove on to the boat with everyone else. When we were en route, we got out & mingled around on the upper deck with everyone else. I found a map on the wall, stopped a woman walking by, and asked her if she could please show me where this ferry was going. If she was surprised, she didn't let on -- apparently, she gets stopped every day by random strangers on ferry in the middle of a bay wondering where the boat is taking them!!! I reported back to Mark & Tiffany, and we all agreed it was a beautiful night for a boat ride & that we completely lucked out on catching a ferry to a place we actually wanted to go. :>) Life is good."

Yours in loving a GPS story with a happy ending,
Kelly

#313 Library visits in NO, RU, DK

Our SAS library tour continues. So far, we've enjoyed some terrific libraries and we've had a couple of disappointments. I could not schedule a tour for either the National Library of Russia in Saint Petersburg or the Royal Library in Copenhagen, aka The Black Diamond. The librarians at each institution proved to be - dare I say it? - less than helpful. So, sadly, I missed out on my secret-librarian-handshake-required, behind-the-scenes tour of each. We snapped these photos of The Black Diamond as we walked around on our regular, non-password-protected, self-guided tour.

It looks like the Danish Museum of Art and Design has a cool library too. I didn't know about this one until the day we arrived and unfortunately, the library was closed on the day of our visit. (I peeked through the door to snap this photo.)

Other libraries have excelled in helpfulness along the way - particularly the Bergen Public Library in Norway,...

the University of Bergen library...

and the small public library in Korsor, Denmark where our ship has been docked the last 4 days. When I introduced myself to a librarian in Korsor, she made sure to compliment the students who had visited - saying they were polite, respectful, and very appreciative of the free internet access!

Yours in library review,
Mary

#302 A City of Pianos

Bergen is a city of pianos!

Maybe it's because Bergen was home to composer Edvard Grieg. (I still remember trying to learn Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King during my piano lesson days.)

We enjoyed a piano/cello concert in the Troldsalen concert hall adjacent to Grieg's home featuring the music of Tellefsen, Chopin, and - you guessed it - Grieg.

We enjoyed an outdoor piano concert on the streets of Bergen in Torgalmenningen Square.

Even the Bergen public library is sporting a baby grand.

So as we sail away from Bergen, we are happy to have the three MV Explorer pianos on board. It's almost like taking a bit of Bergen with us.

Yours still a little bit in the hall of the mountain king,
Mary

#301 The Beauty of Norway

Norway is beautiful.

We traveled 100 miles northeast of Bergen by bus, ferry, and train to experience the Norwegian countryside and the fjords first-hand. We were overwhelmed.

Here is some of Norway's beauty through the bus window...

Here is some of Norway's beauty from the ferry...

Here is some of Norway's beauty from the train...

Our traveling companions included Virginia, Mary, and Liz. For a better account of our day and an introduction to Norway, see Mary's UVA blog.

Yours in appreciating the beautiful country that is Norway and the 20 hours of daylight available for viewing,
Mary

#300 Sister Ships Reunited in Norway

It's a little known part of the Semester At Sea family history, but our ship, the MV Explorer, has a twin sister, the Voyager.

Built in the same German shipyard over a two-year span, the girls were uniquely designed and nearly identical at birth.

The Voyager

The Explorer

The girls have been apart for a few years, but we spied the Voyager docked in Norway's largest fjord at Flam not far from the Explorer back in Bergen.

Sis has a new white paint job and now carries passengers for a Spanish cruise line.

But those of you familiar with the Explorer may be amazed when you browse through these Voyager photos. You'll see the remarkable resemblance of twins separated at birth.

Yours in arranging this virtual family reunion,
Kelly