Author Archives: bettesbatson

We arrived in Bergen on the afternoon of February 16, after having flown from Boston to Bergen through Amsterdam. Our car and driver were waiting at the exit from baggage claim. We were surprised that we did not have to go through any customs/arrival security. Had we arrived just 3 days earlier we would have had to have special paperwork for Norway and take a Covid test at the airport. Norway had suspended all Covid protocol as of the 12th. There are no mask requirements in Norway, but we wore ours as a precaution.

We stayed at the Radisson Blu on the famous Bryggen. After checking in we walked a little, but went back to the hotel when it started to rain. Dinner was in the hotel restaurant, 26 North. The food and service were excellent. Our room had a very slanted ceiling, so we had to put our suitcases there to remind us to duck.

After breakfast we walked to an ATM to get some Norwegian krona. Everyone here has told us we do not need to tip, but we wanted to have some cash for our tour guides. On the ship we will tip on our account. A taxi ride got us to the cruise terminal. We had to answer health information again and have a temperature test. Then we had to do a Covid test. It took quite a while to gather enough spit to fill our vials to the number 2. Then after passport control we signed in, and were allowed onto the ship. We went to our muster station where we got our safety briefing and then we were escorted to our stateroom. We are confined here until our Covid test comes back negative. There was a second briefing on our TV and lunch waiting for us.

We have tried unsuccessfully to sign into the ship’s WiFi. Can’t get help because we are still hostages in our room. Our bags have arrived, but we will wait to unpack until we get the green light from Viking. We are sure we are OK, but I would hate to unpack and then have to repack because we are being asked to leave.

So far the weather today has been: 9:30 walk to ATM, cold and clear, 10:45 taxi to ship snow shower, noon sunny and now at 1:30 snowing hard.

It took until 4:45 PM for us to get the OK for the Covid test we took when we boarded the ship. So now we are free. Ready to leave the room, tour the ship some and get ready for dinner. Will be an early night tonight, since we are still not on this time zone.

Welcome to Norway!

After almost 2.5 years we are venturing out on our first international trip.

There have been so many ups and downs involving this trip. Almost daily for the last 3 weeks we have gotten updates from our cruise company with information on what we need to do to travel and get on our ship. One day we need a special European digital vaccination passport and then the next we don’t. We thought we needed special paperwork to get into Norway, but yesterday when we went to fill it out online, there was a notice that as of February 12, this paperwork was no longer necessary.

This morning we got our Covid PCR test and just got back from getting the results – both of us are negative so now for certain this trip is a go.

Our ship is Viking Venus and the cruise is called In Search of the Northern Lights. Hopefully we will see them in our 12 days in Norway.

Looking forward to keeping you informed about this first adventure.

Today was another amazing day, except for the weather. There were high alerts for wind and there were 80% chances for rain. We got to sleep in a little later today since our tour did not start until 11.

The days are very short here. Sun rising around 9:15 and setting around 4:15. We had to drive from our hotel to the town of Vik, around an hour away.

We toured with David (Icelandic name too hard to say) and we were going to ice caves. We drove for about 30 minutes out to the glacier. We were off road in one of the Super Jeeps but not as fancy as the one from the day before. We put on helmets and crampons and then walked about 15 minutes to get to the mouth of the cave. We had to walk through slush, over streamlets on wooden planks and then climb on ice. There were ropes to help. The ice was amazing, with the blues of glacial ice but with lots of black lava sand too.

The walking and climbing was tricky, so the guide took Bette back to the car so the others could explore a second, more difficult cave. While Bette waited in the car the wind rose and the rain poured down.

On the way back we were treated to a roller coaster like ride over the dunes that were covered in snow. David played Highway to Hell!

We finished the tour with a ride along the black sand beach to see some rock formations in the water.

After a quick bite for lunch we were off on our own to another black sand beach with basalt columns and caves. The surf was so strong we could not get close to see much.

Our final stop for the day which was just at sunset was Skogarfoss, a huge waterfall.

We had our last dinner and went to bed hopeful.

Final tally- no Northern Lights for us.

We woke around 7:15 to our alarms ringing. We were disappointed that we had not gotten a middle of the night wake up call, but were glad to have had a good nights rest.

After breakfast we bundled ourselves up and were picked up by our guide/driver Heimir. We had a full day adventure ahead. We were in a Super Jeep and we were going off road to see the stark beauty of the southern part of Iceland. Unfortunately it was rainy and windy again, but we did get to see some amazing things. As we drive our guide told us stories and pointed out different vistas. We were near the Eyjafjallajokull volcano that caused all the travel problems in 2010. We had a great lunch at a restaurant/hotel/camping area in the National Park where we were traveling, Thormark. We did some hiking, once to a crater from after the volcano exploded, and to a cave up on the side of a hill.

We ended our day with dune buggy rides crossing streams and rivers and even having hot chocolate and donuts at a waterfall

Day two – no Northern lights.

Bob and I flew from Fort Myers to Boston with no problems. We met up with Jennifer and family at the airport to fly on to Reykjavik. We had a short 4.5 hour flight with little sleep and landed in Reykjavik around 5:30 AM.

After clearing customs, getting our luggage and having a bite to eat we went out to our rental car. It is a 7 passenger SUV but with 6 people and luggage it is a tight fit. To add to the adventure our car was the last one in the Hertz lot, it was raining gallons and the winds were 25+mph. We had to hold on to the doors so they did not slam on anyone or blow off. Bob’s favorite hat blew away and since it was black and the sun was not anywhere to be seen and the rain was wicked we had our first mishap.

Not to be deterred we left the airport around 7:30 and headed for the Blue Lagoon. Because of the weather Bette bailed and Bob had said no even before we got there. Jen and crew persevered and went in. I kid you not, there were white caps in the water. The rain was still falling and the wind was still blowing. The sun had not yet risen.

We arrived in Reykjavik!

We took the coastal road skirting Reykjavik totally. The drive was pretty. At first it was rainy, the it cleared, then we went through an area totally covered in snow and then we were back in the rain. We stopped in an area that had around 5 different waterfalls. The kids and Bob walked into a canyon type area and saw the waterfall up close.

We then went to our hotel, Hotel Ranga. There is a hot tub outside our rooms, so the Srivastava’s used it, despite the rain and wind.

We had a lovely dinner in the hotel restaurant and then it was off to rest. We turned in around 9 – it had been a very long day.

We pushed the Aurora Wake Me Up button on our phones and went to bed. If the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) appear the hotel will ring your room if you have pushed the magic button.

Night One – no northern lights.

Madrid is the last stop of our tour through Spain. We started the day with a panoramic drive through the city. Madrid has a population of about six million and is the only province that is only this city. It originated in the 9th century and was named the capital in 1561. The city was originally Muslim and the city’s name was Almadrid.

It was first ruled by the Hapsburgs and then the Bourbons. There is a variety of different architecture because of the different rulers of the city. Spain became a democracy in 1977 after being a Fascist country since 1939 under a dictator.

We had an extensive tour of the Prado Museum (no photos allowed).

After we were done Bob and I went to the Palacio Real, the Royal Palace, and toured there. Again no photos inside. It was quite elaborately decorated. The Palace has over 2,000 rooms. We saw about 30.

One of the beautiful fountains around the city

Outside the Palacio Real

Inside the courtyard of the Palace

Tonight we have our farewell dinner and tomorrow we start our long journey home.

This has been an interesting and informative trip. We are glad we did this journey.

We left Seville and traveled about 1.5 hours to the city of Córdoba. Once again there was an old city surrounded by both Arabic and medieval walls, and a modern new city. Our mission was the Mosque – Cathedral of Córdoba. The entire complex covers 6 acres. It was originally started in the 8th century. The original minaret was built in the 9th century. When the Mosque was later converted to a Christian Church the minaret was covered by a baroque tower. To get the building to a great height they used double arches. The original mosque had over 1,000 arches, but because of modifications to it when it was converted to a church there are only 850 columns. Around the year 900 Córdoba was the largest city in Europe with over 600,000 inhabitants. It was the major trade center for Spain.

There was a special event at the Cathedral, the religious floats from Córdoba and surrounding areas were on display. They had had a huge procession of the floats the prior Saturday and now were on display. They were quite ornate and interesting to see. They can weigh between 2 – 4,000 pounds and are carried on the shoulders of the church members.

The double arched building supports

One of the floats

The altar of the Cathedral

The bell tower which covers the minaret

The next part of the tour was through the Jewish quarter. Jews had been here for over 1,000 years. They served as doctors, bankers and advisors to the Sultans. Around the year 1100, they were forced to convert to Islam. They were always the minority group in Spain, to either the Muslims and later after Spain had been conquered by Christians to them. In 1492, the Jews who were in Spain were either expelled or forced to convert to Christianity.

The great Jewish doctor, philosopher, mathematician and thinker Maimonides was born in Córdoba.

Statue of Maimonides

We then went to the Córdoba train station to travel on to Madrid.

When we got to Madrid, we rushed out to the Reina Sophia Museum. This is where Picasso’s Guernica is on display. We also saw some Miro, Dali, El Greco and Goya. We could not photograph the Guernica.

Dali

Then we were off to dinner. We had wanted paella and finally tonight we had it.

Last night we had a short show of Flamenco dancing and singing. There were 2 dancers and 3 musicians who entertained us for about a half hour. Then we were off to dinner in the hotel. We had a choice of a full dinner or a tapas dinner. Since we could not get a reservation earlier than 8:30 (when in Spain…) we opted for tapas.

This morning we were taken to the entrance of the Alcazar. On the way we learned that Seville has been inhabited for over 3,000 years. It is the only inland port on the Mediterranean Sea because of the river, the Rio Grand. The river at the point of Seville is salt water. The riverside has many restaurants and there are many sporting activities.

The Alcazar is the longest used royal palace. It has influences of the Moors, Jews and Europeans. It was primarily built in the 12th and 13th century. It has a similar structure as the Alhambra, being many palaces surrounding courtyards and all the buildings surrounded by gardens.

The Golden Tower along the River

After leaving the Alcazar we walked through the old Jewish quarter. In the times of the Alcazar the advisors to the ruler were Jews. They had lived peacefully together until 1391, for over 150 years, when the first pogrom happened. The streets were narrow and winding.

We then took horse carriage rides through Maria Luisa Park. Many of the buildings from the 1929 expo are here. We ended in the Plaza of Spain. It was huge and full of people because it was Sunday.

We returned to the hotel to change some clothes. The day had warmed up. In the lobby we saw this cute little girl dressed in Flamenco clothes.

We then went to the Museum of Art and saw paintings by El Greco, Goya and Murillo.

Our last stop for the day was Seville’s Cathedral. It is the largest Gothic style building in the world. It is the third largest church in the world, behind St. Peter’s at the Vatican and St. Paul in London. Bob got to climb the bell tower. The photos do not describe the beauty or the immensity of the building.

The silver altar

The main altar

This is a beautiful city and we have enjoyed our time here. Tomorrow Córdoba and then Madrid.

Overnight there was a powerful thunder storm. When we awoke (Bob was already up) at 7, it was like there were strobe lights in our room. We were very disappointed to see the weather forecast, because we were due to tour the Alhambra, which was mostly outside walking.

By the time we had breakfast and met the group it had stopped raining. The skies were still overcast, but the thunder and lightening were gone. Our hotel, the Alhambra Palace was just outside the back gate entrance after a short walk.

We had an excellent guide, never got his name clearly.

The Alhambra is made of red bricks from the outside, but is fantastically decorated on the inside. It took 200 years to build. It was started in 1236. It is Moorish and was built to house the Sultan, his family, his concubines and those who worked in support of him. The buildings were built around courtyards with water features and gardens in their midst. The Alhambra covers 33 acres, has 35 towers and is 1.5 miles around. The originator was Mohammed I from the Nasrid Dynasty. The decorations include mosaic tile work, intricate stone work, stucco decorations and amazing wooden ceilings. The Moors were driven out of Spain in 1492. After that time the buildings were added, but in more traditional European style.

The lion fountain – 12 totally different lions

Stucco decorations and ceiling

Another courtyard

After our visit we toured the gardens and then went to lunch at a lovely restaurant. The ceiling was decorated with jugs, formally used to serve wine.

Then we were off to Seville.

Very early morning today. Up at 5:45, breakfast at 6:45 and on the bus at 7:15. We had a 30 minute ride to the airport, very new and modern. The streets of Barcelona were mainly empty except for delivery trucks. We passed the various ports before getting to the airport.

We got on our flight to Malaga the gateway to Andalusia. With no luggage to pick up we were quickly on our way to Ronda a typical Andalusian town, narrow winding streets with whitewashed houses.

We traveled from the flat coastal land, where they were growing citrus, into the more mountainous area where they grow grains and olives. The country is very committed to being energy green and there were many windmills along the way. On the ride there our tour director, Alicia, gave us some information about Spain.

Upon arriving in Ronda we had lunch in the Parador de Ronda. The restaurant was lovely and looked out on part of the gorge that surrounds the city. After lunch we met Pepe our tour guide and he led us around the old town. We saw the quaint streets and went into a traditional house. Unfortunately it started to rain and we did not walk as far as we might have. Then we went to the bull ring. It is the oldest in Spain and the largest in the size of the area where they fight. It is on their national heritage list and is only used 3 times a year.

We learned about bull fighting and how the men are trained to fight the bulls.

The town used to host many famous writers, actors and composers. Washington Irving, Ernest Hemingway, Orion Welles and John Singer Sargent all came here. The opera Carmen was composed here. Here is a link to the Sargent painting done here in Rondo.

https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/el-jaleo/PQHv7QgAV-VL6w?hl=en&ms=%7B%22x%22%3A0.5%2C%22y%22%3A0.5%2C%22z%22%3A9.55488805267977%2C%22size%22%3A%7B%22width%22%3A1.161744855967078%2C%22height%22%3A1.2374999999999996%7D%7D

When we left Ronda we traveled to Granada. We had a sumptuous dinner and now are off to sleep.

The new bridge in Ronda from 1751

On a terrace overlooking the gorge which surrounds Ronda just before the rain started

Looking out from the dining room to the terrace in a traditional Andalusian house

In the central patio of the traditional house

Overlooking the gorge and valley area

Outside the bull ring

The toreadors clothing and weapons

In the bull ring

Another statue outside the bull ring