Home Sweet Home??????

Hi all
Well here we are 2 months down the track from our holiday and back into the grind of work (have been back since December 9th). I thought we had better officially wind up the blogsite now we're home and settled...not!!! We are both pining for overseas...especially somewhere cold!!!(we are both having bad hot flushes and the very hot 38-40 degree temperatures at the moment are not helping!!!)
We had the best time while we were away and met the most wonderful people....hopefully we will stay in touch with most of you...and one day we may meet again! Take care all of you and thank you for making our experiences memorable.
Love to you all
Jill and Lyn

Norway Photos

Hopefully these will come out this time!

Home at last!

Well...we have been home 4 days now....what a trip!!! The last flights were long...but we had a day stop over in Singapore so we managed to get a few hours sleep (had a day room) then did a bit of sightseeing in the centre of Singapore ..mainly Orchard Road then flew out at midnight for home. I'm still a bit 'malaised'..haven't quite recovered from my Bergen ill health so between that and the jet lag ...and all the extra hours of daylight after only 4-6 hours a day in Norway...my body is seriously out of whack!!! Lyn of course has been up at 4 each morning and off to the cricket by 5 am...she's nuts!!! I did go today but what a boring day...watching paint dry would have been more fun!!!
We`have included some photos of Norway, some while on the cruise of different ports of call, beautiful sunrises and sunsets...if you can call them that as the sun really only tracks across the horizon from left to right for a few hours each day..so sunrise and sunset really blend into each other. Oh...and another of our 'headwear' shots, especially for Christine. (will add the photos in another entry as this blog is playing up)
A shot or 2 of Bergen concludes the photographic travelogue and we hope you have enjoyed sharing our travels with us. It's been fantastic to be able to journal our travels on the web and include family and friends, both old and new, in our adventures. One day we will travel again, but for now being home feels pretty good!!...not having to go back to work mind you!
We`have met so many wonderful people who made our travels very special, so thank you...without you we would certainly not had nearly as much fun!!!
Goodbye for now....until next time!
Cheers Jill and Lyn

Bergen Norway

Hi all
Jill here...I have recovered from my malaise...thanks to Lyn's nursing skills (she made me say that!)...shittiest time I've had for a while!!! And today Lyn had me walking for miles and miles...6 hours....and I'm about done in. We went up the Furnicular (and I'm not swearing)...a electric tram car that goes straight up the mountain overlooking Bergen. When we got to the top it started to pour with rain (what's new for Bergen?) so we were forced to shelter in the little souvenir shop for a bit. And lo and behold....we bumped into some friends of friends from Adelaide....for those in the know it was Lorraine and Jude who are living here for a year. Lyn didnt believe me when I said I thought I recognised the women standing at the counter (we have not met anyone from outside Norway here yet let alone anyone from Adelaide) so I skirted around them until I heard one of them say something and then I was in like Flynn! They were showing a woman around who had just arrived from Darwin so we had a drink together and will probably catch up with them tomorrow night for dinner. Great to speak more than a few words of English (other than with Lyn) with some friendly faces. Afterwards we strolled around Bergen through a very beautiful section called the Bryggen...fascinating very old buildings. We also went to their equivalent of our christmas earth fair. The weather was very kind to us with even a few blue skies peeking out every now and then...but did have the odd shower or 2. Lyn is busy making waffles (courtesy of the hotel) which are smelling delicious (anything free keeps us happy!!!). On Tuesday we will be on our way home....not really looking forward to the flights and the stopover in Singapore (17 hours...yuk...but we do have a day room). We will try to bring some of the rain with us (not enough to delay our flights though)...but you can't have it until after the Test Match is over!!!
Oh by the way Christine...we have an even better photo than that of the plaits and Mickey Mouse ears...but we won't be able to publish it until we get home....but trust me....it will be a goodie!!!!

Bergen, Norway

Hi Everyone - only Lyn today - Jill is in bed sick - something she ate! I am finding that hard to believe as we can hardly afford to eat here - did think of phoning the Red Cross to see if they would send an emergency food parcel for us! That would have to be better than 9 dollars for a cheese burger at Macca's!
At least this is a very nice hotel room to be sick in - more like a suite than a room! I, of course, have done a survival run for her to the store this morning to see if I could get something that she can keep down or in! (I know you are all surpried that I could be so thoughtful!!!) Did manage to find a small carton of Apple Juice & a small bottle of Sportaide drink for 50 Kroner - that is about 10 dollars!
Jill did make me promise that I wouldn't give any details of her demise on the blogsite though!!!! Silly her!!!!!
Bergen is living up to it's reputation - rain & more rain - we wish we could send some of it home to you! Of course this wet weather is no problem to two intrepid, well prepared traveller's like us - we look an absolute treat in our outdoor gear - have to add this to my view of fashion sense - along with anything sporting, or anything that goes with RM boots, I can now add wet weather & snow gear (Madeleine - we will have to compare gear when we get home!!) Think I will have to continue to wear my travel clothes when I get home & go back to work so that I can continue the holiday feeling!!! Should be an excellent look for Adelaide in the summer! I feel sure the other members at Adelaide Oval will love the look (not sure that it will pass the acceptable clothing standard set for there though!)
I must away, back to my 'nursing' duties!
Cheers for now

Jill this time!

Hi all
I'll put my 2 cents worth in now!! ...and Christine...thanks for satisfying my curiosity about anonymous!!...might see you on Saturday the 2nd at Applepiecers.
The cruise was lovely from a scenery perspective but a bit lonely from the lack of hospitality of the crew and the dourness of fellow travellers...they didnt speak, smile or be freindly in any way...very different from the Alaskan cruise. Will be interested to find out if this is a cultural aspect of scandanavian life but it made for a rather insular time for us. However, the fiords were spectacular, especially the 'ghost' fiord (cant for the life of me remember its proper name and I dont have my diary with me)...we went through it at twilight and it was just magic....reminded me of the film The Never Ending Story. Very ghostly but beautiful at the same time. Unfortunately we didnt get a view of the Northern Lights so will have to rely on our short sighting of them in Alaska. I spent a lot of time on the deck...mostly in the cold!!!...to take photos....have some great shots (I think so anyway!). It was quite eerie seeing the sun in the south ...on the horizon...moving from left to right along the horizon....you didnt know when sunrise finished and sunset started...very different from my sister Kathy and her partner Nic's experience in the Antarctic...for those who dont know they were on a ship in the Antarctic while we were in a ship in the Arctic!! The coastal towns and villages are very pretty....but oh so remote some of them....winter must be a challenging time for them.
The weather was actually really good most of the time...especially for this time of year...we only started to get rain last night and today....but now we are in Bergen...well you know what they say....if its not raining in Bergen wait 5 minutes!!!...and the forcast is for showers today, tomorrow, Sunday and Monday!!!....but never fear the intrepid travellers dont leta bit of rain stop them from exploring everywhere...thats what they make snowshoes and wet weather pants for!!
Well we are tired and I'm going to have a long hot soak in the tub then watch some TV and then sleep in a bed that doesnt sway!!

Bergen, Norway and Lyn didnt get seasick!

Hi Everyone -well, here we are in Bergen after 5 glorious days sailing down the coast of Norway. We flew up to Alta last Sunday & then took a bus to Hammerfest on the coast - the northern most town in the world! Stayed overnight in Hammerfest & then on to the ship (coastal steamer actually) - the Polarlys, for the trip. All was going well from a seasick perspective until this morning at 10am - I (Lyn) have managed to keep my breakfast down, but only just, with the help of tablets & wrist bands. We had high seas & strong winds for a couple of hours(yipee - not!!!!) so I was 'sailing very close to the wind'. The rest of the cruise was fairly smooth sailing & the scenery was magic. For the first 3 days we were above the Arctic Circle - for those of you who can't cast your mind back to high school, that is 66.30 degrees latitude, so we did not actually have the sun come up over the horizon - it was like twilight all day & then very dark by 2pm. It was very eerie not seeing the sun at all - had brilliant dawn & sunset colours all day nearly without seeing the sun. Then yesterday as we sailed further south, it was lighter for longer & we did have the sun for a few hours just above the horizon & it did not get dark until a little after 3pm.
Today it was so overcast & wet, it was hard to tell what was happening (not that I looked much given the state of my health!)
Bergen is simply gorgeous & the hotel is very ritzy - nice way to finish the cruise. We are here until next Tuesday morning & then we fly home.
Free internet again in this lovely hotel.
Must away, cheers for now....
Lyn & Jill

Norway again!!..don't you just love this free internet?

Well here we are again after yet another beautiful sunset at about 3.30PM!!!! And this computer has allowed me to upload photos from my camera...we certainly have had our money's worth out of this hotel in free internet alone...will be a shame to have to leave it!!! So....attached photos...Jill in her gorgeous wet weather gear next to a ferocious tiger (accounts for the look on my face...no really that was my 'hurry up Lyn and take the darn photo!!' look. A sunset view over the Oslo fiord at 3.30. The Ski Tower just outside of Oslo which we visited yesterday (described in the last blog entry). And last but not least...we took the free bus to IKEA after the sun set...Lyn just had to go...but mind you neither of us has been to the Adelaide store!!...and guess what...we got a sample of FREE expresso coffee made right there on their demo machine...AND free cinnamon rolls and biscuits...what a find...worth going there for that alone...and the coffee was the best I have ever had (take that Pauline!!!)...and loaded up the pockets for later!!!(it IS expensive to buy your own food in Norway after all!!). Then caught the free bus back to the hotel...stops right outside...very convenient! We did do some touristy stuff today...visited the Viking Museum and saw 1000 year old relics of 3 ships plus goods and chattels. Then went to the Resistance Museum and learnt all about Norway's involvement in WW2...great displays and fascinating stories.
We should be packing right now for our flight tomorrow so will finish off...maybe the last until we get home...but who knows!!!
Cheers to you all. Lyn and Jill

Reminder

Don't forget...too see a bigger image just double click on it (although you may not want to see us any larger!!!) Cheers

Couldn't resist!!!

Us again...see what something free in Norway does to a girl!!...more photos. They are a reminesence of our time in Disneyland. See what big ears I grew so quickly!...someone in a tea cup who took great delight in making someone else very motion sick as she spun the wheel round and round (you can control your own speed as well as it turning by remote..double the fun..not!!!). My favorite pooh character...Tigger and two loyal fans. And last but not least...a re-enactment of the movie...Waterworld...the fire scenes were spectacular...a good one for the burns unit staff....could feel the heat from where we were sitting...they even set someone alight who then fell from the tower....I did tell them I was off duty and wouldn't be available for any first aid!!!
So..that's it...time to call it a night...

This is what happens when it gets dark early in Norway!

Photos!!!! Jill in all her regalia at the Quilt Festival with mandatory tote bag (of course Lyn wouldn't be seen dead with one..but after all you DO have to be a registrant to get one..they don't just give them to anyone!). Next 2 are of quilts at the exhibition and the last one is of Toronto harbour the day the tourist info people said to go on a ferry across to the islands!!...which islands did I hear you say?...the ones about 500 metres behind the ferry in the photo of course!! But it did give a very eerie feeling to the waterfront which was quite special. That's all folks as Lyn has had more than enough of the Christmas carols playing in the background of the business centre...bah humbug Jill says!!!!

Norway on a budget..doesn't happen!

Hi all
As you can see, the pictures are NOT of Norway. We decided to show a few from our miscellaneous CD. They show Lyn rafting her way down a river near Banff, Canada..she says piloting but the rest of us were praying for salvation!!! The second one shows the house we bought in Prince Edward Island....we plan to go there every year or so, renovate and move there when we retire. (only joking but we are tempted given their very cheap property prices)...however, after today I dont think Lyn's knees, ankles, and every other joint will tolerate the cold weather!. Today was a reasonably sunny but cold day in Oslo, we made the most of the included breakfast (porked out actually!) then took the T to the ski tower where they held the olympics...we climbed to the very top and looked down from where they start the ski jump...but by the time I walked down millions of steps to the bottom of it (lyn just stayed at the top and laughed at me trying to struggle my way up)...I decided that going down it would be far preferable to going up! Then back on the T (like an electric tram/train) to the Viseland Park, a sculpter garden with more than 200 ssculptures of people showing the full range of human emotions...very very impressive..all done by the same man..you will have to wait til we get home to see the photos..wont be getting any memory cards done here...way to expensive. Speaking of expensive...look at these prices...we knew Norway was expensive but never like this...1 roll of lifesavers $3.80, a pepperoni pizza $38.00 for a medium one, $5.00 for a small bottle of coke, $7.70 for a 200gm bag of potato chips! Lyn and I leave the restaurant after our included breakfast with a bulging backpack of food items!!! and dont buy anything for the rest of the day. Water never tasted so good but we did have to buy a bottle of coke to use the empty bottle,,, they discarded our empty bottle we had brought with us from Canada at Heathrow (not sure what they thought we were going to do with it!)
It gets dark at 4pm so by 5pm you think its bedtime!!..and not much on the telly that we can understand. But they do have free internet at this hotel so we cant complain. Well, will sign out for now, might download a few pics from another CD. Tomorrow we will tour the viking museum and the waterfront, and whatever else takes our fancy, then Sunday off on the next stage.
Cheers