Geiranger Fjord

Cross the bridge in Hellesylt and on your right stands the formerly somewhat majestic Grand Hotel with its Sherlock Holmes Pub. Just beyond the hotel lies the ferry landing where you board for the 65 minute-sail of the Geirangerfjord to Geiranger.

From the Grand Hotel, one can look back to the bridge with the cascading waterfall and local church of Hellesylt. Hellesylt lies on the Storfjord, set half way between Stranda (on the way north towards Aalesund) and Stryn (on the way south to Sogn and Bergen).

The ticket takers on the ferry find a moment of respite dockside before cars and passengers begin to board.

On the way in to Geiranger, the ferry passes the Seven Sisters waterfall in early September when little water is actually flowing to form the seven veils.

The ferry finally reaches the small village of Geiranger. First visited by cruise ships in 1869, the Geiranger fjord and its environs were placed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2005.

The Fjord Country

The fjord country of western Norway is rich in tradition and beautiful to see. Hardanger fjord is best known for its fruit production, its spectacular scenery and its folk traditions. The Hardanger bunad and the eight-stringed Hardanger violin have become synonymous with Norway itself.

At Gudvangen, at the end of the Nærøyfjord, where pagan religious rituals are believed to have taken place in the Viking Age, the memory of the place is reinforced by the modern imagined representation of a Viking warrior.

The forests, mountains, lakes and rivers of western Norway serve to delight tourists while they employ the nymphs and spirits of the Norwegian folkloristic and mythological traditions. At Kjosfossen in the Flåm valley, such creatures are seen regularly by those traveling the Flåm railroad up and down between Myrdal and Flåm. Sometimes they wear green, sometimes they wear red.

And, if you are not battling with the spirits, you might find yourself in the middle of a National Romantic landscape that reminds you of the portrait of I. C. Dahl, Stalheim, a realistic rendering of Jordalsnuten in the breathtaking Nærøy valley.

Traveling west in Norway

An overnight trip of Smithsonian Journeys travelers from Copenhagen on a DFDS ferry brought us to a rainy Oslo at 9:30 am. The slow moving mass of passengers wove its way down and around the the gangway into the mid-morning rain of Norway's capital. Find the suitcases. Get them stashed on the bus and head west. A solemn quiet envelopes the bus as we pass Utøya and remember the terrible events of July 22. Fresh flowers cover the large stone at the edge of the water. Each to their own thoughts, unshared, but understood, and the bus continues west through Hallingdal. A stop in Gol to stretch the legs, buy a paper and take a picture, before continuing on to Hardanger.

The majestic waterfall, Vøringsfossen, drops over 300 meters to the canyon below.

Then on to Ullensvang Hotel in Lofthus. In his day, Edvard Grieg listened to the music of Norway's nature here. Perhaps the echoes can still be heard.

Ullensvang Hotel in Hardanger

Scandinavian Sojourn Begins in Copenhagen

The Scandinavian Sojourn tour sponsored by Smithsonian Journeys begins with a visit to Copenhagen's fabulous Tivoli Gardens. Initially established in 1843, it served as the inspiration for Walt Disney's imaginative Disneyland parks and continues to charm thousands of visitors to Denmark's capital city.

Cruising the Baltic Sea, June 2011

University of Washington Alumni Tour, June 9 - 20, 2011.















A cruise of the Baltic Sea on Le Boreal is a pleasure for the senses. A visual and cultural smörgåsbord from the moment one steps aboard. Relatively small by cruise standards, Le Boreal's capacity is 250 passengers. French officers, and an international staff, we left Stockholm navigating the Baltic in a clockwise direction.

Helsinki/Helsingfors


Blue skies and a bustling harbor greeted us as we slowly made our way into Helsinki harbor. Numerous small boats criss-crossed the harbor as we approached the dock. Several large cruise ships were already in port when we tied up at the Olympic Terminal across the harbor from the huge Lutheran Cathedral that dominates the skyline of Helsinki. Tour buses wait to pick up the visitors for a city tour, but one could choose to walk to the inner harbor and the market square instead. A cool refreshment at Kappeli's Cafe with music blaring from a huge stage in the middle of the Esplanade park. Large crowds testify to the Finnish holiday weekend. Just another beautiful summer day in Helsinki.






An early evening departure and overnight sail to St. Petersburg is on the schedule. Sailing out of the harbor, we pass the island of Suomenliina and the fortress built by the Swedes when Sweden was a major European power. The ship turns east in the Gulf of Finland, heading for the city of Peter the Great.

St Petersburg

Founded in 1703 and built on the swampy delta of the River Neva, St. Petersburg was Tsar Peter the Great's "window to the west." After seventy years as Leningrad during the Soviet period, the city is once again St. Petersburg. Along the banks of the Neva, the Hermitage with its five palaces, including the famous "Winter Palace" of the Romanoff dynasty, today serve as museums containing the remarkable art collection that includes works by DaVinci, Rembrandt, David, Van Gogh, Rodin, Picasso, among others.




One of the city's iconic buildings is The Church on Spilled Blood, built on the spot where the reformistTsar Alexander II was assassinated in 1881.






Hall Leiren on tour in St. Petersburg
(left)







Don and Alita Rhodes enjoying lunch in St. Petersburg (right)

Changing Tides of History

The summer of 2011 presents a special opportunity for travelers to cruise the Baltic Sea and to meet and interact with two important living historical personalities. Included around port calls to, and tours of, Stockholm, Helsinki, St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Riga, Gdansk, and Copenhagen before disembarking in Bergen, are visits with former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and former Polish President and leader of the Solidarity Trade Union, Lech Walesa. Beginning with a flight to Stockholm, Sweden, we board the French ship Le Boreal, circumnavigate the Baltic, then return home from Bergen, Norway. http://www.washington.edu/alumni/tours/tour-info.html?tourid=187