6 August Venice

Today we stayed in Venice with two goals, to ride the Gondola and to wander the streets and alleys and to lose ourselves in the atmosphere and hustle and bustle of this unique city. There are only boats. No cars which is quite a change and all manner of shops, churches and art galleries. Here is a selection of photos that capture the essence of our experiences. There are crowds, which you wouldn’t believe but quiet places to reflect as well if you are prepared to go off the beaten track which we did. The temperature was pretty warm but OK if you rehydrate constantly. Sadly we leave this unique place tomorrow, to venture to Rome and beyond for the next part of our European experience.

5 August Venice

We awoke to a perfect sunny day for exploring. When we checked in last night we were informed we had a complimentary excursion to see glass blowing on Murano Island. We thought this was a great opportunity to see some outlying islands and to view the scenery. I can now see why Venice is the most romantic city on earth, even more so than Paris is. It is so old and gracious and we both love the atmosphere and it’s cheaper than Norway! A water taxi, a long Venetian style speedboat with inlaid wood, picked us up. It was rather lovely with just the two of us sitting in the back with the wind blowing through our hair. We watched a master glass blower make a coloured tumbler and a prancing horse, which we have, videoed for posterity. They have a magnificent gallery of glass objet de art. It was time to do some shopping and bought two pieces, which we will be receiving by post in September. (They ship it for free) They are a momento of our Europe trip rather than a whole lot of small things that just collect dust. We also were given a lot of gifts so have some extra luggage to bring home. After this we took another boat to Burano Island which is known for its handmade lace and leaning tower that makes Pisa look safe. The houses are all different colours. Our guide told us that each family used to have a particular colour but they now paint them any colour they like. This is a slight taste of the real Italy. Despite the heat we are enjoying every sight, flavour and smell. We caught a public waterbus and meandered on back to Venice to offload our spoils of the day. We then strolled through St Marks square and did a wee bit of exploring before dinner. Can’t wait to walk around Venice tomorrow.

4 August Oslo - Venice

After 2 weeks in Norway it is time to say Good bye to Chris, though this time not for too long as she has decided to spend Christmas in NZ bringing Nina and Michael with her so even though it is a bit sad, it is a case of see you soon. We were very careful with the weight of both checked and cabin baggage being right as Norwegian Air can be quite brutal if you are too heavy. As it turned out they were more concerned about our checked luggage and did not check the carry on baggage at all, so all good. NZ is the only one that has checked cabin weight. The 3 hour flight to Venice was pretty good with us landing at Marco Polo at 7.45 PM. We took the right advice and took the waterbus. It is slow and steady but pretty much dropped us outside our Hotel at 9.30. It was pretty dark by then, unlike Norway which stays light till late. Staying at the Savoia and Jolanda which overlooks the Grand Canal. Our room is lovely in true Venetian style (see photo) Will explore tomorrow.

3 August

Well it’s the big 50 for Bill today and in fine Norwegian style the New Zealand Flag was erected on the Verandah for all to see. (Compliments of the ’94 NZ Winter Olympic team). The weather is now decidedly dodgy so rain gear is packed. Today our main visit is to ‘’Vigeland’’ a park of nude sculptures all produced by the same sculptor (Vige) set in 40 acres of grounds. Just a small selection of our favourites. The angry baby is the most famous. It has been abducted a few times and the little hand is worn shiny with so many people touching him for luck. Vige’s sculptures represent the circle of life from the cradle to the grave.
That evening we celebrated Bill’s 50th in 2 parts. Chris, Nina, Michael and the two of us went to the Ekeberg, a top Oslo restaurant on the top of a hill with panoramic views of the city. The weather put a stop to the views. The food and service was fantastic. After this it was back home for coffee and Pavlova cake with friends and family who braved the bad weather, celebrate Bill’s special day and to farewell us as we embark on the next part of our European adventure. Tomorrow, goodbye Norway and hello Venice

2 August Fredrikstad-Son-Oslo

Another leisurely start with a nice Hotel breakfast with a gentle suggestion to hotel management to provide a toaster for all the English & European visitors who enjoy their toast and jam in the morning. After a lovely stay here we will put some positive feedback onto Trip Advisor when we return to NZ. The next mission was to find some goodies to contribute towards coffee with Per and Benthe at their campsite. In Norway, there are no shops open on Sunday so found what provisions we needed at a service station. With offerings in hand our next mission was to find them with the incomplete address that was given to us. After a bit of trial and error we found them. Unlike New Zealanders, Norwegians take their camping seriously and set their campsites up with not just caravans and awnings but decks, gardens, pot plants and picket fences plus gates and outdoor lights. They go all out to make this their home away from home. Families keep the same site year after year. They tend to keep the caravans at the camping ground for 3-5 months set up before removing everything except the deck and fence for the winter. Other people have cabins in many of the skiing resorts. After a while we headed off to the fortified section of Fredrikstad known as the old city. This was built to keep out the marauding Swedes.It is now a historical landmark. There are markets in the weekend and many boutique shops, galleries and cafés. After this it was back to Oslo after a quick diversion to Son, yesterday’s wedding venue.

1 August Oslo-Sandefjord-Sweden-Fredrikstad

It was a reasonably early start for our brief sojourn into Sweden. The weather is gorgeous, a perfect day for sun and travel and a great day for the wedding & am sure Chris will take loads of photos. We packed enough for an overnighter with instructions for duty free loot from Chris. Sweden has better purchasing power than Norway and many Norwegians skip over the border for cheap shopping. For us it is 4 Norwegian Kroner to our $. In Sweden it is 5 Swedish Kroner to our $. Norway has the same relationship with Sweden as we have with our Aussies. We decided to take the car Ferry to Sweden, which was from Sandefjord 2 hours south of Oslo. Sandefjord was in the midst of a handball tournament. Known as a whaling town it is one of the major transit points for Sweden. Our Ferry was a large ship complete with Casino, restaurants and the coveted duty free where people buy up large typically saving more than half on retail. It is a 3-hour trip across the Oslo Fjord to Sweden. Very amused with the “private” islands. A rock with some grass and a house. I guess everybody’s patch of paradise is in the eye of the beholder.
We disembarked at Stromstad in Sweden, cajoled the GPS, as it had to reboot for a different country and headed north. Decided to stop at Fredrikstad, the 6th largest city in Norway, which is also a coastal city. Very old and plan to see the fortified portion of it tomorrow. Stayed at Victoria’s a very old hotel undergoing refurbishment opposite the park and 2 minutes walk from the river. Now owned by a family they had taken it over from the previous owners a year ago who were terrible so have a lot of reputation to claw back. We were upgraded to a Balcony Room which was lovely and the cost was very reasonable and included breakfast. For an extra cost Chris’ Rav 4 is in an undercover garage. Another recommendation from our lovely owners was a delightful restaurant called Mer with lovely food and great service. Both Victoria’s and Mer have restored our faith in Norwegian service which sadly to date has been indifferent. This is less than satisfactory as eating out is double what we pay in a top restaurant in New Zealand and triple in Bergen.
Another big surprise was running into Brother in law Per, Benthe and a large group of their friends. They were off to a show so will pop into have coffee with them tomorrow at their camping ground.