Voyage: n. a long journey involving travel by sea, by land or in space.
We met at 8:15 in the lobby of the hotel where our sister Petra guided us to our tour bus. She explained that we would be driving for about 45 minutes to her congregation in the town of Tulln a picturesque farming area along the river Danube.
It was such an enjoyable morning in the ministry and although my partner did not speak any English, we used Google translate to get acquainted. I learned that he had been baptized for 42 years.
As part of our week-long stay in Vienna for the Convention, we are able to sign up for organized tour activities with our Austrian brothers as our guides. They provided us a transportation pass that allows us to use the buses, trains and underground system. We joined a group of delegates going to tour the Schonbrunn Palace which was used as a summer retreat for the ruling Hapsburg Royal Family since the mid 1500s.
A view from the far end of the grounds back toward the palace and downtown Vienna in the distance.
Our flight from Bergen to Oslo then connecting to Vienna on Norwegian Air departed at 8 a.m. Which meant a 4:30 a.m. wake-up to load the car and drive to get to the airport by 6 a.m. The sunrise was at 4:01 a.m. so our body clocks were in sync!
Just as we left the baggage claim in Vienna airport, we were greeted by a Convention Welcome Desk. We received a special “Don’t Give Up” badge and lanyard and were directed to our bus transport to the hotel.
We were asked not to post videos or photos on social media of the actual dinner, the traditional dance and song, and other entertainment (including a very good Elvis impersonator), so we will be happy to invite you over when we get back to Arizona and show you personally!
After a long day of driving and boating this was a good day to relax a bit, take a leisurely drive and do our laundry before the departure for Vienna, Austria.
Yes that is blue cheese ice cream! It was a delicious and very memorable dinner to end our stay in Norway.
After dinner, Bev and the boys took the funicular from Bergen to the top of Mount Fløyen. There were amazing views of the city below.
It was a rainy morning in Bergen and the forecast was for continuing light rains throughout the day. We had been told to expect this so we went ahead with our plans to drive to the town of Flam which is on shore of the Sognefjord, Norway’s longest fjord at 205 km from the ocean near Bergen. At its deepest, Sognefjord plunges to more than 1,300 meters and the mountains along the fjord rise to more than 1,700 meters.
Here is a short video of the same scene.
We enjoyed getting up close to the shore and the many waterfalls along the fjord.
The village of Undredal is in a picturesque valley. It boasts a population of 63 humans and 400 goats.
We then entered the 20 km long Nærøyfjord. As the guidebook says:
“The Nærøyfjord is the narrowest and best known of the many arms of the Sognefjord. With its steep mountainsides, hanging valleys, towering peaks, snowfields, waterfalls and small hamlets, this fjord is perhaps the most outstanding natural attraction in Norway.”
The city of Bergen was founded in 1070 AD by Olav Kyrre, king of Norway. It is surrounded by mountains and is called ‘The city between the seven mountains’. It was once the capital of Norway and from 1370 to 1754, German merchants controlled Bergen’s trade as part of the Hanseatic League.
The first German merchants built stores along the wharf called The Bryggen in the 1300’s but most of these building standing were re-built after a massive fire in 1702. The narrow alleys are lined with small shops and restaurants. No, my camera is not that shaky, the buildings actually do lean quite noticeably!
When we originally planned our trip, we looked at flights from Amsterdam to Bergen, Norway. The more we read about Norway, the more interested we became in the idea of flying to Oslo then taking the train to Bergen. Some travel books list this as one of the most scenic train trips in Europe. So for $64 each we decided to take the 7 hour train from Oslo to Bergen.
Along the route, the train will go through 178 tunnels, the longest one being 3.3 miles long! Here is the view as we approach Finse. Listen for the announcement in Norwegian and English.
We then took a train to Zaan Schans a village on the outskirts of Amsterdam with a collection of 8 windmills dating back to the 1600s. We were able to enter one of them and climb to the the top.
Maybe a clog-canoe?
This was taken at 10:15 p.m. from the balcony of our apartment and you’ll notice there is still light in the sky as the sun sets.