Our dear friend, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, told us about her time stationed in Iceland, when they were occasionally on alert for Russian military planes flying out of Murmansk, Russia. The largest city north of the Arctic Circle, this port remains ice free year-round due to the warm North Atlantic drift ocean current…
Continue reading →Hammerfest, Norway claims to be the northernmost city in the world, although the title is disputed by the same country’s city of Honningsvag. I think the validity of the claim depends on the definition of a city, which by Norwegian law requires a population of 5,000 to achieve town status. Though Hammerfest qualifies, to most,…
Continue reading →In Norway, it is said the locals believe that “Without Trondheim, all that would be left of the history book of Norway is the cover.” My longtime, dear friend once gave me a book she thought I would enjoy about medieval history set around the Trondheim region. It has since become, arguably, my favorite novel….
Continue reading →I was back in Norway again, seeing it from the sea this time, with many more years and experiences from which to renew my impressions of the “North Road”, as it’s name translates. It was an overcast and cool morning when we arrived at our first port, the Norwegian city of Ålesund, which means “urban…
Continue reading →The airlines held us hostage. Then, they tossed us around, and threw us out in Copenhagen, exactly one day late. But when we finally arrived, a little beat up, the city was surprisingly sunny and warm…actually unseasonably hot. We were now down to just a half day to see the sights before we boarded our…
Continue reading →My travel bucket list has mostly included places that are foreign, exotic, distant, unfamiliar. Places that have names I cannot pronounce or languages I do not speak. But, curiously, in our cruising experiences, we have met fellow passengers from all over the globe, some from those very places I find so alluring, and many of…
Continue reading →I am no stranger to Minnesota, as we recently packed up the car and the dog, and headed to the north woods for a weekend family celebration. I spent a couple of weeks every summer of my childhood in the family station wagon, as we wound our way north on our annual vacation. My dad,…
Continue reading →Only one more day left on this sleepy island. Then I have to come out of my coma and wake up to real life. Sanibel has a way of sucking you into a fantasy world where no one hurries to be anywhere or do anything, or even have a schedule at all. You can sleep…
Continue reading →On Sanibel, it’s easy to do just nothing. But, if you tire of that, it has plenty else to offer. Considered one of the best shelling spots in North America, Sanibel attracts shell-lovers from all over the world. The unique east-west orientation of the island creates beautiful sandy beaches and an abundance of unusual shells….
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