Alaska Cruise: Skagway and Yukon

We have arrived in Skagway. I affectionately call this the poor man’s port. Not that it’s all that bad per se but part of the port was damaged years ago in a landslide and it cannot safely disembark all the ships it needs to anymore. If you are one of the unlucky ships you have to travel by tender to the port, which we had to do. Honestly it wasn’t all that bad of a journey – we just weren’t getting the first class services we got at the other ports.

Today we are going to the Yukon and White Pass. We take a bus on the way to Canada and we take the scenic train ride on the way back. Once again we are blessed with amazing weather so it turns out to be a lovely day.

We have a hour or so until our tour meets so we walk into town to browse and get some coffee. It is early and not many places are open yet. It seems like it might be a little more lively in a couple hours.

Our bus ride to the Yukon goes almost in parallel to the train we will take later; we see it occasionally along the way. The view from the bus is amazing but we do stop briefly along the way for some great views.

We finally get to the Yukon, specifically Wild Adventure Yukon where we have some free time. There are animals to see or you can participate in dog sledding. Me being weird about animals used as entertainment skip the dog sledding but after spending some time watching the dogs ramp up for the sledding I realize that they really enjoy the work. When the dogs sense the sledding is about to begin they bark and jump excitedly. It was sad when one group of dogs start howling in sadness when they realize it is not their turn to go out. If I had the opportunity again I might actually try dog sledding.

We leave the Yukon on our way to the rail station to take the famous train ride. We have one last stop at Carcross where there is some shopping and an adorable general store.

We finally board the train for our scenic ride back to Skagway.

It’s been a long day so we return straight back to the ship. I try to stay up and have a little night fun but we have an early start tomorrow so it’s off to bed.

Olso and train to Flam

I have an early morning flight this morning from Alesund to Oslo to meet up with some friends for a fjord adventure. I book a flight too early – I am disappointed with myself because now I have to take a $60 cab ride to the airport because my flight time is too early for me to take the airport bus. I find myself not getting enough sleep last night and it is imperative I rest up so I have energy to hang out with my friends. Not much downtime is expected in this upcoming week.

I arrive in Oslo contemplating waiting two hours or so to meet up with my friend “A” at the airport who will be coming in on her international flight. I decide to wait and find a cafe open at arrivals. I order breakfast and take advantage of WiFi to get some planning done.

Eventually A arrives and we take the airport train into central Oslo. It takes a couple minutes longer than it should to find our hotel that is very close to the train station. It seems that google doesn’t give us the best directions in this area.

Our room is ready early so we are able to check in. We drop our bags and head out to lunch. We eat at a cool street food area called barcode. “A” enjoys a vegan burger while I try a mix of street tacos. After lunch we walk around by the water. One might consider this mild weather back home where I live but here they are experiencing a heatwave and everyone is out sunning along the piers near the water. It is Sunday and everyone seems to be enjoying the day. We admire the modern architecture and nicer cafes in the area. We still have some time to kill before our other friend arrives so we visit the Munch Museum.

The Munch Museum (Munchmuseet), named for the famous Norwegian artist Edvard Munch, has exhibits that displays his famous artworks as well as interactive exhibits about his life. I am impressed with this smaller museum. We enjoy our time here. Apparently the museum has multiple Scream paintings and they rotate them in and out from time to time.

We head back to the hotel to briefly rest until our other friend D arrives. She has an even harder time finding the hotel so we go on a rescue mission to find her. She unloads her bags and we meet up with one of her friends T; T lives locally and met D many years ago while she was on an exchange program in the USA. We walk down the popular Karl Johans Gate and have a nice Italian dinner at an outdoor cafe. We watch seagulls bang their big beaks on the plates of the non-bussed table next to us while others shoo the birds away. We have a good conservation getting to know the new friend. Being all jet lagged (me not really but I woke up too early this morning) we head back to our hotel. We are meeting up early in the morning to go on our two day tour of the fjords.

The next morning

The plan is to meet in the train station about 45 minutes before our train is to leave. We all have assigned seats but 2 of the group booked later and have individual seats elsewhere. We want to try to move all together. When we get on the train we realize this just isn’t possible because the train is very full. The first train is about 4 1/2 hours. We spend the time talking, visiting the cafeteria car and looking at some of the views. Our next train is supposed the be the best scenic train but there is still plenty to see out our windows.

The next train we have from Myrdal to Flam is the old style train where there are no assigned seats. We rush onto the train to try to get seats together. Jury is still out whether there is a good side or bad side to sit. We feel like there is a good view and you’ll feel like you are missing stuff no matter what side you sit on. The only bad thing is the train gets a little stuffy and you are not able to leave the windows open due to the train being really loud, especially in the tunnels. The breaks have to work hard on this steep train.

We do cool down at our stop at a large waterfall. We feel the water and the mist on us while we take photos. All of sudden music plays and a woman comes out to do a siren dance. It is a show of Huldra, a siren who lures men into the mountains. It is quite unexpected and entertaining.

Huldra

We eventually get to the town of Flam and check into our charming hotel. We grab a quick meal because we are all heading out to excursions this afternoon. We eat at the local brewery in town.

Two of us ride an RIB boat around the fjord. Our enthusiastic guide stops the boat frequently to point out sights along the way. It was expecting a rough ride but it ends up being calming. I am toasty and cozy in my suit that is provided to protect again cold and possible capsizing. I find the boat at times almost putting me to sleep.

At the end we stop at Undredal a town famous in real life for its brown goat cheese and in the fantasy world it is said to inspire the movie Frozen. The goats free roam along the mountains and come in at set times to get milked. A couple different common cheeses are made but one local cheese stands out because it is cooked and caramelized to make a distinct brown cheese. Many say it tastes nutty to them. I think it does taste nutty a little but still seems like a cheese to me. The only difference is the texture is vastly different from any other cheese you’ve had. We got to try these local cheeses as well as one sausage.

We head back from our cruise and our entire group meets up again. We decide another meal is in order. It seems like the places that still serve food at this time is extremely limited so we end up back at our trusty brewery. I share a hummus platter with my friend. It is very good.

Tomorrow we have our cruise. More on that later.

Norway: Beautiful Views and Long drives

After breakfast I head out early to my longest day of driving. I first have to take a ferry and then I am on my way to Trollstigen, a scenic driving road in Norway.

Some last pictures of the fjord at Ørnevegen (scenic spot) before I head on the ferry.

Lots of ferries involved in a Norway road trip

The road is already starting to get scenic before I even get to the real curvy part. We are obviously on some sort of peak. It is white and beautiful. I enjoy the scenery and take a few pictures before I move on to the Trollstigen viewpoint.

Not too far away is an observation area of the famous pass. I admire all the curves and try to get up the courage to start my journey. The land in the distance is so green and vast. It is very beautiful to see.

I start the ride down. Interestingly enough Cheap Trick’s Surrender plays while I am driving down Trollistigan. I am surrendering to the road one can say. Luckily I am in a smaller car and I am patient with the buses who need to stop frequently and take turns navigating through narrow spots. These drivers are skilled to do this all the time. I stop at the bottom and stand in line to take a photo with the troll sign that marks the journey – unfortunately I arrive at the parking lot just after a tour bus arrives so I have to wait forever patiently for my turn.

Now I am on my way to Lom and then Sognefjellet, a historic pass road. I make a pit stop to take some roadside troll pictures. I love these trolls!

Then I get my first gas station hotdog and find a real diet Coke. Apparently gas station hot dogs are a popular route for road trippers because you don’t really see many restaurants or fast food options available in this part of Norway. My hotdog isn’t impressive but keeps the hunger away for now. Also this is the first real Diet Coke I’ve seen in months (or coke light the equivalent). It seems like parts of Europe I’ve visited lately only carry regular coke or Coke Zero and I dislike Splenda and Stevia equally. When I want something other than coffee or water I’ve been splurging on regular cokes and I really don’t like consuming that much sugar on the regular.

I am starting to regret that stop for the hotdog because between that and a 30 minute road closure I miss the Lom Stave church visit by 5 minutes. I am too late to enter but smell the wood and smokey smell from the outside. It would have been cool to see the inside but this is over two hours from my hotel tonight so it won’t be feasible tomorrow.

I go in the direction of my hotel tonight taking another historic route: Sognefjellsvegen – The National Tourist Route. Beautiful vistas, snow topped mountains. I see old grave sights and cross country skiers. So many lovely vistas I have seen in one day alone.

But alas I am exhausted and happy when I get to my hotel for the night in the town of Laegrid. It is still bright as can be but after such a long day I just want to rest after a lackluster pizza. Tomorrow I am going to attempt to visit another stave church nearby plus I have a another long day of driving.

Vršič Pass and Piran

I am still in northern Slovenia. Today I pack up and drive out to the Vršič pass. Located in the northwest corner of Slovenia the pass is a switchback road through the Julian alps and Triglav National Park. It is only open for driving part of the year when the weather allows. Besides the beautiful views of the mountains I also get to enjoy an introduction to the Soča Valley. It takes about fifty hairpin turns to complete the pass.

I take the route beginning at Kranjska Gora first stopping at a rock bed along a stream that provided great views of the mountains.

As I am driving up the pass I discover how popular this pass is for cyclists. I pass by many struggling to get uphill, even some walking their bikes up the tough parts when they lose momentum. I know some people really like this but I would be miserably uncomfortable and unable to enjoy the scenery if I chose this method of traveling. I am happy biking on flat paths but give me a car for all the hard stuff.

One of the most popular stops on the pass is the Russian Chapel, a chapel dedicated to the Russians who were prisoners of WWI by the Austrians and were used build the roads. Many were killed by an avalanche while working.

I stop at a meadow with lovely views of bright green trees and the snow capped mountains in the background. This stop, Prisank mountain viewpoint, provides great views of the mountains.

I get a little closer to the mountain range and see things like the Heathen Maiden or the face in the mountain (Ajdovska Deklica).

There is livestock around to stop and look at.

I get to the top at the Vršič Pass high point or the Postman’s Lodge.

I drive down into the Soča valley blasting Sonic Youth’s Dirty Boots on the speakers inside the car.

I had wanted to stop at a dairy store near Bovec at the end of the pass – Soca Valley Dairy and Cheese Museum – but it is still closed another week or so until season starts. I pick up a bar of chocolate from the grocery store across the street instead.

Since my next stop is a couple hours away I decide to head back on the road south toward the city of Piran. Piran exists in a little slither of Slovenia that exists on the coast in a region called Istria. South of Slovenian Istria is Croatia and north of the area is Italy. The area is know for its warm temperatures, wine, and truffles.

Because I told the rental car place that I would not be crossing borders I end up taking the very long route to Piran to avoid entering into Italy. It turns out to be a nice drive where I drive through small vineyards with picturesque churches in the background….why didn’t I stop more for pictures? I also drive by the largest stone arch railroad bridge in the world. Unfortunately there is no where I can safely stop for pictures; I glance at it for a moment while I drive by.

Still many more back roads and I finally get to the town of Piran. I am told I can bring my car into the city center to drop my bags and my hotel will give me a card for a nearby parking garage. I can’t find somewhere to safely park the car except far away. I park in paid lot and carry my bag ten minutes to the hotel. If this is close parking I can’t wait to see where the satellite parking is.

I get my key card and map to the garage. I thought the hotel owner mentioned the garage I saw driving in but turns out its another garage. I eventually find the garage and I zig zag my car down four or five very narrow floors eyeing the narrow spots I pass on the way down. This is where the car is going to get banged up. I sure hope my credit card insurance is legit because I am about to test it. I find a spot where I can get close to a pole to lesson the chance of a door nick. I’ll have fun trying to get out of this tight space tomorrow. I get a few feet away from when I am not sure if I actually locked the car. Hopefully its one of those cars that auto lock because I am not going back down there right now. Google says its a 12 minute walk but it takes me more like 20 and that’s all downhill. I need to schedule 30 minutes for this walk to the car tomorrow when I leave for my outing.

I check into my room and settle a bit before exploring town. More on that later.

Hunter Mountain and Woodstock

I was invited to stay in my friend’s cabin in Hunter Mountain on the weekend that coincidentally was my birthday weekend. Her cabin was so cozy and with the snow I had a chance to try out my car’s brand new tires (birthday present to myself – our presents tend to be more practical as I get older).

View of Hunter mountain

Well stocked fridge with booze, snacks and desserts

We were hanging with musicians so our evenings were full of live music as well as lots of game time.

During the day we did a snow hike. I brought my poles but was too lazy to put on my yaktrax. I sort of regretted that decision but I survived. We had a great view of the almost frozen Kaaterskill Falls.