Buzz’s comments on his bus tour of
Sweden and Norway with Gate 1 June 2022
Since this was my first hosted bus tour, I
did not know exactly what to expect.
Gate 1 organized my flights in and out of Newark on SAS.
June 9, Thursday I flew premium economy and
IMHO the increased price was worth it based upon discusses I had with
others. My outbound flight was non-stop
and pleasant. My trip was original
scheduled to leave on Tuesday but due to low subscription for that departure
date, Gate 1 requested that I depart two days later at no additional cost,
which I accepted. In retrospect, I
should have requested that they keep my outbound flight on Tuesday and added
the additional two hotels days (at my expense) to make it easier to adjust to
the time change. Actual the change of
dates turned out to be good since Stockholm had a street fair starting on the
date of our arrival to celebrate the last day of school and the start of summer.
June 10, Friday Upon arrival there was
transportation arranged for travel from the airport to the hotel for a
two-night stay. It is a long ride and
would have been an expensive taxi ride.
The hotel, Haymarket by Scandic, was
pleasant. Gate 1 arrange for our early
check since we arrived on an early morning flight arrival. The room was a
little smaller than I would like but it was attractively furnished and
comfortable with only a couple minor annoyances- no clock and no in-room
coffee. The hotel was located in the heart of the shopping district with many
restaurants nearby. The street fair had a major presence in the square in front
of the hotel. Our tour manager,
Sebastian, met us on arrival and gathered the entire group of 16 in the evening
for an introduction, a glass of champagne, and then an included dinner at Press
Club restaurant about a five-minute walk from the hotel. The restaurant was comfortable and offered us
no selection. The meal was cream of asparagus
soup, lamb and crème Brule. A glass of
wine or beer was included. I enjoyed the
house Merlo.
June 11, Saturday. Breakfast was
included at the hotel and was an excellent buffet. We were on a full sized bus so there was
plenty of room to stretch out. The next day, Saturday, escorted time consisted
of guide narrated tour by an excellent local guide, Joel, of the city hall, old
town, and candy cane making. City Hall
contains the famous Blue Hall and glistening Gold Hall where the Nobel Banquet
and Ball is held each year. Joel guided us on a walk through the narrow
streets of the medieval Old Town reveals rows of 17th and 18th century
storybook buildings, 700-year-old Storkyrkan
Cathedral, the Nobel Museum and historic Stortorget
Square. Candy canes are a Swedish invention and we learned about there history and alternatives. I was not expecting much at
the candy cane making time, but I really enjoyed it making candy canes for my
children and grandchildren. Lunch and
dinner were not part of the tour. I
found a cheese kiosk in the street fair and purchased local
cheese for lunch and enjoyed a local Mexican restaurant for dinner.
June 12, Sunday. Breakfast was
included at the hotel and was an excellent buffet. Our luggage was picked up
at our room at 8:30 and the bus departed at 9:00. The street fair in the
square in fron of the hotel was replaced by a flea
market. Joel guided us through
the Vasa museum home of the restored royal warship that set off on a maiden
voyage and sank to the bottom of the sea.
It was very interesting especially for me since I had done lots of volunteer
work doing underwater archeology. We
stopped for an un-hosted lunch at a Dinner Restaurant, a local off the highway
chain where the food was not very good, although there were really not any
alternatives in that section of the road at lunch-time. Next, we ventured to Anundshög
Rune Stone & Ancient Burial Mound. Where an excellent local guide, Anna,
explained how the ice age altered the local area and how the area evolved from
the stone age, through the bronze age and then into the iron age. We then had a few hour drive to get to our
hotel, Clarion Collection Hotel Drott, Karlstad for a
one-night stay. It was halfway to Oslo.
During the drive, Sebastian explained many aspects of Swedish history and
culture. Karlstad was the largest city
in the area and about as far as we could reasonable go before dinner. Our
luggage was delivered to our rooms quickly. The hotel was pretty basic
lacking any decoration, a safe, a refrigerator or a clock. Dinner was part of the tour at the hotel and
was an adequate buffet consisting of Cream of Asparagus and Celery soup,
chicken legs, a few salad options and potatoes
.A glass of wine or beer was included.
June 13, Monday. Breakfast was included at
the hotel and was a good buffet. Our
luggage was picked up at our room at 7:30 and the bus
departed at 8:00 to complete the remainder of the drive to Oslo. During the
drive, Sebastian explained many aspects of Swedish history and culture. After we crossed into Norway, Sebastian started
his explanation of Norwegian history and culture. After arriving in Oslo, we had an unescorted
visit to the Munch Museum, the world's largest museum dedicated to one single
artist, Edvard Munch.
I ate lunch at a burger place just down the street from the museum. We checked in at the Bristol Hotel for a
two-night stay located in the older section of the city. Very pleasant nicely decorated spacious room.
Luggage was delivered in about 15 minutes. Dinner at the hotel was very good consisting
of a great salad, beef, potatoes and a lemon tart all attractively
presented. Al glass of wine selected
from the wine list was included.
June 14, Tuesday. Breakfast was included at the hotel and was
an excellent buffet. We boarded the bus
at 9:30 with Stine as a local tour guide who explained the sites as we drove
through downtown Oslo including the National Theater, the 19th century Royal
Palace the main square with its ornate City Hall. There were two cruise ships
in town (one very large) so the venues were a bit crowded. visited the unique Vigeland Sculpture Park with its astonishing 212 stark
life-size granite and bronze sculptures by Gustav Vigeland.
Viewed the huge monolith column, adorned in relief with 121 human figures
carved from a single block of granite. Next Stine gave us a detailed
explanation of the Vigeland Sculpture Park with its
astonishing 212 stark life-size granite and bronze sculptures by Gustav Vigeland including the huge monolith column, adorned in
relief with 121 human figures carved from a single block of granite. Next Stine
took us to the Fram Museum, dedicated to Norwegian
polar exploration where she explained all the attempts to be the first one to
get to the North and South Poles. We toured the strongest wooden ship ever
built, the polar ship Fram, one of Norway's national
treasures and learned how the crew managed to survive under the harshest
conditions. We were returned to the hotel at 12:30 for
an independent afternoon. I went for a
large late lunch at the old fortress and then went to the Resistance Museum in
the old fortress. At 5:30, we walked to
a specially arranged private visit at the renowned Nobel Peace Center that
celebrates the lives and achievements of winners of the Nobel Peace Prize
accented by compelling digital displays.
After that visit, I ate a light supper at the food trucks parked just
outside before returning to the hotel.
June 15, Wednesday. Breakfast was included at the hotel and was
an excellent buffet. Our luggage was picked up at our
room at 8:30 and the bus departed at 9:00.
Our first stop was in Lillehammer to have lunch. I ate at a burger place. We then re-boarded the bus to go to see the
ski jump built for the 1994 Olympics.
Unfortunately, the chair lift was not open to the public so we rode the
bus to the top. Next, we re-boarded the bus to explore the expansive Maihaugen
Open Air Museum, a charming living history museum arranged as a small
village. The first 45 minutes of our 2
hour stay was guided by Uda who explained the history
of three sites.. We viewed the collection of more than
180 buildings including a transplanted Stave Church (dating back to the 1100s),
traditional Gudbrandsdalen homes (dating back to the
mid-1700s), a school house (dating back to 1860)
crafts shops, a postal museum and 27 farm buildings. We checked in at the Clarion Collection Hotel
Hammer for a one-night stay. Luggage was delivered in
about 15 minutes. The room was basic
without a safe, refrigerator, in-room coffee or an electrical outlet on the
desk. Dinner was very good and hosted by Gate 1 at Lillehammer Brewery's beer
cellar, dating back to 1855 about a 5-minute walk from the hotel. We sampled five types of beer. Dinner was a plate of local cheese and meats,
deer steak and a molten chocolate lava cake and ice cream desert.
June 16, Thursday. Breakfast was included at the hotel and was a
good buffet. Out first rainy day. Our luggage was picked up
at our room at 7:30 and the bus departed at 8:00 to on the thrilling Trollstigen Mountain Road on the way to Geiranger. On that route, we viewed the dramatic fjords
and towering mountain vistas and Sabastian continued to talk about Norwegian
history, industry and culture. Tucked into the mountains with its eleven
hair-raising hairpin bends, the road snakes its way along the steep. We stopped
for a hosted lunch at the base of the Troll road (normally at the top but the
visitor cent was damaged by an avalanche). Lunch was very good consisting of
salmon, salad, potatoes and a Norwegian waffle for desert. We climbed to the top of the Troll road for a
picture stop before continuing through the Norwegian countryside. At the
village of Linge, we boarded a ferry
and cross the Norddalsfjorden to the village of Eidsdal
and continued to the town of Geiranger at the head of the UNESCO-protected Geirangerfjor. We checked
in at the Hotel Union for a two-night stay.
Luggage was delivered in about 20 minutes. The room was spacious and pleasantly
decorated. An excellent buffet dinner was hosted at the hotel.
June 17, Friday. Breakfast was included at the hotel and was a
very good buffet. We boarded the bus at 8:30 to drive to the Dalsnibba
Pass and returned to the hotel. We had
perfect weather with excellent visibility to view the breathtaking scenery
overlooked by this mountain peak. We
re-boarded the bus to return to the harbor area to board a cruise touring the Geirangerfjord. The boat ventured up the fjord to view the
amazing waterfalls known as the Seven Sisters, the Suitor, and the Bridal Veil.
We re-boarded the bus to return to the hotel.
The afternoon was available for independent exploring. I went to the UNESCO visitor’s center a short
walk from the hotel. An excellent buffet
dinner was hosted at the hotel.
June 18, Saturday. Breakfast was included at the hotel and was a
very good buffet. Our luggage was picked up at our room at 7:30
and the bus departed at 8:30 to depart Geiranger and
headed to the fascinating hands-on Norwegian Glacier Museum with a coffee break
stop in Stryn and a couple of picture stops. During
the dive to the museum, we passed through several tunnels and Sabastian
explained the metrics, protocols and safety procedures for tunnel travel. He also gave us any explanation of the
culture history and music of the Scandinavian indigenous people. We stopped for
an un-hosted lunch in Skei. The cafeteria in town only offered a limited
supply of sandwiches because they had reserved all the hot food for 100 patrons
from arriving cruise ship. I walked
across the street to a grocery store and got some lunchmeat and sweet potato
chips. The museum exhibits describe the
formation and destruction of glaciers, their movements and crevasses. We took a ferry ride from Mannheller
to Fondes. We
checked in at the Fretheim Hotel for a one-night
stay. The room was spacious and attractive decorated but did not have a safe or
refrigerator. Luggage was
delivered in about 15 minutes. An
exceptional good buffet dinner was hosted at the hotel
that included local specialities.
Sabastian lead a group to drink un-hosted at local bar after dinner.
June 19, Sunday. Breakfast was included at the hotel and was a
very good buffet. We were enrouage to buy lunch at a local grocery or bakery
before the train. Our luggage was picked
up at our room at 9:00 and the bus was loaded at 9:30 when we walked to the
train station. We boarded the Flam
Mountain Railway, a masterpiece of Norwegian engineering, for a train ride into
Norway's high glacial regions. We viewed pastures; waterfalls and snow-clad
peaks, all nestled beautifully into the surrounding mountainside. We ascended
to 3,000 feet within 12 miles for one of the most splendid panoramas in Norway.
After arriving in Myrdal, we changed trains and continue to the village of
Voss. The afternoon's drive through the Norwegian countryside was punctuated by a stop at a local farm for conversation,
coffee and cake. Then, we continued to picturesque Bergen. We checked in at the
Clarion Hotel Admiral for a two-night stay. The hotel was located right on the
water near lots of restaurants and shopping.
The room was small but nicely decorated lacking a safe and a phone. Dinner was unhosted.
June 20, Monday. Breakfast was included at
the hotel and was a very good buffet. We boarded the bus at 8:00 for a tour
guided by Giedre.
Two cruise ships were docked in town including
the Queen Mary 2. After a bus trip
exploring the main section of the city, we strolled through Bryggen,
the city's old Hanseatic wharf district known for its
busy harbor and gabled traditional wooden buildings. It was founded during the
days of the Hanseatic League, it is now a UNESCO World
Heritage Site. After a walk through the popular fish market, we were treated to a tasting of three types of prepared salmon.
We then took a ride on the Floibanen Funicular
Railway for a beautiful overview of the city. The afternoon was free for
independent activities. The farewell
dinner was hosted at a local restaurant, Brygge Loftet. The meal was excellent consisting of fish
soup, halibut and a local specialty desert. One glass of wine, beer or soft
drink was included.
June 21, Tuesday, My airport transfer was too
early for breakfast at the hotel. I was transferred to the airport to catch my flights home
changing planes in Oslo.
There are a couple aspects of Swedish culture
that we should consider adapting at home:
·
Most public restrooms are open for all to
use, separating users in individual stalls sort of like in an airplane. Most had common hand washing facilities. This approach avoids any gender identity
issues that many places with gender specific restrooms areas create.
·
Many Swedish businesses do not accept
cash. This avoided the process of
finding a compatible ATM and obtaining local currency.
As a replacement for luxury cruise lines, the
tour did not have the dining quality or entertainment options. The frequent unpacking and packing was a bit
annoying. It was like being on an
extended excursion without the organization issues that a cruise excursion
has. Since tips were not included for
the tour manager and bus driver, it required me to carry more cash that I like
to. All the hotels (were 3-5 stars in my
opinion) had great locations and free WiFi with good
bandwidth and seemed to be the best available for the cities. The bus driver was excellent maneuvering the
narrow city streets, the windy sharp turns and parking in small spaces. The tour manager was great filling time
during the long bus rides with interesting information and he professionally
handled the several challenges that occurred during the trip.
Click
here to see my pictures from the trip.
To return to my non-SCUBA
Vacations page click here