The next morning, after the buffet breakfast (we came to learn that hotel rooms come with breakfast and it is always served buffet style) we were met by another driver and driven to the Volvo factory on the outskirts of the city. It is a large complex with over 5,000 employees (from 65 different countries) covering an area that is 4 times the size of the country of Monaco (located between France and Italy on the Mediterranean).

We were shown into the Delivery Center and met with a representative who reviewed the paperwork completed in the USA and then excused herself, went outside and drove our new car into the delivery area


After a quick look at it (it had 22 miles on the odometer!) we were transported to the employee dining center for a buffet lunch (along with about 16 other jetlagged Americans who were also picking up a new car). After luncheon we were loaded onto a people-conveyor and driven through the Volvo factory with a guide providing commentary. There were lots of parts, chassis and robots moving around. It was quite interesting and the facility was remarkably clean.


Then back to the Delivery Center and a final check out of the car, after which we drove back to the Göthenburg SAS Radisson, parked the car in its garage. We spent the afternoon strolling one of the main avenues and the canal in front of the hotel, and walking through a large park. There were people participating in a "Happy Hour" in the bars and many people sitting on the grass alongside one of the canals. We ended up at a Greek restaurant that did not have an English menu and we ordered the only two things we thought we could understand: "moussaka" and "souvlaki."

We then spent the next two days sightseeing,

 wandering the narrow streets of the city.


Göthenburg is Sweden's second largest city (Stockholm being the largers) and one of the country's major seaports. We walked its streets and rode the Tram (one of our favorite exercises in a city is to randomly choose a bus, tram or subway and ride it, getting off to explore the area; as long as we remember which number bus/tram/subway we took out we can easily get back to where we began the journey.

We took a tram to the ferry port of Saltomen located at the end of the peninsula which forms the opening of Göthenborg harbor where we wandered looking at the marina, the expansive harbor with the wind-driven power generating windmills, and the 17th century fortress of Elysburg built on a small island. Back in the city center we walked past the soccer stadium and found ourselves on one of the major shopping streets. We dined at a lovely and elegant restaurant (Cleo) where we ate outside (smoking inside!) and enjoyed a wonderful meal while watching people pass by .

The next morning we loaded up the Volvo and began our driving adventure. We drove up the coast towards Oslo, our next destination. The roads were excellent and the scenery pretty.

We had made the decision to stop at historical and cultural markers and, by doing so, found ourselves at a bronze-age re-creation in an area full of rock etchings. It turned out to be a World Heritage Site called Tanum.

Rock etchings:

Continuing northwards we passed from Sweden into Norway and drove into Oslo. We managed to find our hotel (the Vike Atrium) after a couple of loops through the city. We were delighted to find that it was situated at the waterfront shopping and restaurant area and an easy walk into the main area of the city. After a quick stroll through the waterfront admiring the statues we had dinner and to the hotel. Walking around at 10:30 at night is easy since there is plenty of daylight. It did not get dark until almost midnight.

The next morning came with gray clouds lying low over the city and harbor. We decided to use the day to visit several museums. Walking over to the harbor ferries we boarded one and rode across the harbor towards what we thought was an island with the Viking and Kon Tikki Museums. Wrong! It was the wrong ferry, but we had a nice ride in the rain. Returning to the downtown harbor area we found the correct boat and traveled, again, across the harbor. By this time the rain had stopped and the clouds were lifting. We spent an nice afternoon in the two museums.

Kon Tiki Museum:  (celebrating Tor Hyerdahl's adventures):
"Ra" (sailed from S. America to N. America)
"Kon Tiki" (sailed from Africa to S. America)

Viking Museum: (viking ships found in burial mounds)

( <-- we particularly liked this sculpture located in the harbor)

The next day was Constitution Day in Norway. It is also called Children's Day, a time when the entire country celebrates its children as well as having become a Constitutional Monarchy. We had planned this trip to be in Oslo on this date, May 17th, thanks to an acquaintance who is Norwegian who informed us about the celebration. The plan, we were told, was that the children gather at the harbor in front of the City Hall and then march up a long, broad avenue, swing around in front of the King's Palace and continue back to the waterfront on an adjacent street. After our Continental breakfast we walked over to the upper section to the parade route at about 8:30 in the morning
and found people just beginning to gather and the vendors getting ready.

Around 9 am the parade began, haphazardly by our standards. Nothing came by for a bit before a group of folk dancers came. We had found a terrific spot to be since they stopped by us and performed their routine. Than more waiting before a marching band with a close-order-drill team of the Palace Guard. It was well done and, at the end, they lay their rifles on the ground and each soldier went over to the spectators and asked a woman to dance. Then they bowed, picked up their rifles and marched on.

Again, another space of quiet with a few people walking up the road

and then... children! They were organized by schools and filled the street from curb to curb and as far as one could see up and down the avenue. We estimate that 30,000 children came by over the four hours the parade lasted- all ages, sizes shapes and abilities were fully integrated into the celebration, with Norwegian flags waving everywhere.

We left the parade route and found a pub where we enjoyed a smorgasbord lunch,after which we wandered to the fort overlooking the harbor and explored the Norwegian WWII Resistance Museum.

We then rode a tram to Frogner Park to see the Vigland sculptures. Vigland was a Norwegian sculptor who convinced the government to provide him with a home, studio and stipend and, in return, he devoted his working life to creating sculptures that are displayed throughout the park and around Oslo.

The next morning we began our exploration of southern Norway by driving south along the coast to Kristiansand.

We need to fill the car's gas tank and, although we knew that petrol was expensive in Europe, still was shocked to pay about $6.30 per gallon - a $75 full-up!

Kristiansand was the 14th century capital of Norway and a charming city. We stayed in a hotel right by the waterfront and walked, enjoying the harbor and the statues.

Driving north up the Stetesdal Valley was a wonderful eyeful of old Norway.

Houses with grass roofs, tiered storage houses on pillars, a 35 mile long lake, waterfalls, a rushing river and granite crags everywhere. The valley slowly gained altitude as we drove away from the coast until we were driving through snowfields.

At the top of the valley we turned west and followed the road towards the Hardanger Fjord. We drove through fields of snow, long tunnels through the mountains (one was 11 miles long! Several were quite long and sloped downwards). The road twisted and turned, often with only a foot-high guard on the downhill side, and had steep grades between 6% through 12%. Spectacular scenery. Passed a spectacular double waterfall as we reached sea level.

We spent the night in Odda at the end of one of the Hardanger Fjord's arms
and, the next morning, drove along the fjord to the top of it's main arm stopping along the route to visit a woodcarver's shop,

a folk museum,
a town with a ferry port (taking the ferry across the fjord would save over 100 miles in a drive to Bergen),


and ending up in Eidsfjord at the very top of the fjord. We stopped at a Natural History Museum and enjoyed it so much that we decided to remain in Eidsfjord for the night. We stood on the beach (made of granite chips - we did not see sandstone anywhere in Norway, it's all granite) and made a 360 degree circle looking up at the granite walls and counted fifteen free flowing waterfalls! Spectacular! Wonderful accommodations at the Eidsfjord Hotel but the beds were a bit tight...

From the town we drove up onto the high plateau.

The Hardangervidda is a large, high plateau that remains snow covered most of the year. It abounds in winter wildlife but, at least in late May, looked rather inhospitable.

Driving down to a lower elevation we continued easterly across Norway
and stopped for the night in Lillehammer, the home of the Winter Olympics. We encountered another bout of light rain while we wandered the small town seeking an open restaurant. We encountered a problem throughout our travels: we were in Scandinavia just before tourist season, which begins June first, so many of the cultural attractions that we stopped at along the route were not yet open. The same applied to many restaurants.

The next morning we attempted to visit the Olympic Museum, but it did not open until late in the morning .

We began driving south towards Sweden through intermittent rain showers, traveling alongside rivers and lakes the entire way. Ate lunch alongside one of the many hydroelectric dams (Norway produces over 90% of its energy from water power) and watched the turbulent water.

As we crossed into Sweden a large Norwegian Troll was sitting at the border welcoming visitors.

We made a detour to a "cultural" attraction and found ourselves at the site of a 17th century fort called Eda Skan. It had been built during one of the many wars between Denmark and Norway and had been kept up until the early 1800's.

We drove across the southern part of Sweden towards Stockholm enjoying the flat land covered with farms and forests. Reaching the city we managed to find our hotel in one of the near suburbs. The Hotel Attaché is located a short walk from two of the subway lines so our plan was to leave the car in its parking lot and explore Stockholm using public transportation.

Woke to a dreary day so we carried our umbrellas and wore the raincoats into central Stockholm . The city is built on a cluster of 14 islands connected by 54 bridges. One side is the Baltic Sea and the other a very large lake (with nearly 24,000 islands within it). Reaching the central "T-Station" we purchased two Stockholm Cards which provide access to trains and busses and entry to most museums and cultural exhibits. We walked along the island's waterfront to where the sightseeing boat tours originated and took a tour of the inner islands.

We were informed that Stockholm's residents own 200,000 boats moored throughout the archipelago!
Finishing the boat ride we walked across a bridge (with a most interesting, large sculpture in the water next to the bridge) into the "old city" called Gamla Stan where Stockholm originated 750 years ago. It is very medieval with streets and houses remaining from the 1500's through the 1800's. Ate lunch in the Nobel Museum (the Nobel Peace Prize is presented in Stockholm) and then walked the streets visiting buildings (the main church of Stockholm, consecrated in 1306 and the Old German Church whose bells have tolled since the 1600's), and ancient squares with sculptures and ther original water source for the city- still working...


(When fire brigades began, in the 1600s, they were by subscription only - one had to pay a fee to belong. Only if the house displayed the emblem of the Fire Brigade would the brigade come to a fire, and then only if it was the emblem of the correct Fire Protection Organization)

We then walked across one of the bridges, past the palace and on to a main shopping street.

The next morning (another dreary day) we rode the underground and then a bus to the Millesgarden, home and workshop of Carl Milles. It is a Cliffside dwelling overlooking the sea and nearby islands. Many of his original works can be found in the USA. (he and his wife lived and worked in the USA for 30 years).

Back onto the bus and train to emerge at the Vasa Museum. It houses a warship from 1628 (when Sweden controlled the seas of Europe) which sank as it was launched. [It seems that the King had ordered a 32 gun ship and, in the middle of the building process, changed his mind. He decided that a 64 gun ship would be better so a second deck with 32 guns was added. This made it quite top heavy and when the ship was hit by a strong gust of wind as it was just launched, it rolled onto its side, filled with water and sank.] The ship, named the Vasa, lay on the bottom of the harbor for 333 years when it was raised almost completely intact. It seems that the water of that part of the Baltic is not as salty as the ocean so shipworms (that eat the wood of sunken ships) cannot live; in addition the cold water helped preserve the wood. (In the pictures the new - lighter colored - wood is what has been replaced since it was raised). A museum was built over the water and the ship floated in; then the water was pumped out. After preservation, the museum was opened to the public.

After the ship we spent the remainder of the day in Skansen, an open-air folk museum on one of the islands of Stockholm. It consists of homes, farms, churches, schools, shops, etc. brought to Stockholm from all over Sweden. The visitor gets a feeling of what it was like to live in Sweden over the past several centuries. There was a concert being presented in an amphitheater as we were leaving...

We had dinner in one of the centuries' old restaurants in the Old City. It was located in a "cave" underneath the shopping area above.

Leaving Stockholm we drove south along the coast to Kalmar and the glass-blowing region of Sweden. We decided, for a change, to stay at the local Youth Hostel. It was spartan but did have a clothes washer for guests' use. Wandered through Kalmar Castle. A beautiful medieval building (it seems that the Swedish kings stopped coming in the 1700's so it has not been remodeled since that time. Visited the Women's Prison, many "Royal" rooms, examples of how it was decorated (because the Scandinavian kings were relatively "poor" compared to central Europe, castle and Manor House decorations were often painted on rather than having tapestries and wood paneling).

We then drove into the glassblowing area of southern Sweden and stopped at Orreforrs.

On our way to Helsingborg where we were to take a ferry across to Denmark, we visited a 300+ year old paper making mill in Leesboro where paper is still being produced.

We decided to stay the night in Helsingborg, just across a narrow straight from Denmark. We walked the harbor as the evening drew upon us. We could see Helsingnor, Denmark across the narrow waterway with "Hamlet's Castle" overlooking the ferry port on the Danish side.

Scandlines Ferry to Denmark.

Drove straight to Copenhagen and found the Hotel right away, next to the train station right in the center of the city. Left the Volvo in an underground parking lot, checked in and began to walk around the city. We wandered up the Strojet, the walking (tourist!) street. Large numbers of people. And dirty (Norway was immaculate, Sweden was very clean, but Copenhagen…). This is a big, European city where the traffic, tremendous variety of people and shops and the noise reminds one that this is the 21st century. Lots of different languages heard on the street.

Took a bus and got off at a large park. It turned out to be Fredericksburg Park and Manor House. We walked through the park enjoying the sights and watching the large numbers of people using the park- picnicking, playing games, sunbathing, etc.

Back to the central area where we ate at Dot Lillie Apotek, a restaurant that has been serving since the early 1700's.

The next morning we took the car and drove to Roskilde, a town at the end of the Roskilde Fjord. It was the capitol of Denmark during Viking times. Five sunken Viking ships were discovered and recovered from one of the fjord's entrances where they had been sunk over 1000 years ago to protect the town from attack. They are now in the Viking Museum and they have been studied extensively. The museum now builds replicas by hand using the materials and tools of the Viking period, and sail them on the fjord.

Our last full day in Scandinavia. We drove across the city to the Volvo dealer where we completed the paperwork and left the car for shipment to the USA. Rode the busses back to the city center, with a stop to walk about the neighborhoods in that part of the city.

We decided to go over to the Christianborg Castle and take a tour. Arriving a bit early we wandered by the canal and found a building built in 1632 - it was the stock exchange!

We went into the undercroft of the castle and wandered through Bishop Absalom's castle, the excavated remains of the first castle built on the spot in the 1100's. The castle tour was interesting with every visitor required to put slippers over their shoes to protect the parquet floors. The present building is the third incarnation (due to fires) and it is very Victorian, although it was rebuilt, the last time, in the 1930's. Grandiose marble staircases and large rooms with exquisite wall hangings and paneling. In one room we viewed a series of modern tapestries that were presented to the Queen on her 50th birthday; they depict the history of the Danish people. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed inside the castle.

We ate dinner in and strolled around Tivoli, the wonderful amusement park in the center of Copenhagen. It is a haven of relative quiet in the middle of the bustling city. We looked at the flowers, the buildings, the lakes, the people, the amusement rides and listened to a big-band jazz concert. Then back to the hotel to pack for the trip home the next day.

The next morning we took the train to the airport (15 minutes) and boarded SAS to fly to Seattle and then to LA. The car was to follow in 4-6 weeks (west coast - Port Hueneme - delivery). Scandinavia is a picturesque region with friendly people- virtually all of whom speak English well. Sweden is a country of green fields and many lakes while Norway is, quite literally, built vertically. The Norwegians are almost energy self-sufficient, and it the number of waterfalls and rushing rivers made it easy to understand how they obtain almost all of their energy from hydroelectric powerplants.

All-in-all, it was a most enjoyable three weeks.

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