Posts In The “Europe” Category
The Stegastein Viewpoint juts 100ft (30m) out from the mountain 1,250ft (650m) above Aurlandsfjord. While in Flåm, we rented a car to visit the viewpoint and explore a few other attractions around Aurlandsfjord by road. Below are trip highlights from May 7th in Flåm, Norway. Click any image for a larger view, or click the…
As we’ve been travelling the world, longtime blog reader Jacques Vuye has been scouting ahead and recommending scenic and unique train trips. One of our favourites was the West Coast Wilderness Railway in Tasmania, Australia. Shortly after we arrived into Norway, Jacques encouraged us to take a trip on Flåmsbana (the Flåm Railway), considered one…
We left Indrefjord, but not the waterfalls and fabulous mountain scenery, as we cruised to the village of Flåm at the head of Aurlandsfjord. We lost count of the waterfalls en route, and pretty much ran out of superlatives to desribe the scenery. At Flåm we had their guest dock all to ourselves, with a…
Our initial plan for cruising Norway was to run straight north to Tromsø with few diversions en route, and to tour the Norwegian fjords on our return trip south. But we decided to take a few days to explore 110-mile Sognefjord, the longest fjord in Norway. This time of year the mountains would still have…
From our first Norwegian anchorage at Vorlandsvagen, we ran 105 miles north past Bergen to the mouth of Sognefjord in two day trips. Over that time we completed a few chores, explored in the tender, and enjoyed the relaxed running through Norway’s sheltered and scenic ‘inner lead’. En route we passed ships of all sizes…
From the Netherlands we made a 500-mile, 3-night run to Norway with a pitstop in Helgoland, Germany for duty-free fuel. Conditions for the first two days were wonderfully calm and for the final night were rough in tight seas on the bow with pitching to 20.5° as we closed on the Norwegian coast. But we…
Our main reason for stopping in Harlingen, NL was that it was convenient for picking up our new tender en route to Norway. Harlingen worked out splendidly for that purpose, but it also was an excellent stop overall. We enjoyed the city’s many waterfront restaurants and made several interesting side trips, including a tender trip…
The 20-mile (32km) Afsluitdijk dam, completed in 1932, protects the Netherlands coast from flooding and provides an important source of freshwater by transforming the saltwater bay Zuiderzee into a freshwater lake renamed IJsselmeer. The dam also provides an important road link between the provinces of Friesland, where Harlingen is, and North Holland. An easy bike…
We set of from Harlingen just past 7am on a warm and sunny day to test the new tender on a longer trip and to enjoy the inland canals. After passing through the sea lock, we spent several hours touring the narrow and shallow inland canals, passing through small towns and alongside old-style Dutch windmills….
After Boot Akkrum delivered our new tender, we went out on a tour of the Harlingen harbors to get the new Honda 50 broken in quickly. We found a lot there—Harlingen businesses include Dutch shipbuilder Icon Yachts, several boat yards with focus on the offshore oil industry, and barge offloading facilities. Below are trip highlights…
From London we made a 267-mile run to Harlingen, NL to pickup our new tender before continuing on to Norway. We spent a peaceful night anchored at Stangate Creek near the mouth of the Thames before making an overnight run to Harlingen so that we would arrive in the morning on a rising tide. Except…
St. Katharine Docks in London was a fabulous base for a winter visit to London. In addition to the marina, the St. Katharine Docks complex includes nearly a dozen excellent restaurants, is adjacent to the Tower of London, within walking distance of many other local attractions and restaurants, and convenient to public transport. And the…
We didn’t spend all our time in London socializing and taking in the sights. We also completed a number of projects, for the boat, the web site, ourselves and even Spitfire. Below are highlights from Feb 13th through April 12th in London, UK. Click any image for a larger view, or click the position to…
With London being both a popular travel destination and a hub for Europe, we did a lot more socializing than usual. This gave us an opportunity to catch up with some old friends, finally meet in person some that we’d corresponded with years, and make new acquaintances with locals or those travelling to the area….
Spitalfields Market started in 1638, was covered in the late 19th century and modernized in 2006. The market is full of small vendors selling wares ranging from jewelery to fresh vegetables with many food stalls and restaurants. We made a pass through the market and surrounding area as part of a trip to pick up…
Lloyd’s of London is not an insurance company. Rather, it is an insurance market founded in the 1600s when Edward Lloyd began renting out space in his coffee shop to marine underwriters. Lloyd’s current headquarters is a masterpiece of modern architecture built in the Bowellism style, where interior space is maximized by placing the building…
Sky Garden is a public space at the top of the “Walkie Talkie” with a fabulous 360-degree views of London and the Thames. Several restaurants and a bar also are within—we had a memorable dinner at the Darwin Brasserie, the room jutting out from the left above the gardens in the picture above. Below are…
The HMS Belfast was launched in 1938 and saw action in World War II, including firing some of the first shots on D-Day. The ship also was part of the United Nations naval forces during the Korean War. In 1971, the retired ship was brought to London and moored along the Thames by Tower Bridge…