International Fireworks Competition

 

I came home from Norway and immediately jumped into doing....laundry.  You have no idea how long it takes to do laundry with a combo washer/dryer.  One load if you dry it takes 4 hours.  If you don't, 2 hours.  So that pretty much killed the rest of my day.

However, that night, I headed down to the beach on my bike for the International Fireworks Competition.  Over the course of 4 nights, 8 teams from around the world shoot off fireworks set to music over the water.  Last year, China won.

I really wanted to see the Chinese and their night happened to be the night I just got back.  So tired as I was, I hopped on my bike hoping it would warm up and the rain would stay away.  I found a nice bar on the non-touristy end of the beach bars, propped up my feet on the seat and enjoyed a nice glass of white wine and a book while waiting.  The first to go at 9:45 were the Austrians:



The next were the Chinese:

You can hear some of the music, including my beloved dance/house/techno/electric.  You can also hear the wind, which played a huge factor.  The Chinese were good, but you could see that a lot of their rockets were shooting off directly into the water.  Sad I went on a rough night and then ended up riding home in the rain.  I would say it was worth it though - very relaxing.

I went on Friday night this week too - no videos because I just wanted to enjoy them.  The Spanish and the South Korean team went - the Spanish were great, but I loved the South Korean music choices.  Both shows were definitely great.  Last night was raining, so I didn't head down to the beach, but I'm sure on a clear night, it would have been epic.  I can also now say that I've ridden my bike 2 different ways to the beach and ridden my bike through a sea of 60,000 people all in various forms of transportation (walking, bikes, trams, cars).  Mayhem!  The worst parts are that all of those bikes may be motor scooters, which are treated the same here as push bikes and some of the push bikes are ridden by 9-15 year olds who are erratic.  It's like leaving a sporting event right when everyone else is leaving, getting in your car, sitting in traffic, except the people operating the cars could be 9 year olds.  Its insane.  I tried to leave a bit later, but that didn't help either.  I made it back in one piece with only 3 major uses of the brakes.

That's it for updates - headed to London next weekend to find a dress for A&A's wedding.  Hoping to squeeze in a show as well....the listing of playing shows is so tempting.

Why I loved Salzburg

Picking a favorite city you have been is like picking a favorite child.  It shouldn't be done.  Salzburg, while I can't say it's my favorite, is really high on the list.  I would put it in the top 3.  I finally figured out where my camera was storing videos on the card - here are some of the free concerts we attended while in the city, liederholzten included.  Music on every corner!

 

Tour - Is it worth it or not?

I've been back for a week now.  The accountant in me did a lot of analyzing during the tour on whether the trip was worth the money or not.  I decided to wait to post anything until I had time to really process what the trip was worth to me.  Here is my list of pros and cons of taking a tour (some of which is specific to the tour company I used, Rick Steves and some of which is generic).  To briefly sum it up, I would do it again, but I will be sure to pick places I don't feel comfortable going myself (Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria, South Italy come to mind).

Pros:
1. No hassle pre-trip planning transportation, hotels and sites to see.  That's all taken care of.  If you are short on time on a regular basis like me, this instantly pays for the trip.  Time is money in a lot of cases.
2. No waits on tour.  The trip was almost planned to the minute.  Yes, we only saw a brief itinerary for each day, but I got a glimpse of the tour guide and bus driver's manual - it was literally planned to the minute, even if you didn't feel it.  I never felt managed, but the whole time, I was being managed.  As a result, we never waited in lines, never were turned away, and most importantly, there was not a single moment wasted, unless you wanted to waste some time in your free time.
3.  Right balance of free time and group time - I thought RS did a good job of mixing free time and group time.  There were days I could wander off alone if I wanted to and there were also days where I needed time with the group which were available to me.  If I didn't want to see another Viking boat, it was my right to skip out on it.
4.  RS encourages the use of public transport.  I like that.
5.  RS encourages long walking days - the benefit to the tour is that you don't spend long walking days on accident.  They are always planned and therefore all of your steps are meaningful.
6.  The dinners/lunches together as a group (ie included in the tour) were relatively frequent and good.  They usually included a local dish that brought flavor to the area.  Norway was definitely the highlight of the food - I'm looking at you Bergen.  Who knew reindeer steak would be so good.  I also really enjoyed the lingonberries on every meal.  The dinners were good quality - i.e. Michelin won't be writing about the places we went to, but the food was really good.  I did learn I'm not a fan of pickled herring.
7.  Transportation was arranged (have I mentioned that already?).  It deserves multiple mentions because that's the hardest part of a trip like this.
8.  The hotels were generally what I would have chosen had I done the trip solo.  All of them were comfortable and most of them were clean.  Stockholm's hotel felt dirty....the funny part is that was supposedly the most upscale hotel we stayed in.  It wasn't clean.  But they did include dinner with the room, which is unheard of.  This was outside of what was listed on RS's included meals, so I felt like I won that one.  All of the breakfasts at the hotels were standard Euro fare, with the exception of Oslo and Bergen (Thon hotels).  They had the best breakfast buffets I've seen in Europe.
9.  All of the guided walks/tours - suffice it to say, had I done this trip on my own, I would have gotten a lot less out of it.  There is no way I would have paid for a guide in each city or at any of the sites.  Having a guide makes a huge difference.  The neat thing about the trip is that they used guides throughout that are listed in the RS books.  I always read the guided tour section and think it would be nice to hire one of those guys, but by myself is not realistic cost wise.  I do think that should my family come over again and we do solo touring, I would plan to spend money on one of them.  Just super helpful to have someone orient you and give you the history behind what you are seeing.
10. The group.  Whilst I wasn't keen on going with a group in the first place, it turned out a lot better than I expected.  Being on my own for 2 weeks may have made me go crazy.  I really got along with a number of the tour members/employees, so that made it fun to see things with friends.  If I have a week-2 weeks off in the future, I would choose the tour just for the group. A weekend by yourself is fine.  2 weeks and you might need to call the asylum.  RS attracts people like me (a bit adventurous, history loving, enjoys a good beer/wine, self sufficient, clean fun loving) so I would take his tour again for that reason.  The group was a bit older than I expected given all of the walking, but most were young at heart and easy to get along with.  I've heard that the group was older than most of his tours, which I think is because the Scandinavian tour is more expensive than his other tours.
11.  The vacation from the vacation on Aero Island was nice - I would build something like that into any 2 week itinerary.

Cons:
1.  Concentration on one item - I am Vikinged out.  I can't see another Viking ship.  I should have read the itinerary a bit closer to mentally prepare myself for the number of boats we were going to see on this tour.
2.  Cost.  The tour was expensive and it was not all inclusive.  Even though there were a good number of lunches and dinners included, it didn't cover everything.  That being said, it was nice to have free time to find your own food - if you were potatoed out, you could go for Thai.  Looking back on it though, I can't figure out where RS made money.  Here's a list of the expenses:
      a. Hotels
      b. Bus (gas, rental)
      c.  Driver (hotels, food, flights to/from Stockholm/Bergen, tip, salary)
      d.  Guide for 2 weeks (hotels, food, flight from Bergen, tip, salary)
      e.  Assistant guide for 2 weeks (hotels, food, flight from Bergen, tip, salary)
      f.  Local guides at all the sites (tips, cost)
      g.  Most museum entrances (including Oslo card for public transport/museums)
      h.  Public transport
      I.  Ferry rides (300 euros per ride for the bus, plus passengers)
      j.  Treats along the way (guide provided candy and other goodies from all the different countries)
      k.  Included meals (lunches were light, but dinners were definitely expensive)
Looking at that list, there are definitely items that had I done it on my own, I would have cut out (i.e. bus, driver, guides).  I wouldn't have gotten as much out of the trip and there is no way I could have done the exact same trip on my own for close to what I paid for it.  If I had done a watered down version on my own, yes, it would have been cheaper, but I don't think I would have gotten out of it what I did.  The other con is that Scandinavia is just ridiculously expensive.  At least RS kept me from spending unnecessary money - I could see that getting out of hand very quickly Norway if you don't know what you are doing.  Also - I didn't pay a single tip along the way, that was all included (other than on your own restaurants).
3.  Being with a group - I know I raved above about the group, but there are times when you really don't want to be with a group of people, like 8AM on a vacation day.  I am not chipper and not excited about the camera you just put in front of my face to "document the day".
4.  I would have chosen a different hotel in Stockholm.
5.  I would have spent more time in the mountains of Norway and less in Oslo and none in Bergen - personal preference, but I heard a number of other people say it too.

#Norwayday5

Norway day 5 marked the last day of touring before catching a flight back to Amsterdam.  The tour ended in Bergen, which according to the Norwegian almanac gets 300 days of solid (i.e. 24 hours) of rain a year.  There are only 17 days a year without a single drop of rain...the remaining days have scattered showers.  It's incredible that the city hasn't just washed away.  Friday was one of those 300 days of solid rain.  Most of the time, it was absolute down pour.  The morning started off with a tour of the old Hansiatic (spelling?) buildings and museums and then we were free on our own.

#Historiccenter - the buildings along the harbor are what we toured.  Gorgeous front.

#rainrot?  I'm surprised that all of this wood has not rotted away given all of the rain.  Some of the buildings dated to the early 1700s

After the tours, I first headed to shopping and got one of my only Norwegian souvenirs.  It was super expensive - even getting a magnet made me feel guilty.  Then it was off to the fish market, where I got some fish soup for lunch.  It was incredible - I wish I could have sampled everything at the market, but prices were so high and I knew that we had our last dinner that night.  #caloricwatch2013

#newtown - then I wandered around the relatively new part of the town and did a bit of shopping to avoid all of the rain.  I was soaked to the bone at this point and cold, but the town just didn't seem to care about the rain.  I guess you can't when it happens 300 days a year.

 

 

#obligatorychurches - I hadn't planned on seeing any churches in Bergen because I'm churched out, but with the rain, they are perfect places to dry off.  I did 3 different churches, 2 very old churches and one fairly recent.

 

#heavenlyview - View from the first church overlooking Bergen

 

 

#dryout - After the church walk, I went back to the hotel and enjoyed a relaxing shower and nap while the rain poured down.  It was probably coming down at a rate of about an inch/hour, which is pretty hard in my mind.  It made for perfect napping weather and the hotel was really nice.  Dinner that night was the best one I had on the trip - reindeer steak with potatoes and lingonberry sauce.  At first I had a hard time ordering Rudolph, but then I convinced myself it was all of the other reindeer that made fun of him.  It tasted incredible - so tender and juicy.  The only problem:  too small!  Bergen turned about to be the culinary highlight of the trip - who would have thought?

We had a small end of the trip review that night at the hotel, where one of the tour members did some magic tricks that still blow my mind.  And I'm not a fan of magic.  Then it was playing a final round of Yahtzee, this time the Norwegian/European way, which was really fun and a final hand of cards.  Good times!

I got really lucky - the mother/daughter duo that I met on the trip were on my same flight to Amsterdam so we shared the bus ride to the airport and then the same row on the flight.  More cards ensued.  They then headed off for their 10 hour flight to Seattle (didn't envy that) but do miss them.  So neat to make friends while on the road!

#Norwayday3andday4

Only a few posts yet to go....Day 3 and Day 4 were very similar so they get a combined post.  It's going to be hard to come up with enough #hashtags unless I sit with a thesaurus opened to the words #beautiful, #incredible, #gorgeous.

Day 3 started with a nice long drive to Lillehammer through the mountains, lakes and rivers.  At least I thought they were mountains, having only seen flat land since the trip began.  I didn't know it was going to get a lot more dramatic, so I took a lot of pictures.  #cameratourist  The amazing thing about Lillehammer is that it's only a very tiny village, yet it hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics.  Seriously, if you blink, you miss Lillehammer.  I know the Norwegian government had to support the Olympics, but why did they choose Lillehammer?

#folkmuseum - The first stop was to an open air folk museum.  Scandinavia is big on these museums.  There were at least 3 along the way we could have seen, but this is the one on the RS route we hit.  Essentially, they move historical buildings from all parts of the country and then have people in period dress doing period type activities with period type food.  In my mind, it's a way to see all of the architecture of a period in the country without having to zig-zag through the country to find the older buildings.  I'm not so much into the period activities, period dress or period food, but the buildings were neat.

#Norwegiangoodness - One of the benefits of a tour is private guided tours at all the sites.  Both of our Norwegian guides on this day of the trip were lekker (Dutch =  good).  As I said, I'm not into period dress or period activities, but this guy made me want to learn more for sure.  #deadpanhumor

#thatchedroof - On most of the housing structures, the roofs were thatched.  #nowonderfirewasaproblem

#periodpigs

#stavechurch - this was by far the best building in the park.  They had an historical Stave church, one of 26 in the world remaining.  It combines both the mythological/pagan religions with Christianity.  In the early 1900s, the government decreed that every town must have a church large enough for everyone to have a seat.  The unintended consequence is that most of the Stave churches which were very small were torn down.  I was lucky enough to see 2 on this trip.

#saved - I love the design of this cross

#thatchedroof - looks like someone needs to mow their roof. #theregoestheneighborhood

#troll - The troll plays a huge roll in Norwegian mythology.  I can't remember all of the details, but there were trolls everywhere.  This one is huge at a hotel in the mountains.  Trolls were also prominent in gift shops. #touristpandering

#pleasantdrive - One of the reasons I chose this tour group was because of the short amount of time on the bus (relative to other tours in the area).  However, I could have spent all day on the bus driving through scenes like this.

#don'tgochasingwaterfalls - The waterfalls just came to me.  They were everywhere.  I'll try not to add to many pictures of them.

 

#gorgeous

#raftersdream - Rivers like this ran all over the drive.  I was surprised I didn't see any rafters - it must be because the water is snow melt.  Probably super cold.  I did see people fly fishing.  The bus driver said there were fish in the waters for sure....I'm skeptical.

#movies - seriously, this is like something out of a movie.

#Stavechurchdeux - This is one of the 26 churches left and according to the guide, the most impressive.  I LOVED this tour.  The local guide was excellent.  Norwegians have dead pan humor down to an art.  He was so matter of fact and joking at the same time it was unreal.  The church itself was gorgeous, the scenery was amazing and the town was so cute I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't really in a painting. 

 

#Stavechurch

#paganbeginnings

#lastsupperaltar - the incredible thing about this church is that it is still very much in use for the village.  They have regular services, concerts and weddings.  I've found my wedding chapel mom.  Pictures might turn out dark because of all the wood, but imagine the atmosphere....so romantic!

#reformation - so many of the old paintings prior to the reformation were whitewashed during the reformation.  This is an attempt to restore them.

#pulpitcrown - imagine listening to the pastor with this perilously hanging over his head.  I'm sure it's well secured. 

#organ - I'm sure when this thing gets going, it would shake your guts.  All wood in this building must mean that everything trembles.

#allwood - Even the chandelier is made of wood. #don'tlightthewoodencandles!

 

#saved - yet another cross I love

#backinthebus - then it was on to the hotel for the night.....#dramaticsceneryoverload

#countryroads - This little mountain lodge was our hotel for the night.  It was rustic in every sense of the word.  It was also an art gallery, containing some Munch paintings amongst other famous Norwegian artists in the main sitting area.  The rooms were so small that most of the group spent the night hanging out in the fireplace area, which overlooked a gushing river and more mountains.  I have never played cards in a more scenic area.  This is also the night that Yahtzee began.  Did you know there are American and European rules to Yahtzee?  Me neither.  I learned both.

#mountainlodgeriver - when I said gushing, I meant gushing.  It was incredible.

 

#sleepingbeauty - we had a late start the next day, so this is what I slept in to.  Nearly froze with the window open, but #worthit

#drama - Day 4 started off with the best landscapes of the entire trip.  I am still in awe of the fact that our tour included taking a bus on these roads high up into the mountains and along the fjord.  I have never been in a bus where I simultaneously thought "there is no way he makes that turn" and "he's done 30 of them like it".  It was insane - apparently the Norwegians don't invest in the roads because they know that anything they put down no matter the cost will just have to be repaired in the following summer.  So they do only what is necessary to get by.  The tour guide and the bus driver said that some surveys put the entire country's network of roads on par or below those of Albania.  Having been in Montenegro where the roads were AWFUL - I can say that these were considerably worse.  The roads in Belgium are pretty bad as well, but at least they have the correct number of lanes.  Most of these roads were "2 way" but I didn't see a second lane.  And multiple times, the bus forced people coming from the opposite direction to back up.

#madetrip - for me, Day 4 made the entire trip worth it.  I didn't think I was much of a mountain woman, but I am.

#flatlandgirl - Just gorgeous.

 

#cardplayingfriend - new friend S and I on the top of the world

#mother/daughter - these two made me wish my mom was with me.  Next time mom!

#raisingsheep - I guess you really can raise sheep anywhere.  They played havoc with the traffic.

#reflecting - these kind of scenes will get your reflecting on just about anything.  Get it?

#reststopglories - we stopped a lot for photo shoots and small hikes. I hiked down on one of the stops whilst the rest of the group hiked up.

#ontheedge - my lower hike led me to the edge of a canyon.  Luckily one person went with me to get some pictures

 

#changedmymind - how about that church mom?  that would be amazing.

#lunchstop - this is the view from where I ate my brown bag lunch.  The water was surprisingly warm - if there had been enough time, I wouldn't have turned down a swim.

#Norwegianoreos - half the tube was defective with the oreo symbol on the cream side.  For shame.

#ferrycruise - the next stop was the ferry cruise down the fjords, which was 2.5 hours of extreme bliss.  I'm not going to label all of the pictures, but suffice it to say, wow.  We were extremely lucky - the day before and the day after were both grey, overcast and periods of rain.  The sandwiched day was gorgeous, with temps in the low 70s, high 60s and nothing but sun.  I even got a bit pinkish on the neck.  The only problem is that it meant most of the pictures were backlit and I couldn't see the screen on my camera to tell if any of them were good shots while I was on the boat.  I'm mostly happy with how they came out, but the in person just felt infinitely more dramatic.  Again, the bus went on the ferry, so that gives you an idea on how big the ferry was.

 

#missedthedolphins - there were porpoises playing alongside the boat at several points, but I couldn't get pictures of them.  Seriously, bliss.  Mountains, waterfalls, dolphins - it doesn't get much better than this.

 

 

 

#fountainofyouth - The last stop of the day was at the local legendary fountain of youth.  (AKA tourist trap).  But the waterfall was dramatic and it was fun to climb around on.  I got some water directly from it to erase some years.  The bus driver said it made me look 15 years younger.  #someonewantsagoodevaluation #cardplayingfriends