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You can lose everything, but nobody will take away what you saw and what you experienced...
............ 
May 08, 2014 04:00 PM Trondheim -what a cathedral!
There is one more reason to love "Lofoten" - free wi-fi internet connection from the ship lounge. Preparing for this journey I was reading that all Hurtigruten ships have internet except old "Lofoten". So it is update and very pleasant surprise.
Today we woke up in Trondheim - large city with 170000 inhabitants. Trondhieim was founded in 967 by Vikings.
There is gothic cathedral. Great cathedral comparable to those in France! Everybody knows about about Notre Dame but who knows about Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim? Built from 1070 onward it surprised me with huge size and ornate decoration. Do not miss it when in Norway!
Right at the cathedral there is old bishop's palace to see. I also climbed the hill to Kristiansten Fortres for the aerial view of the city. Trondheim is alsounique beause many preserved wooden houses. You will see them along the river and in atmospheric Bakklandet quarter.
We departed from Trondheim at 12. Two hours later we passed the most beautiful Norwegian lighthouse located on the little rocky islet.
And now we are saling onward north, I sit in the lounde enjoying the coastal views through the windows, and I write this for you... Long live the internet!
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May 07, 2014 04:00 PM "Lofoten" - the great oldtimer...
Our ship was scheduled to depart from Bergen yesterday at 10.30 in the evening. After check-in we boarded "Lofoten" at 6 pm. I like this ship from first step on the deck -it is old-fashion and very cozy. I made a good choice of the cabin - let you know that 303 has two lower berth and a regular window. Other cabins of the lowest D cathegory has upper and lower berth and a pothole only or no window at all!
We sailed out enjoying harbor light of Bergen.
Today in the morning after wake up I recognized that the sun is shining and we are sailing in the beautiful scenery of fiord, rocky islands and snow capped mountains. Great journey!
In the afternoon we docked 3 hours in Alesund - little, lovely fishing town. I climbed the hill overlooking the town (418 steps) for the great view. It was great!
In the evening there will be another short stop in Molde...
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May 06, 2014 04:00 PM New journey: Trough the Arctic Circle
One more interesting journey! This time, I am not going so far - only to the Norwegian fjords that once I already watched (up to Geiranger) from the mainland.
And now I'm going to admire them from the ship.
Hurtigruten shipping line sends daily from Bergen one ship, which sails north - through the Arctic Circle - up to Kirkenes at the Russian border visiting on the way the islands, fjords, ports. Then it sails back along the same route to Bergen sailing during the day these episodes, which on the way north passed by night. I will go on the old ship "Lofoten", who reminds me of the ferry boat "Columbia", which many years ago I was sailing to Alaska with my son Adam.
"Lofoten" is 50 years old. It is housing in the cabins only 150 passengers. Please keep your fingers crossed for the good weather on the Norwegian coast - I want to bring you nice pictures!
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May 01, 2014 04:00 PM Tulips in my Wojtkowka...
I had enough time for change of the plane in Munich airport -
if you are arriving from EU and departing again to EU you do not go again through the security control - just walking from gate to gate. And at the gates they offer unlimited coffee and tea in self-service stands... I prefere Munich to Frankfurt as a transit point!
It was late evening when I landed in Gdansk. One more interesting voyage is over!
On the next morning I was already in my Wojtkowka, enjoying tulips in blossom, forget-me-nots and other spring flowers... What a view! I just returned from the rich world of tropical flowers but those ones are always closer to my heart :). Cherry trees are also in blossom - all white now, and apple trees will be flourished soon. I hope to enjoy their beauty before I will pack my backpack again. :) Crazy, isn't it?...
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Apr 29, 2014 04:00 PM Welcome to Lisbon!
Congratulations to our Polish captain Arkadiusz Branka! We arrived to Lisbon even before scheduled time. Nobody will miss the flight... I had a great pleasure to listen to the comments of the other passenges: Viva capitan Polaco! Captain Branka came to say me goodbye and to give me the interesting magazine so I will have an interesting lecture during my long flight home.
Lisbon in the sunny morning looks spectacular. Just after sunrise we found ourselves on the Tag river, passing historic Belem Tower and high bridge of Lisbon. At 10 am I disembarked at Rocha passenger terminal. Taxi drivers were waiting outside, but I preffered to walk 30 minutes to the nearest subway station - Sodre. Subway ticket to the airport costs only 1.40 euro, but you must pay extra 0,50 for the magnetic card. Why?
It took me 1.5 hour to the airport with line change on Alameda station.
Lisbon airport offers 30 minutes of free wi-fi connection. I hope that Lufthansa flight will be on time...
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Apr 28, 2014 04:00 PM Sailing to European Continent
Last day at sea. Sunny day, but the cold wind is blowing and nobody lies on the open deck. It is hard to belive that only a week ago we were close to the equator and the passengers of "Empress" were escaping to the shade. In the afternoon they returned our passports. I have only 4 empty pages left... Soon I will be forced to apply for the new one. In the late evening passenger bills were delivered to the cabins. As you can expect on my bill there were only one excursion... :)
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Apr 27, 2014 04:00 PM Madeira - the beautiful
Tenerife is nice, but today, when I saw again the Madeira I came to the conclusion that it is even more beautiful. Morning was cloudy and the ocean quite rough but when we came closer to Madeira sun appeaared and the view of Funchal, cliffs and green mountains enchanted me once more. From thd air you probably cannot see such a panorama, so cameby ship. The only problem is that in fact I have only 4 hours for the visit after formalities. Why they plan so short visit? Madeira is worth longer stay! So making a choice of the ship check first how many hours will it dock on ghe island.
Brasilians from the ship are not as crazy travelers as I so I did not find companions to share the cost of the private tour to the east of the island (west I know from previous visit) but when I was here I had no time to walk around Funchal -the capital. It is lovely with flowers, old buildings and narrow streets! Violet jacarandas are ib blossom in front of the cathedral and I found there the monument of John Paul II....
I hope to come to Madeira again...
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Apr 26, 2014 04:00 PM Great Teide on Tenerife!
At the sunrise I was already on the open deck. Tenerife in Santa Cruz area has very picturesque coastline. Wow! Visibility was much better then few years ago when I was here for the first time...
So take your chance and go to the Mt Teide National Park! Tours are inexspensive on this ship - they do not make extra profit on passengers so I decided to pay 35 USD for 5 hours bus excursion. Deal!
Great sun, blue sky, fantastinc views.... We were driving to the level of 2250 m. Teide - the former volcano has 3780 m and snow on the top. But first we passed through the pineforest lush green area, then throgh the sand and lava fields. There were few great viewpoints on the route and the final one - at the Nat Park center where you can see interesting rock formations. Plenty of flowers on the way and great pictures... Wonderful day!
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Apr 25, 2014 04:00 PM Cheap ship?
Cloudy and windy morning. The sun appeared only in the afternoon. I tried to connect to the internet provided in the ship. I was waiting few minutes looking at the white screen before the first page appeared. Just to give you the idea, how much they charge for such a weak service here is their present price list: 30 min - 9 USD, 80 min - 18 USD, 120 min - 23 USD. It makes a sense if the connection is reliable, otherwise it is waste of money. Tomorrow we will dock full day on Tenerife - Canary Islands, I hope I will find there free wi-fi. On this Pullmantur ship information about the ports is miserable. Other companies before arrival offer port talks, they print and distribute port maps in the ship's daily paper... Nothing like that is offered here - so now I know what means cheap ship.
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Apr 24, 2014 04:00 PM Late show...
Another day at sea. It is sunny, but we receive strong wind from the bow. So strong that they cancelled all activities on the open decks. In the evening I enjoyed "Viva Brazil" show in the theatre. Most of the ship' passengers are Brazilians so the theatre was full. Very colorful and dynamic, but it lasts only 40 minutes. But why they start the show so late (21.45)? In addition we lost during the night another hour changing next time zone. In the morning everybody is sleepy... :)
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