My wife and I just returned home from a North Sea cruise. We had a wonderful time and memories we will not soon forget. We saw Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Oslo. It was very expensive!
I should start out by saying that the trip began rather poorly. I bought plane tickets to Amsterdam that were scheduled to leave on Friday at 9:30 a.m. I mistakenly believed that I had purchased tickets for 9:30 p.m. When we got to the airport at 7:30 p.m., our plane had left (obviously) and there we no more flights to Amsterdam. So we had to buy two one-way tickets for the following day. We made it, but it cost us. Apparently, I am very stupid.
Amsterdam was great. We stayed at a place called the Synopsis, which was a kind of guesthouse/hotel. Breakfast was not included, which was somewhat disappointing given the price of the place. But the room was beautiful and the location was perfect.
Overall, I would say that Amsterdam was our favorite place. More than anywhere I've been so far in Europe, the place was alive. In that sense, it was a lot like New York, but with a decidedly Euro-feel. It wasn't just pockets of activity either -- everywhere seemed busy. People were going every which way on bikes, scooters, trams, canal buses, cars, and on foot. People were drinking beer at tables set out on the canals. People were enjoying themselves in this beautiful city.
One of Amsterdam's many house boats, just outside the Synopsis Hotel:
Drinking beer on the canal:
Bicycles, bicycles, bicycles:
Statue of Rembrandt in his eponymous square:
We ducked into a place called the Corner House for a beer and discovered that it was a hotel and bar. The bartender gave us the prices and they were very reasonable. It was only 30 Euro for a single room and 50 Euro for a double room. We'll stay there if we go back. I think the prices change, but I think this place always will be reasonable. I found the website here.
Bicycle stoplight:
All the chairs at the cafes were pointed out -- apparently for people watching:
A manual canal drawbridge:
After a day and a half in Amsterdam, which was not enough time, we boarded Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas. The reviews were correct -- it was a terrific ship. First of all, it was huge! We had been on two cruises previously, but neither one was as nice as the Jewel of the Seas. We received an upgrade to an oceanview cabin, which was wonderful. Our itinerary took use from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Copenhagen, Denmark, and we disembarked in Oslo Norway. It was a cold cruise, but being on this ship made it a good one. One day, we even took a dip in the Solarium pool -- it has a retractable glass roof that was closed for this cruise. It was like a greenhouse. I also went in the hot tub outside once -- it was pretty awesome to be in a hot tub while afloat in the North Sea. Anyway, here are some pictures from the ship:
Sailing out of the Netherlands. This was one of the many modern windmills that we saw in the Netherlands and Denmark:
I should start out by saying that the trip began rather poorly. I bought plane tickets to Amsterdam that were scheduled to leave on Friday at 9:30 a.m. I mistakenly believed that I had purchased tickets for 9:30 p.m. When we got to the airport at 7:30 p.m., our plane had left (obviously) and there we no more flights to Amsterdam. So we had to buy two one-way tickets for the following day. We made it, but it cost us. Apparently, I am very stupid.
Amsterdam was great. We stayed at a place called the Synopsis, which was a kind of guesthouse/hotel. Breakfast was not included, which was somewhat disappointing given the price of the place. But the room was beautiful and the location was perfect.
Overall, I would say that Amsterdam was our favorite place. More than anywhere I've been so far in Europe, the place was alive. In that sense, it was a lot like New York, but with a decidedly Euro-feel. It wasn't just pockets of activity either -- everywhere seemed busy. People were going every which way on bikes, scooters, trams, canal buses, cars, and on foot. People were drinking beer at tables set out on the canals. People were enjoying themselves in this beautiful city.
One of Amsterdam's many house boats, just outside the Synopsis Hotel:
Drinking beer on the canal:
Bicycles, bicycles, bicycles:
Statue of Rembrandt in his eponymous square:
We ducked into a place called the Corner House for a beer and discovered that it was a hotel and bar. The bartender gave us the prices and they were very reasonable. It was only 30 Euro for a single room and 50 Euro for a double room. We'll stay there if we go back. I think the prices change, but I think this place always will be reasonable. I found the website here.
Bicycle stoplight:
All the chairs at the cafes were pointed out -- apparently for people watching:
A manual canal drawbridge:
After a day and a half in Amsterdam, which was not enough time, we boarded Royal Caribbean's Jewel of the Seas. The reviews were correct -- it was a terrific ship. First of all, it was huge! We had been on two cruises previously, but neither one was as nice as the Jewel of the Seas. We received an upgrade to an oceanview cabin, which was wonderful. Our itinerary took use from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Copenhagen, Denmark, and we disembarked in Oslo Norway. It was a cold cruise, but being on this ship made it a good one. One day, we even took a dip in the Solarium pool -- it has a retractable glass roof that was closed for this cruise. It was like a greenhouse. I also went in the hot tub outside once -- it was pretty awesome to be in a hot tub while afloat in the North Sea. Anyway, here are some pictures from the ship:Me in our porthole:
Sailing out of the Netherlands. This was one of the many modern windmills that we saw in the Netherlands and Denmark:
Here's a video of that windmill:View of the sea from Jewel's glass elevator:
We had to pass through a loch to get out to the North Sea from Amsterdam -- it was pretty interesting to watch:
Looking down on the main lobby:
The Solarium:
Hollie on the rock wall -- it was cold!
On the put-put course with the Copenhagen harbor in the background:
I celebrated my 31st birthday while we were in Copenhagen -- we ate dinner on the ship because of the prices in Copenhagen. We had a birthday lunch in Copenhagen.
On my 31st birthday, we landed in our first port: Copenhagen, Denmark. It was incredibly expensive. We took the bus to King's New Square and bought two cups of coffee. We then realized, after figuring out the exchange rate, that the coffees were $11. Whew! Copenhagen was a beautiful city. We first headed down to a "community" called Christiania (to read about this place, click here). It was wild. Unfortunately, no pictures were allowed, so we don't have any to show. It was an old hippie community that was filled with art made from garbage -- found art. After that, we had an incredible birthday lunch at a restaurant called Ida Davidsen's, who is the queen of the Danish smørrebrød, or open-faced sanwiches.We then went to the national museum and then to the Rundetarn, a bizarre 17th Century tower with a circular ramp leading to it's top platform. Finally, we walked around the city center for a while admiring its beauty. We also had a danish at a little cafe. Here are some pictures:
The Jewel of the Seas from the port:
An espresso cart attached to a bicycle:
There were a ton of 7-Elevens in both Copenhagen and Oslo -- but it was $5 for a small coffee:
Entrance to Christiania:
Sculpture in Christiania:
Marching Danish soldiers in King's New Square:
Video of New King's Square:
Pictures from lunch at Ida Davidsen's:
Danish Kroner -- we spent plenty of these:
Views from the Rundetarn:
The Danish queen's ship -- April 16th is her birthday. There's a big celebration in Copenhangen. Sadly, the ship sailed before the celebration began so we only heard it as we were leaving.
The modern Little Mermaid statue:
The old Little Mermaid statue witht he Queen's ship in the background:
The cruise ended in Oslo, Norway where we finally disembarked. Upon our arrival we purchased the Oslo card, which allowed us to ride the public transit and get into most of the museums. It was expensive, which we soon realized was the theme in Oslo. We knew it was one of the most expensive places on Earth, but we still had sticker shock at the prices. We didn't even go out to eat there -- we went to a grocery store, cooked our food, and packed our lunch. We stayed at a little place near the Frogner Plass stop on the No. 12 tram. It was a "private accommodation" and was a very small basement studio apartment. Here's the website. Given the price, it worked out, but I wouldn't recommend staying there if you like any kind of comfort. For example, it had very cheap Murphy bed. Nevertheless, a friend who lives in Oslo told us that we couldn't do better for the price. So it worked.The first day was museum heavy. We took the ferry over to an area called Bygdoy and visited the Kon-Tiki museum, the Norwegian Maritime Museum, the Fram Museum, the Norwegian Folk Museum, and the Viking Ship Museum. We both liked the Kon-Tiki Museum and the Viking Ship Museum best. The nice thing about the museum is that they all are fairly small and manageable and you can visit all of them without getting overwhelmed by the material.
The next day, we went up into the Marka, a green belt surrounding the city. There we saw the Holmenkollen Ski Jump and hiked some of the trails. We had a packed lunch at the train station and ended our time in the Marka at the Frognersetern restaurant/cafe.
We had dinner with a friend who works in Oslo (at his house) and then walked to the center of town. I don't think we'll go back there soon, but it was an experience worth having. Maybe if we had a lot more money, we would have enjoyed ourselves a bit more. Here are the pictures:
Views from the harbor:
Kon-Tiki Museum:
Fram Museum:
Folk Museum:
Maritime Museum:
Viking Ship Museum:
Our little place:
Dinner:
Top of the Holmenkollen Ski Jump:
Ski Museum:
Lunch:
The Marka:
Frognersetern Restaurant/Cafe:
Oslo at Night:
The Nobel Institute:
