The Viking and I are back from our Scandinavian trip!

My Viking’s so paranoid that he wouldn’t let me post while we were gone, so today I begin posting the travelogue that I kept for each of the 21 (OMG) days we were away.  So, sit back and enjoy! (I hope you won’t be bored)

My Viking Sojourn, Day 1—Florida to Oslo, Norway!

If you’ve never flown on the new Dreamliner jets—you’re missing a real treat! Norwegian Airlines flies directly to Oslo from Ft. Lauderdale and their fleet’s composed of Dreamliners.

First of all, these planes can fly higher than most other jets, and that cuts the flying time by an hour and a half. Secondly, this was the most comfortable transatlantic  flight I’ve ever had. The seats recline and there’s a little footstool. If, like me, you’re five almost nothing, this rocks!

Thirdly, and this is the fun aspect, each seat has its own personal touchscreen tablet. OMG!

I dozed, I watched a couple of TV episodes, I played Sudoku and Scrabble , and dozed some more. The food was plain awful, but our Floridian Norwegian neighbor, Nina, had warned me about that, so I packed a picnic.

We took a FlyBus to the Oslo Radisson Blue hotel and enjoyed the passing scenery. Lush green farm after farm flew by. I’m not sure why I was so shocked, but for some strange reason I didn’t expect Norway to be so rural.

Water everywhere, but that I expected.

Because we wanted to stay aligned to the local time, we decided to shower and change, and explore the city. Here are some of the sights:

   

       

Nina, our Florida Norwegian neighbor, picked us up later that night and we headed to her lovely home with a fantastic view of the city for dinner. The weather was perfect, we sat on the balcony sipping on a chilled chardonnay, and munching on sausages Nina’d purchased in Cannes, France, a month earlier.

   

Yummy food, including a duck salad and by far the best salmon I’ve tasted to date, great company, and a breathtaking view—what more could a gal ask for???

When we returned to our hotel long after midnight the sky was still light and it felt like dusk had just fallen. So weird. This far north darkness never really happens in the summertime and it remains a surreal twilight from one until about 4:30 A.M. When I pulled back the curtains at that time, the sun was full in the sky and it felt like ten in the morning.

I’m so revved about this vacation that I have a strong hunch sleep will be elusive.