“Who knows what Romance, what Adventure, what Love, is lurking around the next turn of the road, ready to leap out on us if we’ll only travel that far.”
~Jack London, The Road
I almost waited until we were on the plane before publishing this.
It isn’t that I’m a superstitious soul, but after two unsuccessful attempts, it feels a little surreal to say that we are finally-really-definitely heading to Norway.
We cancelled our first Norwegian cruise in 2020 – just before the pandemic altered everyone’s travel plans – when we learned that our sweet grandson would be timing his arrival for that summer. We later rescheduled the trip for 2022, only to discover that our second little grandson would be making an appearance on the day we had planned to leave for the Land of the Midnight Sun. I should have known better. Summer birthdays are a thing in our family. All of us – Herb, me, our children, their spouses and now our grandchildren – keep the cake flowing and the candles burning from June to August.
Happily, this has been a remarkably easy trip to reschedule. British Airways honored the vouchers we were given with the 2020 cancellation, generously extending the expiration date several times until September 2023. Seabourn offered an almost identical Norway itinerary this June and transferred our 2022 payments to the new date. And as an unexpected bonus, our son and his German husband invited us to meet them in Berlin the week before we sail – seeing the sights and spending time with our son-in-law’s family in Hannover and Hamburg.
The cruise sails round-trip from Copenhagen, a city I fell quite hard for when I first made its impossibly charming acquaintance nine years ago. From there, we will wind our way north, traveling along the west coast of Norway. We will be stopping at fishing villages, fjords and intriguing-sounding small towns, sailing above the Arctic Circle all the way to the North Cape. The return route southward promises more fjord-filled scenery and places where we’ve never traveled – and an excursion that includes some famous Norwegian waffles.
I invite you to check out The Modern Postcard’s Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages for “real time” photos from our stops along the way. And as always, I will be sharing stories and photos here on the blog when we return.
It’s exciting to be heading out on an ocean voyage again. And if there’s any truth to the saying that “the third time’s the charm,” our travels through Norway should be quite the adventure!
Enjoy! Can’t wait to hear about your adventure !
Thanks Deb! I’m really excited about this one! 😊
Mary, Totally excited about this one. My wife and I are looking to next summer for a Scandinavian adventure, so we’ll be following yours closely. Have a lovely time!
Jason, thanks so much for the good wishes. I’m delighted to hear that you and your wife are thinking about a Scandinavian adventure, and I hope our travels will offer some inspiration and destination ideas!
mary
third time is the charm –have a wonderful time. In July of 2019 we went on a Crystal cruise Dover to Dover
directly to Norway. Weather and seas were perfect. Also went to North Cape. One of our favorite cruises.
Bon Voyage!!
Jacqueline, I’m happy to hear that Norway was one of your favorite cruises! Interestingly, the June 2020 cruise we had to cancel was on Crystal, also round-trip from Dover. I hope we will have your good fortune with weather and seas! Many thanks for stopping by and saying bon voyage 🙂
Mary, I am excited for you! Beautiful places on the horizon with the bonus of family and friends too. What could be better? I am looking forward to following along with you and will keep everything crossed for fine weather and smooth sailing. Have a wonderful time 🙂
Thanks so much, Gill! You are so right…I am overjoyed that this third attempt at visiting Norway has expanded to include a special pre-cruise week with family and other new places to explore. And yes – if you have any connections with the good weather gods, fine weather and smooth sailing would be a fantastic request!
Hello Mary and Herb,
How thrilling to start another adventure! Also to meet up with your son’s family in Germany! I myself am leaving this week to go on a historical trip. Colonial Virginia, Chesapeake Bay (to see the wild ponies), Gettysburg, PA, Washington DC and end in Boston.
I will follow you on Facebook, Bon Voyage my friends,
Nancy O^O~
Nancy, your East Coast historical itinerary sounds wonderful! I’m especially intrigued with the wild ponies of Chesapeake Bay – please post photos if you have a chance. You must be as excited as we are about heading out to explore the world again. Thanks for the “bon voyage”…Happy Trails and Happy Travels to you! 😊
Wishing you a wonderful trip! Cannot wait to hear about it!
Thank you Ann! Looking forward to catching up when we return!😊
I am amazed when looking at a map to see how very skinny Norway is. I am looking forward to your report about this trip. I
Hi Susan…I know what you mean! Skinny is not the word that comes to mind when sailing through a fjord or standing at the top of the North Cape. Herb and I really enjoyed getting to know you and Josiah and sharing stories over delicious dinners. We arrived home last night, and I’m excited to start putting blog posts together soon. It’s great to hear from you here, and I hope our travel paths will cross again!
Mary
One of my favorite TV dramas is “Deadliest Catch” on the discovery channel.
This season, Sig Hansen, a crab boat captain, travels to Norway to return to his family’s roots with his daughter. The producer includes beautiful scenes of small Norwegian fishing villages and harbors.
Enjoy your vacation
Vic Fabry
Thank you, Vic! We are now home, and I can definitely attest to the beautiful scenery you describe. Blog posts are coming soon…stay tuned 🙂
Hello Mary and Herb,
I laughed out loud on the first line. So glad you both are finally getting where you are going!
I will follow as you adventure the Norway coast.
Kindest regards, Nancy
I’m glad to add a bit of humor to your day, Nancy! 🙂 It did seem like an eternity planning for this trip, but it was definitely worth the wait. Blog posts coming soon!