Welcome to Norway!
After a full day at sea while we crossed the North Sea we arrived at our first port in Norway - Lofoten. Our excursion for today, joint excursions from here on out was called "A Viking Experience." We received a letter yesterday that told us we would not be able to row the Viking ship as advertised and we were at first disappointed. But the day turned out GREAT! The weather was supposed to be gloomy, about 50 degrees and 90% chance of rain.....but as is so often our good fortune the skies cleared, it was in the upper 50s and NEVER rained! Just as an example of our good fortune, while in Shetland two days ago we were told that a week ago when the last cruise went through it was in the 40s, rained all day, and the winds howled at over 40 mph. And at the show last night we were told that on this same voyage nine days ago there were THREE ports where the weather was so bad, the seas so rough that they could not go into port.....three days! We are so fortunate!
Today after about a 35 minute bus ride we arrived at a museum then were given a tour of a Viking longhouse. The original was found less than twenty yards away and is the largest longhouse ever discovered. We then walked down to the re-created village and got to try our hands at axe-throwing! When we'd been told in the letter that we could not row the boat we were just hoping to see it. But not only did we see it, but we got to see it sail up to the dock. And then we asked our guide if we could get on board for a photo and he arranged it :) Finally we drove to another island, by going UNDER the fjord through a tunnel and walked around in a fishing village that is exactly as it was in the early 1900s. It was a great day.
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