Sandham

One of our favorite stops was the charming island of Sandham.  We tendered in and arrived at a bustling dock with everyone getting ready to sail.  It reminded me a bit of a Swedish Nantucket.  A naturally beautiful island and no cars are allowed.

Either K is looking really tall or I am looking really short!

We had a delicious lunch on the island-I had pickled herring

K had risotto

Visby

 Our next stop with Visby, Sweden.  A lovely walled city with lots of history.  We visited one of the most beautiful botanical gardens I have ever seen.  There were so many unusual plants that I have never seen.

Our day ended with a barbecue on deck.  No, we did not eat any of that pig!

Copenhagen

Our next stop was a two day stop in Copenhagen.  The highpoint of the stop for K was Tivoli Gardens where she rode a roller coaster for the first time.  The highpoint of the stop for me was taking a ferry to southern Sweden and being picked up by a guide who took us antique shopping for the day.  K was a great sport and it was a very long day.  I bought some beautiful, beautiful pieces.  Cannot wait until my container arrives.

We had lunch at a little place on the right

Loved this dog-he was sitting in this MG at a vintage car show

To die for-love the feet!

Skagen Denmark

Our next stop was Skagen, Denmark.  A busy little vacation town with charming older neighborhoods with distinctive yellow houses, great museums and many art galleries.  Harbor side restaurants were serving fish right off the boats.

Once back on the boat we figured out how to really relax in the evenings.  While everyone was in the dining room or their cabins we had the back of the boat to ourselves.  We ordered room service and ate on the back of the boat-it was like having our own boat.  And much more relaxing than eating in the restaurant in spite of the fact that the restaurant was not very dressy.  I also liked that we could order cobb salad or fruit and cheese plates and the girls ordered burgers, steaks and one night K had her new favorite lobster.

Look-nobody else around!  It is quite late in the evening but still very light out.  That is my wine, not K's.

Watching the sunset on our "private boat."

Oslo

Our next wonderful surprise was Oslo.  One day was not enough.  There are so many things to do in Oslo and it is a beautiful city with beautiful parks, amazing neighborhood and pretty homes.  I loved the architecture.  We wandered around Vigeland Park which has 200 sculptures done by Gustav Vigeland.  I would loved to have had time to see The Scream and go to the ski museum.

We stopped for lunch at the Grand hotel.  K had a hot dog from the kids menu and I had a cheese sandwich and a beer.  $50.  This was our first exposure to how expensive things are in Norway.

Opera House

I did not Photoshop this little boat!

Leaving Oslo was beautiful.  Miles and miles of fjords with little islands covered in cute, brightly colored cottages.  This was our view for several hours.

The girls ended the day in the hot tub on the back of the boat