From Fjords to Pharaohs

[VPS]

Thanks - good to know. I can also see that Havila is cheaper......though the impression I got was Havila was more of a ferry service which takes tourists on it, whereas Hurtigruten is purely tourism? is that not right?

Hurtigruten is definitely not just tourism. They are general freight as well including mail, food, locals and equipment. A friend watched a tractor being put on board once

 

[Wello]

Our final day in the fjords part of this trip in Bergen was cloudy and rainy but we decided we would do the funicular to Mount Floyen anyway. There are some nice walks at the top and I am sure in summer it would get very busy.




We again stayed at a Thon hotel in Bergen and it was quite comfortable and the room was the biggest so far on our trip. The buffet breakfast is very similar at each Thon hotel so the breakfast we loved on day one becomes less exciting by our last day.

After the funicular we took an airport bus to Bergen airport for our direct flight to Krakow with Norwegian Airlines. Bergen airport is not big and we were able to drop our bags and get through security within minutes of arrival.

We flew on a Boeing 737-800 with Norwegian Airlines with a flight time of 2 hours 20 minutes, although we left Bergen 10 minutes early and landed in Krakow about 20 minutes early. You receive no free food or drinks on Norwegian but because it was an evening flight we ordered a meal which was quite good for an economy flight. There is also only economy seats on this flight. On arrival in Krakow we are transported to the terminal by bus.

I had read horror stories about Krakow airport and the time it takes to get through immigration but this was no problem for us as we were arriving within the Schengen area so there are no checks needed. After showing our passports in Copenhagen it continues to amaze me how seamless it is to travel between countries in the Schengen area without ever showing any identity documents.

 

[Wello]

There is plenty of things to keep you busy in Krakow and the Australian dollar goes much further here. It is at least half as cheap as Norway and public transport, food and drinks are much more affordable. This is my first visit to Poland and I am very impressed with it as a tourist destination. The locals seem happy when you see them and although not all speak great English, we have had no trouble finding someone who is happy to help us. I have realised on this trip how I take it for granted that others will speak English and I need to be doing more to at least learn some basic phrases in the local language.

On our first full day we did a walking tour and received an unexpected education of Australian history. I was unaware that Australia’s tallest mountain, Mt Kosciuszko was named after a local Krakow freedom fighter. I will include a photo of his statue below. The main square in Krakow is very large and brings in reasonable large crowds. We have been fortunate to get very good weather in Krakow with beautiful blue skies.