We arrived in Copenhagen around noon and were impressed to see hundreds of sailboats all around the long harbor entrance.  It is Saturday today and the weather is good, so it’s a “perfect storm” for sailors to get out and sail!

Copenhagen is the capital of Denmark and its most populous city.  It includes a large number of bridges and tunnels that connect the city together and promenades and waterfronts primarily characterize the cityscape.

It was originally a Viking fishing village founded in the 10th century and became the capital of Denmark in the beginning of the 15th century.

The museums, castles and public buildings are significant and the wealth and tradition here is undeniable.  We enjoyed our tour and the continued good weather we’ve been enjoying on the cruise.

Our tour today is called “Copenhagen by Sea” which included a coach tour highlight of the city and then a ride on a boat to see the city via the network of canals.  We were once again impressed with the beauty of another old Scandinavian city.  The history in this area is fairly co-mingled – lots of fighting amongst themselves (primarily in the Viking days) and then binding together to fight against other aggressors (Germany).

We found out that Copenhagen is home to “Christiania” also known as “Freetown Christiania”.  Christiania has been a source of controversy since some “hippies” created it by taking over or “squatting” in an abandoned military barracks area back in 1971.  Authorities tolerated its cannabis trade until 2004 and since then there are regular conflicts with the inhabitants of this “Freetown” and negotiations are ongoing.   We went by this area during our canal cruise and later, back on the ship, heard a hard rock concert that went on for many hours and was very loud!

We have been blessed with a beautiful day today as it was forecast to rain.  Our tour today is to the Hadeland Glass Works factory.

We took a 90 minute coach ride through some beautiful countryside – passing along the way a view of the island where the brutal massacre took place in July 2011.  You may recall that a lone gunman, dressed as a policeman, shot and killed 69 children at an island youth camp.  This was the deadliest attack in Norway since World War II and a survey found that 1 in 4 Norwegians knew “someone affected by the attacks”.  It was very sad to remember this event, but happy to hear from our guide how the Norwegian people have stood tall. Hundreds of thousands regularly attend events to show their support of “love and life” proving they will not to be broken by individuals who take it upon themselves to hurt and kill.

The glass works factory was nice and it was impressive to watch the workers handling 500+ degree molten glass!  It takes a highly skilled individual to handle, blow, form and cut the wide assortment of glass products Hadeland produces.

Since the weather was so nice, our guide decided to take us on a side trip on the way back to the ship.  The coach wove it’s way up a steep and twisty road to a lookout area on the edge of a cliff.  We had a great view of the many lakes and distant glaciers.

There was a base jump area and 2 guys were there waiting for the wind to change direction before they jumped.  When we walked down we noticed there was a drop-off about 30 feet from the area where we stood – this was the edge the base jumpers would leap from with their wing shaped parachute.

We had to be careful not to step in the deer and elk scat as we went to take pictures and was surprised when suddenly, one of the guys from our tour, came running past us heading straight for the edge!  At first we thought he was joking around, but then we realized that he couldn’t stop!  Very scary.

He ended up throwing himself to the ground about 10 feet before the edge.  He was really lucky that he didn’t hurt himself, in fact, after he came to a rest on his bottom, he didn’t miss a beat as he grabbed his camera and started taking photos of the vista!

We overheard him telling his wife when we were back on the coach that he had taken 2 big steps to avoid stepping in the scat only to realize that his momentum kept him going toward the edge.  He could have easily hurt himself, or any one of us if he had run into someone, or gone over the edge and the 200+ foot drop off.  A little too much excitement and a good lesson to be careful and mindful of more than just what you step in!

Some background on Oslo – it was founded around 1,000 AD and is the capital of and most populous city in Norway.  It is the economic and governmental center of Norway. The city is also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping. It is an important center for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe.  You may recall the winter Olympics where held in Lillehammer Norway back in 1994.

We arrived in Amsterdam today about 2:00 pm, right on schedule.  After having lunch in the Grand Dining Room we headed out on our own.  Getting directions from a nice lady in the atrium we grabbed a map and embarked on a walking adventure.

We have both been to Amsterdam several times, including once together, so we opted to do a self-guided tour today.  It was a beautiful day and we set off for the 2 mile walk into town.

The city was much as we remembered with lovely canals, beautiful flowers and interesting smells rising up from the numerous coffee shops.  After exploring a large area, we ended up sipping wine at a sidewalk café  before heading back to the ship.

Amsterdam is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, lying at the center of the Randstad, one of the largest metropolitan areas in Europe.  It’s name derives from Amstelredamme, indicative of the city’s origin: a dam in the river Amstel.

Originating as a small fishing village in the late 12th century, it became one of the most important ports in the world during the Dutch Golden Age. During that time, the city was the leading center for finance and diamonds. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the city expanded, and many new neighborhoods and suburbs were planned and built. The 17th-century canals of Amsterdam located in the heart of Amsterdam, were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2010.