Fron Styrso to Falkenberg to Torekov to Helsignor

From Styrso we sailed to Falkenberg and had some of the roughest water to sail through. Thea, the 12 Meter, passed us like we were standiing still, but we got some nice pictures.

Thea

Falkenberg was a busy very, protected port, but not especially memorable except for wind generators at the entrance and the dry dock facilities. We did find a nice resteraunt for dinner and they had a waitress who spoke excellent English so we had a great meal.

Here's a picture of one of the Dry Docks

From Falknberg we headed to Torekov which had a nice little harbor next to a little island which is a wildlife preserve. Torekov was a pretty harbor and people came down to the water for a swim in the morning and evening dressed in their bathrobes. After the swim they stop in one of the local pastry shops for a bite and a coffee.

Sunset at 10:30

Bathers headed home after morning coffee

 From Torekov we went to Helsignor Denmark, home of Kronberg Castle. Watching the castle grow on the horizon was one of the most remarkable parts of the trip. Kronberg was the setting Shakespeare used for Hamlet. Once we got there we went for a tour of the town and found a Thai place for dinner. The next day we took a tour of the castle from the catacombs to the rooftop. The catacombs were lit with kerosene lanterns and were dark and damp - Perfect for catacombs!

The approach to Helsignor

Kronberg Castle from the roof top

Smogen to Marstrand to Styrso for Mid Summers Eve

We left Stromstad and motored to Marstrand. Along the way we saw some beautiful summer homes tucked into the rocks. Once we arrived in Marstrand we took a trip up to the castle for a look around at the beautiful vistas followed by dinner ashore. Some of Helen's friends from her visit to Sweden in 2007 came to visit. It was fun re-connecting especially in another country. From Marstrand  we headed to Styrso for the Mid Summers Eve celebration. Throughout Scandinavia they celebrate the longest day of the year and we joined the celebration in Styrso. For the celebration the whole town turns out with flowers in their hair and gathers in circles holding hands. We all danced around the pole trying to sing songs we did not understand. Our captain explained one of the songs was about frogs who have no ears or a tail, but a pig has ears and a tail. We decided it lost something in translation. After dinner we poked around the town a bit. There were some wonderfull peaceful walks along the rocks around the island. The nice thing about Styrso is that it is commuter island with regular ferry service to Goteberg Sweden, so much of the population work on the main land but keep beautiful homes on the island. 

Decorated boat house

Boat Houses in Smogen

Summer House on one of the skeeries.

Entrance to Marstrand Harbor with the castle above

Mid Summers Eve gathering in Styrso

Our 12 Meter Traveling companion in the waves

The Harbor of Stryso at 10:30PM

Next Stop Tonsberg and on to Sweden

Following a night in Oslo, we took the train to Tonsberg about an hour and a half south of Oslo. Of course we missed the earlier train by about 5 minutes, but we caught the next one and arrived safely. At this point there were 5 of us traveling and we had so much baggage we had to take 2 taxis to the hotel. Luckly it was a short ride so not too expensive.

In Tonsberg we found our boats and captain, visited the local Viking Museum where they are reconstructing a Viking ship using only the tools available at the time. We also bought provisions for the trip, but only for 1 day since it was so expensive.

From Tonsberg we traveled to Bjorkoya and spent the night off an island. The next day we  traveled to Stromstad Sweden where we had dinner and bought more supplies. Not much time for sightseeing but we did get to walk around the town some.

Recreating a Viking Ship in Tonsberg

The Fleet for the next 10 days

Motoring down the Fjord

Panaroma of our first night's anchorage

Nighbors dock on the island

Stromstad Sweden Harbor Entrance

Sailing along

Our Skipper (for part of the trip)

On to Norway

After leaving Ireland we arrived in Olso. We grabbed a cab and totally got taken with cab fare to the hotel, but we made up for it with an upgrade at the hotel to a suite (Christian Radich Suite) on the top floor. The suite has 2 powder rooms, a living room, a grand dining room with table and 14 chairs where we sensed the presence of former world leaders, den and bed-bath section. We also had a great wrap aroung porch with a view of the Royal Palace. Once we got checked in Marc took us on a blues cruise around the harbour - to get in the mood.

Our living room. I think we could get used to this!

Bob, Helen and Corrine with the palace in the background.

Summer cottages in Oslo

The 'Wooden Shoe Boat'

Quick ReCap

Now that our computer speaks English, here's a brief recap of our trip starting with our first stop in Ireland.

Ann, Mike & Michael at their home in Cork

The view from Kinsale Harbour

Ann & Corrine

Colorful Kinsale Street

We're Back!

Well we have made it back, but we will continue to add to the blog, because people seem to enjoy it.
For a variety of reasons we were not able to add pictures as we travelled. All of the computer systems we were using had different Operating Systems and different languages which made it very hard to find pictures and tag them to post. So here are a few I hope you enjoy and we will add some more as we sort them out.

Inside a Barn in Torekov Sweden

Some rough water and the 12 Meter Thea gets wet

Helsignor (Kronborg Castle) Denmark

The setting for Shakespear's Hamlet

http://www.copenhagenpictures.dk/kronborg.html

Holger Danske, or Ogier the Dane

The Court Yard

Great Sailing!

We have had some incredible days sailing on our way south to Denmark.  The wind has been most favorable and the weather gets warmer and warmer each day! It only rains at night!! We promise some wonderful shots of our sailing adventures after dinner tonight......Best to all

Some Pictures

Adding pictures is difficult because the controls are all in Danish and we can't figure out how to get the pictures we want, but these will give you an idea of what we've been up to.
Here we are celebrating Mid Summer's Eve!

 Maneuvering the Swedish Archipelago.......

Ellen at the Helm!

Thea, our 1918 Twelve Meter passing us to windward!

We are in Denmark!

We have been sailing down the coast and made it to Helsingor Copenhagen.
The weather has been beautiful but there has not been Internet access until today.
We are very close to Kronborg Castle and are headed there next. This is the setting for Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Pictures to follow.

Stromstad, Sweden

First boat to sail into the harbor last evening! We made Stromstad after a 6 hour sail.  Marc took the helm and maneuvered our boat to take full advantage so when the winds shifted to the southwest, we made fast time to port. Once all the boats were berthed we were invited to cocktails on the 12 meter, Thea,a beautiful Norweigan 12 meter built in 1918.  The weather was mild and sunny so were all able to sit on top and enjoy great food and company!
Afterwards, our boat split off and we invited our captain, Neils's son, Jacob, to join us for dinner at a restaurant by the pier. We enjoyed caesar salads, fish & chips and shrimp open-faced sandwiches (local delicacy.) We ended the evening teaching Jacob how to play the card game, "99." Though he caught on fast, Helen prevailed!  We turned in around midnight. 
Woke by 7:30 and made our way to the showers.  Once showered, we shared cereal for breakfast and instant coffee.  Tomorrow we hope to buy good coffee to brew!  After the skipper's meeting, we suited up for our next leg.  Should be windy & cold so we have a day of card games ahead!

Tonsberg!

We made it to Tonsberg Norway which is where we pick up our boats. Today we will get provisions, but only for 1 day as Norway is too expensive! I figure everything is about 3x more expensive than in the US.
From here we do a quick sail to get everything shaken out the tomorrow - off to Sweden!

We spent a great day in Oslo and visited a very old fort. Here are a couple of pics.

Inside the Fort

From the fort walls overlooking Oslo Harbor

Some of our boats in Tonsberg Harbor

Oslo!

Travelled all day, arriving in Oslo this evening! Cab ride was 300.00USD to hotel. Ouch!! On registration we were informed that the hotel was booked so they had to give us an upgrade (confirming once again that we were only staying one night) Directions were to take the elevator to the 7th floor and walk up one flight.  Walk up one flight? Servants quarters? Ah, no this would be the Presidential  Suite. Four rooms, living room, dining room, den (with cot for Helen) master bedroom, master bath, 2 powder rooms, and a wrap-a-round porch. View of the Presidential Palace, cathedral etc.... no extra charge!
Met Marc and Ellen and took a dinner cruise of Oslo harbor (froze our butts off, but the scenery was magnificent) Still light out when we arrived back at our hotel at 10:00 pm.  Hope you enjoy the pics!

Eire!

Touched down at Shannon Airport Thursday and made our way to Cork to meet up with our dear friends, The Barrys after 10 years! Visited Kinsale this morning and the weather was beautiful! Hope you enjoy a few pics from Kinsale.....

Kinsale Harbour

Mylie Murphy's

Made it to Heathrow

We arrived in Heathrow at 6:15 AM London time.
Exhausted.

Next Flight at 10

WE ARE OFF!

After running around all day doing last minute errands, we are ready to go.

Now just waiting for the taxi.

Second Entry

In two days we leave. We have been shopping and probably have too much stuff, but we will be ready!
Here we are:

And this is what we are leaving.