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