Onward to Porto in Portugal

     Stunning moonlight accompanied the overnight sail towards Portugal and the port of Leixoes, just 10 km drive away from the centre of Porto. 

     Vímara Peres, was sent by King Alfonso III of Asturias, Leon and Galicia,to regain from the Moors the area from the Minho River to the Douro River including the city of Portus Cale later named Porto and Gaia from where the name of Portugal emerged. A statue of this 9th Century hero stands next to the Cathedral.

     Walking in the centre of Porto is not just about seeing historic buildings and the famed tile decorations. Laundry hangs out to dry, elderly ladies sharpen their kitchen knives on the granite steps, goods are delivered. The streets and the rail station bustle with activity.

At the mouth of the River Douro the local fishermen were fixing the nets used from their small boats. A little further inland the port wine warehouses nestle together on the opposite river bank from the civic centre. Joining the two is Gustav Eiffel's distinctive iron bridge, carrying road and tram traffic on different levels.

     Port is a fortified wine produced exclusively in the demarcated Douro Valley Region. Helped by the microclimate around one hundred different varieties of grape are grown. Typically a sweet, red wine is produced, often served as a dessert wine, but there are also dry, semi-dry, and white varieties.

     In the early history of the port wine trade, many of the most powerful traders were English families. Over the years Portuguese, as well as Dutch, German and Scottish-owned shippers became prevalent in the port industry. Fram's guests visited the warehouses of rivals Calem and Sandeman. Tasting, of course, the only way to appreciate this particular heritage of Porto!

Clear skies in the City of Crystal

Galicia is an autonomous region in northwest Spain, erosion by the Atlantic Ocean has contributed to the many capes on the coastline.   Best known is Cape Finisterre said to be considered by the Romans (along with Finistère in Brittany and Land's End in Cornwall) to be the end of the known world. 
    
Our port, La Coruna, a political capital from the 16th to the 19th Century, is characterised by glazed window balconies called galerías. This solution for the challenging weather, particularly rainy days, dates back to the 18th Century. The finest examples face out to sea from Avenida de la Marina.   Shortly after Fram moored, stunning morning light bounced off the windows as hundreds of local runners streamed past in a weekend road race.

     Santiago di Compostela, only one hour away, drew many passengers to see the Cathedral. Dedicated to the apostle James, this final destination of medieval pilgramage routes is also surrounded by many other historic buildings.
     Heading back out to sea it was easy to see the Tower of Hercules, a lighthouse that has been in continuous operation for nearly 2,000 years.  It is easy to understand how its nightly beam can be seen for 24 miles.

The Bay of Biscay

For crew there are regular safety drills, a day "At Sea" often finds them on one of these exercises. This was no exception. Though not involving passengers, many are keen to watch the activity.

Lectures, bridge visits, dolphin and whale sightings - quite a day. A calm Biscay meant afternoon waffles with Antonio on piano were popular.

Fram's voyages in Europe visit several sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Fiona explained how properties obtain a place on that List. Steffan put 4.6 billion years of geology into a nutshell, Freida described the ecology of oceans, Katya illustrated Spanish and Portugese Art. Arne introduced everyone to our next port A Coruna in the Galicia Region of Spain. Klaus spoke of Christopher Colombus, who passed through the Bay of Biscay in 1476 on his way to England, Ireland and onto Iceland. It is not recorded how the sea condition was then, but it will definately have taken more than a day to cross!

Nantes

Past St. Nazaire, 56 km down the Loire River (the longest in France) to Nantes.  With a history spanning three thousand years the city developed at a place where a number of islands embraced by the river enabled it to be crossed and bridges to be built.  Notable amongst many historic buildings are the St. Pierre Cathedral and the Chateau of the Dukes of Brittany.

     A region for Muscadet, Sancerre and Vouvrey wine, the estate of Chateau de Goulaine is thought to be the oldest known wine business in existence. Their fine tapestries and butterfly house were enjoyed as well as their wine.

     Nantes is also the home of LU biscuits, their "petit beurre" still produced after more than a hundred years, though no longer in local ownership.

What started as a grey afternoon turned to sun in time for enthusiastic photographers to catch the autumn colours at Clisson. Coaches returned from excursions to a pipe band playing at the gangway and a superb sunset.

Cruising the Seine River

An overnight stay in Rouen, the historic buildings beautifully lit, and a morning stay that enabled passengers to get to Giverney and to the Abbey's of Jumieges and St. George de Boscherville.  The distinctive towers of Notre Dame de Jumieges made this the tallest church of 11th Century Normandy.

Claude Monet painted Rouen from St. Catherine's viewpoint as well executing a well known series of the Cathedral facade demonstrating the effects of changing light. The gardens of his home at nearby Giverney also inspired many of his Impressionist works.

Cruising the Seine River, on the way back out to sea, the sunshine, albeit briefly, bounced off the chalk cliffs and the dramatic bridges near the mouth of the river. 

Look up! The City of Rouen.

In the heart of the historic city the Notre Dame Cathedral has grown over centuries and survived Viking Invasion and Allied Bombing in 1944.

A metalwork spire added in 1877 made the Cathedral in the tallest in the world for a brief time, and it is still the highest in France.

Also overhead, amongst fine Normandy style half-timber architecture is the Gros Horloge. In operation from the 14th Century until 1928 without stopping once, calculated to be more than 5 million hours.

Rivers of Western Europe

Fram arrived in Hamburg soon after dawn. Passengers disembarked in the cool, but it soon became a scorching hot day. Sailing back out of the city this afternoon, the deck was the place to be, not only for the breeze, but to see the properties along the banks, pleasure craft and locals enjoying the beaches along the Elbe River.

The new arrivals have their blue jackets, have done safety drill and enjoyed dinner. All are settled in for 'The Rivers of Western Europe' a journey south visiting ports in France, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and the Canary Island of Lanzarote.

Straight to the source

We have learned that our Expeditionleader Karin can be fully trusted, so we have no doubt that we are cruising through Nordfjorden, if she tells us so on the PA system. It is not that anyone could verify this information this morning: Someone must have painted the ship's windows white, there is no way that fog can be so dense… But you can actually go outside and  have the same sensation of being "whited out". Hm, so it is really just funny weather. But as if the city of Olden has a contract saying otherwise, the fogs get thinner and then stay entirely behind us as we approach the pier. Even the sun makes an attempt to come out. A good attempt, because one hour later the whole fjord is bathed in warm sunshine, revealing the prevailing colors green and dark grey for moss and rock that go so well together here. 

Perfect timing indeed, for we all are leaving on different excursions. There is that fjord panorama tour, bringing you high up for wonderful views from a lofty perspective. Those who feel more active join the Briksdal Glacier Hike, a splendid walking tour to both sides of a roaring waterfall, up and up until the valley ends in front of a crisp blue-and-white glacier, source of countless waterfalls that all merge in a turquoise-colored lake which in turn is covered with a sheet of floating icecubes, glistening in the sunlight like obscenely big diamonds. This is a paradise, can't we stay a little longer? We can, getting an extra half hour to hang out and utterly enjoy this extraordinary day. The water, by the way, is not only about 500 years old but also so pure that they fill it in bottles right away and sell it to the world. "Olden" is a well-known synonyme in Norway for the still water bottled here. (Like Kleenex or Scotch, only for something more delicious in this case…)
Well, and then there was a small group of real fun-lovers who went and took a flight into the valleys - in a helicopter. They come back with a smile that doesn't want to disappear ever again from their faces. 
In the evening, our musician Bjørn presents a lecture on traditional Norwegian folk music, and so we listen to soundbits of the old times as we glide past the places where they were invented. What a treat!