I hope you enjoy my Norway travel blog (even if you aren’t diabetic!) I offer tips for diabetic travel which can be valuable for people without diabetes as well. Safe and healthful travel is great for all of us!
We visited Norway in June 2016 on an 18-day full-country blitz: We started in Bergen, drove through fjord country through Flam, Sogndal, Stryn, Aurland, Geiranger, and up to Trondheim.
Next we took the train to Bodo, rented a car, then took a ferry to the Lofoten Islands, drove to Tromso, took a plane to Longyearbyen on Svalbard.
I’d been to Norway before, several times, but not with Greg. What did I hope to accomplish on this trip? Yes! I saw a polar bear in the wild in Svalbard. It was a breathtaking adventure.
One of the reasons for my “early” visit in 2001 and the subsequent frequent returns is its ease of diabetic travel. So much is so comfortable in Norway. You can focus more easily on the enjoyment of the vacation then on the management of your diabetes.
The problem with sleeping in Iceland or Norway The days are very long during the summer. The Arctic Circle crosses just above Iceland, and it chops Norway into two. In the summer. the twenty-four hour a day sunlight can be very disturbing to your sleep cycles. Many people are able
I’ve visited Norway five times since 2001 but for Greg I needed to develop one itinerary which would allow him to see it all, in two weeks!
Continuing our trip throughout Norway, we traveled north to the Urnes Stave Church, the Norwegian Glacier Museum, Geiranger and Trollstiggen
When I searched for the ultimate itinerary for two weeks in Norway I knew that I couldn’t limit myself to Bergen and the Fjord Country – we needed to go north on the train to Bodo and ferry to the Lofoten Islands. After that? Onward to Tromso.
My goal was to get out on the water, far from the town, to increase our odds of seeing wildlife. We were partially successful in one respect and saw more than expected in other respects. Pyramiden is an abandoned Russian coal-mining town.
The Day to Remember of all the days in the trip – Dog Carting with Green Dog, and our POLAR BEAR with Better Moments. What could be better?
An ATV safari around Longyearbyen and to the Global Seed Vault followed by a museum visit, a hot tub experience and another boat trip in the midnight sun.
Our destination today, on a ten hour small boat trip, is Nye-Alesund, home of the northernmost post office in the world, at 78 degrees north. We would be heading directly north from Longyearbyen, first crossing huge Isfjorden which dominates the area. In fact, everywhere we had been until now was basically Isfjorden and Billefjord. Now we would head up the narrow sea Forlandsundet, which separates the major landmass from the Prins Karl Forland island.
Maybe I am a dog person after all? As a child I loved cats and dogs, but never owned one. My father is allergic to cat and dog dander in a big way, an “air passages close up and you die” kind of way. So I petted the passing dog
I knew that by staying in Longyearbyen I was limiting my chances to see a Polar Bear. While they are known to wander into the inhabited areas during the winter, the likelihood of seeing one in June was very low. That is why I chose to go out every day on
This summer included one of my bucket list events – the long awaited trip north to Svalbard. I had wanted to visit Svalbard since I had returned home from Antarctica in 2007. I had learned that the Polar Star (no longer in service) traveled in the summer to a small
In June 2001, at the age of thirty-eight, I visited Norway with my parents Dave and Lila Kirkwood on a self-designed, self-planned and jointly executed twenty-one day expedition. It was truly a bonding experience! Part 1 – Oslo and first half of the Lofotens
What excitement the next day as we awoke to blue skies! We quickly packed up and headed back to Reine, to take pictures, then north back to Sakrisoy, Olinsoy and Hamnoy. The night before I had been happy to be wearing my ski-jacket. This day was a little warmer. The day was picture-perfect.
The next day dawned as was foreseen, with a fresh layer of fog over the entire island chain. We found our way to the ferry terminal, and took the Skutvik ferry to the mainland, heading towards as much fog as we were leaving behind. If there is anything constant in Lofoten, it is the the weather never is.
I slept well, but awoke to a foggy, ugly day. We packed up, and drove again through Geiranger, and up the switchbacks to the mountain range behind the town. We stopped at the side of the road, in the cold fog, to look for photographic opportunities. It seemed Dad took forever, trying to make something of a dense fog in an Arctic landscape. To me it was plain cold and ugly.
Total and per-day Norway travel expenses (costs) for 2 people for 18 days during early high season (2nd half of June to beginning of July) 2016 traveling throughout Norway. This includes: Bergen, driving through the fjord country up to Trondheim, taking the train to Bodo, renting a car in Bodo
Hello, my name is Wendy Kirkwood Powers and this is my travel blog with travel tips and travel stories for diabetics and non-diabetics alike. |
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I am a type 1 diabetic, and have been for fifty-three years. From Antarctica to Svalbard, Australia to Africa, I’ve visited every continent. With my husband Greg, I have been on safari to Africa, wandered among the blue boobies in the Galapagos, slogged through jungle mud in Laos, and he has even chased an ocelot in Costa Rica (with his camera!) Our travel has taken careful planning, and constant attention to what is most important. I want to give you the inspiration and travel tips to enable you also to look beyond your own personal challenges, to not hide behind those words “I could never” and to see the world. |
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The list goes on... Click here to read them all! |
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Scotland Sand and Sea - an unusual view of the Islands and Highlands of Scotland in paperback and Kindle from Amazon |
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Antarctica: Voyage Beyond the End of the World Glimpses of penguins, seals, whales and ice collide with fragments of shipboard life and cold feet. in paperback and Kindle from Amazon |
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Amazon - The River Grows on You - My top three Amazon experiences? The amazing mud cliffs and boats along the huge Amazon ... in paperback from Amazon |
