|
Springtime
in Denmark & Norway
Superior First Class
Program
April &
May, 2007
Day
1 • April 30 Overnight Flight
We will enjoy our wonderful overnight flight to
Copenhagen.
Day
2 • May 1 Copenhagen
Upon arrival at Copenhagen International Airport, we are met and assisted
by our Danish escort. We will depart directly for a three-hour city tour
with a local, English-speaking city guide. We will drive down Hans
Christian Andersen Boulevard, which runs past Tivoli, the famous amusement
park, the NY Carlsberg Glyptotek with its incredible collection of works
of art and on past the National Museum. We will cross the picturesque
canal and arrive at Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish
Parliament. Pass the beautiful old Stock Exchange, which was built in the
17th century, and we continue past the Naval Church where many grand Royal
events take place. We will see Kongens Nytorv with its Royal Theater, the
home of the Royal Danish Ballet, and we'll continue to Nyhavn, a street
well known for the variety of its nightlife. Pass Amalienborg Palace, the
Queens residence, and the famous Little Mermaid. We will make a visit to
Vor Frues Kirke (the Church of Our Lady.) which had been Copenhagen's
Cathedral since 1924. Bishop Absalon is believed to have built a chapel
here in the early 13th century. Ravaged by fire in 1728 and hit during
Lord Nelson's bombardment in 1807, it was rebuilt in stern neo-Classical
style in the early 19th century. The entire structure was extensively
restored between 1977 and 1979. Bronze statues of Moses and David flank
the entrance, and Thorvaldsen's marble sculptures of Christ and the
Apostles can be seen inside. The ruins of the first church can be seen in
the basement. We end the tour at the well-known Restaurant Divan II inside
Tivoli where we'll enjoy a delicious Danish farewell dinner. After dinner
we will have time to explore on our own the world famous Tivoli Gardens.
We haven't seen Copenhagen if we have not visited Tivoli. Started in 1843,
this twenty-acre garden, set in the center of Copenhagen, was created for
the young at heart. Tivoli has everything fountains and lakes, the Tivoli
Boy Guards, a concert hall, restaurants, brass bands, rides, and amusement
arcades. Here we can stroll among the beautiful flowers, listen to the
music or have fun on the rides and attractions. Tivoli will be ours to
enjoy this evening. Evening return on our own to our hotel. The balance of
the day is free in Copenhagen, home of one fourth of the population of
Denmark, a very cosmopolitan city noted for its commerce and industry. The
800 year old capital of Denmark is a lively modern city where the past and
the present are closely linked. The old city with its harbor and quaint
painted houses, cafes, bars, and a wide selection of restaurants are only
some of the many attractions this charming capital has to offer. Overnight
Hotel Admiral.
Day
3 • May 2 Copenhagen/DFDS Oslo
Breakfast at your hotel. We will leave our hotel in the late morning by
private motorcoach for our full-day excursion. The tour takes us first
through the Danish countryside of North Zealand, where we pass the famous
"Dyrehaven" Royal Deer Park with its hundreds of deer and 300
year old Beech forest. We will then proceed to Helsingoer (Elsinore), one
of the oldest towns in Denmark. The town has many medieval houses and
commercial buildings dating from the 14th and 15th centuries. Whole
streets of restored and well preserved houses retain the atmosphere of
this centuries-old provincial town. We will continue to one of the world's
most famous castles, the Kronborg Castle. Set on the cliffs of Elsinore
above the Baltic shore, Kronborg is the legendary home of Hamlet,
Shakespeare's Prince of Denmark. We will go into the courtyard and visit
the outside grounds. We'll enjoy lunch at a charming Danish Restaurant
(not included) before we drive past the Queen's summer residence in
Fredensborg. Set in a magnificent parkland next to a lake, this handsome
palace is the Royal Family's summer residence. We will then proceed
further to the small town of Hilleroed for a visit to Denmark's most
magnificent castle from the Renaissance, the Frederiksborg Castle. When we
approach the forest-bordered town, we will see the towers of Frederiksborg
Castle rising above the roofs of the town, giving us the impression that
this is not an ordinary provincial town. This remarkable building, with
its image reflected on the lake in which it stands, was built by King
Christian IV in the early 17th century. The castle also contains the
National Museum of Danish History with its many treasures of paintings,
tapestries, porcelain, silver and furniture. Our visit to Frederiksborg
Castle will also include the Royal Chapel with its Compenius organ built
in 1610. The return ride will take us past thatched-roof inns, posh
palatial residences, magnificent forests, lakes, and a variety of other
Danish countryside scenes. We will return back to Copenhagen in the late
afternoon. The tour will end at the pier where we will board your
overnight ship to Oslo. 5:00 pm Depart Copenhagen. This modern ship has
everything to make our journey a special one. We will enjoy a sumptuous
buffet dinner, relax in the bar, or dance late into the evening before
retiring to our comfortable cabin. The ship also has tax free shopping.
Overnight onboard DFDS SEAWAYS
Day
4 • May 3 Arrive In Oslo
We will enjoy breakfast onboard ship as we sail up the Oslo Fjord past
charming towns and small islands. 9:00 am Upon arrival in Oslo, we
will receive assistance with our luggage at the pier. We will leave
directly from the colorful harbor by private motorcoach with a local
English-speaking city guide for a 3-hour city tour of Oslo. The tour will
include a stop at beautiful Frogner Park with its renowned Vigeland
Sculptures and the famous Holmenkollen ski-jump. From the ski jump we will
have a unique view over Oslo and the surroundings. We will also visit the
impressive Viking Ships Museum. The one-thousand year-old Viking Ships
make history come alive. Here we will also discover an impressive
collection of ornate sledges and carriages and a variety of tools and
artifacts of the Viking era. We will then drive past the medieval fortress
of Akershus, the Royal Palace, and the busy port with the Town Hall. The
tour ends at our hotel. The afternoon is free in Oslo. Perhaps we will
take a harbor cruise, experience the Resistance Museum where history comes
alive or visit Munch Museum housing the collection of Norway's most famous
artist. We will take a stroll along the main street Karl Johan and enjoy
the beauty of the "Studenterlunden" in the center of town
nestled between the National Theater and the "Storting" Norway's
Parliament. We will take a short walk to the Royal Palace or ride on the
clean modern subways. There's so much to see and do in this lively city.
Dinner and overnight at Hotel Bristol.
Day
5 • May 4 Oslo/Lofthus
Breakfast at our hotel. We will leave Oslo in the morning by private
motorcoach and drive along the shores of beautiful Tyri Fjord Lake. We
will continue further along glittering Lake Kroederen and the
Hallindalselva River in the Hallingdal Valley. We will drive further
through the farm-dotted Hallingdal landscape with lakes, silvery rivers
and ancient farms on sloping hillsides past villages like Nesbyen and Gol.
We will then drive the well known resort center of Geilo and drive across
the wild and barren Hardangervidda, a mountain plateau of 2900 sq. miles,
lying at a height of between 3300 and 4600 ft. With its many lakes and a
meager covering of pasture, it provides grazing for large herds of
reindeer. We will drive along the Bjoreia River and make a stop at Fossli.
From here, there is a magnificent view of the Voeringfoss Waterfall, where
the Bjoreia River plunges vertically 600 ft. into a narrow rock basin
filled with a dense mass of spray and marvellous play of colors cascading
into the gorge below. Voeringsfossen is one of Europe's largest
waterfalls. Then descend through tunnels along almost vertical rock faces
and hairpin curves of the Maaboedalen Canyon Road before arriving in the
fjord village of Eid Fjord. We will visit the new Hardangervidda Nature
Center, a lively and colorful activity center. The main attraction is the
Supervideograph, a 225 degree panorama film about the Hardanger Plateau
and the inland fjord districts. The center also contains exhibits on 3
floors displaying life in the fjord, the valley and on the mountain.
Catch-words are hunting, fishing and outdoor activities, nature
conservancy and the local populations use of natural resources. Then drive
further along the shores of the scenic Eid Fjord to the villages of
Brimnes and Kinsarvik. We will continue along the eastern shores of the
Soer Fjord to the fjord village of Lofthus located on the eastern shore of
the Soer Fjord, a branch of the mighty Hardanger Fjord. The district is
called Ullensvang and boasts of more fruit trees than any other Norwegian
community, a medieval church on a romantic point in the fjord, waterfalls
draping the cliffs, the Folgefonn glacier capping the mountains across the
fjord and Edvard Grieg's studio hut. This setting, with its old farms,
orchards, green plots and eternal mountains, has provided inspiration for
great works of art, literature and music during the resurgence of national
romanticism in the last century. Paintings of Adolf Tidemand and Hans Gude,
songs like Ole Bull's "Seter Maiden's Sunday" and many of
Grieg's melodies had their origin in this part of the Hardanger Fjord. We
will check in at one of the best resort hotels in Norway. Buffet dinner
and overnight at Hotel Ullensvang.
Day
6 • May 5 Lofthus/Balestrand
Breakfast at your hotel. We will leave Lofthus in the morning and pass
Kinsarvik to Brimnes and ferry across the scenic blue Hardanger Fjord to
Bruravik. We'll continue along the new road, which includes a drive
through the Vallavik tunnel, one of the longest in Northern Europe, past
the thundering Skjervet Waterfall to the resort town of Voss, the
commercial center of the Hardanger region and the birthplace of Knute
Rockne, the famous Notre Dame coach. We will leave Voss by train on the
scenic Bergen Railway to Myrdal. We will change trains and continue on the
world famous Flaam Narrow Gauge Railway descending more than 2900 feet in
less than one hour. We'll enjoy the breathtaking view over the Flaam
Valley and the thundering sound of waterfalls. We'll arrive in the tiny
fjord village of Flaam and enjoy lunch at the Hotel Fretheim. In the early
afternoon sail, from Flaam by a modern fjord ferry for a two-hour cruise
on the impressive Aurlands and Naeroy Fjords. We'll sail past cascading
waterfalls, isolated hamlets, and steep mountain sides—a photographer's
dream. We'll disembark at Gudvangen and drive through the Naeroydal Valley
with rainbow-dancing waterfalls and sugarloaf mountains before ascending
the hairpin-curves of Stalheim Canyon Road, past Tvindefossen Waterfall.
We will then ascend the impressive Vika Mountain Road before gently
winding down to the village of Vik. We'll make a visit to the 12th-century
Hopperstad Stave Church. We'll continue to Vangsnes where we will see the
giant sculpture of Fridjof the Bold Viking, given by the German Kaiser
Wilhelm II to the Sogne Fjord communities. Board a modern ferry at
Vangsnes for a cruise on the Sogne Fjord, the longest and deepest fjord in
the world, to Dragsvik. We will drive along the Ese Fjord to the lovely
fjord village of Balestrand. Balestrand is the most famous tourist resort
in the Sogne Fjord, located on a promontory which juts into the fjord at
its broadest point. We will have a fabulous view in all directions, this
peaceful village really typifies the romance of Norway. Check-in at the
traditional Kvikne's Hotel. Since the Viking Age, Balestrand has served as
a stopover for Norsemen traveling between Bergen and Oslo. The first inn
was established in 1756. The old inn was extended several times and in
1877 an entirely new building was erected. In 1894 it was extended to 200
bed rooms, making it the largest resort hotel in Norway. The Kviknes Hotel
has belonged to the same family for more than 100 years, the Kvikne
family. Buffet style dinner at the hotel. Overnight at Hotel Kviknes.
Day
7 • May 6 In Balestrand
Breakfast at the hotel. Today you might choose just to relax the full day
at the hotel or perhaps take a helicopter ride along the Fjaerland Fjord
and over the famous Jostedalen Glacier. You can also visit a nearby art
gallery or enamel workshop where they make a large variety of enamel works
and souvenirs. Balestrand offers excellent salt and fresh water fishing.
The hotel has boats and bicycles for rent. A day excursion has been
arranged today. This morning, venture out across the wild and barren
Gaular Mountains and further along the shores of Lake Joelster with a
beautiful view of Jostedal Glacier, northern Europe's largest, in the
background. We will make a stop to visit the Astrup Farm (Astruptunet).
The painter and graphic artist Nikolai Astrup (1880 - 1928) lived most of
his life in Jolster. Astrup often is regarded as the artist of Western
Norway as he found virtually all of his motifs in his home surroundings.
He ´s considered the "most Norwegian " of all national artists.
The Astrup Farm (Astruptunet)- the artist ´s home and small farm, is now
a museum and art gallery, kept as it was in Astrup’s days, nestled among
the steep but fertile slopes on the south side of Lake Joolstravatnet. The
old farm has been replaced by a modern art gallery, resembling the old
building, where you’ll find the permanent Astrup exhibition of
paintings, prints, sketches and woodcut plates, as well as temporary
exhibitions every summer. We will enjoy the magnificent view of the lake
and surrounding mountains and countryside. We can also sense the
characteristic atmosphere which Nikolai Astrup so masterly described in
his works of art. We will continue to the village of Skei and we will have
time for shopping at Vikens Handicraft Centre where we will find excellent
shopping possibilities for sweaters and all kind of handicrafts. Then
we'll drive through the new 3.2 km. tunnel constructed beneath the
Jostedalen Glacier to the tiny village of Fjaerland. We will drive the
side road to the Boyums Glacier, an arm of the Jostedalen Glacier, before
we arrive in Fjaerland. Then we'll visit the Norwegian Glacier Center. The
center's goal is to create a better understanding of snow, ice and
glaciers. We will see the new multimedia show The Blue Ice and explore
more of the museum. From Fjaerland, we'll proceed on a newly-opened road
that will take us through some of Norway's most unspoiled nature with
waterfalls, lakes and scenic summer farms. We'll drive past Sogndal, an
important educational and administrative center for the inner part of the
Sognefjord area and further past the fjord villages of Hermannsverk and
Leikanger to Hella and sail by ferry across the Fjaerlands Fjord to
Dragsvik and proceed back to Balestrand. Dinner and overnight at Hotel
Kviknes.
Day
8 • May 7 Balestrand/Bergen
Breakfast at your hotel. We will leave Balestrand in the morning and drive
along the northern shores of the Sogne Fjord to Kongsnes. Then drive past
the industrial center of Hoyanger and further to Lavik. We'll sail by
ferry across the Sogne Fjord to Oppedal and then a short drive to the
fjord village of Brekke where we suggest you visit the unique
Brekkestranda Fjord Pension built in lumber with a grass-turfed roof. The
architect has consciously avoided all right angles. Then we'll drive past
the small village of Matre and along the shores of the Oester Fjord to
Knarrvik and then across the impressive Nordhordalandsbrua Bridge to
Steinstoe. We'll continue for a short drive past the suburbs of Bergen and
through the new tunnels to the center of Bergen. On arrival in Bergen,
we'll meet our local English-speaking city guide for a 3-hour city tour of
Bergen. First we'll drive past Bergen's colorful fish and flower market
and continue along that world-famous monument to medieval life and trade,
the old warehouses of the Hanseatic period in the 14th and 15th centuries,
today called Bryggen or The Quay. The old wooden warehouses, long and
narrow, jammed so closely against each other that air and daylight can
enter only through tiny slits, are both the acme of picturesqueness and a
working model of life in bygone times. They are still used for storage and
offices, and we will also find a number of stores and art and craft
centers. Then we'll drive past the Haakonshallen, the medieval Viking Hall
built in 1261 as a royal ceremony hall for the crowning of King Magnus.
The Hall is still used today for many royal ceremonies and special
occasions. We will continue past St. Mary's Church, the oldest building in
Bergen. It was originally built in the Romanesque style of the early 12th
Century but was extended in the Gothic style in the 14th Century. The
church is famous for its Baroque pulpit. Finally, visit Troldhaugen, the
home of the world known composer Edvard Grieg which now has become a
museum. The home is located at Hop, five miles from Bergen and situated in
beautiful surroundings overlooking the Nordaas Lake. Grieg composed many
of his best-known works here, and he and his wife are buried here. Grieg's
studio, his piano and his notes are all to be seen. The tour will end at
your hotel. Before dinner, perhaps take a trip with the cable car to Mount
Floyen for a breathtaking view of this seafaring town, make a visit to
some of the many museums, or just take a nice quiet stroll through the old
cobble-stoned streets. Maybe you would like to go shopping for Norwegian
sweaters or silverware. Farewell dinner and overnight at Hotel First Marin.
Day
9 • May 8 Depart Bergen
After breakfast we will transfer to Flesland Airport where we will be
assisted. Full of pleasant memories of Scandinavia, we will board the SAS
jetliner back to Newark.
Inclusions:
Superior first and first/ class hotels, all rooms with private facilities,
Scandinavian buffet breakfast daily, daily dinners, including welcome
dinner, dinner inside Tivoli and farewell dinner in Bergen. All dinners
will consist of 3 courses or special evening buffet style dinners with
coffee/tea. In addition, one lunch is included. All transfers on arrival
and departure with local assistance and handling of one piece of luggage
per person. Other transfers according to program.
In Copenhagen, a combined transfer and 3-hour tour included on arrival.
Also, in Copenhagen, a 6-hour North Zealand tour is included. In Oslo a
combined transfer and 3-hour tour is included on arrival. In Bergen, a
3-hour city tour is included. All tours are with local English-speaking
guides and entrance fees according to program.
First class motorcoach, fully air-ventilated and with reclining seats. All
ferries for motorcoach and passengers are included.
Overnight ship in outside cabins from Copenhagen to Oslo.
2nd class train from Voss to Flåm, SAS flight from New Jersey (Newark) to
Copenhagen and return from Bergen back to Newark. All air taxes are
included. Experienced English speaking tour director is included from
arrival in Stockholm until departure from Bergen.
Other
Services: Visit to Hopperstad Stave Church, Hardangervidda
Nature Center and Norwegian Glacier Museum
Not
Included
Tips to tour director, local guides and drivers.
Price Per Person:
$2505.00
Single
Supplement: $340.00 |
