Background Info:
It is a colorful city located on the southern tip of Norway and is the 5th largest urban area in Norway with a population of 80,000. Although inhabitants date back to prehistoric times, King Christian IV formally founded Kristiansand on July 5, 1641. It strategically located, and until the opening of the Kiel Canal between the North Sea and Baltic was very important both militarily and geopolitically. For centuries it was a garrison town and served as a military stronghold. At one time ship building and shipping companies were the backbone of the local economy but not many survive today. It has been replaced by beer, soft drinks, ice cream, petroleum equipment, nickel, and a refining plant for silicon used in solar panels. It is also home to the largest mall in northern Europe. Kristiansand is a summer tourist destination and is particularly noted for its zoo and amusement park. It also has a sandy beach but summer temperatures average mid to low 70’s. The North Sea water is not that cold which is why the temperatures on land are moderate for this latitude. They have several festivals, concerts, and other events mainly during the summer months. In fact the "Back Street Boys" are having a concert here this weekend.
We arrived here I guess around 7am. First thing I knew this morning was our door bell ringing at 7:40. We were both still sound asleep. It was our room service breakfast that we had ordered before retiring last night. I love the beds on Regent! The sheets are soooo soft and I always sleep like a baby. We were to meet for our tour in the theater at 8:30 so I hopped in the shower and hurriedly got ready. Rebecca decided not to go on tour. She is still dealing with pain from her broken rib. Charlotte did not go either so it was Jane and I who hit the trail. Actually we boarded the tour bus for our "Hollen, Sogne, & Vest Agder Open Air Museum" three hour tour. The tour buses Regent hires in Europe are really nice and they do not fill the buses completely so everyone has plenty of room.
We departed the pier and had a short tour of Kristiansand on our way. The older houses are all wood sided and painted white. As with most cities in Norway, at one time or another, the town has burnt down. Kristiansand is no different and now buildings must be made of something other than wood. The countryside is mountainous (no more than 1000 feet high however) and covered mostly with trees. Each house seemed to have a garden and I saw several fields of what appeared to be potatoes. Our tour guide was a young man who was French. He was almost worthless. He was difficult to understand and not very knowledgeable. Actually the subject matter of our tour was not that interesting either. Our first stop was at the Sogne Old Church which was built in the mid 1600's. As you will see in the photos it was not that interesting looking. (It is now 4pm and we are just sailing out of the harbor for our next port) After 15 minutes we reboarded the bus and headed for a small fishing village, Hollen. Now it is a quiet community of nice homes. Again this was not much to see and I did not see anyone fishing. Our last stop, and most interesting, was at the Vest Agder Open Air Museum. It had actual homes that were from the 1600's. As many as 15 family members lived in a one room house with fire pit in the middle and a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape. No chimney so the house was almost always filled with smoke. There were two beds in two corners that were smaller than a twin sized bed of today. Two people slept sitting up in each bed. They also had some animals living in the house mainly for their warmth. A cow puts off a lot of body heat. The cow do-do was just pushed through the cracks in the floor. They had other buildings for storing things and buildings for the farm animals. The kids usually slept with the animals. (good place for them!) When a man was looking for a wife, he first checked out her legs. He needed a woman with strong legs to help with the farming. It was common for a stranger or strangers to knock on the farm house door and ask if they could sleep with the family. The Norwegians would always say yes because they would be doing the same sometime. It was a two week trek into the nearest town so they would be needing a place to stay also.
Our guide explained that Norwegians today do not like to rent a home they want to own it. 85% own their homes. Most have a boat and many have a summer cabin away from the cities. They love to fish and just relax with their families. The average monthly salary here is $5000 per month. As a socialist society, taxes are over 40% to pay for all that "free" health care and education. This is what our children have to look forward to with our current Administration's money spending habits. Sorry for the editorial.
Jane and I arrived back at the ship at noon. After a nice lunch in La Veranda again, we all boarded the shuttle bus that Regent usually provides in ports for a short ride to the downtown shopping street. I was on a mission to find a shirt for my tuxedo as tonight is formal optional dress night. To my surprise I found two stores with some but they were $200. The third store we looked in had the perfect shirt for $130 so I got it.
When we got back to the ship I took it to the laundry room and ironed some of the wrinkles out of it. There are several small laundry rooms on the ship with a couple washers and dryers and ironing boards. It is free to use these and even detergent is provided free. We now have enough days of cruising on Regent that we can send our laundry out and it is done for no charge. We also get free internet and 9 hours of free phone time to anywhere in the world. Our Seven Seas Society status is "Platinum". By the end of this year we will be 35 days from the "Titanium" level, which is the highest level.
Once again during our shopping trip I found everyone we spoke to in the stores to be very, very friendly and helpful. I have never seen so many young, blond-haired, blue-eyed girls in my life. There was another huge cruise ship in port with us so the downtown area was very crowded.
We also keep running into crew members that we know and also passengers we have cruised with. Today we ran into Joe and Allison who live in Galveston. Tonight is the Captain's Welcome Aboard party at 6pm. Don't think we are going however. We will be wearing our formal attire this evening and tonight's dining room menu features prime rib and lobster. Yummy! We had a wonderful dinner last night and our waiter was very entertaining. We all had sea bass.
After sailing 223 nautical miles tonight we will arrive in Bergen, Norway, tomorrow morning at 8:00. Ok, let me try to load today's photos. I would like to go to the gym before this evening's activities. After dinner is our first production show featuring the ship's singers and dancers.
Locals playing folk music as we got off ship this morning.
Our tour today
Traditional white painted, wood sided homes from old days
Lake in countryside. Note terrain.
Sogne Old Church from 1600's
Inside all wood
What use to be an old fishing village (Hollen) but now a quiet town with nice homes.
Ticket office and shop for Vest Agder Open Air Museum
Old farm houses
Sod roof for insulation
A newer old home as has windows and chimneys.
Farm animals kept in this.
Storage building
Old home from 1600's on left
Museum guide dressed in tradition outfit
Inside the old house
Fire pit in center of room (one room home). No chimney but just hole in roof.
Two beds in house. Grandparents slept in one and parents in other. They slept sitting up so they could breathe better. House generally filled with smoke from fire pit that was kept burning 24/7. Kid slept with animals in other building.
The sauna
Pedestrian shopping street in downtown
I like this suit
Their version of a pigeon--sea gull
Kristiansand Cathedral
view from top deck of our ship
Sailing away from Kristiansand
It is a colorful city located on the southern tip of Norway and is the 5th largest urban area in Norway with a population of 80,000. Although inhabitants date back to prehistoric times, King Christian IV formally founded Kristiansand on July 5, 1641. It strategically located, and until the opening of the Kiel Canal between the North Sea and Baltic was very important both militarily and geopolitically. For centuries it was a garrison town and served as a military stronghold. At one time ship building and shipping companies were the backbone of the local economy but not many survive today. It has been replaced by beer, soft drinks, ice cream, petroleum equipment, nickel, and a refining plant for silicon used in solar panels. It is also home to the largest mall in northern Europe. Kristiansand is a summer tourist destination and is particularly noted for its zoo and amusement park. It also has a sandy beach but summer temperatures average mid to low 70’s. The North Sea water is not that cold which is why the temperatures on land are moderate for this latitude. They have several festivals, concerts, and other events mainly during the summer months. In fact the "Back Street Boys" are having a concert here this weekend.
We arrived here I guess around 7am. First thing I knew this morning was our door bell ringing at 7:40. We were both still sound asleep. It was our room service breakfast that we had ordered before retiring last night. I love the beds on Regent! The sheets are soooo soft and I always sleep like a baby. We were to meet for our tour in the theater at 8:30 so I hopped in the shower and hurriedly got ready. Rebecca decided not to go on tour. She is still dealing with pain from her broken rib. Charlotte did not go either so it was Jane and I who hit the trail. Actually we boarded the tour bus for our "Hollen, Sogne, & Vest Agder Open Air Museum" three hour tour. The tour buses Regent hires in Europe are really nice and they do not fill the buses completely so everyone has plenty of room.
We departed the pier and had a short tour of Kristiansand on our way. The older houses are all wood sided and painted white. As with most cities in Norway, at one time or another, the town has burnt down. Kristiansand is no different and now buildings must be made of something other than wood. The countryside is mountainous (no more than 1000 feet high however) and covered mostly with trees. Each house seemed to have a garden and I saw several fields of what appeared to be potatoes. Our tour guide was a young man who was French. He was almost worthless. He was difficult to understand and not very knowledgeable. Actually the subject matter of our tour was not that interesting either. Our first stop was at the Sogne Old Church which was built in the mid 1600's. As you will see in the photos it was not that interesting looking. (It is now 4pm and we are just sailing out of the harbor for our next port) After 15 minutes we reboarded the bus and headed for a small fishing village, Hollen. Now it is a quiet community of nice homes. Again this was not much to see and I did not see anyone fishing. Our last stop, and most interesting, was at the Vest Agder Open Air Museum. It had actual homes that were from the 1600's. As many as 15 family members lived in a one room house with fire pit in the middle and a hole in the roof for the smoke to escape. No chimney so the house was almost always filled with smoke. There were two beds in two corners that were smaller than a twin sized bed of today. Two people slept sitting up in each bed. They also had some animals living in the house mainly for their warmth. A cow puts off a lot of body heat. The cow do-do was just pushed through the cracks in the floor. They had other buildings for storing things and buildings for the farm animals. The kids usually slept with the animals. (good place for them!) When a man was looking for a wife, he first checked out her legs. He needed a woman with strong legs to help with the farming. It was common for a stranger or strangers to knock on the farm house door and ask if they could sleep with the family. The Norwegians would always say yes because they would be doing the same sometime. It was a two week trek into the nearest town so they would be needing a place to stay also.
Our guide explained that Norwegians today do not like to rent a home they want to own it. 85% own their homes. Most have a boat and many have a summer cabin away from the cities. They love to fish and just relax with their families. The average monthly salary here is $5000 per month. As a socialist society, taxes are over 40% to pay for all that "free" health care and education. This is what our children have to look forward to with our current Administration's money spending habits. Sorry for the editorial.
Jane and I arrived back at the ship at noon. After a nice lunch in La Veranda again, we all boarded the shuttle bus that Regent usually provides in ports for a short ride to the downtown shopping street. I was on a mission to find a shirt for my tuxedo as tonight is formal optional dress night. To my surprise I found two stores with some but they were $200. The third store we looked in had the perfect shirt for $130 so I got it.
When we got back to the ship I took it to the laundry room and ironed some of the wrinkles out of it. There are several small laundry rooms on the ship with a couple washers and dryers and ironing boards. It is free to use these and even detergent is provided free. We now have enough days of cruising on Regent that we can send our laundry out and it is done for no charge. We also get free internet and 9 hours of free phone time to anywhere in the world. Our Seven Seas Society status is "Platinum". By the end of this year we will be 35 days from the "Titanium" level, which is the highest level.
Once again during our shopping trip I found everyone we spoke to in the stores to be very, very friendly and helpful. I have never seen so many young, blond-haired, blue-eyed girls in my life. There was another huge cruise ship in port with us so the downtown area was very crowded.
We also keep running into crew members that we know and also passengers we have cruised with. Today we ran into Joe and Allison who live in Galveston. Tonight is the Captain's Welcome Aboard party at 6pm. Don't think we are going however. We will be wearing our formal attire this evening and tonight's dining room menu features prime rib and lobster. Yummy! We had a wonderful dinner last night and our waiter was very entertaining. We all had sea bass.
After sailing 223 nautical miles tonight we will arrive in Bergen, Norway, tomorrow morning at 8:00. Ok, let me try to load today's photos. I would like to go to the gym before this evening's activities. After dinner is our first production show featuring the ship's singers and dancers.
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