This was one of our least favorite Tauck trips although the fiords were beautiful. Bergen was a lovely town and the visit to the Grieg home and stave church were very nice. Otherwise, most stops were just ok. A lot of walks, rides etc. offered to see scenery. I liked the visit to the Petroleum Museum in Stravanger. We ended our trip in Oslo. Other than the beautiful Vigeland Park, we were rushed through the other sites in Oslo. If you start in Oslo, I suggest you visit some of the sites on your own. Temper expectations on hotels. As usual, the Ponant ship was lovely but the weather was chilly so we did not get to enjoy the outside much. Bergen is the best palce to shop with many handcrafts. Buy it if you see it there!
Can't comment on motion sickness. There was no turbulence on the trip.
We enjoyed the tour. We arrived a day early in Bergen and managed to go to places Tauck did not go, such as the Leprosy museum which was fascinating. You definitely need more days at the end of the tour in Oslo because there is so much more to see.
I recommend if you want a tour of the opera house that you book it in advance for an English speaking tour. Also, the Munch museum is huge and I recommend allowing a good amount of time to go there. You will see four different paintings of ‘the Scream’ and there is a lovey cafe with good food, the soup was delicious.
The ship’s captain made it extra special for all of us on the ship because he gave us several lectures on navigating which were really good and informative. He was a most charming man! He gave my husband and me a private tour of the bridge while we underway from one of the fjords and we were able to talk to the local pilot while he did his thing navigating out of the harbor. We had also traveled with three of the six Tauck tour directors before on the tour!
The scenery I think is partly why you visit the area. There is a lot of walking in general. It was interesting that we had to go to Sweden for one day because there is some sort of rule that requires the ship to leave Norway for some reason I can’t recall. It was a very industrial area with lots of construction and road works.
It was interesting to hear how rich the country has become because of oil and how it benefits everyone there. Also, they are building roads with a system to charge your electric car as you drive along. Almost all cars are electric with a lot of Chinese ones. Would not mind living in Norway…well in the summer anyway😀
My husband has been to various Scandinavia countries before, but I had not. We intend to take the new Copenhagen and Oslo tour in the future.
Oh, in Oslo, we ate at a great Japanese restaurant whose signature dish was a risotto of all things. We make risottos a lot. This one had lobster and was topped with a mango sorbet and foam. We were able or replicate it at home!
Beautiful pictures. I would love to find a tour or a tour company that goes further north than where Tauck and other companies that I’m familiar with. The scenery is breathtaking and spectacular that I would just like to experience more of. I suppose that would mean the Arctic. I’ve seen the polar bears (2007) with another company and I’ve been to Antarctica (2002). My husband is a fan of exceptional nature trips.
Nice photos British. I laughed on the couple of pics from the sculpture garden in Oslo. It's an amazing place. When there my husband kept trying to get me to pose by them which are very graphic. I refused. As I told him, I didn't want a shot like that on our Christmas card. I thought it funny that the only sculpture of a clothed person was the artist.
Claudia. Gosh, I never thought of posing in front but definitely would have done it and put it on our Christmas card, most friends would know that was totally my sense of humor. Now I must check they all the photos I took there just in case.
However, those of you who have been to Khajaraho in India might recall the graphic carvings on the temple. They would pop up now and again on I think it’s One Drive….. this is where you were on this day in the past.! We had to avoid showing the photo book to my mother in law for that trip, she didn’t approve of us even holding hands when we were dating.
The local tour guide was great in that park. He pointed to one of the sculptures and asked if anyone knew who it was. I immediately said Charles Darwin and it was. He was impressed’ Yep, I recognized him without any clothes on!
And no, I’ve looked and no photos of me or my husband next to any.
It is easy to spend an entire day, or more, at Frogner Park. In addition to the sculptures—the very angry little boy being my favorite—there is a museum, manor house, gardens (roses galore in summer), pathways and restaurants.
Vigeland purposely wanted his sculptures nude in order to keep them timeless.
Tour guides have been known to add a little "interest" to a tour. For example, in Hanoi they tell you that Eiffel designed one of the bridges there. But he didn't.
On researching, I certainly can’t find any references to it, but since the entire idea of the installation was to represent the "cycle of human life’, it could be possible since Darwin turned upside down the Origins of the Species, so there is a connection of sorts and is a hero of mine. It was a very good likeness of him in his later years which of course is why I recognized the statue.
Comments
what did you think of the trip? I am going June of 2026. Will I have a problem with motion sickness?
This was one of our least favorite Tauck trips although the fiords were beautiful. Bergen was a lovely town and the visit to the Grieg home and stave church were very nice. Otherwise, most stops were just ok. A lot of walks, rides etc. offered to see scenery. I liked the visit to the Petroleum Museum in Stravanger. We ended our trip in Oslo. Other than the beautiful Vigeland Park, we were rushed through the other sites in Oslo. If you start in Oslo, I suggest you visit some of the sites on your own. Temper expectations on hotels. As usual, the Ponant ship was lovely but the weather was chilly so we did not get to enjoy the outside much. Bergen is the best palce to shop with many handcrafts. Buy it if you see it there!
Can't comment on motion sickness. There was no turbulence on the trip.
We enjoyed the tour. We arrived a day early in Bergen and managed to go to places Tauck did not go, such as the Leprosy museum which was fascinating. You definitely need more days at the end of the tour in Oslo because there is so much more to see.
I recommend if you want a tour of the opera house that you book it in advance for an English speaking tour. Also, the Munch museum is huge and I recommend allowing a good amount of time to go there. You will see four different paintings of ‘the Scream’ and there is a lovey cafe with good food, the soup was delicious.
The ship’s captain made it extra special for all of us on the ship because he gave us several lectures on navigating which were really good and informative. He was a most charming man! He gave my husband and me a private tour of the bridge while we underway from one of the fjords and we were able to talk to the local pilot while he did his thing navigating out of the harbor. We had also traveled with three of the six Tauck tour directors before on the tour!
The scenery I think is partly why you visit the area. There is a lot of walking in general. It was interesting that we had to go to Sweden for one day because there is some sort of rule that requires the ship to leave Norway for some reason I can’t recall. It was a very industrial area with lots of construction and road works.
It was interesting to hear how rich the country has become because of oil and how it benefits everyone there. Also, they are building roads with a system to charge your electric car as you drive along. Almost all cars are electric with a lot of Chinese ones. Would not mind living in Norway…well in the summer anyway😀
My husband has been to various Scandinavia countries before, but I had not. We intend to take the new Copenhagen and Oslo tour in the future.
Oh, in Oslo, we ate at a great Japanese restaurant whose signature dish was a risotto of all things. We make risottos a lot. This one had lobster and was topped with a mango sorbet and foam. We were able or replicate it at home!
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Beautiful pictures. I would love to find a tour or a tour company that goes further north than where Tauck and other companies that I’m familiar with. The scenery is breathtaking and spectacular that I would just like to experience more of. I suppose that would mean the Arctic. I’ve seen the polar bears (2007) with another company and I’ve been to Antarctica (2002). My husband is a fan of exceptional nature trips.
OurTravels34 - Have you looked at the Northern Lights tour. Can't get much farther north than that. It starts and stops in Tromso Norway.
OurTravels34 - I sent you a message which might be of interest to you.
For those who might have extra time in Bergen, the Flåmsbana (Flåm Railway) offers a stunningly beautiful journey.
There are two textile museums near Bergen that might be of interest to some. I always purchase some yarn at one of them.
Nice photos British. I laughed on the couple of pics from the sculpture garden in Oslo. It's an amazing place. When there my husband kept trying to get me to pose by them which are very graphic. I refused. As I told him, I didn't want a shot like that on our Christmas card. I thought it funny that the only sculpture of a clothed person was the artist.
Claudia. Gosh, I never thought of posing in front but definitely would have done it and put it on our Christmas card, most friends would know that was totally my sense of humor. Now I must check they all the photos I took there just in case.
However, those of you who have been to Khajaraho in India might recall the graphic carvings on the temple. They would pop up now and again on I think it’s One Drive….. this is where you were on this day in the past.! We had to avoid showing the photo book to my mother in law for that trip, she didn’t approve of us even holding hands when we were dating.
The local tour guide was great in that park. He pointed to one of the sculptures and asked if anyone knew who it was. I immediately said Charles Darwin and it was. He was impressed’ Yep, I recognized him without any clothes on!
And no, I’ve looked and no photos of me or my husband next to any.
It is easy to spend an entire day, or more, at Frogner Park. In addition to the sculptures—the very angry little boy being my favorite—there is a museum, manor house, gardens (roses galore in summer), pathways and restaurants.
Vigeland purposely wanted his sculptures nude in order to keep them timeless.
You are mistaken, British. Vigeland did not sculpt any known historical figures, at least not in that park.
Tour guides have been known to add a little "interest" to a tour. For example, in Hanoi they tell you that Eiffel designed one of the bridges there. But he didn't.
Then our very knowledgeable tour guide was lying to us.
Not lying, just misinformed. Vigeland’s intent was to show the human form from birth to death, which he so beautifully accomplished.
On researching, I certainly can’t find any references to it, but since the entire idea of the installation was to represent the "cycle of human life’, it could be possible since Darwin turned upside down the Origins of the Species, so there is a connection of sorts and is a hero of mine. It was a very good likeness of him in his later years which of course is why I recognized the statue.
This is him