Kristiansand, Norway

 

Tuesday, April 26th was spent docked in Kristiansand, Norway.  It was such a fun day spent exploring the little town of Kristiansand, shopping, and being together.

View from our balcony

A free open-air city train transported us into town.  It was pretty chilly in the morning.

We snapped a few pictures of the town as the little train took us to the city center.

Pinch me!  I'm in Norway!

The train let us off in downtown Kristiansand.  We needed to use the rest room and wanted to use Internet, so we went to the local library (right by that church.)

The bathrooms or WC were an interesting cultural experience.  First, you paid with a credit card, then the door unlocked, allowing entrance.

The bathroom was very austere and very clean.

The library was a very modern building, in stark contrast to the ancient church next door.

After getting caught up on Internet, we visited the beautiful church next door.

We then walked around the town

I asked a lady if she knew where a souvenir shop was, and she directed us to this cute shop where I purchased some Norwegian souvenirs and gifts.

We stopped at a pastry shop and purchased romkugler again.  Remember those chocolate balls in Denmark?  They had them here, too.  I said it before, I'll say it again- If you are ever in Scandanavia, be sure you try them.

They also sold the famous Norwegian open-faced sandwiches

Back on the train, we headed back to the ship

After lunch on the ship, Ken went back over to town to check out a local cemetery and park, hoping to see birds.  He did see birds and he took some nice pictures:

So beautiful!

A fountain

Because the train had ceased operations in the afternoon, Ken had to walk both out and back to the ship.  His leg was really hurting by the time he got back.  But he said it was worth it.

Some of my Norwegian purchases.  Notice the silver spoon.  My great grandmother, Inga Carolina Sophia Overn Peterson collected spoons in her travels.  I have a few of hers and wanted to add one of my own to the display of hers I have in my kitchen.  I now have my own Norwegian spoon.

I went back out to some shops close to the port.  I purchased this beautiful Norwegian plate.  I was thrilled to find it. I so enjoyed looking at all of the hand-painted items. I also used the Internet there for a while.

It was such a joy for me to get to go to Norway, the land of my heritage.