Scandinavian Splendor
Topic: Tour Calendar September 17 to 30, 2007
Join popular tour host Mary Hansen to experience the breathtaking beauty of Scandinavia! Travel by land, ferry, and train for eight days and then cruise along the Norwegian coastline for four days, taking in the majestic scenery and stopping in charming towns along the way. Tour highlights include the fascinating cities of Stockholm, Oslo, Lillehammer, and Bergen along with many quaint towns such as Uppsala, Lom, Voss, Alesund, Trondheim, and Tromsø, among others.
September 2007
Day 1 ~ 17, Monday - Departure
The day of departure has arrived at last! We’ll meet at the Omaha Airport or the airport of our choice to check in for flights via Chicago to Stockholm on United Airlines and SAS Scandinavian Airlines. Our adventure is beginning! (D)Day 2 ~ 18, Tuesday - Stockholm, Trosa
Good morning, and welcome to the Swedish capital of Stockholm. Following customs formalities, we’ll meet our tour manager and board the waiting motorcoach. A panoramic orientation tour will introduce us to Stockholm and we’ll have some free time for lunch, shopping, and individual exploration. This afternoon, enjoy a drive south through the Swedish Archipelago to the lovely town of Trosa, where we’ll check in at our charming and friendly countryside hotel for a two-night stay. There will be time to freshen up, take advantage of the hotel’s amenities, or stroll through the grounds before our welcome dinner. (B, D)Day 3 ~ 19, Wednesday - Uppsala, Stockholm, Trosa
After a good night’s sleep and breakfast, we’ll depart Trosa for an excursion to Uppsala, the ecclesiastical capital of Sweden and home to the oldest university in Scandinavia. Continue to Stockholm for a more extensive sightseeing tour that includes a walk through Gamla Stan (Old Town). We’ll see the Stock Exchange, the Great Church where Swedish kings were crowned until 1907, the Baltic harbor, and City Hall where the Nobel Prizes for physics, chemistry, medicine, and literature are presented each year. Also visit the Royal Palace (Kungliga Slottet) and the Vasa Ship Museum. Here we’ll see the Vasa, a warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and was forgotten for three centuries. Raised in 1961 and largely restored to her former glory, this ship now stands in a handsome museum. After the tour, we’ll enjoy a cocktail at the Absolut Ice Bar, the world’s first permanent ice bar where the entire interior, including the glasses, is made out of pure ice from the Thorne River in northern Sweden. Have dinner at one of Stockholm’s many wonderful restaurants and return to Trosa for the night. (B)Day 4 ~ 20, Thursday - Oslo
Depart Stockholm by motorcoach and travel across the heart of Sweden to Norway. As we travel westward through the scenic Swedish Lake District, we’ll pass by Eskilstuna, which is famous for its stainless steel, and Karlstad, the cultural and commercial hub of Varmland that is picturesquely situated on the northern shore of Lake Vänern. Upon arrival in Oslo, we’ll enjoy an orientation tour of Norway’s capital. Check in at the hotel for a two-night stay and have dinner. (B, D)Day 5 ~ 21, Friday - Oslo
Start the day with a morning tour of Oslo that includes the Radhuset (Town Hall), the site of the award ceremony for the Nobel Peace Prize each year on December 10. This tall, red brick building is lavishly decorated by Norway’s leading painters and sculptors. We will also visit Akershus Fortress, a renovated Renaissance castle bearing traces of the original medieval fortress, which is still used for official functions. Frogner Park, which we’ll see next, comprises 150 sculpture groups by the artist Gustav Vigeland and is truly an extraordinary sight. The afternoon will be free to continue exploring Oslo and you may want to do some shopping since Oslo is one of the best places to look for Norwegian hand knitted sweaters, pewter, enamels on silver, and embroidery. Or you may want to visit the National Gallery with its excellent Norwegian paintings from the 19th century to the present. Choose from one of Oslo’s restaurants for your independent dinner. (B)Day 6 ~ 22, Saturday - Bygdoy Peninsula, Lillehammer
Before leaving Oslo this morning, we’ll stop at Bygdoy Peninsula to visit the Viking Ships Museum and the Kon Tiki Museum, both interesting places commemorating the incredible sea voyages of Norsemen of old. Then we’ll travel northward via Eidsvoll and along Lake Mjosa, Norway’s largest lake. Our destination is Lillehammer, the main town in the county of Oppland and one of the best-known vacation resorts in this part of the world. It has enjoyed an even higher profile since it was the setting for the 1994 Winter Olympics. Before checking in at our hotel we’ll visit the Maihaugen Open Air Museum, one of Europe’s largest. The park contains an impressive number of timbered houses, as well as a stave church, and the rural community has been carefully recreated around lakes and streams. (B, D)Day 7 ~ 23, Sunday - Vaga, Lom, Skjolden
Today we’ll make a trip through a less traveled and marvelously scenic part of Norway. Be sure to have your camera handy! Traveling through the Gudbrandsdal Valley we’ll reach Vaga, a village with an abundance of grass-roofed timber houses. Our next stop is Lom, a picturesque, rustic town with log cabin architecture and a stave church, which is one of the most attractive stave churches in Norway. It dates from 1160 and all the paintings inside are by Eggert Munch, a priest’s son from Vaga and one of Edvard Munch’s ancestors. We’ll take some time here to stretch our legs and explore. As we continue along the Sognefjell Highway that crosses part of the Jotunheimen, we’ll have magnificent views of mountains and glaciers. In the late afternoon, we’ll arrive in Skjolden, located on the north end of the Lustrafjorden. Check in at the hotel for dinner and overnight. (B, D)Day 8 ~ 24, Monday - Kaupanger, Gudvangen, Flam, Myrdal, Voss
This will be another “red letter” day! First off, we’ll travel along the Lustrafjord to Kaupanger, where we’ll board a ferry for a breathtaking cruise on the Sognefjord and then the Aurlandsfjord. Often the fjord is not more than 1,600 feet across with mountains towering to 3,000 feet on both sides. We’ll disembark at Gudvangen and make our way via motorcoach to Flam. After some time to look around, we’ll board the famous Flåm Railway for Norway’s most exciting railway journey! A masterpiece of engineering, this 12-mile, 50-minute trip takes us up through 20 tunnels and a steep mountain gorge. In Myrdal, we’ll catch another train for the trip to Voss. Enjoy a smorgasbord dinner and overnight at a historic hotel. (B, D)Day 9 ~ 25, Tuesday - Bergen, Mount Floien, Norwegian Coastal Voyage
A morning drive takes us along the Hardangerfjord to Norheimsund and on to Bergen, a delightfully attractive town with a cluster of brightly painted houses nestled between the harbor and the surrounding mountains. After a break for independent lunch, we’ll take a walking tour of the Hanseatic area of Bryggen, which is the heart of medieval Bergen and is the only remaining ensemble of wooden buildings illustrating the architecture set up all over northern Europe by the Hanseatic League. Many of these buildings were de-stroyed by fire during the past 600 years and were painstakingly rebuilt each time. Several are now on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. We’ll also see the Fish Market, Bergenhus Fortress, and St. Mary’s Church. Then take a funicular to the top of Mt. Floien for dinner and a spectacular view of the city and surrounding areas. After dinner, transfer to the pier and board your coastal steamer, the M/S Vesteralen, for a late-evening departure. (B, D)Day 10 ~ 26, Wednesday - Norwegian Coastal Voyage: Alesund
We’ll have breakfast on board before arriving in the Art Nouveau city of Alesund at noon. This busy commercial center is Norway’s principal fishing port and it lies on the islands of Norvoy, Aspoy, and Heissa. After a fire destroyed most of the its old timber houses in 1904, it was rebuilt in stone. There will be time to look around this unique city and have independent lunch before our coastal steamer departs Alesund. Dinner and overnight will be on board. (B, D)Day 11 ~ 27, Thursday - Norwegian Coastal Voyage: Trondheim
Early this morning we’ll arrive into Trondheim, Norway’s third largest city that lies on the south side of the Trondheimfjord, an area rich in vegetation. We’ll have the morning to look around this historic and colorful town. Those who wish may reserve an optional city tour of Trondheim including Nidaros Cathedral while on board. Depart Trondheim at around noon and sail northbound. (B, D)Day 12 ~ 28, Friday - Norwegian Coastal Voyage: Bodo
Cruise to Bodo today, the main town in the county of Nordland that is located north of the Arctic Circle. The center of Bodo, completely destroyed during World War II, was rebuilt in a modern style and is a lively commercial town today. Optional shore excursions to the Svartisen Glacier or a Sea Safari to Saltstraumen may be booked for our time in Bodo. Back on board the ship, we’ll have a chance to see the stunning Lofoten Islands, an island chain known for its wild and unique mountains and landscape, quaint fishing hamlets, and rich fishing history. (B, D)Day 13 ~ 29, Saturday - Norwegian Coastal Voyage: Harstad, Tromso
The ship will call at Harstad before breakfast and then we’ll continue to Tromso, arriving by mid-afternoon. We’ll need to have our luggage packed and ready to go since we are disembarking in Tromso. Here we’ll meet our private motorcoach and guide for a tour featuring the city’s highlights, including the Arctic Cathedral and the City Museum with an exhibit about Sami culture. Check in at the hotel and enjoy a farewell dinner at a restaurant in Tromsø. (B, D)Day 14 ~ 30, Sunday - Return
All too soon, our amazing tour of Sweden and Norway has come to a close. We’ll transfer to the Tromso Airport to check in with SAS Scandinavian Airlines for flights via Oslo and Copenhagen to Chicago. We’ll clear customs and recheck our luggage at the Chicago O’Hare Airport for the connecting United Airlines flight back to Omaha or your final destination. (B, L)| CONTACT US: for more information regarding this tour or to have the brochure mailed to you |
| FAQ: Frequently asked questions about joining a Witte Tour |
| DOWNLOAD: the brochure and application form (Adobe PDF) |