Day 6: Port Louis/Sarzeau

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Updated: July 10, 2022

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Tour de France day! We started with a quick early breakfast at the hotel and picked up Nate, Hannah, and Alan with a trunk full with provisions for the day. Today’s fourth stage of the Tour starts in La Baule and ends around 5:45pm in Sarzeau, which is a city on the Gulf of Morbihan about a 70-minute drive south of Port Louis along the Atlantic coast.

2018 Tour de France Stage 4 map

We made good time and successfully achieved our primary goal of beating traffic and road closures before access was blocked in certain directions later in the afternoon. With a few hours to spend in the Sarzeau area before we made our way to the finish line, we dialed up the Nate Caucett travel agency for two great suggestions.

When people think of French beverages of the adult variety, they probably think wine and/or champagne. However, in both the Normandy and Brittany regions “€ where we’ve been traveling the last five days “€ cidre might be king. In the town of Le Hezo, we made our first stop at la Maison du Cidre, a working cidery that showcases both antique and modern cider-making.

Cider apples slightly different from eatin’ apples

Starting with a video explaining the local history and process of cider making, the self-guided tour continued to the outdoor museum displaying the equipment. They keep a colony of bees on site to pollinate the apple trees. We concluded the tour with a tasting in the garden, which naturally led to a purchasing in the shop.

Large antique press for extracting the juice


One of the finished products, Royal Guillevic

Our second stop was Château du Suscinio. Without a full afternoon to explore the castle, we opted for the free walking tour on the paths around the moat “€ including a wooded path close to a nearby pond. Built in the middle ages, the castle was home to the Dukes of Brittany and has undergone serious renovations over the years.

My King’s Castle LEGO set, only real


With a working moat


Nicely restored towers


Now, where is that secret knot?

Next up, the main event… the Tour de France! Being inside the restricted area made it easy to find parking in one of the allocated lots, and in case there was any doubt, plenty of official tour vehicles and media cars helped guide the way.

Is there some kind of event we should be airing today?

We loaded up the pull cart with picnic supplies and trekked through the crowd until we found a suitable spot to camp out and watch the stage finish in a couple hours.

Tour wagon ready to go


Our spot 400 meters from the finish line


Like the state fair, along a single road


Jumbotrons to monitor the approaching action

From one of the vendor booths, a spiffy Tour de France hat was procured to satisfy both my souvenir and sun protection needs. Then, to amp up the crowd, about an hour before the riders crossed the finish line, we witnessed a sponsorship parade that took the art of distributing fan samples to epic levels. Among the things our group successfully grabbed in the melee… a shirt, grocery bags, candy, superglue, various hats, more candy, keychains, and a plush rooster.

Missed opportunity not making that an actual Bic pen cannon


Final moments before riders arrive

Finally the race approached, the tension rose and the riders came through! If there was any doubt, they go A LOT faster than it appears on TV “€ roughly 60-70 km/hr. With the crowd noise, the race announcer and the wooooosh created by the riders, it is quite a spectacle. Here are a couple videos we shot as the riders passed us: Video 1 | Video 2

The sprinters approach!

After the race concluded, we shuffled among the rest of the ~50k race fans (and Sarzeau’s ~6k residents) back to the parking lot, packed up the car, and headed back to Port Louis. Considering the scale of the event “€ and the fact the whole apparatus was heading to Lorient for the start of tomorrow’s fifth stage “€ the traffic was not that bad. We only encountered a few traffic “deviations.”

Returning to Port Louis in time to visit the night market, Alex guided us through the shops and led us to a food truck serving traditional galettes from Brittany (savory crêpes made with buck wheat).

Return to Port Louis for Tuesday night market


Galette truck right outside the Caucutt’s house

Since they pair well with cider, we popped open a brut cider from our stash and returned to the Caucett residence to eat, drink, and watch the end of the France-Belgium World Cup game. Spoiler alert: France won, advancing to the finals, and the town went nuts. Apparently this so called “football” thing is a big deal ‘round these parts.

French soccer fans celebrate


Night market mixed with World Cup partying

We ended the day back in the room, listening to the sweet sounds of the night market band playing down the street. Highlights included Santana and Hotel California. When they were complete, we dozed off to the singing and chanting of excited soccer fans.

Day 5: Mont Saint-Michel

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Updated: September 3, 2022

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Waking up early in the shadow of Mont Saint-Michel, our plan for the day was an early guided hike in the bay during low tide (before the high tide at ~4:30pm). We didn’t book one online because it wasn’t entirely clear which guides were bilingual… or working today (we’re looking at you, Homan!). However, the friendly German travelers we spoke to yesterday said you can just go to the information office and they’ll pretty much hook you up.

Bright and early waiting for Office du Tourisme to open!

And hook us up they did, sending us on the next available nature hike with our guide Alexander — who was great. We walked on quicksand, slid through riverbeds of silt (free spa treatment), and climbed over the salted marshlands.

Alexander draws a map of the bay

Speaking of salted marshlands, plenty of hearty vegetation finds a way to survive in the bay. At least two plants we discovered are edible raw… which we sampled (of course!). The samphire plant was especially tasty, with a satisfyingly salty flavor. The plants are so salty, that lamb raised around Mont Saint-Michel is actually saltier than other lamb — a result of their diet featuring the high-saline vegetation.

Salt marshes


You can eat samphire, mmmmm… salty

On our way back, we played with quicksand. Alexander informed us how to get out if you get stuck, and offered the helpful platitude “Quicksand is not a problem. But it is your problem.” Meaning: you can get out, but nobody can really help you.

Quicksand situation

Quicksand is a layer of sand sitting on top of a pocket of water. The depth of the sand determines how fast you sink in. When the sand is thick and undisturbed, you may not even know you are walking over water. If the sand layer is thin, you can fall in very quickly, but only up to your chest (yay buoyancy!). Alexander led us to a safe spot, and as a group, we disturbed the sand (via doing the samba in unison over a focused area). The movement on the sand created waves in the water below, and the sand rippled in a way that felt like we were jumping on a water bed. With the sand now broken up and mixing with the water, it was easy to slowly sink in. We continue to have fun with quicksand for a while before continuing back.

Basically a spa day


Back to Mont Saint-Michel

At the end of the hike, Alexander sold us discounted tickets to the Abbey, allowing us to bypass the ticket line at the church. Despite the warnings about long lines and big crowds, we hiked back up to the top of the Mont and walked right in. After entering the Abbey, we explored the place for a bit and met the guided tour at 2pm.

Climbing to the top of the Abbey


Abbey architecture


Ewe see that faucet?

Our tour guide Anne took us through each of the accesible rooms and areas of the church — originally built in 933. Some sections have been destroyed or changed, and additions have been built built. As it was not fully completed until 1523, there are various styles of architecture throughout.

Abbey tour with Anne


Classical facade rebuilt in 1780


Business in the front (Romanesque), party in the back (Medieval Gothic)


This is how you keep an 10th century Abbey clean


Peaceful Abbey cloister


Guests’ Hall for receiving royalty and nobility, sans fireplace

Upon completing the tour, we watched the tide start to rise and we returned to the hotel to pick up our bags — successfully avoiding buying any crazy souvenirs. To depart the Mont, we once again opted to walk back to the mainland and enjoy the glorious afternoon weather instead of waiting in line for the packed shuttle buses (the ones with two front ends so they don’t have to pull U-Turns for the return trip).

Tide rising


Looking west(ish)

Just before returning to the car, we ducked into a hotel bar for some coffee. And, of course, we watched part of stage 3 of the Tour De France, as we ate our contraband hotel sandwiches and regained some energy.

Cafe latte and sandwiches back on the mainland

Back on the road, we decided to drive the slightly more scenic route to Port-Louis, and got a feel for the natural transition from Normandy to Brittany. After checking into our hotel, we tracked down the Caucutts.

We found a Caucutt!

Over some welcome shots of apple brandy, we caught up and confirmed our plans for Tuesday and Wednesday. Tomorrow should be a fun day of cider, castles, and the Tour de France if we can pull it off.

Day 4: Bayeux/Mont Saint-Michel

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Updated: September 3, 2022

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Today started with a true local specialty: french toast made from scratch by our wonderful B&B host Sandrine. In chatting with her and our fellow guests about upcoming plans over breakfast, everybody ruefully agreed our next stop this evening at Mont Saint-Michel *might* be a fool’s errand into a crowded tourist trap. Hmmm… But have these people ever been to a Blackhawks Championship Parade?!?

Sandrine dons her Bayeux Festival costume for breakfast

More importantly, today was our last day with the world’s best bathroom bay window. With THIS view of the Cathedral spires and the sounds of medieval festival ambiance floating in the air, it was impossible to not start humming the appropriate tune.

“THERE GOES THE BAKER WITH HIS TRAY, LIKE ALWAYS…”

One item on our Bayeux to-do list we had yet to complete was the Bayeux Tapestry — a UNESCO “Memory of the World” attraction. A quick walk from the house, we arrived at the museum and started with the audio tour that narrates the story depicted in the 224-feet of embroidery.

Haley’s Comet makes a cameo


Harold is not that bad… He saved an opposing soldier from quicksand at Mont Saint-Michel!


Waiting for the post-credit scenes

Thought to be made sometime shortly after the year 1066, the tapestry shows the story of William the Conqueror and his rise to power over Harold the oath-breaker. The rest of the museum features a few exhibits explaining how the tapestry (or really an embroidery) was made, how it has been restored, and more about its storied history.

Hey mom, based on these components, I think your patterns might be drastically under-priced!


Modern day Bayeux Tapestry near our B&B (building on the left)

Tapestry viewed, we departed Bayeux and headed to the Cimetière Américain de Colleville-sur-Mer near Omaha Beach in Normandy. This well-known American Cemetery honors the troops who died in Europe during WWII. While technically still French soil, as a symbolic gesture, France has granted the land to the US. Arriving just in time for a guided tour with an American Battle Monuments Commission (AMBC) representative, we walked through the cemetery grounds and learned more about the landing at Omaha, the importance of the cemetery, and a few soldiers who are buried there.

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial in Colleville-sur-Mer


Memorial featuring “Spirit of American Youth” statue


Amid the headstones in the Cemetery


ABMC tour guide highlights a soldier killed 74 years ago to the day


Mosaic ceiling in the Chapel

After the Normandy American Cemetery, we (somewhat purposely) drove the most Normandy-ish back roads we could find in a westerly direction. In part, we were hoping to stumble upon another bar with a TV tuned to the Tour de France. Alas, we could not find anything resembling a “sports bar” or “French restaurant open in the middle of the afternoon.”

However, we did find various public officials informing us our back road choices were part of a local bike race of some sort — which funneled us towards even more obscure back roads through the beautiful Normandy countryside (bonus). Soaking up the scenery, we eventually made our way back to the main roads and toward our next destination: Mont Saint-Michel.

Horsing around on Normandy back roads

As mentioned above, everyone we talked to in France was passing along dismal reviews of their trips to Mont Saint-Michel, mostly due to the touristy nature of the place — large crowds and overpriced food. You know, the Navy Pier of France. So, to be safe, we lowered expectations, pulled into reserved parking lot P3, and packed our overnight bags for the hike to the island.

We are hoping it is more isolated after closing time


Crossing the bridge

We opted for the 1.5 mike walk from the parking lot rather than attempt the shuttle bus because you’ve gotta pilgrimage properly! We managed to find and check into our hotel about 15 minutes before closing time, then we immediately set out to explore the area on and around the Mont. Our plan to arrive after closing seemed to work great, as there were only a few people walking around, making the experience quite pleasant.

One reason Mont Saint-Michel has never been breached


Scouting the Abbey entrance


Mont Saint-Michel at low tide in evening


Sunset casts a glow on Mont Saint Michel


Watch out for the quicksand

Tomorrow we hope to find a guide to take us on a hike in the bay when the tide is out. You have to have a guide to make sure you don’t fall in quick sand or get overtaken when the tide comes back in. So, that should be fun! After that, hopefully we can check out the Abbey when it is open. However, as everybody has warned us… if the tides don’t overtake us, the crowds might. We shall see!

Day 3: Normandy

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Updated: September 14, 2018

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With our friendly B&B in Bayeux as home base, we set out today with the intention of exploring the most interesting D-Day locations along the Normandy beaches that we have read and/or heard about.

But first! French breakfast

Starting furthest west (on the Cotentin Peninsula) and working our way back east, we made our first stop at Sainte-Mére-Eglise, which is fitting given its history in the war. It was in and around this town where American paratroopers landed during the early morning hours of June 6th, 1944, and became the first to engage the Germans behind enemy lines.

Paratrooper landings near
Sainte-Mère-Église in the Cotentin Peninsula


Church in
Sainte-Mère-Église

To commemorate this event, the church maintains a parachute and a paratrooper figure atop the bell tower to honor the real-life story of the paratrooper who was hung up in the same location on D-Day. Additionally, a couple of the stained glass windows in the church now feature paratroopers and military insignias alongside the Virgin Mary and Saint Michael.

Dummy paratrooper on the church spire (based on John Steele)


Stained glass window dedicated to paratroopers

Making a quick stop in the town visitor center, we received a map and a friendly staffer circled points of interest for a self-guided walking tour. Well… that took us about 10 minutes and was “highlighted” by a company that makes parachute-shaped biscuits. So we were about to depart, but we decided to check out the Airborne Museum as well. What a pleasant surprise!

The museum documents the involvement of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions in Operation Neptune. The museum also had this new-fangled technology (ok, it’s a tablet) called the “HistoPad” which was loaded with interactive software (the cool part) that gave us a deep dive into the history of these paratrooper missions and the aircraft that was used.

WACO glider used by 82nd and 101st airborne divisions on D-Day


The HistoPads were great!

Primarily because it was awesome, the Airborne Museum took us longer than expected, and by the time we finished, we were definitely ready to find some lunch. While hunting for a food solution in the land of random French restaurant hours, we stopped by the German bunkers/gun installation at Azeville, but discovered it would involve becoming mole people for the next couple hours and that seemed like a crazy plan on such a nice afternoon.

Continuing on back-country roads heading east towards Utah Beach, we stumbled upon a seaside sandwich shop and bar that was actually open! Even better, we found a bunch of locals watching the first stage of the Tour de France on the TV inside. The place featured the exact menu for what we craved (burgers) and our stop coincided with the last 20km of the race. Perfect timing and perfect lunch!

The Tour is underway!

We continued on to Utah Beah and explored their museum as well as the memorials outside. Some of the museum content was somewhat similar to the Airborne Museum, but it did cover more of the naval and infantry components to the landing on Utah Beach. Plus, the museum featured an original (restored) B26 bomber.

Higgins Boat monument


Good at transporting tanks, not so great at evasion


Restored B26 bomber “Dinah-Might”

Utah Beach, while draped in history and bordered with memorials, is now simply a beach. Complete with swimmers, sun tanners, and kite flyers, there was a drastic difference in tone between the museum side and the beach side, though only a few steps from each other.

Utah Beach Museum photo of D-Day (not sure which beach) on June 6, 1944


Photo of Utah Beach on July 7, 2018

After Utah Beach, we drove south and east off the Cotentin Peninsula, back toward the Pointe du Hoc Ranger Monument (about 40 minutes). Situated just to the west of Ohmaha Beach, this monument pays homage to the rangers who scaled the cliffs in order to overtake and disable the German guns before they could fire at the troops landing on the beaches. It also makes a wonderful lookout point over the English Channel.

Pointe du Hoc Monument


It’s insane the Rangers scaled these cliffs


Landscape is littered with crater holes atop the cliffs

We took the scenic route back to Bayeux to finish out the night. Once again claiming residence within the blocked off streets, we snagged a parking spot directly in front of our B&B, and even successfully parked halfway on the sidewalk as apparently is the norm.

We are actually facing the right direction here!

We returned to the Medieval Festival for dinner and intelligently purchased the entire bottle of cider this time. After a stroll around the shops and a quick visit inside the Bayeux Cathedral, we made it back to the room to catch up on some much needed sleep.

Extremely local cidre!


Inside the Bayeux Cathedral


If you Catholic well, they retire you to the ceiling, just like pro sports


Our favorite food booth (and cidre-producer) at the festival

Tomorrow we’ll finish up in Bayeux and continue west!

Day 2: Caen/Bayeux

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Updated: September 14, 2018

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The first lesson of the day was how to eat breakfast like the French. Basically, get some delicious homemade bread, spread some local soft cheeses on it, top that with a bit of fresh jam and — bam! — you’ve got yourself a spectacular culinary wake-up call.

Sea mist coverage was at “split-pea” levels today

After breakfast, we considered taking a quick walk around the cliffs again, but the “sea mist” (warm air mixed with the cold ocean water) created a thick blanket of fog to block any views. Estelle said because the tide was already low, the fog was likely to stick around for a while, so… not a problem, we packed up and got a head start towards Bayeux.

Big bridge on A29 over Seine River delta near Honfleur

Our route to Bayeux took us near the port cities of Le Havre and Honfleur, and then into Caen. As we zipped around the city on the “peripherique route,” it occurred to us that today would be a great time to visit the Caen-Normandie Mémorial, rather than backtrack tomorrow or Sunday. We punched in the new address to the handy GPS and found the museum right away.

Caen-Normandy WWII Memorial Museum

The Caen-Normandie Mémorial is dedicated to the Battle for Normandy and the complete history of WWII. The location has memorial gardens, and is situated above the bunker the 716th German Infantry Division used as the headquarters during the Occupation and the Battle of Normandy. The 70-meter long bunker is still standing as an exhibit, and the museum is literally built on top of it.

The museum features impressive exhibits and audio guides


And an exhaustive level of detail throughout


Poster for the French Liberation movement


Table model of D-Day, aka. Operation Neptune


Rifle on top recovered in 1944… Rifle on bottom found in 2013

After about five informative and occasionally sobering hours, we covered the entire museum, the video presentation, the German bunker, and the extra wing of the museum focusing on how WWII transitioned into the Cold War. We even stopped by the bistro and the book shop.

Delicious D-Day brew for lunch


Bailey Bridge and elevator down to the German bunker


First, this is a terrible idea. Second, all versions of Monopoly should include this warning.

With the Caen Memorial successfully in the books, we continued onward to Bayeux. Keeping with our tradition of coincidentally planning stays in towns with festivals, it turns out our B&B in Bayeux is one block away from the town’s annual Midieval Festival — Les Medievales de Bayeux! Our place is so downtown, we were initially turned away by security guards shutting down the streets for the 8PM parade.

Which brings us to the second lesson of the day… leveraging our printed maps (preparation!) and the French version of our hotel confirmation (bonus preparation!) to convince two friendly security guards to let us past the blockade into the downtown area. After passing that test, we quickly checked in, dropped off our bags, and went out to find the aformentioned parade.

Gothic tower of the Bayeux Cathedral built in 1077


Gathering for the Grand Parade


Prime parade viewing location


Scandinavian music group, Merween… In the chateau!


WON’T SOMEBODY SAVE THE ORPHEONS OF BAYEUX?!? They can sing!!!


The unicorn dog has been hunted to near extinction

After the parade, we walked around the booths a bit and found dinner. We ordered sausage and chicken sandwiches with a couple of cidres (in French!), and although my knowledge of numbers in French is limited to Hamilton lyrics, we eventually managed to pay.

Photo may not do justice to how good this tasted


La Cathedral de Bayeux from the window at our B&B

Enjoying a few more views of the festival and surroundings, we walked back to our room for the night. The festival lasts all weekend, so I’m sure we will find our way back. It is just around the corner, after all.

Day 1: Étretat

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Updated: July 29, 2022

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We made it to France! Having arranged a direct flight to Paris, we successfully eliminated any dramatic airline stories from this first blog entry. Instead, let us tell you that we prepared for the trip by purchasing France-themed M&Ms and doing a ceremonial Chartreuse shot before we headed to O’Hare!

France trip pre-gaming

Upon arriving at Charles de Gaulle International, we deplaned, passed through customs, and found our bags happily circling around the conveyor belt awaiting pick up. CDG is not the easiest airport to navigate — and it was definitely a zoo today for some reason — but we eventually managed to exchange some money and find a Relay store with the SIM card we wanted. (Fun fact: Setting up SIM cards is super easy for everybody on the planet except us)

Picking up our rental from Europcar, they told us they did not have anything similar to the Toyota hybrid model we signed up for (boo!) but in exchange, they offered us a Mercedes C Class (nice!), which also came with navigation, buying us the extra time we needed to get the data plan working on the SIM card. (Seriously, how does everybody else understand SIM cards better than us?)

I guess we’ll accept the Mercedes instead of a Toyota

Matt handled the Parisian traffic with ease, despite the fact that motorcycles appear to have no inclination or legal duty to acknowledge Rules of the Road over here. After a comfortable and scenic drive north, we made it to Étretat just before 5PM. Navigating narrow streets, we found La Castel De Terrasse and admired the grandeur of the place.

Castel de la Terrasse, our humble abode tonight

Our host Estelle introduced us to the resident seagulls (yes, that’s right) and explained why our guest room is themed after famous French writer Maurice Leblanc. She also suggested the best way to explore the Cliffs De Étretat and where to find the best seafood.

These boats aren’t going to sail themselves people!

Once a popular retreat for impressionist artists such as Monet and Manet, the Cliffs de Étretat are still a popular tourist destination. Before dinner, we hiked up part of the western cliff(s) called Falaise D’Aval to set down some of the natural splendor.

Looking west from Falaise D’Aval at La Manne Forte


Humans for scale! Falaise D’Amont In distance


La Chambre des Demoiselles and Ètretat beach

We walked back to town for our dinner reservation at La Marie Antoinette. We bravely tried the oysters, but stuck to cooked fish for our main course. We also had our first French bread and French bottle of wine, so I’d say dinner was a success.

Good oysters. Delicious seafood. And check out that dog in a suit!

Afterwards, in preparation for sunset, we walked back to the cliffs and explored Falaise D’Amont to the east. We hiked up past the church, beyond the field of dairy cows, then back down to the beach via a rocky staircase and a small 40ish-yard tunnel through the cliff.

Chapelle Norte-Dame de la Garde


Shadows climb the cliffs


Low tide reveals hidden skulls… just checking if you’re reading the captions.


Falise D’Amont at low tide


Entrance to Le Chaudron tunnel and MarioKart shortcut.


Watch out for the super rare rock jellyfish


Getting a perfect shot of…


…this seagull enjoying the sun setting on Falaise D’Aval


Golden hour sinks below La Mancha (English Channel)

Throughly impressed with the views and satisfied with our hike and dinner, we walked back to the Castel de Terrasse to end the night. Day One was a success (amazing weather!) and we are hoping to keep the trend going.

Getting Ready for France

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Updated: July 1, 2018

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Welcome back! This year we are heading to France — the land of wine, cheese, bread, and bikes. We leave Chicago on Wednesday, July 4th with a direct flight to Paris, which hopefully cuts down on the airport shenanigans. (We are flying United, although I’m sure Delta is working furiously to bump us off a connecting flight for old times sake, ha!).

Starting the journey at the Cliffs d’Etretat, we’ll follow the coastline west to Normandy to visit the D-Day beaches. There happens to be a Medieval Festival right where we are staying in Bayeux, so clearly, we will need to check that out. Heading further west will be Mont Saint Michel where we plan to stay overnight and hike the bay when the tide is out.

The 2017 Médiévales De Bayeux posters went full Game of Thrones!

Our friend Nate Caucutt and his family live in Lorient — in the Brittany region of France — where we will visit for a few days and watch the fourth and fifth stages of Le Tour De France ride thru town. Following that, we drive waaaay back east towards the Alps with a quick stop in Auvergne for a hot air balloon ride over extinct volcanoes (weather pending).

Spotted last year in the Amsterdam airport… so obviously Paris was next

Arriving in Geneva, Switzerland, we will meet our bike tour guides — Alpine Chaingang — and begin the crazy biking adventure. With a summertime ski chalet as our home base, we will bike for six days on various routes in the French Alps. If we manage to stay alive, we will see even more Tour De France action (stages 10, 11 and 12), as the riders will be entering the Alps and biking some of the same roads during the week. Hopefully, Chicago Divvy bikes and Soul Cycle classes have prepared us to pretend like we are competing for the polka-dot jersey.

Check back for updates and pictures! Oh, and if anyone can teach me French, now would be a great time.

Day 16: Airports

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Updated: August 22, 2017

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We made it! Just a final trio of flights with two airport layovers, and our Norwegian adventure will officially be in the books — or the blog, let’s say.

Norwegian waffles are tasty, confirmed

But, first things first. At breakfast, we discovered the Oslo Airport Park Inn has a Norwegian waffle making stand. Having not seen this do-it-yourself culinary option at any of our previous breakfasts (we had seen them for sale elsewhere, but made in advance), we took this opportunity to give the local favorite a shot. It did not disappoint.

OSL sidewalks are like being in Tron

After breakfast, we checked out and enjoyed five minutes of nice weather as we walked from the hotel to the airport. After a pit stop at the Global Blue counter to get a tax refund (for the shoes), we proceeded to check in.

Tragically, we couldn’t find anything to spend our last 19 kroner on. Even a small pack of gum was 22 kroner, about the equivalent of three dollars. The coins were a better souvenir.

Checking in with our friends KLM and Delta


Jo bids farewell to the locals

Having timed our arrival pretty well, we didn’t wait long for the first flight. Our seat assignments from yesterday were successfully noted on the boarding passes, so we were able to get on the plane! Take that, KLM.

Oh boy, we actually get to board our KLM flight this time!


What is this, a coke for ants?! 🙂


Approaching Amsterdam

The flight was smooth, and we made it to Amsterdam with an hour and a half layover before our next flight. Stopping at the food court, we used our remaining consolation food vouchers from two weeks ago when they bumped us. Two free salads and drinks later, we were ready to take our 11th flight.

You’re still on notice, KLM and Delta

The departures board told us our flight would be boarding in 10 minutes, which is what our information indicated as well. Then, rather abruptly, the board said our gate was closing. OK THEN! So we quickly jogged to the gate.

On the plus side, we didn’t have to wait around for boarding again. And in the end, our sprint seemed slightly unnecessary as they didn’t close the doors until five minutes before take-off anyway.

There’s our Delta plane maybe boarding in 10 minutes, or maybe not!

A mere eight hours later — involving several games of Ticket To Ride on the iPads (Scandinavian Coutries expansion, of course) — we landed in Minneapolis/Saint Paul. Hey Minnesota! We put our Global Entry status to work and cleared customs in a matter of minutes.

Sorry we brought the rain to Minnesota, you guys

Taking advantage of the three-hour layover and our return to American IP addresses, we camped out at the gate and caught up on the two episodes of Game of Thrones. We also re-visited the Google Fi trivia vending machine in the G concourse, where we successfully answered a series of three (very) obscure geography questions in order to win fuzzy socks!

Eventually, our final flight boarded and we were delivered back to O’Hare for a 10pm arrival. Our bags arrived quickly, we hopped in a cab, and were home by 10:45pm.

Blurry Chicago lights come into view

Here are some fun facts we compiled about the trip…

Transportation Totals:

  • Planes: 12 (longest 8 hours, shortest 20 minutes)
  • Trains: 3
  • Automobiles: 17
  • Boats: 12
  • Dog Carts: 1
  • Steps: 205,486

Weather

  • Rain: 12 of 16 days

Umbrella industry does good business during Norwegian summers

In Svalbard, it was common practice to take of your shoes before entering rooms — including public spaces such as hotel lobbies and restaurants. This seems like a really good idea, especially come winter when copious amounts of snow and slush get involved.

Still need a shirt for service??

Camping and hitchhiking are very common in Norway. It is legal to camp anywhere unless otherwise noted, and many people plan on hitchhiking to get around. We saw many people with their thumbs out on the side of the road.

It usually looked like their plan was going off without a hitch.

Hey-O! Thank you for enduring one of our two Norway jokes. We’ll be here all week. Remember to tip your wait staff.

Electronics casualties:

  • 1 cracked phone screen (minor nick)
  • 1 water damaged phone (glad it was an old phone)
  • 1 blown power converted/wifi router

So long, European power outlets!

And finally, there was one Norwegian radio station called Norge, which played good music, but lost all credibility when they cut short both “American Pie” and “Blinded by the Light.”

Aside from those travesties, the bottom line is Norway is awesome. Highly recommended. Everybody should go. We might have to get back there someday ourselves.

Day 15: Leknes/Gardermoen

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Updated: August 31, 2017

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Great weather in Leknes this morning! Because we were leaving, of course. With the bright morning sun streaming in from windows overlooking the grassy backyard, we took our time waking up, making breakfast, packing up and tidying our AirBnB.

Sunny morning after yesterday’s squall

On the bright side, the fact that yesterday’s typhoon cleared up gave us some level of confidence our travel plans for the day would be a success, starting with a noon flight from Leknes to Bodø.

Dropping off the second rental at LKN

Unlike Chicago or Minneapolis/St. Paul, the Leknes airport has two rooms. One that holds the short baggage claim belt, rental car desk, check in, and security. The other is the one-gate waiting room. We arrived in plenty of time for our 20-minute flight over the Vestfjorden.

March of the passengers, Part 1


Not tired of these Lofoten views


Different rocky coast look near Bodø, also awesome

After a short layover, our next flight took us to Oslo (or more accurately, the city of Gardermoen, which is about a 40 minute drive outside of Oslo). The views out of the window were not “Lofoten Islands” level of greatness, but the clouds and landscape heading inland to the east were still worth a look.

March of the passengers, Part 2


Thanks SAS! We like you better than Delta/KLM

Back in the land of large airports, we collected our bags and stopped by the KLM counter to see if we could check in, or at least get assigned some seats for the first leg of our itinerary tomorrow (because Delta and KLM are dysfunctional partner airlines as noted previously). The agent was able to reserve seats for us, so hopefully no more bumps! She’ll probably get in trouble for not charging us some lame fee to help us out.

Checking in to the Park Inn hotel at the OSL airport

Walking to the hotel, we realized how exhausted we were. The hotel is a bit of a hike outside the city of Oslo, and since it’s a Saturday everything in Norway tends to shut down on the weekend. None of the places we were interested in seeing were open. Opting for a relaxing evening in the hotel instead, we wrapped up our epic trip with a nap and dinner.

Nap time!


Lounge and dinner time!

Norway has been amazing, and we will miss it. Chicago is now calling us home. Tomorrow we finish with a trio of flights back to Chicago — our 10th, 11th, and 12th flights of the trip. For some reason, flying west always seems and feels easier, so here’s hoping that holds true.

One more thing. As we are posting this blog in the Park Inn bar right now, it is pouring rain outside. Ha! We win tonight, Norway weather demons!!!!

Day 14: Lofoten Islands

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Updated: August 16, 2017

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As yesterday’s weather report predicted, it was a beautiful morning in Leknes today… BUT only for a while. Knowing the weather was going to turn by late morning, we woke up, ate breakfast and hit the road by 8:30am-ish to see the Lofoten Scenic Route.

As we learned last week, when Norway calls something a “Scenic Route” they are not screwing around. It’s the main reason we adjusted plans at the last minute yesterday and rented a car. So off we went in our snazzy brown Opal Astra stasjonsvogn.

Great weather… for now!


Impressive views

On the road signs, the route is simply called Ŧ (pronounced ‘oh’), which is the name of the city at the end of the drive.

Sandy beaches on NW coast of Vestvågøy


Got photos in all directions

Heading southwest, we tunneled to Flakstadøya Island and took a quick detour to see a historic fishing village called Nusfjord. Parts of the village have been replicated to serve as hotels (the part we saw), and parts have been preserved from its original state (which you could see for a fee).

Road across Flakstadøya


Outskirts of Nusfjord

The drive continued south, hitting another island named Moskenesøya, getting us more amazing scenery, and eventually to Ŧ. Another small fishing village on the edge of the island (what else are you supposed to do when you are so close to water?), Ŧ has a hotel, restaurant, bakery, cafe, museum, and of course, a gift shop.

Open-air tunnels toward Ŧ


One of the historic buildings now part of the museum


The Kraken has a long history in Nordic seafaring folklore

When reading about the Lofoten Islands, we learned they are famous for stockfsh, which is dried cod (mostly), preserved using the old method of cleaning the fish and hanging it on wood racks to dry. Making stockfish is such an integral part of the culture and history that the museum in Ŧ is actually the Norwegian Stockfish Museum. We were game to try some, so we bought a small package. Additionally, while walking around looking for the gift shop, we accidentally found the bakery and failed to resist devouring a freshly baked cinnamon roll (Norway forgoes the globs of icing, and it is still amazing).

Delicious Kanelsnurr on the right

By this point, the glorious sunny weather was long gone so we headed back north toward Leknes. For what it’s worth, the Lofoten Island scenery still manages to impress even when it is rainy and cloudy.

Rainy in Reine


Coastal showers

Next up, we drove directly to the Lofotr Viking Museum and festival in Borg. Norway has a serious history with Vikings, including a trove of artifacts found on the site of the museum. Many parts of the property feature cultural remains, while others have been reconstructed. The museum is open all year, but for one weekend a year, they host a Viking festival. Lucky for us, it fell on the weekend we were there!

Things to do at a Viking Festival

Rain or shine (but really, just rain for the rest of today) we were determined to have fun. First up, we walked 1.5km from the Chieftain’s House (the largest Long House in the world!) to the festival area. The main goal was to sail on the replica Viking ship (the actual ship is in the Viking Museum in Oslo). We arrived in time to see the boat sailing away, giving us 45 minutes until the next departure.

Wandering into the boat house, a musician taking cover from the rain offered a demonstration about Viking age music and instruments. Another vendor outside was selling Stockfish and offered us a sample (so, you know, we can find out what exactly we bought earlier, ha!). It tastes like salty cod, but has the texture of bark. Must be what fuels everyone to be as active and fit as they are. Finally, it was boat time.

The Viking boat crew keep us from capsizing after hoisting the sail


The Vikings loved orange life vests

Turns out that windy, rainy weather makes a sail boat go pretty fast. Whipping around the lake and banking a couple steep turns, we made it safely back to the dock.

Back on land, we continued to walk around the festival and check out the artisan tents. Vendors selling their wares was expected, but it was also cool to just see the Vikings hanging around their camps, telling stories, cooking, and sharing their food. Some explained their cooking process, some sold their food (hazelnut cakes for a dollar), and others just gave out samples to passerbys (including spit-roasted pig and a much-appreciated warm cup of soup).

Hasselnøtt kjeks!

Finding a warm wool hood/poncho from one of the sellers, I felt cozy and Viking-like, and was ready to play with some weapons.

First up was archery. We both hit our targets. Next up was ax throwing. The girl in front of us managed to cut herself while throwing the ax, so we discovered they are very real. But don’t worry, she was fine, and we were wearing gloves. Matt nailed it twice. I couldn’t quite get the ax to stick in the target.

Adopting Viking fashion


Excellent archery form

Venturing into the smithy, the blacksmiths were not presenting a demonstration, but rather the three of them were just hanging out and helping each other practice techniques and share tips. Soon, festival staff came in to have them smooth and sharpen a couple of the axes we had just been throwing a second ago, which must have been why I wasn’t successful earlier. Obviously.

When the axes need repair, call your smithy

After one last lap around the market, we hiked the 1.5km back up the hill in the the pouring rain and crazy wind to the indoor refuge of the Viking museum. The exhibits feature artifacts excavated from the area, a twenty minute movie (filmed on the property), and clips of archeologists and historians talking about Viking history specific to Borg. Using iPods (old school!) to follow the audio tour, we learned a good deal about the Norwegian Vikings.

As we finished, the museum was closing, but we stuck around for the Viking feast we signed up for in the hope they’d have enough people. They did! Escorted to the Longhouse, we had time to look around before the dinner commenced. The Viking “king and queen” hosted us and performed a show throughout. When the delicious lamb and vegetable plate was served, we ate like Vikings (no forks).

Prepared to feast! And drink plenty of mead!

As dinner concluded, we finished our mead, danced around the fire, and took a look around the rest of the longhouse. Very grateful for having rented a car, we headed home in the very heavy wind and driving rain.

Our dinner hosts the king and queen… and their twins

Our trip is nearing its end. If the wind or rain doesn’t foil our flight times, we go to Oslo tomorrow for the evening before flying back on Sunday.

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