Sunday, 4 June 1978

£1 = 9.63 kr

Big selection of foods at breakfast, cold meats, fish, eggs, cornflakes, juice, jams, rolls, tea, coffee. Very good.

Picked up at Hotel 9.15. Very comfortable bus – 16 on tour (6 Australians, 1 Great Britain, 1 EG, 2 Israel, 6 American)

Unhurried travel to Hamar and Lillehammer. Lakes, trees, rolling hills, twisty road.

Lunch at cafe in Lillehammer (45kr)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visited folk museum, Norwegian houses back to 1400, heavy timbers, earth of roof. Beggar’s seat 1600 – guest room and more fittings. Old wooden church – last supper carved out of piece of wood. Parson’s house.

Peer Gynt Way not open yet, returned and travelled along the side of Lake Mjøsa. Colourful reflections in the surface.

Hotel Fefer (about 3000 ft) overlooks lake and snow covered mountains. Very few guests in the house. Still partially light at 12 and bright daylight at 3.00 am.

Saturday, 3 June 1978

Party had breakfast at 6.30 to leave at 7. Farewelled them all at the bus.

Took a bus into town. Found the Scout Shop at 8.30. Walked and found a junk market place. Vendors done up in bowler hats. Back to Scout Shop that opened at 9.00. Leif Iversen(?), an engineering student, showed us all the stock.

Walked to the shopping mall. Found a church basar [sic] and had a cuppa and Danish cheese and Danish layer cake. Lady spoke English. Had a waffle with a tin of K.Y. peaches in it. Lady spoke to Elsie about youth groups.

Another fellow spoke to me. He had been a seaman 15 years ago and taken sheep from Sydney to England and had worked cattle ships around the north of Australia, Gulf of Carpentaria and Darwin.

Elsie met a lady from Lugarno (a Brownie leader) and her husband and kids in the shopping mall.

Taxi to airport (15kr). Snack at airport 29kr.

Plane left 2.50 Oslo 3.40 (26^oC).

Changed £20 + 20D.kr = 206.90N.kr.

Taxi to Stefan Hotel 50kr (about £5). All travel papers waiting for us. Very good room, toilet but no shower.

Walked to water front. Took 50 min harbour sightseeing [tour] (18kr each). Past museum for Kon-Tiki, Amundsen ship [Fram], light houses, floating dock.

Waited 1 hour to get dinner at hotel (107kr). E had large steak, potatoes, onions and mushrooms and strawberries (not quite ripe). J had Norwegian pork chops – 2 large and thick – and potatoes and sauerkraut, ice cream and fruit salad. Very nice meal. Ice making machine in hall. Shower room on lower floor. Very hot in room.

Friday, 2 June 1978

360 miles to Copenhagen

Very warm in bus.

Slightly rolling countryside, timbered very neat farms and buildings. Excellent road. Misty across Lake Vättern. Lunch near Jonkoping. To ferry at 4.45. Drove on. Went upstairs, had a cup of tea and we were in Denmark. Boat passed the castle mentioned in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

Hotel Dan – out of town (about 15 mins) but very close to the airport.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After tea went to the Tivoli Gardens – a sophisticated amusement park for all ages. Many trees and flower gardens, lakes, fountains, stages, large halls, open air stages for musicians. Lots of dancing and drinking places, Luna Park type rides, dodgem cars, big dipper (2), twirly wheels, display shops. Boats of the ports, restaurants, garden beds all colourfully lit and lots of people.

Thursday, 1 June 1978

Ferry Wellamo – very smooth crossing.

Watched as boat sailed between the islands at 6.30 pm. very interesting little islands, at times with very narrow passages. Stand up breakfast. Your own choice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stockholm at 9.00. About an hour before the coach came off.

At Hotel Khristineberg at 10.15. Late to start city tour. Very hot in Town Hall. Very large auditorium, rooms. Gold dining hall.

Visited old section of town. Cathedral and square buildings back to 1600.

After lunch repaired E’s handbag and slept for 3 hours – very hot. After tea caught the train into town (3kr each, ea way). Many brightly lit shops with expensive goods.

Wednesday, 31 May 1978

Hot

Stand up breakfast. Big selection of food. Help yourself.

 

 

 

 

 

Morning city tour at 10. City cathedral organ was playing. Bright clean inside. Monument to Sibelius. Market place bright flowers and fruit. 4 apples 2.80 FM, 4 oranges 2.40 FM.

Afternoon in city – large shops – arcades, many self service.

Boarded boat at 5.00, Wellamo. Small cabin with H&C and shower and toilet – beautifully clean new boat.

Smorgasbord tea at 8.25. Huge variety of foods – salads – hot dishes.

Sailed 6pm.

Tuesday, 30 May 1978

Drive through different country near Bay [sic] of Finland [Gulf of Finland]. Camps for children at seaside resort.

Presentation to Irene (our guide) – art books. She left at Vyborg to return to Moscow. 2 hours at Russian border. 1 hour at Finnish border – bus checked for Vodka.

Different look about the countryside. Houses painted, spread out on lots, cars, TV aerials, flowers, well formed roads, bicycles.

Hotel Pobar out of Helsinki. Excellent meal of soup and fish. 1 bottle of beer 5.45 FM = 78p = $1.25. 1 bottle of Fanta 3.00 FM = 42p = 68c. Postcards 1.20 FM – 17p = 27c/Airmail Post 1.10 – 15.5p = 25c Toilet and shower.

Sunday, 28 May 1978

Fine, warm 19^o

City tour of Novorogod [sic]. Large residential industrial area. Water carts in some areas. Visited Kremlin. Teenagers participating in competition for marching, turning.

Eternal flame and unknown soldier guarded by 2 boys and 1 girl – 30 minute shifts – every day of the week. In the Kremlin grounds of the city – museums, tanks to the defence of the city.

Very high and impressive monument to 1000 years of the city. Military leaders through the period and scenes of activities of people.

Large cathedral of St Sofia – 3 domes, large iconostans [sic] – heavy pillars.

To Leningrad Old Hotel Astoria. H&C water (no. B & toil). Meals at Hotel Europa about 1 mile away. Lunch at 3.00.

Visited the Hermitage at 4 o’clock – old palace of the Tsars. Huge gilded reception rooms, ball rooms, dining rooms. Examples of art and antiquity from many countries. Marble pillars, vases, dishes, fonts, marble wall.

Walked down to the river.

During the day the streets were crowded with people.

Saturday, 27 May 1978

Fine, warm-hot

320 miles to Novorogod [sic]. Flat country

Wooden houses on sides of main road. No signs of guttering or tanks. Saw one village pump. Roads better. Picnic lunch – triple slice sandwich meat and cheese – boiled egg – cucumber and bottle of lemonade.

Novorogod [sic] 6.15. Hotel only about 12 months old. Room with shower and toilet and very hot water.

Very neat room.

Optional dinner (£5) at a restaurant in old monastery. In cellar large table. Fish dish and salad similar to Greek dish and bowl of beef and tasty mixture of soup like vegetables in it.

Russian alcoholic jug and Russian sweet drink. B & butter and very sweet tea with cinnamon and some bottles of Vodka. A noisy group of 30.

Friday, 26 May 1978

Fine

Breakfast: Salami, bread, apple juice, butter, egg omelette, tea.

Visited exhibition of Scientific & Agricultural Achievement. Drove around in mini train. Monument to space explorers. Rocket on top of huge tail in shape of path of exhaust flames. 70+ pavilions, very large fountains. Kids after chewing gum jumped in the bus. Man, wife and kids crowded into our compartment. Squeal as we moved down a hill, turned out to be a woman with a small pig in a bag and it was trying to get out.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visited space museum. Full scale models of Sputnik, dog moon buggies, communication satellites, Soyuz Combined American – US docking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Circlorama of Russia. Circular building with screen all around you. We were standing in the middle. Feeling of movement down the road.

Tea 5.30 off to the circus at 6.15.

Circus started at 7pm. A large circular building with ring in the middle. Seats about 2000 or more. Very brightly lit. Acts excellent and well presented. Finished 9.40.

Saw the changing of the guard on Lenin’s tomb at 11pm.