Float Days 1-3 (Rotterdam, North Sea, Åndalsnes)

    Well, the Float has started.  We are on the Holland America ship "Nieuw Statendam".

    Day 1 was boarding (at Rotterdam).  
    Day 2 was at sea (North Sea).  Won the scavenger hunt with Jana (well- it was a tie with the other groups who also got a perfect score).  Won the paper-airplane design competition.  My odds improved greatly when it was determined that I was the only entrant.  Got a pin.
    Day 3 was our first stop (at Åndalsnes, Norway).  Rode a train.  Rode a gondola (longest one in Norway).  Walked the small town of Åndalsnes.  Saw a couple of new birds.

    We are touring with a group of folks who are geocachers, and I'm still learning their names.  Many of them are Canadian, and on Day 3 have been celebrating Canada Day (all day) with great enthusiasm.

    Pictures and monologue:

    Boarding Day (Day 1):
    Before boarding the ship, toured one of the Rotterdam nature parks.  Caught a Wood Pigeon fluffing itself.  Not a super-flattering look for the pigeon.  When it realized it was being observed, it quickly righted itself:

    
    Our first look at the ship, as we were crossing the "Swan" bridge on the bus:

    And a look at the "Swan" bridge, from the ship, accentuating the part that nominally looks "Swan"-like:

    A couple of shots Greater Black-Backed Gulls:

    Leaving Rotterdam, Looking at some windmills (old and new):

    Day 2, at sea:
    Huh, I took no pictures.  Except of this White Wagtail that somehow took a short rest on the deck - 30 miles from the nearest shore.  These are not seabirds, and it shouldn't have been out here.

    Day 3:  As we were pulling into the fjord, I got some lousy photos through the window (I know you should not photograph through glass because of glare, and rain on the glass - but it was cold and raining, and sometimes a 'compromised' photo is better than no photo):

    Quick brunch before heading out on a shore excursion, the dining room set up a Canada Day cake.  This greatly excited much of our Canadian contingent.  And to those of you who are Canadian, Happy Canada Day.

    A good look at a Common Gull (that I had not observed, until today):

    The first 2/3 of our stay at port was sunny and 75 degrees - in Portland, OR.  However, in Åndalsnes, Norway, it was about 50 degrees and windy/rainy.  And the visibility was limited.  Pretty, but limited.  This is the view towards the end of the fjord during a short break in the rain:

    It was so windy that the Norwegian flags here have been stretched out to 3-4x their normal length:

    We took a train ride up the historic gold-train rail.  The window Jana and I had (and no other passengers had this), was a request to not throw wine bottles out the window, or to not receive wine bottles through the window, or maybe it was that we were supposed to throw out wine bottles or receive wine bottles.  Not sure what the red circle means:

    As with fjords in general, a lot of really steep cliffs.  A lot of waterfalls.  Scenic scenery.  With photos compromised by the glare (the last one has a really good reflection of the back of my hand).

    At the top (Bjorli), Jana stands in front of a small one-room museum on the gold-rescue during WWII, after which the railway is named.

    Also at the top -  lots of wildflowers.  Including stalks of Lupin.  And bumblebees.

    More Wildflowers:

    On the way back down, I fear we may have interrupted the conductor from his cooking of his soup.

    More nice views on the way down:

    Then off to the Gondola, and to the top of the mountain, which had some limited visibility due to the cloud ceiling, but nonetheless had some very nice views.  Here is a list of the names of the peaks at the viewpoint, followed by a look out at the viewpoint:

    Within the top of the mountain, it was an attractive landscape, with lichens and scrub trees and flowers:

    And, ironically, at the top of this mountain, a Meadow Pipit:

    And, as previously mentioned, a lot of pretty flowers, scrub, and lots of colorful lichens (red, green, orange, white):

    As we finished our top-of-mountain look-about, and started down the Gondola, as might be predicted, the cloud ceiling began to lift and dissipate, and we could get better views of the end of the fjord, and of the ship (even if through the glare-y window of the gondola).

    And at the bottom, for the first time, we had good visibility from top-to-bottom of the gondola:

    And as the ship pulled out, for the first time, 50/50 blue skies with clouds.  The trip heading out was much more scenic than the rainy/foggy entry.  Still 50 degrees and cold/blowy - but dry and clear.  And the sun still reasonably high in the sky at 9PM (at a latitude of 62-degrees North, just one week after the summer solstice).  Nice reflective surface on the water for pictures.  Super-steep cliffs.  Very fjordy.  Very pretty.

    More soon.