Month: August 2024

Oslo, Day 2

Today we explored a bit of Oslo.

The hotel breakfast was abundant and very good.

The hotel breakfast buffet

Then we went to the Munch Museum which highlights the work of the artist Edvard Munch.

Inside the Munch Museum
Moonlight by Edvard Munch

Next we walked around the opera house roof.

The opera house from the top of the Munch Museum
On the opera house roof

After taking a rest at our hotel we went to the Oslo Cathedral.

Inside Oslo Cathedral.

Next we walked around the royal palace. We just happened to see the changing of the guard.

Royal Palace
Changing of the guard

We spent an hour at the historical museum before they closed

In the historical museum. This parka was collected by Amundsen during his exploration of the northwest passage

Then a quick stop at an antiquarian bookstore

Norlis Antikvariat

Finally we stopped for beer and then had a great dinner at Ruffino Italian restaurant

Beer at the end of the day
Duke’s Beef Pappardelle
My seafood ravioli

San Francisco to Oslo

We are off on our next big adventure! About one o’clock on Monday Allison gave us a ride to the Lafayette BART station. BART is a convenient, cheap, and easy way to get to the airport. For seniors the fare is around $5.

All was going well until we got to MacArthur BART station in Oakland. First they told us there would be a delay because of a problem ahead. Then they said it was a fire ahead. Then they said they were taking our train out of service and we should get off the train. Then the fire department said we should leave the platform. Then they told us the station was being closed and we should leave the station. There were a lot of fire trucks outside the station.

Smoke coming from BART train
Fire engines outside MacArthur BART station

We ordered an Uber and got to San Francisco airport with no problem. The Uber cost us $100!

The rest of the trip was as uneventful and exhausting. It’s about 11 hours to Copenhagen. We were a bit late but SAS quickly booked us on a later flight to Oslo.

Duke getting off the plane in Copenhagen
Lego store in Copenhagen airport

In Oslo we took the Flytoget AirPort Express into the center. Roger and Gayle had already arrived. It was great to see them.

We are staying at the Thon Opera House Hotel. We went to a very good Indian Restaurant, Der Peppern Gror for dinner. It was raining a bit as we walked back to the hotel but we benefitted from the long northern days. It was still light at 8:30.

Flytoget AirPort Express
On the train
All four of us at dinner

Quick trip to Utah

Duke and I just made a quick trip to Utah. On Sunday we drove from Reno to Provo, Utah. We stayed in a very nice Hyatt Place Hotel and had dinner at the restaurant in the hotel across the street.

Monday we drove to Price, Utah for a family event. It was sad circumstances but it was nice to be able to visit. While we were in Price we went to the Prehistoric Museum at Utah State University. A lot of fossils have been found in the area. It was pretty amazing to see so many of them.

In Price we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express. We had a fantastic, very reasonably priced meal at Uptown Steakhouse. We haven’t had “meat on the stone” in a long time. It was so good. Our very nice bottle of red wine only cost $22. On his way out a guy at a nearby table told us he had paid for our wine! What a nice surprise.

Tuesday we drove to Torrey which is near Capital Reef National Park. We spent two nights at the fabulous Skyview Hotel. Our room had a wall of windows overlooking the mountains. We enjoyed the Skyview Hotel so much that it would be a reason to come back to this area. Tuesday night we ate at a great nearby Mexican restaurant, Chak Balan.

Duke enjoying our room at the Skyview Hotel
Our room
Sunset from the roof deck at the Skyview Hotel

Wednesday we hiked the Grand Wash Trail via the Northeast Trailhead in Capital Reef National Park. The trail goes along the wash. Eventually we hiked up towards Cassidy Arch. It’s an absolutely stunning hike. We got an early start so had quite a bit of shade going out. It was a very hot day. The sun was brutal at the end of the hike. All in all we hiked about 7 miles.

At the start of the hike
Our turnaround point
On our way back

The next morning we started home. We spent the night in Ely, Nevada. On the way we stopped at the site where the outlaw, Butch Cassidy lived from 1880 to around 1884.

Cabin where Butch Cassidy lived
Duke tempting fate in front of our hotel in Ely.

The next day we drove home. Outside of Ely we stopped at the massive KCHM Robinson mine.

The mine site
One view of the mine.