We used our last morning at sea to visit some places on the ship that we had not seen and to try out some of the sporting facilities. Firstly the putting green located high up on Deck 18, where the wind was blowing quite strongly. Here Sylvia is recovering from a tricky shot from the rough.
The basketball court was next where I tried (mostly unsuccessfully) to score some baskets.
Of course no morning would be complete without some trivia and with everyone on the ship it was particularly busy today. As a treat there were special prizes instead of the usual notebooks, wine stoppers or bags. The winner of this mornings quiz would be the proud owners of some Effy jewellery. In most of the quizzes we have entered we have come near the top but on most occasions we have fallen short by one or two points. Today the questions went in our favour being able to name the six Noble prize categories and the ten countries with the highest population. Yes, we won! There are two necklaces coming home to Wales. The best part was at the end when I asked the quizmaster whether he has ever used my site (www.kensquiz.com) and he said “Are you Ken?” and shook my hand. Fame at last.
Things I Have Learned About Norway.
Travelling the length of Norway and listening to several guides I have managed to pick up a couple of useful facts about Norway. Firstly the colours of the houses historically reflect the wealth or social class of the owner. The red houses were painted with whale blood mixed with cod liver oil and were the houses of the working people, whereas the yellow ones reflected the commercial class. There was generally only one White House in a village and that would be occupied by the lord of the manor.
Secondly Norway is very expensive with the equivalent of a pint of beer costing £7.50 and fuel prices over £2.35 a litre.
On the plus side salaries tend to be higher than in the U.K. with the average monthly wage in 2022 being 52180 Norwegian Krone (equivalent to around £4311). Interestingly university education is free to everyone including apparently students from other countries. It is said that the Norwegian language is easy to learn for those people who speak German as they are very similar.
So what were the highlights of this cruise, there were so many but I would say stunning scenery…….
…….and some magnificent mountains…….
…..not forgetting winning today’s quiz.
Thanks to everybody who has read the blog and made comments either on here or Facebook, it’s been a pleasure to have you travelling with us. Our next cruise is planned for early next year, unless of course something crops up in the meantime!!
