Three weeks was a little too long. There is little internet up above the arctic circle, so I went cold turkey.
Weather in Norway in September is mostly cool, moist, and cloudy. Scenery is beautiful! Several of my excursions were cancelled, due to being so late in the season. I was terribly disappointed that I didn't get to see a stave church. Shopping in Norway is stupid. A simple post card costs about $1.25, US. Other prices were similar, so I didn't buy anything. We did see a super display of the Northern Lights one night. DH took a thousand pictures.
We should have come home after the two week cruise. Three weeks is just too long for us old folks, DH is still hurting from his fall off the roof last May, and he fell twice more, spraining both his ankles. I gave him my cane for a couple of days. He refused to admit he was hurt at first, but then he started whining.
His worst fall was in the Antwerp train station. He stubbornly insisted on strong arming the suitcases up the escalator instead of ASKING DIRECTIONS to an elevator. He lost his balance and slammed into me, knocking me flat on the escalator. Whoa! I saw stars! The next thing I knew, someone had hit the emergency stop button, and I was lying feet in the air, head hanging down, with a concerned railway employee asking me if I was OK in about three languages. I felt ridiculous. DH had gotten up by then. I got up and went to sit on a bench, furious at DH for being so stubborn. We are both still sore, but I didn't let it get in the way of doing what I wanted to do. Did you know that dark Belgian chocolate is a pain remedy? Well, I think it is! I ate my way through Belgium.
Our Antwerp hotel was in the diamond district, and I did some window shopping, but since it was Saturday, and the district is Orthodox and Hassidic Jewish, DH didn't need to worry. I did buy a huge pendant of amber set in silver on the ship. We had so much cruise credits, I needed to buy a souvenir, anyway.
We took a day trip to Brugges and I was able to see bobbin lace being made by a group of ladies that reminded me of my quilting circle. The oldest, and the best artist, was 87.
Brussels was more challenging, as it is more of a big city. By that time, I had acquired a Dutch cold virus, and I spent a day in bed. (80% of the cruise ship passengers were Dutch.) Nice souvenir to bring back to the states! The next day, I went out and viewed the beautiful buildings in the town market square. We bought lots of chocolate to bring home to neighbors. It is amazing how cheap it is! My favorites were dark chocolates filled with straight alcohol, like Cointreu and Grand Marinier. Mostly we preferred Leonidas chocolate, but we did splurge on a box of Neuhaus for ourselves.
So glad to be back. The cat bit DH and cussed us out thoroughly before being friendly again. Still doing laundry. The grocery store trip was epic.
Trivia: In the Netherlands, your hotel room comes with complimentary coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and condoms. Very sensible people. In Belgium, the hotel front desk advertises a "Pimp stay" package that includes sex toys. It does not include a prostitute, but they will be happy to call one if you like. That was a bit too much for this old church lady, but I laughed.
