We sailed around the north of Iceland just on the edge of the Arctic Circle to reach Akureyri arriving this morning. We had permanent twilight overnight which made sleeping rather difficult. Very weird!

Akureyri is known as the Jewel of the North and is nestled at the bottom of the Eyjafjordur fjord, the longest in Iceland and surrounded by steep mountains. We went to see the Godafoss falls and botanical gardens. We’d been looking out for whales all day but didn’t catch a glimpse of any until we were looking out of the window in our restaurant! Too far away for a good view though.

It was a beautiful sunny day and even though the temperature was only 14c it was hot enough to sit out on our balcony in the morning.

After a lovely meal cooked by our maitre’d last night we relaxed with a g&t in the Commodore lounge. The sea was lovely and calm and perfect for watching the sun go down with a pianist playing in the background. So different from the previous night when we were watching the bow of the ship dipping in and out of the the sea when it was really rough.

Today we are at sea on our way to Akureyri. Just relaxing. The sun is out on our balcony but way too chilly to sit out there. Not that we’d expect anything else in the Norwegian Sea on our way to Iceland! We were equal first in the quiz this morning but lost it on the tie-break. We’ll see if we can do any better this afternoon. Cocktail party and gala night this evening.

Arrived in Nordfjord early in the morning and sailed through the fjords to Olden. A pretty Norwegian port nestling in a valley beneath snow capped mountains. Typically it rained as soon as we set foot outside to walk into the village!

We sailed on through the fjords to Alesund.

Alesund is much busier than Olden. It dates from the ninth century and now has a population of 40,000 and is Norway’s largest fishing port with Art Nouveau buildings. It was also drier! Only a quick shower and although chilly it was very pleasant in the sunshine. We walked in to the town along the canal and then to Alesund Church.

A quick resume of the last couple of days! A brilliant reception from the Cunard staff we’d met before and hugs all round. Cunard do that very well, they certainly like to make you feel special and it works.

We are in the room next door to that of a few weeks ago and gave the same butler. Champagne and strawberries and sunshine on the balcony for sail away.

After a couple of drinks in the lounge we went into the restaurant to find we had a lovely table next to the window – perfect. Sandro has done us proud.

We are sitting near a very pleasant couple so enjoy our mealtime chats.

Met up with friends from a couple of previous cruises and have joined their quiz team. Chatted to Andrew Hall, our captain, at the welcome cocktail party. Reminded him that he was very poor at predicting the weather on our last cruise and no doubt we shall anticipate the same on this one. We’ll see….. After dinner we relaxed in the Commodore’s lounge listening to a very good pianist and singer. Really enjoyed her rendition of The Entertainer with a little bit of Les Dawson thrown in! Funny.

Tuesday was spent in a similar fashion but with the addition of a wine tasting. We also watched a lecture by Lord Digby-Jones. The evening brought rain and rough seas but it is now midnight and still pretty light outside. Probably time to retire…..💤💤💤

Our last stop before Southampton. Not really a lot to see here but the weather is ok. We walked (rather a long walk) into the town for a wander around. Stopped at a restaurant where we paid £15 for one and a half beers!

A day at sea tomorrow with plenty of time for packing 🤪

Arrived to a rather wet and miserable day in Oslo. We had expected it and we have been quite lucky with the weather so far. It’s hot and sunny at home but we won’t say any more about that!

The weather had improved a little in time for our Oslo highlights trip. After a quick drive around the city we went to the Viking Ship Museum. The artefacts included the ‘Oseberg’ ship which was built around 820 and the ‘Gokstad’ around 900. Very interesting. We also walked through the Vigeland Sculpture Park which contained a display of human figures in stone, bronze and iron by Gustav Vigelan. The sun came out for our sail away!

Although not a lot to see here it is a pleasant old town with cobbled streets. Klaipeda gained its’ independence from the USSR in 1991. It’s hot and sunny so a walk around the town and down to the lake followed by a nice cool beer seemed appropriate!