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Post by lmtengs on Jul 28, 2011 17:06:42 GMT -8
Hey, all, I'm leaving on July 30th for a two-week long trip to Europe. The first three days are to be spent in Frankfurt, Germany, and from then on until I return home on the 15th of August, I'll be in Norway. So, my reason for creating this thread -- I want advice on the following: a)Things to see and do in or near Frankfurt, Germany. b)Ferries to see in or near Frankfurt, Germany. c)Things to see and do in Norway. d)Ferries to see in Norway. In Norway, I'll be travelling in and near Oslo, Bergen, Bomlo, Kopervik, Karmoy, Stavanger, and maybe Haugesund. I'll be travelling between Oslo and Bergen on the cross-country rail line, Bergensbanen. Any tips?
EDIT: and yes, that means I won't be attending any sort of QPR sendoff
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 28, 2011 17:23:02 GMT -8
Luke:
I have no expertise on Norway or Germany, so I can't give you any advice.
But I do want to wish you a safe and very enjoyable trip. I look forward to seeing photos and following your progress (likely on Facebook?).
Have a super time, and enjoy the moments.
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Post by Scott on Jul 28, 2011 19:05:55 GMT -8
No idea what you should go see in either country. Not that I have to tell you to, but take lots of pictures. I know there are a lot of little ferry routes all along the coast of Norway, and it would be interesting to hear your report on any of them. I've taken some Google Earth tours of some of the small little towns on Norway's coast, and it's very pretty - very much like here.
I have some distant connection to Norway as some of my ancestors (going back 4 generations) were from there (via the USA). It's only a fraction of my ancestry, but it's where my surname is from... one of the very few other people with the same first and last name as me in the world lives there:) So if you see him, say hi to him for me and tell him I lost his e-mail address!
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,150
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Post by Neil on Jul 28, 2011 20:27:47 GMT -8
Too bad you don't have time for the world's ultimate ferry trip- the Norwegian Coastal Voyage, on Hurtigruten. Six days from Bergen almost to the Russian border, and six back again, on an actual freight and vehicle ferry.
Definitely on my bucket list.
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Post by lmtengs on Jul 30, 2011 14:12:31 GMT -8
I look forward to seeing photos and following your progress (likely on Facebook?). I'll have access to the internet only via Wifi on my cell phone, so not too much will be heard or seen, aside from a rather short daily (or less) status update and a few cellphone photo-postings over the trip. Not that I have to tell you to, but take lots of pictures. I know there are a lot of little ferry routes all along the coast of Norway, and it would be interesting to hear your report on any of them. I've taken some Google Earth tours of some of the small little towns on Norway's coast, and it's very pretty - very much like here. I have some distant connection to Norway as some of my ancestors (going back 4 generations) were from there (via the USA). It's only a fraction of my ancestry, but it's where my surname is from... one of the very few other people with the same first and last name as me in the world lives there:) So if you see him, say hi to him for me and tell him I lost his e-mail address! I'll post a nice exhausting photolog when I get back. It'll feature everything from ferries to cities to trains to ferry-toilets Too bad you don't have time for the world's ultimate ferry trip- the Norwegian Coastal Voyage, on Hurtigruten. Six days from Bergen almost to the Russian border, and six back again, on an actual freight and vehicle ferry. I won't be taking that trip, sadly. The only ferry that I'm 100% for sure going to be travelling on is the ferry between the island of Karmoy and the city of Stavanger, right at the tail-end of the trip. I think I'll be able to squish in at least one or two more here or there though. Well, this will be my last posting from Canadian soil, as I'm heading to the airport in less than an hour. So, Asta la Vista! Farvel Alle!
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Post by Name Omitted on Jul 30, 2011 15:03:56 GMT -8
Too bad you don't have time for the world's ultimate ferry trip- the Norwegian Coastal Voyage, on Hurtigruten. Six days from Bergen almost to the Russian border, and six back again, on an actual freight and vehicle ferry. Definitely on my bucket list. I took that trip on the MS Kong Olaf when I was 8. 8 years old at the time, and I still remeber it very well.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Aug 16, 2011 6:34:02 GMT -8
Welcome Home, Luke.
- welcome back to Pacific time zone.
glad you had a good trip.
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Post by lmtengs on Aug 16, 2011 6:51:51 GMT -8
Welcome Home, Luke. - welcome back to Pacific time zone. glad you had a good trip. Many thanks, Mr. Mike. I would start uploading photos right away, but my computer is being a no-good-dirty-rotten piece of bleep. I'll be buying myself a new laptop before the end of the month, so if all else fails, we'll see the photos then. There are so many ferries in Norway, it's unbelievable! I managed to get a bridge tour on the ferry from Mortavika to Rennesøy. Their systems look quite similar to that of the Island Sky.
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Post by hullnumbers on Aug 16, 2011 11:07:22 GMT -8
Sorry I'm late, but welcome back Luke.
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Post by FerryDude2012 on Aug 18, 2011 20:28:07 GMT -8
2 days late but welcome back Luke!
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Post by lmtengs on Sept 14, 2011 14:26:35 GMT -8
There's nowhere else to put it, so here's a video of one of Norway's undersea tunnels. Excuse the voices and camera handling. Note, right around the midpoint of the video, the elevation below sea level. The grades down and up in the tunnel, though they may not seem so, are very steep. Think of 6th Street in New Westminster for comparison. Or the ramps to the gallery decks on the C's. They're fairly similar too.
This was one of the mid-length tunnels. What do you think of one of these crossing the Georgia Strait?
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Post by WettCoast on Sept 14, 2011 18:30:43 GMT -8
What do you think of one of these crossing the Georgia Strait? My understanding is that such a tunnel linking Vancouver Island to the Mainland is not possible; at least not possible in the area where such a tunnel would be most useful. Here are the reasons for my understanding as drawn from this BC Government web page: The technology for boring a tunnel is expensive. Japan’s Seikan Tunnel, which is 54 kilometres in length, cost $7 billion U.S (1988 dollars) to construct and took 25 years to complete. The well-known 50-kilometre Chunnel between Great Britain and the European mainland cost $15 billion U.S. (1994 dollars) to construct and took 11 years to complete. At the Georgia Strait crossing, such construction would have to take place under deep water and deep sediments, creating extreme pressures during construction. The depth of both the water and the sediment would require a tunnel over 50 kilometres in length. For these reasons, a bored tunnel is not considered a viable option for our province. A tunnel across northern Georgia Strait is a little more feasible (Quadra to Cortez) with conventional bridges VI to Quadra and Cortez to somewhere near Lund. Such a location would not serve the vast majority of the population however. Another possible route would be somewhere in Washington State (Bellingham/Anacortes area) hoping over to San Juan Island and then tunneling to somewhere on the Saanich Peninsula. This may be feasible but is too far south and would require a lot of international co-operation. Further info on possible other types of fixed links to Vancouver Island are also discussed on the web page hyper-linked above
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Post by lmtengs on Sept 21, 2011 20:55:31 GMT -8
Well, I just posted the last of my ferry photos posts from my trip to Europe. I might post a few randoms from here and there over the next month or three. Randoms like these: Inside of My Zeil, a mall in Frankfurt, Germany: The Heidelberg skyline, taken from the Castle Ruins. One of those 'by chance' photos, taken in the Frankfurt Airport. Shows the stress of air travel. The German Empire of Air travel, AKA Lufthansa.
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