Photos from May 24th, 25th, 26th & 27th

Iceland has been a great side trip on our way back from London. Great scenery, a terrific school visit, and we fly home tomorrow. Great weather and no volcanic ash.

Some last street pictures from London are at http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/24thAFewMoreLondonSights#

An oddly quiet Heathrow Airport and a picture of an Icelandic church's steeples are at http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/25thHeathrowToIceland#

Pictures of general Iceland scenery, the rift between the North American tectonic plate and the European tectonic plate, Gullfoss (the Gold Waterfalls), a glacier, geysers, a small crater of an extinct volcano all during our superjeep Golden Circle tour (plus an old tan Ford Galaxie 500 on the streets of Reykjavik) are at http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/26thGoldenCircleTourOfIcelandSScenery#

Finally, pictures from our Icelandic school visit, whale watching, and last group meal are at http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/27thHateigsskoliVisitAndWhaleWatching#

Tomorrow (May 28) we have free time until we check out of the hotel at 1:00 pm (8:00 CDT), take the city bus to the airport at 1:30, depart on our plane at 4:35 (11:35 CDT), and land in Minneapolis at 5:55 pm CDT. Most will have friends or relatives pick them up at the Icelandic Air terminal (not the main MSP terminal - follow the signs to Icelandic Air), the rest of us will ride back to Moorhead in a Concordia bus.

If you are interested, some of the students will be completing their blogs and other postings on the website over the next week, so keep checking back for awhile.

Photos From the Previous Several Days

Pictures of Bergen school visit and first days in London are at http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/18192021InBergenAndLondon#

Pictures from May 22 in London are at

http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/22InLondon#

Pictures From May 23 and our day trip are at http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/23InLondonWarwickCastleStratfordHogwarts#

London

No time for photos today.

We visited Danielson School in Bergen Tuesday. They have a long-time relationship with Hillcrest Academy in Fergus Falls, MN and have sent many students and teachers to Minnesota over the years.

We observed two classes instructed by Astrid Haugestad, a very accomplished and polished teacher. Our students were able to spend some time talking with the Danielson students (about 14 - 16 years old), It was a very good visit, and our students seemed to pick up a lot from it.

We left the hotel this morning at 4:30 a.m. to catch our early flight out of Bergen. Fortunately there were no volcanic ash problems. After long train and subway rides we arrived at teh hotel and everyone immediately went exploring. Tonight several are riding teh London Eye and the rest are going to musicals. They are a great bunch of students.

May 17, Syttende Mai Celebration in Bergen

Pictures are at http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/17thInBergenSyttendeMai#

Evening pictures at http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/17thInBergenEveningStroll#

Syttende Mai is Norway's Constitution Day, which marks the signing of their constitution in 1814, which effectively established their independence from Sweden.

We were warned we would be wakened from our sleep at 7:00 a.m. by the firing of nearby cannons, but it was the 4:00 a.m. fire alarm that started our day. We figured it was a holiday prank, but we and all the other hotel guests dutifully went down the stairs to the lobby. We are all up on the 9th floor, except Jared who only had to climb down from the 4th floor. It took about a half hour before the fire department showed up, turned of the alarm, and restarted the elevators.

We saw many parades, or maybe just one big one with a few breaks. Even when the parade was going, every once in awhile there were groups marching in both directions. Some going to the right and some going to the left. Then when we went up a quiet side street looking for an empty sitting bench to get out of the crowd, several times parts of the parade came up the side street while the main parade was still going strong (in both directions).

The highlight was all the traditional folk costumes (called bunads) that many Norwegians were wearing. Each region of Norway has their own, so you can tell where a person is from by the color and style of their bunad.

We have been closely monitoring the volcaninc ash forecasts. If they are accurate, we should be able to fly from Bergen to London on Wednesday morning as planned. We will contact the airlines tomorrow (Tuesday) to see whether they have more up to date information than we can find on the internet. The news reports all say to be flexible and expect delays.

16th on the Norway in a Nutshell Tour from Bergen

Pictures are at http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/16thInBergenNorwayInANutshell#

We woke up to fog, clouds, and rain, but then the rain let up until the end of the day. The Norway in a Nutshell Tour was an all-day sightseeing extravaganza: three train rides, a bus and a ferry. The bus didn't show up after our ferry ride down the fjord, so we (and about 40 others) had to wait about an hour for the next bus. The mountains, waterfalls, and fjord looked great in the fog and low-hanging clouds.

Everyone got lots of pictures. It was about 14 hours, so most were tired by the time we got home. Tomorrow starts at 7:00 a.m. with the blast of several cannons to mark the beginning of Norway's independence day. Then it's parades and revelry all day long.

15th in Bergen

Pictures are at http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/15thInBergen#

Today we went to the Museum of Decorative Art, which has several interesting exhibits from their permanent collection. Karla & I spent awhile there, but the students did not linger quite as long. Then we asked the students to pick one more museum to visit on their own. The rest of the day was spent exploring, siteseeing, watching a drum corps parade, and relaxing.

The train and ferry from Bronderslev to Bergen, first day in Bergen

Pictures of trip from Bronderslev, Denmark to Bergen, Norway with captions at http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/13thOnFerry#

Pictures of first day in Bergen with captions at http://picasaweb.google.com/dpmorstad/14thInBergen#