Almaty is bordered by a mountain range. Wherever you go within the city, you can see the mountains.
Forty minutes from the hotel and you are in those mountains you can see. Although it is still early Autumn, the sudden cold snap with rain has resulted in snow up in the mountains. Normally the ski season starts in November. Up we go on the cable car to the Shymbusak ski resort . Aren’t the views amazing? The trees look like Xmas trees with snow on them. 
Once at the top the depth of snow is easy to see as people clear cafe areas and children of all ages play. No I am not sorry that I threw snowballs at you and snow went down your back. You did throw some at me.
Back in the bus and we head to the fun park of Almaty. The views here are beautiful too. Mountains and city seem to spread out from the top. You were so lucky to have two cable rides in one day.
Dinner at a traditional restaurant is interesting…….what does this mean…,,,will you try the horse steak, lamb stew or perhaps some type of fish.
I must admit the salad looks tasty as did the horse steak but a fish stew is not something I would cook so I think I will try that. It is just a fish steak……a bit disappointing.🙁 We had fun dressing up in traditional clothes. 
It’s an early start tomorrow. Set your alarm as we leave at 6.00am. Bags in the bus by 5.45am. A few murals from around the city.
And so is our luggage. Seven members of our group are still waiting for theirs….it seemed to have missed the plane connections.
The blue is the sky that shows how limitless are your opportunities. The sun represents life. The eagle flies to the sky representing both the past nomadic history and the strength of the people going forward. The pattern at the side represents the art and skill of the people through history. Today we will spend exploring some of this history first in a park. 
You may find the meat section confronting as almost every part is sold or made into sausages.
It will be an adventure but since we are Seoul , let’s go for a walk.
Quirky signs?
You go from one street to the next noticing details like doors ,windows, colours and brickworks. Streets expand into cute squares where you can sit and people watch.
Finally we are at the Kings Garden. These are also called the Rosenborg gardens as they are beside the Rosenborg Palace. They were created in the 1600’s but weren’t opened to the public until the 1700’s. There is a formal garden, avenues of trees and statues to admire or make up stories about.On such a lovely day, lots of locals were enjoying the lawns and gardens.
Inner courtyards.
People used everything to conceal their radios.
Radios were detected by machines like this used by the Gestapo.
Conditions under occupation was one of resistance but staying under the notice of the Gestapo. Torture, imprisonment or death were the risk those who didn’t escape to England or Sweden took.
Oslo is known as the Tiger city. In the past it was named this in reference to the struggle between the country and the city ,represented as a safe horse and a dangerous tiger respectively.
Streetscapes
The fortress.
The brick work on this building was fantastic.
Next stop the lookout at Eagles Bend. Did you like the story concerning the trolls? Viking s thought trolls were small invisible creatures who helped you .With Christianity, they became big strong mean creatures to be avoided or used as a threat. Now they are benevolent creatures trapped inside rocks who are great for tourism. 
The waterfall to the right is called the Seven sisters . The story goes that a farmer had seven daughters. A suitor came and asked one to marry him. She agreed. He celebrated by getting drunk and forgetting which sister he had asked. He repeated it six more times and the waterfall is the tears of the sisters. Opposite is the waterfall called the Suitor. Can you see his bottle?
Back to town. Let’s check out the church and walk to the Norsk Fjord centre. 
Many houses were flat pack houses supplied by Sweden( guilt payment for all those German troop transported). As they retreated, Germans destroyed everything. It was the middle of winter so people had no food or shelter.
Memorial to fishermen who died or helped Norwegians and allies in the war.
You used to only access different islands by boat but now there are bridges and a tunnel. The first thing you notice is……how bright green everything looks and there are flat areas for farming. The Vikings must have breathed a sigh of relief to find such a great place to settle. Each island has small villages. We are moored near Leknes.
Fishing and tourism are the main industries though we did notice a few coffee shops.
Cod is considered a delicacy here….you can eat it fresh, dried as a snack ( like jerky) or soak it for 5 days or so and make fish stew. I am sure you can’t wait to try it.
I did but the cafe was closed.
It’s too wet today but perhaps another time. You climb up the mountain to the top rock and then you leap across to the other and climb down, if you make it. It’s not an extreme sport I will try , but you?
A farmer found the remains of a long house on his farm. When archeologists uncovered the long house, it was 83metres long and 12 metres wide. It had belonged to an important chieftain.
I really liked the museum ,especially the section where the minions worked. They had so many crafts in one section. 
