Viking Cruises Trade Routes of the Middle Ages

Viking Cruises Trade Routes of the Middle Ages cruising from Barcelona, Spain all the way to Bergen, Norway: a seven country cruise.

Since we were starting in Barcelona, we flew into town a couple of nights before the cruise started. We really wanted to have a chance to get over our jet lag and see a bit of Barcelona before the cruise started.

One of the really great things we did was participate in a paella and sangria cooking class. It was loads of fun, and the food was great too. We loved exploring Barcelona on our own for a bit, but then it was time to begin our cruise!

Here’s our ship! This is the Viking Saturn, which is an ocean-cruising ship.

We splurged and upgraded our veranda cabin to a slightly larger room. It was nice to have a little more room to move around, especially since it was a 2-week cruise.

Behind me here is the famous La Sagrada in Barcelona. It’s under a lot of construction! We followed a tip from a friend to visit the Sercotel and go to the roof so we could have a great view.

We love the specialty restaurant- Manfredi’s- on the Viking ocean cruise ships. And we are frequently seated right next to the window with this beautiful view!

Here is just a sampling of all the wonderful things you can eat and drink on a Viking cruise! It’s endless!

Cartegena, Spain: Here we joined an excursion that took us to some Roman ruins.

Malaga, Spain: Here we visited the seaside towns of Marbella and Puerto Banus.

We got to enjoy some “at sea” days (more than normal since we had to skip the Porto, Portugal stop due to rough seas!) We actually really love the at-sea days, and the seas weren’t so rough that it prohibited us from having fun on the ship.

Falmouth, England: Here we had a beautiful drive through the country, and we enjoyed the small town in port.

Portsmouth, England: This is a stop that I was very excited about… seeing Stonehenge!

After Stonehenge, we found a fabulous bar in town with the most delicious, traditional fish and chips.

Le Havre, France: Here we explored this cool seaside town– some people went on the Paris or Normandy excursions, but since we had already visited those places, we strolled the beaches instead!

Bruges, Belgium: We LOVED exploring this city– and YES, we ate chocolate and tried waffles and Belgian beer and fries, which are really just French fries!!

Amsterdam: Here we hopped on a cruise through the canal and explored the city.

Our final stop- Bergen, Norway: Our excursion was an E-Bike tour around the city.

We’ve been to Bergen a couple of times now, and we love this small seaside city!

After we got off the ship in Bergen, my husband and I went on a little side-trip to Oslo, Norway. We loved our small extension in this city. It was a good one to explore (with excellent food too!) Plus, it was easier for us to book a flight home from Oslo than small-town Bergen.

We sure love our cruises, but going home is such a bummer! Until next time!