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Bergen: Hanseatic city

In its time, Bergen was one of the most important cities of Northern Europe. Founded in 1070 by King Olav Kyrre on the western coast of Norway, Bergen served briefly as the country’s capital from 1217 to 1299 before the capital was moved to Oslo.

Its importance was also directly related to its growth as a trading center, especially after 1350, when it became one of the principal foreign trading posts of the Hanseatic League.

Pilgrim’s progress in Santiago de Compostela

Santiago de Compostela, the Spanish cathedral housing the relics of St. James, has long exerted a powerful pull on travelers. For over a thousand years, pilgrims from all walks of life and all corners of the globe have trod the rugged trail from France across northern Spain in a spiritual quest for forgiveness and healing.

Arriving at the cathedral square, millions of tired sojourners have taken a deep breath and thought, “I made it!” The city has a festive, hippie-like atmosphere as travelers celebrate the end of a long journey.

Princess — the way to cruise

Large whitecaps topped the waves. The gale prevented us from going on the deck. Amazingly, we hardly felt the ship rock as we were sitting on the verandah of our stateroom. The stabilizers worked amazingly well.

For days we had been enjoying our cruise on the vast, 18-deck, majestic Star Princess as it hurtled through the vast expanse of the empty Pacific, never encountering another ship.

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