August 5, 2023 - Kristiansand, Norway

 August 5, 2023 - Saturday - Kristiansand, Norway

This is not the same as Kristiansund we visited on July 28. This lovely city has a beautiful boardwalk area next to gorgeous parks and fountains. We walked the boardwalk and strolled an area of shops and restaurants before we reached the parks. The flower growing along the way and planted along the streets and on the bridges make the walk wonderful. As we crossed a bridge at one end of the park we could see the play areas, pools and fountains. In the distance was a tall Ferris wheel.

We were headed to the cathedral so we followed the street into the city center. Besides the cathedral, we hoped to find a pharmacy. I started coughing on Thursday and it has gotten worse. Alice was beginning to cough a bit also. So, we wanted to find some cough syrup. Sure enough on the way to the church, we came upon a drugstore. It was locked tight. The sign said it should be open, but it was not.

Moving on we came to a square near the church. There were craft and food stalls to be enjoyed. The crowd was festive and everyone was having a good time. We had a good time too. At the far end of the square, we visited the cathedral. When we were finished there, we set out for the Ferris wheel. A couple of bocks on I looked down the street and saw a green cross sign. That meant pharmacy. We went to it and the door opened. Inside a very nice young lady with very good English explained some medication options to us. We chose a liquid and she was surprised. She explained that it also came in tablet form. Most people chose tablets because the liquid tastes bad. We stuck with the liquid. We asked about cough drops and she explained that herbal cough drops were the best. We bought those. We paid and left the store through a back entrance. This led directly into a mall. We did not shop, but we did find free restrooms. Later that day I tried the syrup and the drops. The cough syrup tasted no worse than any at home. Cough drops packed a real wallop and they worked. 

We continued walking and got to a small square where the Ferris wheel was. It was quite an operation with just three employees. First,

there was an automated ticket vending machine. Then you presented your ticket to a gateman for access. Now a second man directed us to the proper standing area in order to board our car. Eventually, the operator stopped the wheel and we boarded. Aside from a jolt at the start, the ride was extremely smooth. We were surprised at how high it was when looking down. We were even more surprised when ten minutes and two revolutions later it stopped to get us off. It really was a nice ride. The view was great and we got to sit and relax for a while. Now we walked through the parks on our way back to Pursuit. This enabled us to get up close to the fountains and the children playing, We again enjoyed the green and the flowers. We did opt to bypass the restaurants and shops by following a road back to Pursuit.

This was a lovely and very nice wind down to what has been a lovely cruise. And the sun shone the whole day.