World Dolls Series: Norway

We’ve reached Norway in our World Dolls Series – a much-anticipated destination after a tough couple of weeks in Russia and a long trip over.

There are great illustrations by Frank Bird for this edition.

Our guides are Asa & Karl – a colourful, friendly pair with an unmistakable spring in their step.

Karl is a Lapp and hails from the far North so we head there first – the coach has a few more miles to do yet!

Karl shows us the traditional way of life in Lapland and we meet the lovely reindeer.

Then it’s back down South…

…where we take in the picturesque fishing harbours and get stuck into some cod.

Sightseeing in Oslo follows…

… and some serious R&R in the surrounding forests and on the ski slopes.

We’ll be naturals before long – we don’t want to get shown up by the local 3-year-olds!

The long, hard graft of that Russian farm is a distant memory.

We just about squeezed the coach onto the ferry for a trip down the fjords. Simply stunning!

Thanks Asa & Karl – our spirits are refreshed.

Hopefully we’ll make a trip to Norway in the real world one day – and we pray it looks like Mr Bird’s illustrations!

World Dolls Series: Russia

So, here we are in Russia for our next stop in the World Dolls Series.

Illustrations are by D.White from the Birmingham School of Design. We’re not sure that they listened to the brief properly as our guides are all supposed to be dolls – the clue’s in the title – World DOLLS Series. We seem to have been given a couple of rustic farmers. Ironically, Russia probably has the most famous dolls in the world.

Anyway, we’re sure Boris & Anna are a lovely couple.

There you go – Boris is throwing us a wave – and is that a glimmer of a smile?

Perhaps there’s not much to smile about on the collective farm! Hard graft and huddling round the stove for the long winter apparently.

There’s no doubting that the other books in the series have been a tad lighter, more carefree & fun.

Life certainly seems quite tough in 1960s Russia.

Perhaps a few days sightseeing in Moscow will be fun. Look at the party atmosphere.

There are a games at ‘the club’ – and a bit of sunbathing at the Black Sea. Is that President Khrushchev sitting on the right monitoring the deck chair situation?

We’re off to Norway next – we’ve invested a lot of money in warm clothing which might come in useful. We’ve always wanted to tour around Scandinavia, so we can’t wait to get there.

World Dolls Series: Austria

We’ve arrived in Austria on our World Dolls Series tour. We might just catch the first of the winter snow, so our timing is perfect.

Illustrations are by W. Lewis from The Birmingham school of Design – our resident artist in Germany & Holland too. We love all the artists in this collection of books, but if we were pushed, we’d probably choose W. Lewis as our favourite. The illustrations are both charming and very clever.

Our guides are Lisa & Johann, looking resplendent in their national dress.

We’ve parked the coach up and are going to chill out (quite literally) in the Tyrol for a while.

Our hosts have no shortage of activities lined up – skiing, skating & sledging (it’s the 1960s so it’s pre-snowboarding!)

When the snows melt we’re going to get stuck into a bit of farming.

Picnics and strolls through flower-filled meadows on our downtime.

It’s going to be hard to drag ourselves away from this idyllic life, but for a bit of urban culture & retail therapy we might stop by Vienna.

Well, we do need to get that coach moving again before it seizes up. Next time it’s Russia.

World Dolls Series: Italy

We’ve crossed the border and travelled from Germany to Italy in the World Dolls Series – we’re certainly clocking up the miles! 🙂

The lovely illustrations are by Philippa Walters this time.

Our guides are Lisa & Pietro. They’re a cheery couple, always singing & dancing. Pietro with his guitar & Lisa with her tambourine.

We’ve spent the last few weeks watching the hard-hitting & brilliant Gomorrah on Sky TV – as you might imagine this is a more light-hearted view of Italy! We start in the North with its mountain scenery and work our way down to the hot & sunny South – taking in cities like Venice & Rome.

The pretty villages & harbours are much celebrated – along with the stunning countryside.

These narrow streets & steps are a classic scene that springs to mind when we think of the Mediterranean holidays that we’ve taken.

There are lots of processions & festivals too – and pretty whitewashed houses with painted shutters, ornate railings and flowers in pots. See, we told you it wasn’t Gomorrah.

Makes us want to pack a small rucksack and jump into a camper van. I’m sure they could do with a hand (or foot) for the grape treading.

Join us next time when we’ll be spending some time in Austria.

H is for Home Harbinger

Tag: World Dolls Series

World Dolls Series: Norway

World Dolls Series: Russia

World Dolls Series: Austria

World Dolls Series: Italy