Never having been to the city of Norfolk, I did not know what to expect. It is actually quite charming. I’m surprised more people don’t talk about it.

Yesterday’s storm has passed for now and we have a lovely sunny, cool day to explore.

My sister Judy takes a walking tour of the downtown and around the harbor. I did an e-bike tour of the city. A fun meetup for me this morning. A woman I met on a world cruise and have stayed in touch with, met me at the shore and walked with me over to the e-bike pickup place. It feels like we knew each other all our lives!

Lots of history in this city since it the largest naval port in the world. You can see ships in every direction being repaired, retrofitted, etc.

A huge Naval hospital is across the harbor and the original built in 1830 as the first naval hospital is right next door.

The E-bike tour takes the Freemason Harbor Trail which runs along the water front and then across the bridge to Portsmouth connecting with the Elizabeth Trail. We made our way to Old Dominion University where we turned around and retraced our trail back. A few pictures from this adventure.

Around the corner from our ship, at the start of the tour, is the famous statue of a navy soldier. A pagoda given to the city in 1989 by Taiwan is close by with an Oriental Garden added in 2000 just behind the Pagoda. In a park nearby is another statue; this one is of a family reunited after the navy man returns home.

The most amazing tourist attraction in Norfolk is the battleship USS Wisconsin aka ‘Wisky.’

You can take tours of the battleship on your own or with a guide. We chose on our own. The ship is incredible. You can walk the length (3 football fields) and go up one deck and down into the ship 3 levels. Ship was designed for 2000 soldiers, in WW2 just over 2700 were on this ship. It served in WW2, Korea, and the Gulf War before being retired to Norfolk in 2000.

Fascinating, educational, and respectful are the words that came to mind for me as I wandered the different levels. I took more pictures than I can share of this battleship with such an incredible history. Thanks for the USA Navy!

The Nauticus museum is next door connected with a walkway to the USS Wisconsin battleship. Nice educational exhibits are available on the third level. Unfortunately, The Heritage Museum dedicated to the battleship is closed due to the government shutdown. Another visit required!

One of the features around the city is the mermaid statues. There are 120 scattered throughout the city. Judy was able to capture some of them on her walking tour. She also was able to visit some of the historical homes that were open. The buildings in Norfolk date from the 1700’s to the current. She also saw St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, built in 1739, that has a cannonball still lodged in its wall from the American Revolutionary War.

As I head back to the ship, the crew of the Viking Octantis is busy with their task of repainting the ship’s side white.

The evening sail away provides a glorious view of the many ships along the sides of the harbor and a view of the clouds moving in for the impending storm moving up the east coast. Norfolk has more to see and we both think it would be nice city to return to someday.