Day 9 – Alesund, Norway
We set out early today to go see the fjords of Norway. We boarded a bus and our first stop was in a little town where we would catch a ferry to take us across the fjord. The town was beautiful and had a wonderful waterfall. They loaded the bus onto the ferry, along with several others which lets you know the approximate size of this ferry. We crossed the fjord and continued our trip toward Geiranger Fjord. Once we reached Geiranger, we boarded another ferry but on this one the buses were loaded below deck. They had a small cafeteria on board and we purchased a Norwegian pancake called a svele. It was filled with butter, sugar and cinnamon and folded over. It was delicious. The trip down the fjord took about 30 minutes and was amazing. I have never seen so many waterfalls anywhere in my life. At one point there were 7 waterfalls on one side of the board, called the 7 Sisters, and another much larger waterfall on the opposite side of the boat, can’t remember the name they gave that one. Unfortunately, the day was very overcast and most of the mountains were shrouded in clouds. Once we reached the town of Geiranger, we re-boarded the bus and took a short trip up the mountain to a hotel and restaurant where we got off and were treated to a buffet lunch. Of course, we had red cabbage, Norwegian beer and creamed rice for dessert. We had time to walk around and take pictures after lunch. There was a very strong waterfall just outside of the restaurant that we took pictures of and then we walked down the hill to a very old church and took pictures there. By this time, the sun had started to come out and the clouds were disappearing so we were able to get more pictures.
Time to get back on the bus and we headed up the only road that is open all year to this little town, called Eagle’s Road. It zig zagged up a very steep hill with straight drops if you made a mistake. We had another stop at the top of the road for additional pictures.
Norway is a very scenic place. We saw lots of small homes and farms, some of them with the grass roofs. Lupines grow wild all along the sides of the roads and we went through a tunnel that was approximately 4 miles long cut through one of the mountains. I have never seen a place with so much water in my life. Everywhere you look there is either a river, waterfall, lake, fjord or the ocean. On the farms, the cattle and sheep are allowed to wander as they please – no fences. Twice during our trip we had to stop because there were either cows or sheep walking down the road.
This was a wonderful day. We really like Norway. The little town of Alesund was beautiful and we ended our day by driving up to the top of the mountain there and took pictures of the town and our ship docked in the port. Tomorrow we visit Bergen, Norway. We don’t have an excursion until 1pm so we plan on exploring the town on our own in the morning.
We set out early today to go see the fjords of Norway. We boarded a bus and our first stop was in a little town where we would catch a ferry to take us across the fjord. The town was beautiful and had a wonderful waterfall. They loaded the bus onto the ferry, along with several others which lets you know the approximate size of this ferry. We crossed the fjord and continued our trip toward Geiranger Fjord. Once we reached Geiranger, we boarded another ferry but on this one the buses were loaded below deck. They had a small cafeteria on board and we purchased a Norwegian pancake called a svele. It was filled with butter, sugar and cinnamon and folded over. It was delicious. The trip down the fjord took about 30 minutes and was amazing. I have never seen so many waterfalls anywhere in my life. At one point there were 7 waterfalls on one side of the board, called the 7 Sisters, and another much larger waterfall on the opposite side of the boat, can’t remember the name they gave that one. Unfortunately, the day was very overcast and most of the mountains were shrouded in clouds. Once we reached the town of Geiranger, we re-boarded the bus and took a short trip up the mountain to a hotel and restaurant where we got off and were treated to a buffet lunch. Of course, we had red cabbage, Norwegian beer and creamed rice for dessert. We had time to walk around and take pictures after lunch. There was a very strong waterfall just outside of the restaurant that we took pictures of and then we walked down the hill to a very old church and took pictures there. By this time, the sun had started to come out and the clouds were disappearing so we were able to get more pictures.
Time to get back on the bus and we headed up the only road that is open all year to this little town, called Eagle’s Road. It zig zagged up a very steep hill with straight drops if you made a mistake. We had another stop at the top of the road for additional pictures.
Norway is a very scenic place. We saw lots of small homes and farms, some of them with the grass roofs. Lupines grow wild all along the sides of the roads and we went through a tunnel that was approximately 4 miles long cut through one of the mountains. I have never seen a place with so much water in my life. Everywhere you look there is either a river, waterfall, lake, fjord or the ocean. On the farms, the cattle and sheep are allowed to wander as they please – no fences. Twice during our trip we had to stop because there were either cows or sheep walking down the road.
This was a wonderful day. We really like Norway. The little town of Alesund was beautiful and we ended our day by driving up to the top of the mountain there and took pictures of the town and our ship docked in the port. Tomorrow we visit Bergen, Norway. We don’t have an excursion until 1pm so we plan on exploring the town on our own in the morning.
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