My cruise along the Norwegian Fjords [3/x]
After seeing those magnificent Northern Lights the night before, I have a great night's sleep cruising from Flåm to the next destination: Geiranger. From now on I have nothing planned on shoredays, so I read my travelguide beforehand each day to figure out what to do (and I also have some notes from that first day's presentation). In Geiranger there are some good hikes to do, but after walking in Olden on day 3, I know I shouldn't push myself if I don't have to, so I decide to get a ticket for the Hop-on Hop-off bus that will take me up to a spot to start my walk from. It doesn't take a lot of time to explore tiny Geiranger itself. This picspam is all about this day's mountain views and there is a surprise at the end. The day starts with a glorious sunrise...
Day 5: 3rd stop - Climbing GeirangerFjord!!
Did I say too much? I'm so glad I sleep with the curtains open to see this when I wake up around 05:15. Of course I crawl back into bed after taking a picture;)
When I'm getting ready to go to breakfast around 9 a.m. the captain announces we're in Geirangerfjord and we'll be able to see The Seven Sisters Waterfalls on portside, which is where my balcony is, woohoo!
Slowly we pass the magnificent Syv Søstre (or Dei Sju Systrene) *happy sigh*
(I put up a short video at my YouTube)
Thank you, elevator, for telling me it's Sunday (September 4th).
At the Tides Restaurant at Deck 4 I choose a Breakfast Burrito (a flour tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, chorizo sausage, hash browns and cheddar cheese, served with tomato salsa, guacamole and yoghurt sauce)
I also have my tea and have room for dessert: a Granola Parfait (yoghurt layered with berries and topped with crunchy granola)
Then I grab my bag and go ashore to check out Geirander and get a ticket for the bus.
There are a lot of hikes. I will take the bus up to the start of the Vesterås walk, which saves me a bit of climbing;)
From the parkinglot in front of the supermarket, I have a nice view of Geiranger kyrkje (the church) up high.
Before the bus leaves, I do a quick run back to the ship for the toilets, such a relief, haha. From the bus on the way up I have a great view of Geirangerfjord and the ship. *chinhands*
After an exciting zig-zag up the mountain (you can see part of the road in the photo) the bus arrives at the viewpoint Flydalsjuvet, where you can get off to take in the view for about 10 minutes as the bus leaves to turn around. You can also wait for the next bus (about 30 minutes) but as I have planned a walk, I get on the first one that goes down again.
From the bus I capture this memorial in front of Hotell Utsikten (1893) for the coronation of king Haakon VII in 1906.
The first busstop on the way down is where you can walk to Westerås Farm (300m), from where there are hikes in different directions. (You can see people stumbling down to catch the bus. I walk a couple of meters back to a path that's a little less steep for the first part of the climb.)
Hello goats! Hello view!
Spot the cute grey bird in front of the rocks.
I chose the hike to Vesteråsfjellet (225m), which is lower than Westerås Farm, but starts with an uphill climb. This is what the path through the grass looks like, it looks deceptively flat, but my calves tell me I'm still going up.
Yes, made it to the Vesteråsfjellet! I find a great spot to sit down for lunch (I brought juice and Tucs:)
Ladies & Gentlemen: Geirangerfjord (a 15-kilometre-long branch off the Sunnylvsfjorden, which is a branch off the Storfjorden.
Obviously I had to make a Tadaah! selfie;)
This green bush looks so soft.
When I go to the edge of Vesteråsfjellet, I get a cool birds-eye view of the ship!
After a nice sit down, I tackle the hike back up (and down and up and down) to the busstop, I can see the bus coming as I'm still (carefully) going down, fortunately the busdriver has the courtesy to wait until I'm safely on board, pfff. (I now totally understand the people stumbling down when I got off the bus earlier;)
From the bus on the way down, I have a close up view of Geiranger kyrkje! The white, wooden church was built in an octagonal design in 1842 (design by Hans Klipe), it fits 165 people.
Back down in Geiranger, I do a bit of souvenir shopping; that pointy bag is chocolate with goat's cheese:)
Back on the ship, all hot from the hike, I decide to go swimming, first at the outdoors pool and later also at the Solarium, which has warm water. Afterwards I'm quite peckish, and fortunately on the ship you're never far from a foodstand. *grins* I grab... a pink cookie, red velvet cake and a pistachio pound cake with lemonade, omnomnom.
After another swim, I also get a (freshly made) grilled cheese and a lemon cookie. THIS IS THE CRUISE LIFE \o/
Then I go up to my cabin to get dressed again and read a bit on the balcony, before going on deck at the back of the ship to wave goodbye to Geirangerfjord.
And before you know it, it's dinnertime already! Guess what I'm gonna choose!
Starter: Charcuterie Plate (with mortadella, bresaola, salami and prosciutto with pickles and a toasted baguette), Main Course: Steak Oscar (Beef striploin with crab meat and Béarnaise sauce). DELICIOUS!
Dessert: the chef's take on a Jaffa Cake!
Surprise: late at night the captain's on the speaker again, quite emotionally telling us that the Northern Lights are visible again, even more spectaculair than last night. (He assures us that yesterday was already a fluke and this NEVER happens this time of year, especially not twice in a row).
Of course I go out on the high deck again to look. Hope your screen is not too dark to see the effect in my photo (I lit it up a little) - Where there was mostly a static glow before, this evening the greenish light is swirling and moving in wavey patterns, it's the most magical I've ever seen!
What a treat <3
To be continued:)
J.
Previous Cruiseposts: Day 1: Departing from Amsterdam | Day 2: at sea | Day 3: 1st stop Olden, Norway | Day 4: 2nd stop - a trainride in Flåm!
In addition I have posted a couple of short videos on my YouTube: my Norwegian Fjords Cruise playlist
X-posted from https://beelikej.dreamwidth.org/577524.html [
comments] Lurk or comment wherever you like:)
Day 5: 3rd stop - Climbing GeirangerFjord!!
Did I say too much? I'm so glad I sleep with the curtains open to see this when I wake up around 05:15. Of course I crawl back into bed after taking a picture;)
When I'm getting ready to go to breakfast around 9 a.m. the captain announces we're in Geirangerfjord and we'll be able to see The Seven Sisters Waterfalls on portside, which is where my balcony is, woohoo!
Slowly we pass the magnificent Syv Søstre (or Dei Sju Systrene) *happy sigh*
(I put up a short video at my YouTube)
Thank you, elevator, for telling me it's Sunday (September 4th).
At the Tides Restaurant at Deck 4 I choose a Breakfast Burrito (a flour tortilla filled with scrambled eggs, chorizo sausage, hash browns and cheddar cheese, served with tomato salsa, guacamole and yoghurt sauce)
I also have my tea and have room for dessert: a Granola Parfait (yoghurt layered with berries and topped with crunchy granola)
Then I grab my bag and go ashore to check out Geirander and get a ticket for the bus.
There are a lot of hikes. I will take the bus up to the start of the Vesterås walk, which saves me a bit of climbing;)
From the parkinglot in front of the supermarket, I have a nice view of Geiranger kyrkje (the church) up high.
Before the bus leaves, I do a quick run back to the ship for the toilets, such a relief, haha. From the bus on the way up I have a great view of Geirangerfjord and the ship. *chinhands*
After an exciting zig-zag up the mountain (you can see part of the road in the photo) the bus arrives at the viewpoint Flydalsjuvet, where you can get off to take in the view for about 10 minutes as the bus leaves to turn around. You can also wait for the next bus (about 30 minutes) but as I have planned a walk, I get on the first one that goes down again.
From the bus I capture this memorial in front of Hotell Utsikten (1893) for the coronation of king Haakon VII in 1906.
The first busstop on the way down is where you can walk to Westerås Farm (300m), from where there are hikes in different directions. (You can see people stumbling down to catch the bus. I walk a couple of meters back to a path that's a little less steep for the first part of the climb.)
Hello goats! Hello view!
Spot the cute grey bird in front of the rocks.
I chose the hike to Vesteråsfjellet (225m), which is lower than Westerås Farm, but starts with an uphill climb. This is what the path through the grass looks like, it looks deceptively flat, but my calves tell me I'm still going up.
Yes, made it to the Vesteråsfjellet! I find a great spot to sit down for lunch (I brought juice and Tucs:)
Ladies & Gentlemen: Geirangerfjord (a 15-kilometre-long branch off the Sunnylvsfjorden, which is a branch off the Storfjorden.
Obviously I had to make a Tadaah! selfie;)
This green bush looks so soft.
When I go to the edge of Vesteråsfjellet, I get a cool birds-eye view of the ship!
After a nice sit down, I tackle the hike back up (and down and up and down) to the busstop, I can see the bus coming as I'm still (carefully) going down, fortunately the busdriver has the courtesy to wait until I'm safely on board, pfff. (I now totally understand the people stumbling down when I got off the bus earlier;)
From the bus on the way down, I have a close up view of Geiranger kyrkje! The white, wooden church was built in an octagonal design in 1842 (design by Hans Klipe), it fits 165 people.
Back down in Geiranger, I do a bit of souvenir shopping; that pointy bag is chocolate with goat's cheese:)
Back on the ship, all hot from the hike, I decide to go swimming, first at the outdoors pool and later also at the Solarium, which has warm water. Afterwards I'm quite peckish, and fortunately on the ship you're never far from a foodstand. *grins* I grab... a pink cookie, red velvet cake and a pistachio pound cake with lemonade, omnomnom.
After another swim, I also get a (freshly made) grilled cheese and a lemon cookie. THIS IS THE CRUISE LIFE \o/
Then I go up to my cabin to get dressed again and read a bit on the balcony, before going on deck at the back of the ship to wave goodbye to Geirangerfjord.
And before you know it, it's dinnertime already! Guess what I'm gonna choose!
Starter: Charcuterie Plate (with mortadella, bresaola, salami and prosciutto with pickles and a toasted baguette), Main Course: Steak Oscar (Beef striploin with crab meat and Béarnaise sauce). DELICIOUS!
Dessert: the chef's take on a Jaffa Cake!
Surprise: late at night the captain's on the speaker again, quite emotionally telling us that the Northern Lights are visible again, even more spectaculair than last night. (He assures us that yesterday was already a fluke and this NEVER happens this time of year, especially not twice in a row).
Of course I go out on the high deck again to look. Hope your screen is not too dark to see the effect in my photo (I lit it up a little) - Where there was mostly a static glow before, this evening the greenish light is swirling and moving in wavey patterns, it's the most magical I've ever seen!
What a treat <3
To be continued:)
J.
Previous Cruiseposts: Day 1: Departing from Amsterdam | Day 2: at sea | Day 3: 1st stop Olden, Norway | Day 4: 2nd stop - a trainride in Flåm!
In addition I have posted a couple of short videos on my YouTube: my Norwegian Fjords Cruise playlist
X-posted from https://beelikej.dreamwidth.org/577524.html [
comments] Lurk or comment wherever you like:)