Or should I say ship trip? We decided to take a round-trip to Geiranger on the coastal liner. We have guests, and that's an excuse for doing touristy things. We checked the weather forecast and booked for Monday this week. Boy, did the weather deliver! We boarded the ship "Vesterålen" in Ålesund town. We had tickets for lunch on the way in and dinner on the way back because the Hurtigruten ships have a reputation for good food on board and we didn't want to miss that. The town looked very nice on Monday: This ship is one of the smallest in the fleet, but she's full of charm and very sea worthy. She's named after the first coastal steamer to do regular service on the coast from Bergen to Kirkenes from 1893 on. Hurtigruten used to be a very important carrier of goods and people. Nowadays it's more of a cruise liner catering to tourists, but it still carries goods and pick people up and let them off up and down our very long coast line. We cast off at 10.00. We had already found a place with a nice view, so we decided to just sit there, smell the air, and look at the landscape gliding by. And of course have lunch. The buffet wasn't big, but it was well-made and tasty. Unfortunately I didn't manage to taste all the dishes before I was full. We chatted a bit with other passengers on board. There were Germans, English, French, and Norwegians. Might have been other nationalities but those were the ones we spotted. When we entered the Geiranger fjord it was time to pull cameras and phones out and get ready to photograph the waterfalls. There are three big ones. The first one is "The Seven Sisters". We counted all seven of them as we glided by. On drier periods there might be only three or four: The next big one is on the other side of the fjord from the sisters, and is called "The Suitor". Story has it he fell deeply in love with the Seven Sisters and wanted to marry them. They turned him down. He was very sad about that, and to handle his sorrow he started drinking. He's still got a bottle with him at all times. You can see it at the bottom of the waterfall, in the middle, cork and all: This is the last big waterfall before we come to fjord's end: We sailed past a very nice yacht that looked like it was giving birth to kayaks: There was only one big cruise ship on the fjord, and that made it a lot easier for our ship to turn around. You can see the houses in Geiranger behind the cruise ship: Got to show you the Eagle Road too, the way leading out of Geiranger towards the west: The ship turned around. We sat outside enjoying the view, and had a three-course dinner on our way back. We docked at around 19.00. By then it had clouded over and the wind had picked up. The first raindrops hit us while we walked back to the car.
Thank you @Tetters. We get blind to our scenery since we live in the middle of it. That's why it's so nice to have guests from abroad, because we get to rediscover it through their eyes. Thanks @Jerry Sullivan. It is rather, but I'm glad I don't live way into that fjord arm.
Wish you were there with us, @eileen. That would have been fun. Yes, I'm told Slartibartfast* won a prize for creating the fjords of Norway. *From the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy for those who didn't know.
This is so beautiful Droopy. I'm so happy that the weather and water cooperated for such a wonderful day. It really is breathtaking. I enjoyed the stories behind the names very much. Must have been a day for making memories.
Glad you enjoyed it, @Melody Mc.. It will be nice to look at the photos and think back come winter, and other winters to come.
Incredibly beautiful--the ship, the scenery, the falls. Thank you for filling us in on the history and background of the ship, and the falls. Thoroughly enjoyable for those of us not there, except for your post!
Magnificent trip with stunning foto’s. I’m so happy that the weather worked out for you. That made it a perfect day for you all. It is such an impressive landscape there. Excellent thread.
Droopy it is really beautiful, thank you. I think I have to start planning my holiday out of this house real soon before I turned into a recluse!
Ty @marlingardener, glad you liked it and came along on the trip. Thanks, @Sjoerd. It was really nice. @KK Ng, let me know if you plan on cruising the Norwegian fjords. I'll meet you in town when you dock.
Thank you Droopy, I will for sure if I am coming that way it would be really nice and would be great to meet you in person.
Same, KK! I've heard tourists also find the fjords breathtaking even when it's cloudy or raining. I don't know why but they might be from countries with warmer, drier climate. Thank you and thanks for joining us.
