The Norwegian Fjords
I did question the wisdom of heading north when I love being somewhere hot, but I figured the scenery would make up for the lack of heat. As it was, the weather was ok.
The nice thing about a cruise to the Fjords is that the ships can moor right in the centre of the town. This makes it easy to get off and explore on your own. I am not a fan of organised excursions and prefer to explore independently.
It was dull and grey in our first port of call, Stavanger, enough for us to carry raincoats but fortunately it did not rain. We got off to explore the old town with its quaint wooden houses and cobbled streets. A highlight was a visit to the Norwegian Canning Museum. The museum is in an original cannery building and is set up as the factory would have been between 1910 and 1920. This museum gives a real understanding of what life was like for many Norwegians at that time.
Overnight we sailed on to Olden. This meant sailing 65 miles up the Nordfjord. There is something very magical about sailing in a ship surrounded by dramatic scenery with cliffs towering above you. Olden is a very small town, so we opted to take an organised excursion to the Loen Skylift and the Kjenndal Glacier. I mentioned I am not a fan of organised excursions, but this excursion was fantastic! The scenery at both locations is amazing!
We set sail from Olden at about 7pm, but in the summer it is light until 10 or 11 at night. We could really enjoy the 65-mile journey along the fjord. This is one cruise where it is worth booking a balcony cabin!
Our next destination was Alesund. Alusund was rebuilt after a major fire in 1904 and the new town has beautiful Art Nouveau style buildings with spires and turrets galore! There is a hill in Alusund with steps climbing to the top – we opted to stay in the town, but my 2 sons climbed the steps to appreciate the amazing views. There are several museums in Alesund and I visited 2 of them. They were ok but nothing worthy of note.
Our final destination was Bergen. Bergen is a larger city and is best known for its funicular railway to the top of the hill. We did this independently rather than buying an excursion. It is cheaper to do this and as long as you are prepared to get up and go to it early you can avoid the long queues! The Bryggen quarter has the oldest buildings and it is fun to explore the alleyways between them bustling with souvenir shops. We also walked around the town to the lake before continuing on to St John’s church which overlooks the city centre.
Overall, I found the itinerary to be a little bit lacking. The route only had one day going up a fjord. The cities were interesting but at the same time a little bit “samey”. Was it a good trip? Yes – the scenery in the fjords was stunning. Would I do it again? Probably not – I really enjoyed seeing this part of the world but do not feel the urge to go back again anytime soon.