Gallivanting Grandma

Friday – August 18, 2017

We left Bergen, Norway and cruised inland to the Hardangerfjord.  This is one of the famous and most beautiful fjords of Norway.  We arrived at the beginning of the fjord at daybreak.  Clouds clung to the high mountains.

We went out to the front of the ship to watch it slowly progress through the fjord while the sun rose higher in the sky.  We passed under the bridge which connects the road from Oslo to Bergen.  The bridge had not been built when Jeff and I drove around Norway in 2001.

Eidfjord means the end of the fjord in Norwegian, and is the name of the tiny village at the end of the Hardangerfjord.  The Rotterdam had to anchor off the harbor because a Viking cruise ship was tied to the main dock.  It was so big it dwarfed the town.

We took a tender into Eidfjord and walked around the lovely town.  There are a few small shops, cafes, restaurants, and a grocery store.  A small hotel sits at the main dock.

We had signed up for an excursion in the afternoon so we met the tour group at about one o’clock.  We took a bus out of Eidfjord and climbed up the mountain and went up into the interior of Norway beyond the fjord.

Then the bus took us to an amazing dam: the Sysendammen which was built entirely of rocks and stones.  No concrete was used in the construction of the dam, according to our guide.  Her name was Pilar and she was an immigrant to Norway from Spain.

Beyond the dam we could see a huge glacier.  The guide told me that she just saw the bus driver taking pictures of the dam and glacier for the first time.  She said he has been taking tours to this location for about ten years and has seen it thousands of times, but this was the clearest and best view of the glacier.  “It was usually raining or totally overcast and impossible to see anything.”

View of the scenery between the fjord and the dam:

The bus continued for another 45 minutes to a small hotel and restaurant in the middle of nowhere called: Halne Fjellstove, where we enjoyed waffles and fresh whipped cream and jam with a cup of good coffee.

The air was crisp and cool but the temperature felt warm and sunny.  Pilar spoke about hiking and camping in this treeless region.

It was getting late and we had an hour-long ride back to Eidfjord and the ship.  The terrain of Norway is rugged and weathered but very beautiful and awe-inspiring.  I took a few photos out of the bus window:

Thursday – August 17, 2017

The Captain made an announcement last night as we left Alesund, Norway that we should expect 40 to 50 mph winds in the Norwegian Sea.  He advised us to stow our gear and secure computers and any other valuables that could slide off counters when the ship heaves due to heavy seas.  It was a scary announcement since he didn’t say anything about wind speeds a couple of nights ago when it was blowing near 40 mph.

Anyway, fortunately for us it was a calm night.  The winds never reached the Captain’s expected velocity and we cruised south along the coast of Norway peacefully.  I woke up about 5:30 and looked out to see the sun rise above the rocky shore.

Jeff and I had been to Bergen sixteen years ago and really liked it, so we were looking forward to visiting again.  At that time, we had arrived during a Tall Ships Festival and many tourists were there to see old sailing vessels.  There had been a party atmosphere in the city and the weather was sunny and warm.  It rained the next day so we drove out of town to visit Edvard Greig’s house.  We had a good time.

This morning there was a fiery red sunrise, so I prepared for a rainy day.  When we disembarked, the sun was bright and peeking through clouds.  We explored Bergen along the U-shaped harbor.

Bryggan is the historic part of Bergen. This is where the Hanseatic League met to establish tradesmen’s guilds.  The buildings have been restored several times over many decades.  They looked spiffed up since our last visit to Bergen.

We walked along the harbor, looked into the shops of the Bryggan and went down one the alleyways between the buildings searching new things we had not seen during our last visit.

The famous Fish Market isn’t a place where fishermen bring their latest catch to sell.  Today it’s for tourists to buy a fish lunch or prepared souvenirs.  A new tourist information center was built near the market.  Bergen is the second largest city in Norway after the capital, Oslo.  Ferries and other ships arrive from all over Europe so tourism is big!

We passed the local McDonald’s across the street from the Fish Market.  It was amusing to see the sign on a historic building which dated from 1771.

The buildings behind the main square are very old and remind visitors of the seafaring history of Bergen.

One of the attractions in the city is the Funicular which takes visitors up to the top of one of the mountains so we can see Bergen from above.

We were lucky to get front row seats in the Funicular car on the way down!  It was like an amusement park ride and a lot of fun!!

As we were walking around Bergen, we heard loud Star Wars music and finally located the source.  The Bergen Philharmonic was practicing for an evening concert later today.  We learned that the program also included Harry Potter music from the movies.  Huge speakers broadcasted the rehearsal so it could be heard all over town.

We saw a banner which said the orchestra would be playing selections of Edvard Greig’s music tomorrow night.  They would be playing “Rain or Shine.”  This is not surprising since Bergen is known as a rainy city.  So far today we were lucky.  We explored Bergen some more and had lunch in a bakery called Godt Brod (translation: Good Bread).

By the time we returned to the Bryggan, it had started to rain.  Fortunately, we were prepared with raincoats and umbrellas.  We walked back to the ship in a downpour – typical Norwegian weather in the summer.  Norway is a very beautiful country, either in the rain or on a sunny day.

Wednesday – August 16, 2017

It was a rough ride last night!!  Walking around the ship was challenging and I had to hold on to the handrails.  Winds were blowing and the waves were high as the ship shuddered and shook and rolled and pitched.  I fell asleep although it felt like I was lying in a hammock swaying back and forth.  The Rotterdam left the squall out in the Atlantic eventually and we cruised into the calm waters off Alesund, Norway.

At seven o’clock, the sun was bright and the wind was calm.  The ship slowly approached the dock in the center of the picturesque city of Alesund.  After an early breakfast, we walked down the gangway and into Alesund.  The city is famous for a fire which broke out in 1904.  It ravaged the city, a number people tragically died, and thousands lost everything and were homeless.  Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany helped rebuild Alesund and he is honored here.

Alesund recovered and the people rebuilt their city in an Art Nouveau style which can be seen today.  Because most of the buildings were rebuilt between 1905 and 1919, the architecture of the town is similar.  We were up and out walking around Alesund very early in the morning before the shops opened and the streets were empty.

Later in the early afternoon, we decided to take a tourist bus up to the observation deck.  It was too far for us to walk so we rode a little tourist bus up to the top of the mountain overlooking Alesund.  The city is built on two connected islands which formed a peninsula.

That’s the observation deck on the mountain in the photo below.  It was fun to take the tiny bus.  Otherwise, it’s a long walk up to the top including 419 steps.

The coast of Norway is dotted with thousands of islands.  Some of the islands have small houses carved into the mountainous rocks and other islands seem to be uninhabited.  Nonetheless, Norway is a very beautiful country.