Scenic Scandinavia and its Fjords – Day Seven
7 June 2015
Weather: Cloud, sun, rain, flurries, snowballs…
We were up at 6:15 and down for breakfast with turtles by 7. Our first stop today is at a receding glacier called Boyabreen.
It’s a snowy walk right down to the base of the glacial lake. The fog has shrouded the glacier above.
I go back to the café that is built so that it blends in with the surroundings. By the time I get there, everyone has gotten their snack and coffee.
Amanda said they make the best apple muffins in the world so I pick one up with a Coke.
The muffin cost $5. And it is the best apple muffin in the world.
I ate two.
The cream inside was delicious.
From here we drive through some scenic mountainous terrain and down to the Nordfjord which we drive around.
And tucked in a corner way down the fjord is a Costa cruise ship.
Well, you don’t see that everyday.
(And no, I’m not referring to the fact that it’s floating)
Amanda said the fjords are deep enough so that the cruise ships can actually navigate the entire length of most of them, including the two hundred plus kilometres of the Sognefjord.
As we drive, we get a lesson on the Vikings. There is a bay called Vik Bay near Bergen and some think that is the origin of the term Viking. The impression, however, of scruffy men wearing horny hats…okay, hats with horns…is a creation by English historians and has no basis in fact. They were writing about invaders and as you know, the victor writes the history and the Vikings were made out to be scary guys.
In fact, they were amazing shipbuilders and navigators, inventing time pieces accurate enough to plot a course across vast oceans. They were among the first to use knots tied in a rope as a way of calculating the speed of the ship (by playing out the rope and noting the time it took to play out). They had the rudder on the right side of the ship and this contributed to the evolution of the term starboard (roughly translated as steering board from the old Norse).
The Vikings also founded many cities that exist today including Dublin and York.
But that’s not the best thing about York, Amanda tells us.
She comes from York. 🙂
The Vikings tended to pillage towns and cities but left the buildings intact as this would encourage others to move into the settlement and the Vikings could return and pillage again. And again. They not only went as far west as Newfoundland but as far south as Spain where they encountered the Moors. The Vikings took one look at the Moors, said hello, turned around and left.
They also went as far east as Turkey and the Ukraine. The kings of Turkey actually employed Vikings as guards. The logic was that a foreign guard was less likely to turn on the king.
Records about the Vikings date from 793 CE and end in 1050, after which they had become Christianized and then they were not as scary.
We stop in Stryn for lunch and I get a sandwich at the café and check out the one open shop. Once we are fed and watered, we head out and Amanda notes that Norway’s largest souvenir shop is in the nearby town of Skei.
Before we can say a word, she said the answer is no.
Darn.
We start climbing into the mountains and Amanda makes a stop at a Hidden Treasure – Ovstebro Foss – a waterfalls overlooking a lake.
Before long, the scenery turns completely white – to the delight of the Australians.
One of the “fjord” optionals is the Dalsnibba and the Majestic Geiranger. It has two parts. The first is a drive up to the Dalsnibba Pass – a series of switchbacks with snow as high as the coach on the side.
The road was built in 1888 and owned by the people of Geiranger. The top is the highest accessible peak in Norway. Amanda said it was just opened at lunchtime and since it was only just opened, there would be no cruise ship buses on top (which could mean thousands of people). In fact, we even passed a section of road that had obviously seen a recent avalanche.
Since everyone had signed up, we were able to go straight up without having to go to the hotel in Geiranger first. It’s an amazing climb and I was in the front seat so I was able to get some good video.
At the top, we found only one other bus. Amanda directed us over to the side facing Geiranger below and we were lucky to get a photo when we did.
Because a few minutes later it started to snow. By the time a couple of other buses showed up, the town and fjord were behind a screen of white.
Looking straight down, we can see the switchback that leads into Geiranger.
They really need to make a Bond movie here.
After an Australian snowball fight, we head down the mountain and Amanda makes a stop at the hotel at the bottom of the road so that the Aussies can get photos of themselves next to snowbanks twice the height of the bus.
I can only giggle.
From here we descend into Geiranger and that road is itself a photographer’s delight. Since we’re below the snow now, the fjord is clearly visible and we make a stop at a great viewpoint for photos.
Geiranger is a UNESCO World Heritage Site due to its magnificent scenery. Geir means arrow and Anger means fertile. The drive down is through a hanging valley which was cut out by the glaciers but high enough to be dry.
The town has 250 permanent residents but can see over three hundred thousand visitors during its four month long tourist season (May to September). Cruise ships bring most of the visitors. The town is actually under threat from the mountain Akerneset, part of which could collapse and slide into the fjord. This could cause a tsunami up to thirty metres.
The second part of the optional is a cruise on the fjord but since some people have tired out from the last three days of travel and since the forecast is for sun tomorrow, Amanda decides to even out both days. Instead of ending today around 6 pm and ending tomorrow at 3 pm, she will have the cruise tomorrow at 3 and both today and tomorrow will end around 4:30 p.m. Since the town is so small, everything is within a few minutes walk of the hotel, which is right on the shore. Amanda also notes that, oddly enough, half the rooms in the hotel do not face the fjord.
Yeah, you know what’s coming.
Actually, no you don’t. Trafalgar made sure we got rooms facing the fjord.
My room is that one on the corner on the top floor!
We check in and I go to check out the chocolate factory and souvenir shops. There is a falls near the hotel too that only takes a few minutes to walk to but I decided to leave that for tomorrow. We have an included dinner, so I go back to my room to shower and freshen up.
Dinner was a great little buffet that included Swedish meatballs, turkey and spring rolls. The apple strudel for dessert was delicious. And of course, the best part about buffets is that we can eat and leave. So appreciated on a busy tour like this one.
I turn in early, but can’t help but peek out every now and then to see if I can catch a sunset over the fjord, but I can’t stay awake long enough to see if the clouds clear to see the sun dip below the mountains.
Maybe tomorrow.
Go to Day Eight
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