Norwegian cruise - Geiranger

Again we woke up early to watch the view pass by our window on our way to the Geiranger Fjord. That is the joy of cruising - while you sit idly and do nothing, all the beauty comes to you!

It was a calm morning and we couldn't believe the reflection in the water!

Can't even see where the water end and land begins...

Approaching Geiranger.

We arrived at 7am. The captain announced that the ship would not go to anchor, but due to the very narrow passage and tricky winds, it would be safer to manoeuvre on its engines all day long and stay in place that way. We were amazed how the ship stayed in the exact same position all day, using its bow and stern thrusters. It must have been electronically linked to some sort of GPS to achieve such precision.  After breakfast we boarded the tender and went ashore.

It was so cold that we thought we'd freeze - there had even been reports of snow! But thankfully at that time it was still dry, so we went only for a short walk before my parents decided to go back on board and relax.

Geiranger is a very quiet town, with only 200 inhabitants all year around. Their main income is from tourism, as it is home to some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. The town itself is very cute, I really like how most roofs are overgrown with grass and flowers and obviously home to lots of wildlife. Once again, a fairytale town!

Murray and I felt adventurous, so we bought a bus ticket up to the top of the Geiranger. We had already seen the zigzag road from the ship.

What a ride that turned out to be! Hairpin bends so sharp we were surprised the bus could make the turn at all, and straight drops right next to our window. I had to keep myself from closing my eyes! Next shot was taken from the bus going up:

At the top, we got out and took pictures of the miniature ship we saw deep down below and shivered until the bus came back to pick us up. It was cold! I'm only brave with steep drops when there is a fence. Behind me there was just an endless drop - Murray and I live perched at the edge of a cliff but that one is nothing compared to the one here!

Then we went back to the main road passing the ship again, and next the bus grunted its way up the other side of the mountain. We passed a waterfall on our way to the top and the driver stopped for a moment to allow us to take pictures.

Sadly, it had started raining by the time we reached the top. It was so cold that I did not even dare get out of the bus. Murray, the tough one, got out and managed to take some impressive shots. He came back soaked and grumpy, but the photos were worth it!

Taken from the bus on our way down.

All it all it was a tour to remember, we were sorry my parents missed it. Time to leave... Mom and I were watching the last tender being hauled up the ship and away we sailed!

The scenery was absolutely beautiful all the way back to the open sea. What a gorgeous country Norway is!

The famous Seven Sisters waterfall:

Referring back to the previous picture, look halfway up the waterfalls and on the right side there is a tiny speck, that is a house. If you don't believe me, click on the image to see a bigger picture. It is hard to imagine how remote some of these houses are. Never seen such isolation - there are no roads or visible means leading up to these places and there don't seem to be any other dwellings for miles around as pictured below. Can't imagine living there!

Finally we reached open sea.

We had to drag ourselves away to go for dinner. Fortunately, we enjoyed a fancy supper at the Pinnacle Grill that night, thank you Baris, Andy, Yunia and Yudy for the excellent service! The food was great, in fact I was so full I vowed never to eat again!



Another great day went by too quickly... till tomorrow!