A day in Geiranger, Norway


Our ship, Serenade of the Seas, was inching into the long winding Geirangerfjord towards the little town Geiranger before 5 am. Nights are very short in Norway this time of year, sunrise was at 3:45 am and sunset happens close to midnight.






The fjords are the symbol of Norway, with the most dramatic and spectacular landscapes on the planet, fjords have spellbound visitors through the ages.


Geirangerfjord


There are no man-made infrastructures, just beautiful scenery with old and now mostly abandoned farms which add cultural history and human interest in this World Heritage Area. 




Arriving at Geiranger





What amazed me was how still the water in the fjord was, it looked like there was a saran wrap on top of it. 





 Countless waterfalls





We spent the day on a scenic bus tour, the summer weather was just amazing with blue sky and sunshine. 
The hairpin curves in the one-way mountain road were a bit frightening sitting on the window looking down the steep mountain sides.




All along the fjord are small settlements and fjord farms high up on the mountain sides.








On the roof of Norway, The skywalk Dalsnibba is 1500 meter above sea level, overlooking the Geiranger fjord valley




For 100,000 years, glacial ice from several ice ages slowly wore down the rocks, creating this giant U-shaped valley.





The bus tour's final stop before ending up at the ship was at the Fjord Museum and we decided to walk back down to the ship along the Geirangelva River with its roaring rapids.




Lots and lots of wildflowers, ferns, moss and lichen, and grasses



We were not so lucky to see any of the local wildlife such as foxes, lemmings, reindeer. But we wandered by a herd of happy goats frolicking in the summer meadow, resting in the tree's shade ignoring the tourists. What a life!







The, at times, steep walkway with plenty of steps lead close along the Geirangelva River. I was glad to just have to go down and not have to walk up this path ;-)


Geirangelva River Bridge


In town we found a little chocolate shop, the Geiranger sjokolade Cafe & Boutique. I was so excited about their handmade chocolates, I forgot to snap pictures.  Besides delicious flavors such as berries, whisky and Chili, they also had some weird sounding flavors, brown cheese, caramel goat cheese or dark chocolate with blue cheese filling. Those unusual ones paired with a glass of red wine made the taste buds sing.




I wonder how the people get up there





 Ending the day in Geiranger the ship took as close to the seven sisters waterfall, the iconic waterfall of Geirangerfjord. 


The seven sisters


The seven sisters dance playfully down the mountain in youthful joy while the manly Courtier flirts with them from across the fjord.


The Courtier across from the seven sisters


Good-bye Geiranger, we hope to visit you again some day.
After a day at sea we will be in Tromso.





My 'Dreaming of cruising' posts about our Norway cruise in June of 2019 and other cruises can all be found in the category 'On the road' in menu to the right. 





4 comments:

  1. I love all the flowing water. ☺️

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  2. Es ist einfach sagenhaft ich freue mich das ihr so was herrliches erleben konntet so ein wunderschönes Land

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