Norway - going North to Alesund and Geiranger

August 22, 2013

A flight to the Fjord

Fling Norwegian to Alesund

After three days in Bergen it was time to head North to Alesund. There is supposed to be an angstrom A at the beginning so it is pronounced AWLESSOOND? We took a late evening cheap flight with Norwegian, just over £20 each, and booked into the Scandic Hotel. No more self-catering but the prospect of a good breakfast buffet in the morning. We were first down and smashed it. Smoked Salmon, Egg, Bacon, Honey and, of course, bread for the doggie bag picnic lunch on the boat.

Deck Class transport - no Jacuzzi

Hurtgruten Ferry arrival - M/S Vesteralen

We had booked Deck Class for our trip along the Fjord to Geiranger. I kidded TW that we might be rowing, a tease supported by the fact that a Viking Longboat was moored just by the hotel. She was relieved when our actual transport arrived. A Hurtigruten Ferry the M/S Vesteralen pulled into the Quayside. This company operates a daily ferry that starts in Bergen and then works its way up to the North Cape stopping at various places along the way. It used to deliver post and supplies but expect that was before the road network was improved and now Aeroplanes fly to numerous points. The Northbound trip takes about 6 days. You can join and leave at various points along the route.
Happily, we were only booked on the 4 hour trip to Geiranger. That is long enough to be trapped on a boat! It was of course a very scenic trip on calm inland waters. The standard of the ferries varies quite a bit. We got to know an Italian couple from Sardinia who had been on the same trip several years before and had quite a luxurious boat with cinema and Jacuzzi.

Our boat was a bit more basic, a tidy 30 years old, but had inside toilets and plenty of character. We fell foul of an elderly German couple. The Lady started smoking an evil smelling cheroot right by us in a sheltered deck area. We headed outside probably muttering and waited till she finished. On re-entering the chap asked us what language we spoke. I thought they might be about to apologise. Sadly not. I was informed that if we sat near an ash tray we should expect smoke! There is probably a very clever response but nothing came to mind at the time. Silence was probably the best response.

Clearly if you are enjoying a ship ride along a pristine Norwegian Fjord you do not expect the experience to be marred by some pensioner burning their old socks. Anyway, it was a great trip and we were lucky with the weather. There were announcements along the way giving the names of the Falls etc. The Seven Sisters all rejected the advances of their suitor across the Fjord and he hit the bottle. The Geiranger Fjord is very impressive with steeply rising banks either side. Must be bit of a squeeze when the Queen Elizabeth goes on this route.

Waterfalls - Seven Sisters

The Suitor - Spot the Bottle Falls?

Back on dry land in Geiranger after a ride on the tender and we headed for the Hotel Grand Fjord, about 3km out of town. Sadly there was no bus at the weekend. Bit of a walk prepared us for our picnic lunch on the balcony. Then it was another walk, this time without bags along the shore. I stupidly wore sandals and so ended up giving my feet a mud bath.
Then Dinner! The Hotel put on a Saturday Buffet Dinner. We smashed it again! More smoked salmon. No drink with meal though. At £12 a pint it was always a 'dry do' in Norway.
Then Breakfast, another Buffet and you guessed it - we smashed it again! More Smoked Salmon. Bit of a wet day so the walk back to town was rather damp. We managed to dump our bags at the Tourist Office before getting even wetter on the walk up to the pretty little Church. The natural setting for Gerainger is lovely but the town and buildings are surprisingly ordinary.

TW breezy in the fresh air

On the tender behind

Back to today's Hurtigruten Ferry, M/S Nordkapp heading back to Alesund. Bit more plush than yesterday but no blue skies today. The rain eased off but we still sat inside in a smart lounge to enjoy the view. An alternative routing would have been to take a bus from Gerainger to Alesund and seen some different scenery. A small dose of boating is a lot more pleasant in our view. Glad to get off though, cruising is not my cup of tea. Back to the Scandic in Alesund where the Receptionist tried to put us in a basic room where the view was a stone wall. A little gentle persuasion got us back to the seaside and a view of the harbour.
There was a terrible fire in Alesund in 1904 and the wood built town was almost destroyed. It was rebuilt shortly afterwards in a smart Art Deco style this time using stone. Nice place to wander around. Seemed to be wharves everywhere. I liked the Emir of Qatar's little boat, thought about asking for World Cup Tickets.

Geiranger with a small cruise ship in situ.

In the Fjord

Looking back

We had Dinner in McDonald's purely on the grounds of cost rather than taste you understand. Next morning a Buffet Breakfast again and large quantities of smoked salmon. The Hotel had bikes. No pretence of a front brake this time, or any gears. We rode around the island, mostly on a narrow off-road path. Falling off the cliff into a container park would not have been funny so we did quite a bit of walking! Needed a rest after that so we extended our check-out time at the Hotel. This also gave us a chance to eat our breakfast doggie bags. Then it was off to the Kniven Viewpoint, just 418 steps above town, to get a great panorama of the City and surrounding gulf. The apple pie and coffee were very good too!