We were encouraged to get up early this morning to have a narrated view of our fjord entrance to get to Geiranger. We’ve been a little worried about rain today, but so far, it’s only looking cloudy. Alan got up before 6 and got ready by about 6:35, but by then, it appeared that we had already made our way through the fjord and were awaiting docking.
Alan did a pass around the ship on Deck 8 just to be sure that he was catching everything. The town itself is tiny; only about 220 permanent residents call Geiranger home. We will quadruple the population today! Geiranger apparently has 200 cruise ships dock here in the 4-month traveling season.
Docking today is going to be a little different. The port is very deep, but not wide enough to be able to dock at the pier. So Geiranger has a unique dock that comes to the boat on snaking floating platforms. We got to watch it snake out and connect to the Deck A from our balcony.
We went up to the Explorers Lounge and had waffles at Mansen’s anyway. While we didn’t get to see the arrival in the fjord, the views are still pretty impressive.
Geirangerfjord earned its UNESCO World Heritage status in 2005 as part of the West Norwegian Fjords site due to its exceptional natural beauty, striking geological features, and preserved cultural landscape.
Successive ice ages carved out deep, sub-sea-level waters and sheer, towering crystal rock walls.Famous waterfalls: The area features iconic free-falling cascades like the Seven Sisters, The Suitor, and the Bridal Veil that plunge directly into the deep blue water.
UNESCO recognizes it as one of the world’s finest and most classic examples of an unaltered fjord landscape. The steep cliffs and unique valley formations serve as a vital open-air field of study for understanding how glaciers shape the Earth.
Abandoned and high-altitude historic smallholdings—such as Skageflå—cling precariously to the cliffsides, illustrating traditional, resilient Norwegian farming life in a remote region.
We were off the ship and on land by 8:30 for our excursion for today. We got on the bus and took seats at the very back.
Our first stop was an overlook above the port: Flydalsjuvet overlook. It had two levels, so Alan walked down to the first level, while Joyce stayed on the top. At the bottom level, Alan found some pretty spectacular views of the waterfall that cascaded from the very top of the fjord, as well as the town below us. There was an additional viewing area that required some careful stepping as the access to it was climbing up and over rocks, big and small, mostly slick with the mist that was beginning to fall.
Alan helped a couple of other people with photos but decided to try a selfie himself.
Alan stopped at the WC that was there, since the Port Talk for Geiranger had warned of pay toilets (that could be accessed by credit card!). These were free.
We were back on the bus at the appointed time, but found that we all waited about 10 minutes while a single missing passenger had to be rounded up. (Note: She was on time for the other stops.)
Back on the bus, we were told that there were about 60 turns to navigate the switchbacks up the mountain, and 40 of them were 180 degree turns! Joyce was not a fan. The views were spectacular. Our bus driver has made this trip 100 times this summer.
At the top, we arrived at a sizable mountain lake with a lodge type building on the shore. We took a lot of pictures of the lake, the glacier that hung in the hills above it, and the mist that kept floating in and out of the area. It was nearly a rain that was falling by this time. This spot was 1030 meters above sea level (3379 feet for the non-metric crew). By the way, the temperature dropped from 14 degrees in the port to 9 or 10 at the lake (You can do your own calculations this time! We’ve been doing it for over two weeks).
Alan saw an additional viewpoint across the road, but while several people were climbing up there, he decided that he probably didn’t have enough time, and with the mist, wasn’t sure of the footing. So he just looked longingly, wondering what view he was missing.
Our driver, Andre, got on the microphone and said that someone had asked how cold the lake was in the summer, since it still had ice on it in July. Andre said he didn’t know, but when he got in the lake to test the temperature, he came out as Andrea.
We boarded the bus again to go back down the mountain. Same switchbacks, but since we were sitting on the same side of the bus, we got different views.
We drove through the village this time, and out on the other side with more switchbacks on the way to Eagle’s Bend viewpoint. We learned that each of the switchbacks have a name. It’s a surprise that they didn’t run out.
This was a sizable overlook that had some pretty iconic looks back at Geiranger and the waterfalls all around us. There were a couple of platforms that were swarming with people.
There was also an additional overlook that had path up to it that Alan decided to take this time. It was about 100 meters up on some mud and rocks that served as a path. At the top, he got some pretty good views both ways down the fjord, watching the misty clouds dance up and down and across the fjord.
Climbing up took some careful footwork and some lung stretching, but coming back down took even more careful footwork, though some of the slick sections could have made the trip down a lot faster if he wanted.
On the way down to the port, the guide told a story of an old Lutheran pastor who had died and gone to heaven. St. Peter said that things were a little busy at the Pearly Gates, and could the pastor kindly wait in the waiting room. He was glad to do so, and sat waiting pretty patiently with the others already there, and the ones who arrived after the pastor. After a while, a bus driver from Geiranger Fjord appeared at the Gates. St. Peter was there quickly, warmly welcoming the driver in with gushing praise. The pastor was a little miffed. He called to Peter, ‘Why is he getting preferential treatment? I’ve served you for 70 some years, faithfully holding worship services for you twice a week! Why am I waiting while the driver is already in?’ St. Peter replied, ‘It’s true. You have presided over those services, but when you did, the people in the pews were sleeping. When the driver was driving those fjord roads, he busses full of people who couldn’t stop praying!’
Back at the port, we wandered through the few stores that were there, but in the end only bought another Norway Christmas ornament.
Back on the boat, we went to the World Cafe for lunch, and then back to the room for a nap and some blogging.
