We are little ravers and sociable souls talking to lots of nice people and not going to bed until midnight each night so it really shocked us awake when the alarm went off at 06:30 – I mean this is supposed to be a holiday! We had a trip booked and we needed our tenders to get to shore at 08:15. After a lot of queuing to get our grouping and then to get on the tender, we were off. Cute little things, swarming around the ship and buzzing to and fro to the dock like little ducklings, thankfully the fjords are as flat as a pancake and 10 minutes later we were in the coach. Another new boating experience for us.
First stop was the Skylift up Mount Hoven in Loen. Apparently its the steepest sky lift in Europe. It is literally a 5 minute ride up the 1100m. There is a 70% chance of cloud we were told, and given the weather we weren’t hopeful. However, it was patchy enough for us to get some great views even if the photos were a bit hazy. We had a good 45 – 60 minutes up there.
You can watch the video of the descent down the mountain here
Then a beautiful drive around Nordfjord through Stryn learning all about the area, the glacier and glaciers in general. Our guide was excellent as he educated us not only on the local history and geography but on Norse mythology too. We arrived at a tiny place called Hjelle. It is so tiny that our coach of 40 people doubled the population. It is renowned for its peace and quiet. Apparently someone called Justin Bieber stayed last year after hearing how beautiful it was, and the whole rigmarole of his entourage etc did not go down well. Or it could have been his singing. Either way, it is really gorgeous, and very very tranquil.
After a scenic drive back around the Nordfjord we arrived back at dock at 13:00. That left us a few hours to ourselves to wander around Olden where we saw the “old” and the “new” churches and for some bizarre reason a truck convoy.
You can watch and listen to the video here
Back on our little duckling tender in good time and I spotted the Captain of the ship incognito sitting opposite me. Needless to say we had an excellent ride back to the ship!
When you look at the photos of the day, and of yesterday as well, you will notice there are lots of boats and hardly any people. We were told that is typical of Norway. There are less than 5 people per sq km, particularly around here. Also the grass is that green – its all the rain, it is not oversaturated in the processing. Someone I know has grass envy its that lush.
Anyway, now that I’ve said my piece, after another busy evening admiring the scenery, eating and listening to a virtuoso instrumentalist who was excellent (plenty of Fiddler on the Roof and even a Hava Nagila) and even more socialising we look forward to our last day in the fjords tomorrow before we battle the North Sea homeward bound.