Norway

In the evening of July 27, 2024, we left Iceland aboard the Norwegian Prima, and after spending a day at sea, we arrived in Ålesund, Norway in the morning of Monday, July 29. Last month, we showed the Icelandic part of our cruise; this month, we will document the three Norwegian ports of call. After Norway, the cruise continued to Amsterdam and Zeebrugge (with shore excursions to Brussels, Bruges, and Ghent). Because the Dutch and Belgian destinations have already been covered on this website, we will end our cruise report with this page. Like last month's page, this is very much a collaborative effort, with Vicki having taken 40% of the pictures shown.

Ålesund

The lovely port town of Ålesund has unusually consistent architecture. This is because, during the night of January 23, 1904, practically the entire town, consisting of wooden buildings, was destroyed by fire. Miraculously, there was only one casualty, but some ten thousand people lost their homes. With considerable help from Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, who used to vacation in the area, the town was rebuilt in stone, brick, and mortar in the architectural style of the time, Jugendstil.

Ålesund, seen from our cruise ship, the Norwegian Prima


Turning to the right...	...and taking a look to the left.


Walking on Notenesgata Street	Taking a closer look at the beautiful corner building


There are many beautiful buildings...	...in town. Most were built in the early...	...1900s following the 1904 Ålesund fire.


Detail of an Art Nouveau façade	Walking along Skansegata


The view from the Hellebrua bridge	Strolling along the water


The Ålesund Church and graveyard off Giskegata	Walking along Molovegen


Looking across the water	Many leisure activities, such as kayaking, involve water


The view towards the mountains from our cruise ship	Waiting to pull out of Ålesund around ten p.m.

Geiranger

We got to Geiranger just before eight o'clock in the morning. This is a very small village; only some 250 people live here permanently, yet it is the third-largest cruise ship port in Norway. During the four-month tourist season, between 140 and 180 cruise ships carrying several hundred thousand people come here. The village lies at the very end of Geirangerfjord, one of Norway's most visited tourist attractions. We had booked a shore excursion that first took us to the Eagle Bend Overlook (520 meters or 1,700 feet above sea level), and then to Lake Djupvatnet and all the way up to the skywalk on Mount Dalsnibba (at an elevation of 1,500 meteres or 4,921 feet). The views from this tour were incredible and they clearly are the reason Geiranger is as popular a destination as it is.

The Norwegian Prima in Geirangerfjord; we are looking northwest from where we came


The front of the ship is at the very end of the fjord	Another ship used tenders, but we were able to use a seawalk


Our monstrously huge cruise ship in Geiranger	The Eagle Bend Overlook off Ørnevegen (Eagle Road)


The view to the end of the fjord	Looking in the opposite direction	There are many cascades like this


The view from the other side, the road up to Dalsnibba	Lake Djupvatnet, elevation 1,016 meters (3,333 feet)


On the Geiranger Skywalk, elevation 1,500 meters (4,921 feet)	Looking down at the parking lot


Considering it's July 30, the ice is fairly thick	Adventuresome folks looking for more thrilling photo ops


Looking down to the fjord and the cruise ships	The private road leading down to the lake	On the way down to our ship


Leaving Geiranger and passing Eagle Road we drove up earlier	Cruising by the Seven Sisters

Bergen

Bergen is Norway's second-largest city, after Oslo, the capital. We got up early on July 31, and a few minutes before seven a.m., we were already in the still deserted Observation Lounge for breakfast. We wanted to get an early start because our shore excursion was scheduled to begin at 8:30 a.m.; we had booked a tour through the city by electric bus; these small zero-emission vehicles are authorized in areas that are off-limits to larger buses with conventional engines. We made many stops, and there were ample opportunities to get off to take photographs. We particularly enjoyed Bryggen, the historic harbor district of Bergen that was established as a center of trade as early as the 12th century, and in 1360, the Hanseatic League opened a Bergen office that remained in business for 400 years.

Looking down at Vågen, the bay that forms the central harbor of Bergen


A statue of composer Edvard Grieg...	...one of Bergen's most celebrated citizens...	...in front of the Grieg Hall auditorium.


The octagonal lake Lille Lungegårdsvannet	The lake is in a park that is beautifully maintained


Strolling along Vågen, the central harbor of Bergen	The view from the other side


Walking along the water	The historic houses at Bryggen


The Rosenkrantz Tower of Bergenhus	A building in the historic part of town	Taking a closer look at the façade


Among the Bryggen houses	An alleyway between two houses	A façade detail in the old part of town


A pond off Øvre Blekeveien	Across the street from the lookout	Looking down onto the city


The view from the lookout off Øvre Blekeveien is spectacular!	Turning a little to the right


Looking across Vågen	The full-rigged Christian Radich in the harbor of Bergen


Colorful storage building supported by wooden piles	By the Norway Fisheries Museum


By the Norway Fisheries Museum	The Opera Café by the National Theater	Statue of Bjørnson in front of the theater


Walking through the old town	Down towards the sea	Heading back to our ship

Sailing into the sunset towards The Netherlands

The photos on this page were taken between July 29 and August 1, 2024.
They are also available in a gallery.

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