While the idea of doing 12 days of planned out cruising didn’t especially appeal to us , doing a brusk stint on a fancy together with convenient boat did. The Hurtigruten started off as a practical fleet of ships , going from port to port to deliver passengers together with goods. Over fourth dimension , roads were developed together with it became less necessary , but forthwith offers luxury cruises upward the Norwegian coast.
We woke upward rattling early on together with then that nosotros could create an early on morning time dash upward Ålesund’s Steps to Fjellstua , the little mount that overlooks the town. 418 steps atomic number 82 y'all upward to the pinnacle , where they’ll sweat to accuse y'all 10NOK to larn a moving painting from the iconic viewing platform. We arrived earlier the café together with data pump had opened , together with took payoff if this past times jumping the fence.
Mist ascension off the mountains inwards the distance
The steps to Fjellstua
The MS Trollfjord was waiting for us when nosotros arrived at the port. The huge ruby-red , white together with dark cruise send was bustling alongside people when nosotros checked in. We were given a pair of printed plastic cards to access facilities onboard together with made our means to our tiny cabin. Quickly , I ready off to explore the magical boat. There were panoramic views from the forepart of the boat , alongside long windows stretching from flooring to ceiling. Paintings together with photographs depicting the Northern Lights adorned the walls. After sleeping inwards the woods for a calendar week , it was a welcome change.
It was the best atmospheric condition 24-hour interval we’d had inwards Kingdom of Norway together with then far , together with made for a perfect 24-hour interval viewing the Geirangerfjord. One of a handful of UNESCO-listed fjords , Geirangerfjord is oft touted as Norway’s most exquisite together with most visited fjord. Riding the iconic Hurtigruten past times flowing waterfalls together with betwixt tight stretches of impossibly tall mountains felt similar a dream.
The Seven Sisters - the folktale of this seven-streamed waterfall tells of 7 sisters who rejected the advances of a homo who forthwith perpetually drinks his sorrows spell they trip the lite fantastic toe downwardly the mountain.
The bottle of the lonely man
We alternated betwixt sitting inwards a cosy , warmly lit room alongside large windows , together with braving the air current on the top deck. As dark approached together with the crowds begun retiring to bed or to the eating theatre for late-night snacks , I took payoff of the empty deck together with climbed into i of the Jacuzzis. A pair of the bubbly pools sat exterior on the top deck together with the steaming H2O was a prissy contrast to the frosty air outside.
I stayed inwards the Jacuzzi for almost iii hours (until I was kicked out because they were cleaned together with covered at midnight) after assuring numerous other tourists that I wasn’t mutual depression temperature inwards the slightest. It was definitely surreal to live cruising past times snow-capped mountains on tiny islands inwards consummate warmth. We were northerly plenty that the Sun refused to ready together with I basked inwards perpetual sunlight.
The side past times side morning time nosotros had arrived at Norway’s one-time Viking working capital alphabetic lineament , Trondheim. Despite the mutual depression temperature together with the moisture , nosotros ventured out into the one-time town for a few hours to explore the streets together with see the famous cathedral , which is covered inwards ornate Gothic carvings on i face.
I stumbled upon around other Lush (typical) , spotted several Scottish pubs that made me immature adult woman Scotland , together with plenty of wonderfully one-time , decrepit buildings. When nosotros were planning our trip inwards Oslo , our AirBnB host advised us that Trondheim was quite a busy lilliputian urban nub , but that stopping off inwards Ålesund or Bodø would live better. We had to agree.
Ålesund had around extra charm together with a duo of mountains ascension upward from the urban nub , spell Trondheim appeared to emphasise plenty of delicious cafes. We were extremely tempted to halt off at i of the cute eateries , but knew that – inwards typical Norwegian fashion – they would live good out of our budget.
Several of the little islands nosotros past times had as little lighthouses perched atop them , which gave them a distinctly submarine-like appearance. The starting fourth dimension duo that I spotted , I exclaimed that they were submarines , together with Nicholas grabbed the camera. It was alone later on , as nosotros passed them inwards abundance , nosotros realised they were submarine-sized islands.
Despite the howling winds together with mutual depression temperature pelting , I made around other beeline for the Jacuzzi presently after 9pm. This fourth dimension Nicholas joined me , together with nosotros talked of plans to motion abroad , I complained nearly missing my truthful cat , together with nosotros caput within to rinse off only earlier 11pm , airheaded from the warmth.
At midnight nosotros were due to exceed past times an iconic Norwegian mount alongside a huge hole through its peak , formed past times the final H2O ice age. Due to the thick pelting together with fog , nosotros could hardly run into inwards forepart of us to a greater extent than than a few meters inwards whatever direction , together with then nosotros hurried dorsum indoors. To celebrate passing this mount (which I assume is unremarkably quite an affair) , they served us upward a local Toddy together with sour cream porridge , which didn’t gustatory modality much similar porridge at all.
