June 15, 2017

   This morning was cloudy, but high clouds, there was very little wind and the temperature was probably about 12 C but the ship’s satellite connection was unavailable for the TV home page weather report.  There were a few brief patches of sun later in the day.  Just a light jacket was needed for a pleasant walk around the town.

   Our leg muscles reminded us this morning that we had walked down almost three kilometers of trail yesterday.  However, after a good night’s sleep, my energy level is almost back to normal. Later in the day we found the climb up staircases easy, but the climb down was a little painful.

   Geirangerfjord has been designed a UNESCO World Heritage site and it is considered one of the most beautiful fjords in the world.  The surrounding snow capped mountain tops have treed gentle slopes, while the steeper slopes are bare rock, where waterfalls abound.  The most famous series of waterfalls are a short distance west of Geiranger, which the ship passed about 30 minutes before anchoring this morning and again as we departed late this afternoon. They are called De syv søstrene (“the Seven Sisters”) and Friaren (“the Suitor”) which are opposite each other.  The Seven Sisters is a series of seven falls, of which three are easily detected.  The other four watrefalls could be just trickles later in the season after the snow caps have melted. A few minutes further west is Brudesløret (“the Bridal Veil”) on a curve, which in the afternoon when the sun is shining as the mist rises, it looks like a fine bridal veil.

   As we finished breakfast, an announcement was broadcast to say that there was no line for taking the tender boats to shore, so we were able to arrive at Geiranger’s dock before 10 a.m.  As the tender boat approached the dock we noticed the SeaWalk pontoon walkway folded into the pier and wondered why it had not been used for our ship.  

   We did not book a shore tour and wandered through one of the gift shops then found the Information Center to try to connect at the Wi-Fi hotspot.  The Internet speed was very slow.

  Geir means spear in Old Norse.  In the gift shop we saw a great variety of products decorated with trolls, moose and Viking ships, as well as beautiful fine wool sweaters in Nordic designs starting at $120 Cdn.  There were also a variety of gloves, mittens, scarves, toques and capes.

   We decided to walk up to the Norwegian Fjord Center, via the narrow highway, walking along the half meter wide tarmac edge encountering five hairpin turns. It was fascinating to watch a bus and a RV going in opposite directions on the same curve, both extremely slowly.  On the way up, we stopped at the white wooden octagonal church, Geiranger Kyrkje. It might hold 200 people.  The grounds have a great view of the harbour.  We watched as the Thompson Celebration sailed in and maneuvered into place to be able to be in position for the SeaWalk pontoon walkway to be extended out to the ship. Being a smaller ship, the Celebration was better suited to anchor closer to shore than the Koningsdam.  During the 45 minutes, from when the Celebration came around the curve to the harbour and the SeaWalk was positioned, we watched as the six Koningsdam tenders transported passengers to shore, taking about 20 minutes for a round trip. 

   We continued our walk up the highway and could hear the thunder of the waterfall from a distance.  I’m not sure the name of the source waterfall that feeds the tumbling cascade below the Norwegian Fjord Center.  We could see the source waterfall far up the 1600 meter high Mount Dalsnibbba.  We were able to descend a series of ramps and stairs along the waterway, getting so close at times that a fine mist rose to cover the railings. All you could see was a swirling white curtain of water with hints of blue tumbling and eddying over 500 meters as the part we could see plunged to the harbour.  At the bottom of the descent we were in the town, so we turned around and climbed the 331 stairs back to the top to return to the Norwegian Fjord Center, where several busloads of Koningsdam passengers were enjoying the view and staircase along the rushing water course.

   With 5,329 steps already walked, we decided to walk back along the highway, even though we had found two shortcuts.  As we came to the town’s outskirts there were several sheep grazing in a small meadow.  Along the hillside were lovely wild flowers and people’s garden’s contained pink rhododendrons and light purple lilacs.  We stopped for kaffe and Svele at Café Olé. Svele is a Norwegian pancake served with strawberry compote and whipped sour cream, which is not as tart as Canadian sour cream.

    There was no line up to board the tender to return to the ship for lunch on the Lido Deck 9.  After lunch, we climbed up to the Explorers Lounge for Caramel Lattés.  Then we went back to the cabin to write up the blog and do crosswords and sudokus until 5 p.m. sail away.

   The sun broke through for a few minutes as the ship passed the Bridal Veil Falls and then we noticed rain drops falling on the glass smooth fjord waters.  Being on sheltered Promenade Deck 3, we stayed dry.  As the ship passed the first curve going west from Geiranger, we were directed to the port side to look at the cliff side and see that the rock was naturally chiseled into a face, which legend says is the protector of Geiranger.

   We joined a couple from Aruba for dinner.  They have been travelling in The Netherlands and Germany for the four weeks preceding the voyage.  Our choices this evening were appetizers of Lemon Shrimp Salad or Seafood Broth followed by Lamb Chops with mashed potato, cooked carrots, asparagus and squash or Chili Prawns. We finished with Espresso Ricotta Cannoli or Pina Colada Cake and Velvet Beauregard Cordials.

  The show tonight featured the ship’s singers and dancers in a show called “1000 Steps”.  The songs were familiar and the dancers strutted recognizable ballroom steps. After the show, we were happy that our tried muscles only had to take us down one flight of stairs.  Larry stopped at Guest Services to get a copy of the day’s newsletter which had been delayed because of the unavailable satellite Internet.

   At 9 p.m. the temperature had risen to 19 C.

   Each evening after the room steward has turned down the bed and left tomorrow’s schedule of events, there is a towel creation of a different animal each evening.

 Steps 13,590