June 22, 2017



    The ship was cruising Hardangerfjord when we went to the Dining Room on Deck 2 for breakfast.  We sat with two ladies from California, who are part of a quilting group that has two meeting rooms reserved for their lectures and workshops on sea days. We had just finished breakfast when the ship sailed under the Hardanger Suspension Bridge.  There was a light drizzle and the temperature was 12 C.  We watched as the ship docked, some workers on the ship used  a devise that fired a gentle shot to lob the ropes to the men on the pier.
   The tour bus left the Eidfjord Cruise terminal for the first stop, Hardangervidda Nature Centre. We watched a panoramic film about Norway’s fjords, mountains and waterfalls. Then we walked through the centre, and watched the small trout in several of the aquariums. The nature centre is built on to the Hardanger Mountain Plateau which is Europe’s largest mountain plateau.
   Back on the bus we were driven through Måbødalen Valley with narrow waterfalls tumbling down the valley sides to the streams below. Along the route, there were four road tunnels of various lengths, some over one kilometer long.  There were sheep grazing in some of the fields.  We stopped for 15 minutes at Sysendam, the large rock fill dam built without the use of concrete.  It holds back a large reservoir of water used to supply water to a hydroelectric generating station that supplies one third of Oslo’s electricity. Over 96% of Norway’s electricity is producing from water. Again there was a little drizzle.
   The final stop was to see the Vøringsfossen Waterfall. It is 182 meters with a free fall of 145 meters.  A light rain started as we left the bus, heavy enough that people’s umbrellas were used.  The Fossli Hotel was built nearby in the 1880s as a place for tourists to stay since it took a day to reach the waterfall from Eidfjord. Even a rock staircase was chiseled into the rock in the late 1700s so people had access from the river to view the falls.  A paved road was finished in 1916.  In 2006, Vøringsfossen Waterfall was Norway’s most visited natural attraction.  The bus returned to the ship where we had a quick lunch.
   We were back exploring the small town of Eidfjord after lunch.  We walked past an old white wooden church built in 1309 and a modern red brick church.  They shared a well kept cemetery with granite markers and just about every grave had flowers planted by the headstones.  There is even a man living nearby who has a fiddle collection and will play for you sometimes.  His farm house is near the old church.  We strolled past the town hall, playground and an elementary school. In the newer part of town we saw a little robotic lawnmower moving about a half acre lot cutting the grass. Even some of the newer houses had turf roofs which can last for 50 years, while other homes had slate roofs with the tiles probably imported from northern Spain.  The information center Internet connection was close to capacity with crew and passengers trying to connect.  It was hard to connect to emails, but, to reply was not possible when 50 other people are trying to access their email accounts, too.
   We had cappuccinos when we returned and checked to see if the Canadian news letter had been produced – but not yet.   The satellite TV stations – MSNBC, CNBC, FOX News and BBC World News - were all out of service while in Eidfjord.
   As we enjoyed our dinner in the Pinnacle Grill, the ship left Eidfjord’s harbour to cruise Hardangerfjord back to the North Sea.  Like the main dining room, the waiter took our order on a electronic tablet.  We had a reservation for two included in our drink package so the meal was complimentary. As with the dinner two evenings ago with the group, we were served a “Chef’s Special” appetizer, which tonight was a large seared scallop topped with a dab of Pumpkin purée.   Our choices to start were Crab Cakes or Spinach Arugula Salad, followed by a seven ounce filet mignon and lamb chops both served with sautéed mushrooms and parmesan Brussels sprouts. Our desserts were Pinnacle Soufflé or Lemon Brulé Tart.  After we finished dinner, the ship was passing under the Hardanger Suspension Bridge which it had navigated under 11 hours previously.  The light on the funnel had to be dropped to allow a one meter clearance for passing under the bridge.
   As dinner was nearly over the captain broadcast that around 9:45p.m., he would be making a short detour into a side fjord to give passengers and crew a view of a waterfall that was at its peak capacity at this time of year.
   There were a lot of passengers and crew out on Deck 3 promenade, their balconies and Decks 9, 11 12 and 14 to get a view of the waterfalls.  The captain maneuvered the ship so that people had at least a ten minute view from both sides of the ship.  There was a bridge crossing in front of the waterfall.  The cars looked like ants.  We noticed two of the ship’s photographers with their professional cameras getting pictures of the waterfall from Deck 3.
   Tonight’s performer was a semi-finalist on Britain‘s Got Talent, singer, Andrew Derbyshire. 
Steps 17,633














Comments

  1. Anonymous9 July 2017 at 21:40

    These are great pictures. It must have taken some typing skill to type the Norwegian letters.
    Well done.

    ReplyDelete

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