This was our last fjord day and it turned out to be one of the very best. Another tiny settlement at the head of the world’s longest navigable fjord. Luckily, we’d managed to get on a bus tour, otherwise there was very little to see or do, though others did walk a couple of kilometres up the narrow road to a café.
The ship’s pier was a tiny structure, large enough for just one gangplank (we berthed on the port side) and we met at the Explorer’s bar. Just two coaches, doing the mountain trip.
This was a great run in bright sunshine (weren’t we lucky!) up into the impressive Jotunheimen National Park, to 1434 metres above sea level, through a series of very tight hairpin bends that would have been great fun in a Mini! On a brand new Volvo coach, there wasn’t an inch to spare on either side, on yet another single lane road.
We were first slowed by a group of skiers keeping fit by roller skiing – uphill. Getting past them wasn’t so easy.
We had several photo stops on this tour and our guide, Sabine, (from Germany!) was excellent.
At one stop, we had the opportunity to stand on snow, a new experience for many.
Just past the summit, we had a coffee and comfort stop. As is often the case, there was a queue (for the comfort stop) and by the time Paula managed to get her cup of tea, I was already on my second (warm) waffle, with strawberry topping this time - and sour cream. Waffles seem to be a Norwegian favourite and can be served with savoury toppings, including reindeer meat and a local speciality, brown cheese.
All along the roadside were long poles, marking the road edges and apparently, the snow ploughs are now guided by GPS. This section of the road is usually closed in winter.
At one point, there were skiers galore training on what looked to be a graded circuit/track. Graded by snow ploughs that is.
The sun was much warmer than we expected and people were peeling off layers, when we thought that we might be adding them.
Back at the ship, there was nothing to really see so we did what we usually do. We ate.
Somewhat surprisingly, for our siesta, it was too warm to relax on our balcony. A perfect day really and once again, we managed to vacuum pack some of the heavier stuff and pack it.
Our luggage tags for Saturday arrived so we can certainly see the end approaching fast.
Ding dong . “This is the Captain”. Oh deep joy. This usually heralds a hiccup of some sort. “As the Cowes/Isle of Wight yacht race is on Saturday, the main shipping lane will be closed from 5:30am to 7:30am. That means we will be arriving in Southampton at 6am instead of 7am. However, it means we have to leave Bergen promptly at 1pm instead of 2pm, so we will be arriving there an hour earlier, also 6am…”
As this is the shortest stop in the busiest place on the cruise, with shops not normally opening until 9am or 10am, some people were a little grumpy. There would be a free shuttle bus from the ship, but from our given map, notoriously hopeless, it didn’t look very far, with town a bit further away. We have no tour booked but would like to do the funicular railway. Will we have time?
Dinner was enjoyable as the table has settled down into some good humoured ribbing so we are now getting a laugh or two. For once, I am not the chief culprit.
Paula was once again eating very lightly as her systems seem to be affected by a change of diet a lot more than mine. I’m just eating too much… (Mainly the bread rolls at dinner, not to mention having a lunch as well as breakfast.)
We weren’t keen on seeing the entertainer, as she was on two weeks ago, but Huw and Pauline went. For our entertainment, we spent some time (but not long) with the Country and Western hoe down, before once again watching the same people throwing $100 bills into Princess’ coffers. One guy lost $200 in about 20 minutes (again). Reckless Roulette I call it. Nothing measured and no system, whereas another player was doing quite well. Paula lost her theoretical bet so opted to not pay for real.
So, just Bergen to go now, also our last formal night and the Captain’s top 40 passengers cocktail do; a day at sea then that is it.
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