June 24 - Skjolden Norway

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First: One item about Andalsnes. The second stop in our tour was for cake and coffee, but they had many Troll figures in various poses around the grounds. One of these figures (on a motorcycle) was included in the photos, but they weren't really explained in the text. Anyway, there were quite a few and this was just one example.

Now for information about Skjolden. We had such a late excursion that there just wasn't time enough to write a proper description afterwards, so this is actually a day later. We did get some photos for your enjoyment.

Our ship sailed in through the Sognefjord fjord and arrived at Skjolden at noon. We mentioned this fjord a few days ago, but now we have been to the longest navigable fjord in Europe. It took more than 4 hours to cover this 206 km fjord. Along the way we passed much beautiful scenery, so on the way back out David kept saying "this is probably my last photo of Norway", and then her took another one and said it again. Two of the main sights was the oldest stave church in Norway, and a waterfall where great billows of mist are in the air as the water crashes into the rocks. Anyway, we sailed into Skjolden and David got some pictures from the ship before we docked.

Our morning had been spent doing knitting and scenery viewing. It was a terrific way to spend the morning. We waited until the initial herd of people went ashore before we tried to get a light lunch - effectively avoided the crowds. We had a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza.

The population of Skjolden is only about 300 people, so there isn't actually very much "in town" to see. We waited on the ship, admiring the scenery and taking a few pictures. David got a good panoramic view of the fjord as seen from our balcony. Our excursion group was supposed to meet on the dock at 3:50, but we went down there about 3:15 and got a couple of chairs to sit and watch. There were actually 2 different groups scheduled for a 4:00 departure and they were milling around in some kind of line, but pretty unorganized. It reached a point where nobody was sure which end was the beginning and which the end. We had gone to what we thought was the end but was actually the start. A few of the people started complaining until one of the said that "all the handicapped people get to go first", so we stayed where we were. We did indeed get the front row seat on the bus. There were 2 buses, and each was completely full. We left about 4:15 and had a great drive through Norway.

Our guide told us a whole lot of Norwegian names, as he told us each village, country, waterfall, mountain, glacier, farm, and whatever along the way. We passed some sheep periodically on the side of the road, and David expected him to tell us each sheep's name. He was trying to give us lots of good information, but it all became just an unending list of names, so we will not try to tell you any of them. But the views along the way were terrific!

We left the port area and quickly drove out of town. There is a lake along the road where a house is perched 30 meters up the side of a pretty sheet rock wall. We cannot guess how they built it, but the owner was an author who wanted solitude while writing. He certainly found the perfect place, with a great view of the lake below and the fjord beyond.

Our bus followed one of the "national roads" up onto the mountains. It was so narrow that it looked like a single lane road. Anytime the bus met some on-coming traffic, one of them had to stop in any place that was a little wider and let the other squeeze past. Somehow, we made the whole trip and they were no accidents anywhere. It was pointed out that most of the cars/vans were from foreign countries and were full of tourists.

There was terrific weather today. When we left the port, the bus showed a temperature of 22, which is about 72 degrees. When we got to the top of the mountains, the temperature said 15, which is 57. It was sunny all day and there was hardly any wind at all. It was probably the best weather we have had anywhere on the cruise. Since this is our last day in Norway, it was quite a sendoff.

As the bus continued climbing the narrow mountain road, eventually climbing above the tree line, the views were much more vivid. Janet began to think it wasn't such a good idea having the front row seat. We had a great view down over the edge of the road plunging down into the valley far below, every time the bus made a hairpin turn.

Our first stop was at a scenic outlook high in the mountains. Janet stayed on the bus, but David got off and took some pictures. The photos do not properly capture the views but will simply be reminders to help jog our memories in the future. We could see the peaks of the highest mountains all the way down to the lowest valleys. We were delayed leaving because some of the people wanted to switch buses as they had not gotten in the same bus with their friends. It was crazy, but eventually we all got moving again.

As we drove high, we finally reached the level where the snow was still on the ground. We eventually got to a height of 1400 meters, which is more than 4500 feet up from sea-level. All along the way our ears would periodically pop from the changes in elevation. Our guide kept mentioning some of the places where there were training centers. David did not understand until we got to a snowfield where there were skiers practicing cross country skiing. They were part of the Norwegian ski team training for the next European games, and then for the Olympics. Our guide referred to this area as the Roof of Norway. Although we didn't see it, we were near the largest glacier in Norway, which is the largest in mainland Europe.

Along the way we crossed dams designed to save the water in the mountains that melts from the snow. Then in the winter, they can pipe it downhill to a series of hydroelectric plants when it would otherwise be frozen. Down in the lower levels he had pointed out how there was plenty of rapidly flowing water which drove a series of power plants in the lower regions. It didn't occur to us that the water supply would get interrupted during the long cold winters. This is a clever way to overcome that problem.

Our next stop was at a waffle house. Of course, it had a Norwegian name and it was actually a small hotel with a restaurant that catered to the skiers and other tourists. The tour had included a stop for a Norwegian waffle and coffee or tea. The waffles were served with a thin slice of Norwegian cheese, and a couple of scoops of whipped cream and strawberry compote. This far up in the mountains to must be pretty harsh in the winter and this portion of the road was only open from May-Nov. Anyway, the snack was very much appreciated because it was now after 6:00 - past our normal dinner time.

There was one problem. The area was covered in gravel and not pavement. And there was no ramp up into the restaurant but instead a rudimentary set of stairs. The bus driver didn't think Janet would want her walker, so it left it on the bus at first. Fortunately, someone from the hotel knew about a better set of stairs, with a rail, which was a challenge, but Janet was able to make it up and down, and back on the bus with some help.

We headed back the same way we had come and headed back down the mountain road. This may have been scarier than going up. It gave the same views to the people on the opposite side of the bus, so everyone got to see all the views. Unfortunately, the sun was still so bright, it made photos through the windows difficult because of the reflections. But we still got some to help jog our memories.

The final stop on our way back to the ship was a brief photo-op for a waterfall. It was pretty neat but what made it better was that there was some place for the bus to stop and let us off. We had seen others, but this was more convenient. There was also an interesting wooden carving of a foot. We asked the guide what the significance was and he said to was called "Hand and Mouth". That made no sense to us, but that is what he said.

Then we were back at the pier and on the ship. We were not the last ones on board because there was still another tour bus that needed to arrive, but we showed up at the pier 10 minutes after the "all aboard" time. Anyway, they waited for everyone before sailing.

We had missed our dinner time by several hours. Janet was too tired to go through the Horizon Court, so David went and got her some dinner and brought it back to the cabin. It turned our to be steamship round of beef with mashed potatoes and gravy. For dessert she had a big slice of chocolate cake. David had the same except for a slice of Red Velvet Cheesecake. We would have liked to go to the theater to see this evening's show, but we had missed the early show and we were too tired for the late show.

It was too late in the evening to write this description properly and didn't want to miss any of the interesting things, so we posted a few pictures and composed this the next morning. Thanks for being patient.

Joke: Why did the Sheppard get a ticket for bringing his sheep to town? Answer: He made a ewe turn.

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