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So this is going to be the entry for Norway, being as internet is sparse up here and its been afew days since we've had a decent connection.
We arrived in Stavanger to find that the world championships of beach volleyball were being held next to the ship, from our viewing decks we could see into the makeshift arena they had built. After every point they insist on playing a different song, and their CD collection comes from the 90's so lots of retro dance, mixed in with occasional lady gaga. Stavanger was a pretty nice little town, we didnt really do much besides eat pizza and look at the ship from lots angles (we moored in the middle of the town.)
The next day we arrived in Flaam. I couldnt get off as I was on IPM but I didnt care as the scenery there is something else. I saw it first thing in the morning dwhen there was mist surrounding everything and it really did look like something out of a film, you could mjust imagine gandalf riding down through the mist and fighting all the norwegian trolls. Most of my day was spent on deck, just trying to
take it all in, how green it is and the sheerness of the cliffs. The mountains still had some snow on the peaks which was melting into the waterfalls, so wherever you looked there was something else that was breathetaking. I thought this was amazing, but everyone told me to just wait untill Geiranger.
Geiranger wass the next day. If you look it up on wikipedia it says it is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I can really see why. The cliffs were twice as high, with more waterfalls than you could count. The little town was nestled in the bottom, with all the usual tourist shops. I didnt go around them though as we had arranged a bike ride. For £35 we were given a mountain bike, driven 17km up a road to the top of a mountain which was 1030m above sea level, and then told 'have fun guys, see you at the bottom'. The ride could have been done in half an hour, as its all down hill on amazing twisting roads, but it took us nearly 3 hours as every corner gave you another viewpoint or stream or snow hill or
something else to distract you. I dont think we rode for more than 10 minutes straight. Unfortunatley I had forgotten my cameras memory card and to charge it, so photos of me there are going to come from everyone else when I manage to get them. It was a good hour or 2 before we came in view of the ship. We had been told a certain viewpoint was the most famous photo in Norway, and I can see why. The whole experience was amazing, drinking water from mountain streams, offroad biking (sometimes), seeing waterfalls close up and only one of us fell off.
As we were leaving the port the most crew I have ever seen appeared on our two decks on the front of the ship and were there for atleast 2 hours. We went past a famous waterfall called 7 sisters, and many old farms stuck on the hillside. I cant put all the photos on facebook as there are far too many, so people will have to ask me to see them when I get back if you want. Even the captain could be seen on the bridge taking it all in.
Today we are in Bergen, one of Norways biggest cruise ports. It seems to be just like most port towns, with the exception that everything is 3 times more expensive than the rest of the world. I did get myself some norwegian scampi though, just to taste proper fish rather than the usual stuff. As Dan and myself were walking through a square we saw an american street performer, so stood and watched. We only intended to be there for 5 mintues, but just before I could say lets go the performer pointed me out and asked me to help with the act, which had me standing there holding some rolling contraption for 15 minutes, but it was a good laugh.
We're heading back to the ship soon, and back to southampton. I can really say I want to come back and explore Norway one day, as theres far too much to take in over a week, even 2 or 3 probably wouldnt be enough.
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