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Published: February 29th 2020
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Our ship left Bergen last night at 9.30pm and we sailed through the night, stopping at several small ports along the way including Floro, Maloy and Torvik (these were just 10minute stops to drop off/pick up supplies).Waking up this morning, there was a fair bit of motion and we didn't rush getting out of bed. We hadn't been on a ship since our cruise of Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand in 2018, so I'd forgotten the feeling and needed to get my sea legs.
Our package included all meals in the Torget Norway Coastal Kitchen, and there was so much to choose from at the buffet. I'm not ashamed to say I had three breakfasts (and will probably eat as much for lunch and dinner too if the breakfast selection is anything to go by). Feel free to judge me, but I'm on holidays and my gym instructors were warned there would be plenty of eating and little exercise whilst I was away 😊
The first port we stopped at was Alesund (09:45am-1.30pm), which is the entrance to the Geirangerfjord. Known for its art nouveau architecture, many of the buildings have spires and turrets, and the town is surrounded
by mountains. With no excursion booked we set off exploring and came across an information board with a map highlighting some of the local attractions and one of them was a walk to Mount Aksla.
Known as the stairway to selfie heaven, if you want that picture perfect postcard view you need to climb 418 steps but there's plenty of seats along the way to rest or just take in the views. Half way up there's a glass cased viewpoint that protrudes from the mountain and you feel like you're floating in the air. The walk itself wasn't too difficult, but it's a lot harder to walk when you're fully kitted out in chunky hiking/snow boots and a million layers. Reaching the top, we were in awe of the panoramic views and it was hard not to take a hundred photo's. After enjoying the scenery for a few minutes, we made our way back down (which didn't seem to take as long) and returned to the ship.
The afternoon was spent catching up on my travel diary and watching the world go by, until we arrived in the next port of Molde (4.15pm-7:00pm). We'd had an announcement before
disembarking that it was quite icy, and to be very careful walking around. Luckily, we were prepared and had bought a pair of snow spikes in Oslo at a sports store next to our hotel. These were a bargain at 50NOK which is approx AUS$8, and once we told a few of the other people in our tour group, they all went in and bought a pair too. They are fitted to the sole of your boot and grip the snow/ice to prevent you slipping over. We saw something similar in the ship's store but they were selling them for 299NOK, so we definitely did well.
It was already dark and snowing in Molde, but we still got off the ship and had a wander around. Looking for anything worthy of a photo, I found a nice sculpture of a lady holding a basket covered in snow which will feature on my Postcards by Shaz Instagram/Facebook page - Greetings from Molde. Spotting a bar, Trav was keen to get out of the snow and have a drink so we spent a while at Rod Bara Bla before making our way back onto the ship.
Dinner is reserved seating
at 6pm, 6.30pm or 8.00pm at an allocated table where you're served a three course meal, whereas breakfast and lunch is open seating and buffet. I decided to buy a bottle of wine rather than just have a glass and it cost me
684NOK or
AUS$112, so it'll be just one glass with dinner and I'll be stretching out the bottle over the course of a few nights. Trav is paying
119NOK or
AUS$20 for a 600ml glass of beer - it hurts but who wants to go dry on a 11 night cruise!!!!
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Congratulations Shaz and Trav
Hi, You have nicely covered your travel logs. Wish you all the best with your travel. Keep us updated. We are a family and travel as a family as well. Lately, we have started a blog. We will be glad if you have a look and share your feelings with us and help us grow. Our domain: https://www.adventurerfamily.com Stay safe. Kind regards