Blogs from Hellesylt, Western Norway, Norway, Europe

JULY16 HELLESYLT NORWAY This morning we awoke at 5 a.m. to witness our sailing the Geirangerfjord to the little village of the same name. We were here in 1980 and 1985 so we stayed aboard and cruised to Hellesylt where we arrived at 11 a.m.. the scenery was gorgeous (pardon the pun). The shore excursion started with the in town waterfall the head of the Storfjord. Next we drove through beautiful glacier topped valleys in Norangsdalen where there were many lakes to Leknes where we took a ferry across Hjorungsfjord to the little town of Saeba where there was an ice cream stop. Then we drove through fantastic views and tunnels to the towns of Orsta and Volda and then down the sides of the Voldsfjord and Austerfjord before going through a new 6 year old ... read more

Geiranger, 5th July. It took until 3:30 this afternoon to reach the town of Lom that we'd planned to travel to yesterday. We had no idea how windy, steep and wildly beautiful, full of photo ops the road would be. We also started the day with another short drive and then a hike to the impressive mass of Breen glacier. The drive up and over the mountains to Lom is rugged and dramatic scenery. Sun shone with snow and peaks reflected in lakes, views down valleys, short walks, and so 100km takes 4 hours! Lom itself was a super busy crossroads. Stocked up on supplies, visited the popular stave church with dragons on the roof beams, then took another scenic drive over another mountain. The weather changed as we left Lom with low rain clouds so ... read more

0629 – Zondag -Heidal – Geiranger – Heidal (260 km) Uitstapje richting Geiranger fjord. Langs Lom, typîsch Noors dorpje. Mooie oude houten Stafkyrke. Volop toeristische troef. Autobussen schuiven aan. Verder door richting Geiranger naar de Dalsnibba (het dak van Noorwegen) waar we vorige reis bijna niets konden zien wegens de dichte mist op die hoogte. Nog volop sneeuw daar. Dan verder door afdalen naar Geiranger langs de beruchte Trollstigen. Druk verkeer op die Trollenweg en zwarte wolken boven Geiranger in de diepte doen ons besluiten halverwege rechtsomkeer te maken. Zondag en vakantie, Geiranger stad waarschijnlijk ook overvol, en we hadden het al eens gezien. Doorrijden betekende ook minstens 300km extra om rond .de Jostedalsbreem en Sognefjell gletsjer te geraken, en daar waren we ook al eens geweest. Vandaar.... read more

Last year I lost a bet in NZ. Against all odds, it was bright blue sunny day in Milford Sound – one of fjord in NZ. Since then I’m “allegedly” a lucky person when it comes to vacation. Secretly, I kinda started to believe that. It was rainy for 5 days in Istanbul – there was only 1 sunny day – which was the day where I visited the tulip park that I’ve anticipated so much. It was rainy for 2 days in Furano Hokkaido, except for 1 day where I went lavender fields hopping. And it was sunshine all the way – in the South Island NZ for at least 7 straight days. So no wonder that for this trip, I secretly banking on my “alleged” luck. I know that Geiranger had 85% chance of ... read more

By the time we woke up we had already anchored off the shore of Hellesylt. Hellesylt is a small community that lies on Storfjord. This fjord starts at Alesund, Norway's largest fishing port and winds 50 miles before hitting Hellesylt. There are only 2 excursions scheduled at Hellesylt. The piers on Hellesyt are not big enough to accommodate a cruise ship so a tender service is provided. You could say that those who had a guided tour were taking the 'Fjord Escort!!!' Passengers not booked with an official tour were not allowed to disembark at this juncture. The ship would leave Hellesylt at approximately 11am and sail a further 10 miles to Geiranger where the Hellesylt tour parties would pick the tender back up. Refurbishment watch: The panoramic lifts have not been working since we left ... read more