There's Norway You Will Want to Miss This!

Bryan Johnson
Sep 25, 2023
10 min read

On the morning of Monday, September 11th, we pulled into Alesund, Norway; our third new country in nearly a week! Katie and I didn't have a scheduled excursion during this port visit, so we got off the ship shortly after we moored at 11:00 am to see what we could stumble across.

ARK Kremmergaarden Ålesund

Our first stop of the day was at Ark, a Norwegian chain bookstore, for a copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in Norwegian! After finding a cheap copy (paperback for the win!) we went back out to face the torrential downpours of western Norway.

B. Rongve

Directly catty-cornered from our bookstore was a large gift shop named Rongve. After dealing with our crappy umbrellas, Katie and I decided to splurge on some nice rain jackets; after finding a couple of nice Scandanavian Explorer (a Norwegian brand,) we were ready to deal with whatever this climate could throw at us!

Byrampen Viewpoint: Byrampen Utkikkspunkt

Donning our new rain jackets, we made our way up to an observatory to get some pictures of the town and the ship! While it poured rain, Katie and I climbed all 400 stairs to the top to the city overlook. At the top, there was a slight pause in the rain- just long enough to set up our phone for a few photos- before the torrential downfall continued.

Tafjord Kraft Varmebenker

After taking in some great views of the city from above, we stopped by the major canal cutting through town, Alesundet, to grab some pictures of their beautiful colored buildings.

After exploring a little bit of the streets and numerous photo-ops of great views and a few trolls, we made our way back to the ship for lunch.

Ålesund Church: Ålesund Kirke

After lunch and a few drinks, the rain subsided, so Katie and I decided to head back out to town to walk around and explore a bit more. The main highlight of our exploration was Alesund Church, which was built in 1909 and whose large stone belltower sticks out amongst the rest of the city's skyline.

Following a few more hours of exploration, Katie and I grabbed dinner back on the ship at Indulge Food Hall. This restaurant is unique because it offers a wide array of food choices from pasta, Texas-style BBQ, Indian cuisine, soups, Asian noodles, and a dessert bar. The really cool thing was that you ordered everything on an iPad and then someone would bring it to your table a few minutes later. Katie and I's favorite dishes were the pesto parmesan gnocchi and the chicken tikka masala with garlic naan.

After dinner, we made our way to the Lookout Bar on deck 17 forward. This semi-circular bar offered a great view of Alesund lit up at night and was the perfect place to grab a drink and read for a few hours before watching us sail away! Katie and I called it a night as we left Ålesund so we would be ready for our first shore excursion tomorrow morning!

Tuesday, September 12: Geiranger, Norway

On the morning of Tuesday, September 12, Katie and I made our way down one of Norway's many famous fjords to spend the day in Geiranger.

Geiranger

Geiranger is a small town in western Norway with a population of less than 250 people and its major source of income is tourism. Approximately 160 cruise ships make their way down Geirangerfjorden every year to visit the small town (Gei-ranger means "arrow-shaped fjord in Norwegian!) This town only has one policeman and no doctors; there is a doctor who comes to town every Wednesday and the closest hospital is over 100 km away (60+ miles!) Fun Fact: the scene in the most recent Mission Impossible movie (Dead Reckoning Part 1) where Tom Cruise drives a motorcycle off the side of a mountain was filmed just a few miles up the fjord in the nearby town of Hellesylt.

Flydalsjuvet

After meeting up with our tour bus in what felt like the only parking lot in town, we boarded our ride and made the journey up the mountain road to the east of town! Along the journey to our first viewpoint of the fjord, Flydalsjuvet, we learned from our tour guide that the road we were traveling on was built by hand and completed in 1889. The road usually closes in early autumn after the first snow of the season and won't reopen until early May; the road apparently cannot reopen until an avalanche clears the snow off the mountain every year. Living in a place where large avalanches are inevitable kinda freaks me out.

After learning a bit about the road and history of the town, we made it to our first viewpoint for the day where we had some awesome views of the fjord and of the Norweigan Prima down below!

Dalsnibba Utsiktspunkt: Dalsnibba 1500 moh (Viewpoint)

We jumped back in the bus and continued up the mountain where we passed by numerous abandoned farms and even an actual glacier. Our guide told us tons of local stories about trolls and "invisible people" who lived under the ground and inhabited these abandoned farms.

After half an hour of climbing, we made our way to the HIGHlight of the day (I know, awful pun.) Our next stop was at Dalsnibba Utsiktspunkt, which stands approximately 1500 meters (4900+ feet) above the fjord. When we got off the bus, we were greeted by big, beautiful snowflakes falling from the sky. I could barely contain my excitement for the precipitation as Katie tried to hold in her disgust for the cold.

We made our way over the viewpoint of the fjord where clouds were blocking our view. After walking around the gift shop for a few minutes and enjoying a hot chocolate, we went back outside to see that the clouds had parted and we could see our ship down below! It was super awesome to be standing amongst the clouds, looking at fjords and glaciers all around us while it snowed! A true winter wonderland!

Djupevatn

Our next stop on our tour was Djupevatn, a glacier lake nearly 1,000 meters above sea level! The beautiful teal waters with the huge mountains and glaciers in the background made for a great photo opportunity. Katie and I even took this as an opportunity to rehydrate with the crystal-clear glacier water, while spotting the smallest trees in the world, the dwarf willow, covering rocks nearby. This tree grows to a mere 1-6cm in height and can only be found in subarctic climates!

After reboarding the bus, our tour guide informed us that during the wintertime, the snow would be level with the roof of the building you see in our photos; this building is now a small restaurant and gift shop but was previously used as a barracks for road-builders in the early 1900s.

As we made our way back down the mountain, we were treated to great views of waterfalls and blue skies!

Ørnesvingen Viewpoint: Ørnesvingen Utkikkspunkt

Our next and final stop of the tour was Ornesvignen Viewpoint, which gave us amazing panoramic views of Geirangerfjorden. The road we took to get to this viewpoint is called the Eagles Road; this road was built in the 1960s and is the road that connects Geiranger to its largest local city, Alesund! (Yep, that's the city we visited yesterday- not that large!)

After our tour, we were dropped off back in Geiranger, where Katie and I decided to make our way back to the ship. Along the way, we stopped to taste some famous Norwegian brown cheese. This cheese is created after extracting all of the cream & butter from the milk. Then all that is left is whey, which they boil down to caramelize the lactose and create this brown, soft cheese. The cheese was really good and we definitely wish we could've bought more, but unfortunately, we can't bring dairy products onto the ship (darn you international customs!)

Storfjorden & Seven Sisters Waterfall: Knivsflåelvane

At 4 pm, the ship pulled out of Geiranger, so Katie and I found a spot at an outdoor bar so we could enjoy the views of the fjord as we departed. Along the way out, we spotted the Seven Sisters Waterfall, which our guide mentioned to us early during our bus tour; apparently, only four of the sisters are present because all of the snow from last season had already melted.

During this scenic departure from the fjord, Katie and I met some fellow cruisers who we enjoyed chatting with at this outdoor bar. One guy, Peter, was in his 60s and has traveled all over the world! We enjoyed chatting with him about Asia and getting his European adventure recommendations, while also chatting about his home in San Diego! (Katie agrees with Peter that San Diego has the best weather in the world- I gotta' say, that snow earlier today made me miss seasons though!)

After bracing the cold and spotty showers for a few hours, Katie and I made our way inside to warm up for dinner! Following dinner, we went to see Norwegian Prima's Broadway production Summer: The Donna Summer Musical. Katie and I weren't impressed, so much so that we decided to sneak out early and utilize this time as an opportunity for some extra shut-eye before our next port call in Bergen, Norway tomorrow.

Wednesday, September 13: Bergen, Norway

On Wednesday morning at 8:00 am, we were greeted by bright sunshine and beautiful blue skies for our day in Bergen, the second largest city in Norway (only behind Oslo, their capital.) After breakfast, we disembarked the ship and headed straight to a Starbucks where we grabbed a Norway travel mug to add to our collection!

Bryggen Hansa Quarter: Hansakvarteret Bryggen

After hitting the Starbucks, it was time to explore the city before our scheduled excursion at 12:30 pm. Our first stop was to Bryggen, which directly translates to English as "dock;" this area is a UNESCO World Heritage site that dates back to 1070 AD. Unfortunately, this area was largely destroyed by a city-wide fire in the early 1700s but was quickly reconstructed. This colorful wharf rebuilt over 300 years ago is currently being revitalized because the original wooden foundation it was built on was rotting, causing the buildings to lean and fall apart. This area now serves as a tourist hotbed with numerous gift shops and art stores. Katie and I loved the cobblestone streets, with the narrow wooden alleyways; we got some real Diagon Alley vibes from the views (for our Harry Potter fans out there.)

Bergen Segway

After some self-guided exploration, we were finally ready for our excursion: a city tour via segway! Katie and I had never been on a segway before, but with our love for ripping around on our scooter here in Spain and our adventurous spirit leading us to try something new, Katie knew this was an opportunity we couldn't pass up.

After 15 minutes of practice in their warehouse, we were ready to hit the streets. For those who haven't been on segways before, you control your speed entirely with your ankles. You push the balls of your feet down in order to go forward, and in order to stop and reverse, you put more weight on your heels. To turn, all you have to do is push the handle left or right, like a joystick.

Bergenhus Fortress: Bergenhus Festning

The first stop on the tour was Bergenhus Fortress, a stone castle built in 1240 AD; unfortunately, our tour guide was extremely soft-spoken and had a thick Norwegian accent making it difficult to understand him, so I don't have many interesting facts to share about this stop.

Nordnesparken ballbinge

After cruising for about 20 minutes through the city, we came to Nordnesparken Ballbinge where we had a great overlook of the ship in the sound.

Julemarked Byparken

Our next stop was at Julemarked Byparken, a beautiful green pack adjacent to a large pond with a lovely fountain. Our tour guide informed us that there are many museums around the pond, but unfortunately, we didn't have much time following the tour to visit them.

Tollbodallmenningen

Next, we headed our way up into the hills to get some good scenic views of the city from up high; along the way, we traveled up some extremely windy roads; think a miniature version of Lombard Street in San Francisco.

Skansens Bataljon & Skanseguttenes Forening

After traveling for nearly 10 minutes straight uphill, and being thankful we signed up for a segway tour and not a walking tour, we finally made it to an awesome overlook of the city of Bergen. It was very picturesque with the cityscape, mountains, and Bergen Harbor!

After making the trek down some narrow cobblestone streets, we turned in our segways and made the 30-minute walk across town back to the ship! We both agreed that the tour itself wasn't very enlightening, but riding a segway was well worth the adventure! If segway tours are an option in future cities, then we are definitely splurging on this fun transportation option!

Once onboard, Katie and I made our way to the pool deck to watch us depart. As we left Bergen, we sailed underneath a bridge, and I felt like we only had a few feet of clearance before we scraped the bottom of it with the go-cart tower.

We later enjoyed a sunset dinner at Hudson's and were serenaded by the guest singer, Heidi Karlsson, who sang numerous Broadway hit songs. She sang numerous tracks from Wicked, Phantom, Les Miserables, and even a few Disney Classics from Frozen! She was incredibly talented and even sang a few songs in Italian and in her native language, Swedish. Heidi was by far the best performer Norwegian had on the ship! We were happy we got to enjoy both her shows while on board!

Thursday, September 14: Day at Sea

Katie and I started our day at sea by going to an hour-long lecture by the General Manager of the ship, Marc. Katie and I knew we weren't going to be able to accomplish everything we wanted to while in Amsterdam for just a few hours, so we took this as an opportunity to do some trip planning for when we visit the Netherlands in the future. He provided a very interesting history of the country and the city of Amsterdam, as well as numerous important landmarks and museums to visit while we're there.

Fun Fact: Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands as set by their Constitution, but The Hague, located 30 miles south of Amsterdam, is actually the seat of the Dutch government.

Another fun fact: Holland is not another name for the country. Amsterdam lies in the province of North Holland and The Hauge is in the province of South Holland. The two provinces together make Holland; the name of the country is the Netherlands, but you will notice that a lot of the souvenir shops thrive off this misconception, as we found tons of items saying "Holland" instead of "Netherlands!"

During the day Katie and I enjoyed lunch at Surfside Buffet, a few hours in the hot tub (naptime for me,) and some trivia!

After a relaxing day, we ended our evening at Hasuki, a teppanyaki (Hibachi) restaurant aboard the Prima. Katie and I had the option of choosing between a sit-down meal at either a French, Mexican, Italian, or Japanese-themed restaurant as our "priemium" meal option during the cruise. Since Katie and I miss Japan so much, we settled on Hasuki where Katie and I enjoyed steak, chicken, shrimp, and a disgusting amount of fried rice. It was a great way to end the evening, reminiscing on some of our amazing times in Japan.

And for those worried about the pups back home, don't fret! Their sitter, Ms. Jessi was absolutely amazing! She took them on two long walks every day, gave them plenty of time to run around the yard, and even kept us updated with pictures and videos of her visits. I mean, look at those smiles! These dogs may not want us to come home after all. Traveling is much easier knowing that they are well taken care of while we are away!