Wednesday – Geiranger

The Commodore had told us to be out on deck by 5:45, so we set the alarm for 5:15. And 5:15 came very early. It was already quite light outside since sunrise was at 4:05. It was overcast and windy but not raining. I put on just about every layer I had: jeans, wind pants, long sleeve shirt, fleece pullover, jacket, and fleece vest over that, along with my scarf, new fleece headband and gloves. It sounds like a lot of clothes but I was warm enough without being too warm.

There were lots of people out on deck, including a lot of the crew, who were as excited as we were since it was also their first time seeing this area.

There was a coffee/hot chocolate service set up on deck 10 forward, just behind the plexiglass wall, and that was very nice and very popular. There were also crew members serving breakfast pastries and warm sausage and egg breakfast sandwiches. Those disappeared quickly any time someone came out with a new platter of them!

We passed by the Seven Sisters waterfalls on the port side and a larger waterfall, called “The Suitor” or “The Bachelor” on the other. The sisters are the more famous, but I thought the larger fall on the starboard side was more impressive.

Geirangerfjord is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s 9.3 miles long and over 800 feet deep. As we went further in the channel grew narrower, and we saw more waterfalls and mountains. It gets overwhelming – beauty everywhere you look!

There was just a tiny patch of blue in the sky, which I hoped would be a promise of things to come, but it was just a tease. The day ended up being overcast.

Finally we could see the town of Geiranger. Commodore Tom sounded the “Mickey horn” twice as we approached. The echoes were very impressive, but since it was only about 7:00 I’m not sure the residents appreciated it very much. 🙂

We were moored in the bay and not at a dock and I thought we were going to have to use tender boats (as the ship that had arrived before us was doing) but instead they brought the “Sea Walk” out to us: a nifty floating dock. Really interesting to watch it move into place!

It was only around 7:30 and we weren’t meeting for our excursion until 9:30, so we went up to Cabanas for breakfast. It was quite busy up there, especially since everyone wanted to sit inside – quite chilly outside with the wind. We shared a table with a couple who are travel agents and they gave us some suggestions on destinations and cruise lines to try next. (We love Disney, but the itineraries are limited.)

Our excursion for the day was a hike to the Storseterfossen waterfall, and then to a farm for some more Norwegian waffles. There were 42 in our group, plus the two guides, Rico and Unita. We took a bus up the hill to the start of the trail, which was a gravel road for the first 1/2 mile. Lots of flowers in bloom in the pastures we went by.

Eventually we went through a gate and onto a real trail. Quite a bit of it was stone steps. It was starting to drizzle off and on and I was a little concerned about the steps being slippery, but they weren’t. (This photo was taken on the way down.)

We were going through pasture land, and we saw some sheep. Though we could hear them before we could see them, thanks to the bells they were wearing.

This was a much more challenging hike than I had expected – the trail was a fairly steep uphill for about 1-1/4 miles. It was no problem for us, and I was happy to get a good cardio workout! Our guide told everyone to go their own pace and let anyone who wanted go ahead – we took him up on that offer!

We were the first ones to the top, with a (much) younger couple right behind us. 🙂

There was a path down to the waterfall, and we could go behind it to see the back side of water. And I think we found what happens to solid water when it gets warm…

It had started to rain, and it was actually drier behind the fall than up above! We talked to our guides a little bit. Neither of them is from Norway – he was German, and she was from Estonia. They said less than 200 people live full time in Geiranger, but about 850 come in for the summer to support the busy tourist season.

We went back down the same trail to the Westeras Farm where we had Norwegian waffles and coffee/tea in the old barn building. It was really raining when we left the farm – we both put on our rain pants and jackets, and those kept us dry.

We walked about 10-15 minutes to an overlook of the fjord where we could see the Disney Magic far below us.

Along the way we passed a field that had llamas in it – they protect the sheep and goats from predators like foxes. (I got extra credit with Rico for knowing they were used for protection. 🙂 )

The rain had slowed to a mist by the time we started back to where our bus would pick us up and take us back to the dock. We enjoyed this excursion, though it would have been great to have a clearer day.

Instead of going back to the ship we went into town. First stop was the Geiranger Sjokolade shop for some chocolates made in Geiranger! I wanted to stuff some chocolate in my face…

The shop was very busy. They have interesting favors like Aquavit, whiskey, passion fruit, cloudberry, and something called brown cheese, which is like a soft filling, more like a caramel fudge. (Norwegian brown cheese, or brunost, is made of boiled goat’s milk, cream, and whey. The sugar in the milk caramelizes from the heat, giving it the sweetness and the brown color.)

Then we went up the Fossevandring, or “Waterfall Walk”. There’s a large cascade of water that flows through town, and there’s a series of stairs and ramps along the lower half. It’s new – it only opened last year so it’s not in most of the guidebooks yet. I found mention of it on Trip Advisor, and our Cruise Director had mentioned it as an activity, also. It’s a public walkway so it’s free and there were a lot of other people on it, too. It ends at the Fjord Center, and there is a charge to go in there.

It was getting late in the afternoon and we were chilled and tired – and it was still drizzling so we headed back to the ship. We found a place on the pier to get some photos of the Magic with the walls of the fjord as a backdrop. Oh for a little blue sky over the mountains…

When we boarded there was coffee, hot chocolate and chocolate chip cookies waiting for us just inside – so thoughtful! We had a couple of cookies on the way to our stateroom where we changed out of our damp and muddy clothes and shoes. And then we went to Cove Cafe to enjoy some adult hot beverages! We really missed the enclosed expansion of Cove Cafe to deck 10 that they have on the Disney Wonder…that would have been a very heavily used space on this cruise! As it was, the existing Cove Cafe was quite popular, as there were lots of adults on this cruise.

We left port a little after 5:00. Of course the weather had started to clear a little by then! No sun, but it was brighter and had stopped raining. Before we left, Commodore Tom told us that in our honor the town would be shooting off some dynamite. Ummmmm…ok? He hurried to assure us that it would not be directed AT us. (One of my Facebook friends suggested that this was retaliation for the 0700 Mickey horn. 🙂 )

We sat on our verandah and watched the fjord go by – it was great! We were sheltered from the wind and had a lovely view of the Seven Sisters. And then it was time to head to dinner.

After dinner we went to the Walt Disney Theater for that night’s show – a group they had brought aboard for this cruise: The Magic of Light featuring eVolution Dance Theater. They had been featured on “Italy’s Got Talent.” They did dance routines to Disney music while wearing lighted costumes, where the lights on the costumes were also choreographed to the music. There were some parts that were intriguing, but it wasn’t that compelling and we were both falling asleep in some parts.

At some point during the evening I found the next three “Chocolate Chase” symbols.

It had been several long days, and I was exhausted and in bed by 9:30. After three busy port days in a row we really could’ve used the sea day the next day, rather than another port day. Commodore Tom had encouraged us to get up at 6:00 the next morning for the sail in to Bergen…but we didn’t have an excursion in Bergen so I was looking forward to sleeping in. I wasn’t very enthusiastic about yet another early morning, but Lee set the alarm anyway.

Coming Next: Bergen