In search of the Northern Lights

It's 10 past 10 and we're sitting in the Captain's Club cooling down after all the excitement. 

WE'VE SEEN THE NORTHERN LIGHTS!

OK, apparently they were a 3-4 on the scale (I'm assuming the scale goes to 10), but as far as I'm concerned 3-4 is an impressive start.

I have to tell you though, it was b****y freezing out there and the wind was strong enough to push people around.   We stayed as long as we could before the risk of frostbite set in. 

It was absolutely awesome. 

Olden, Norway

To be honest, Olden looks very similar to Eidfjord, except Olden is at the end of Nordfjord, and Eidfjord is at the end of, well, Eidfjord.   I think the reason the little towns look so similar is down to our untrained eyes.  We are not used to spotting the differences in the mountains and the "fingers" of the fjord.  It is no reason to be disappointed though, Olden is beautiful.

Our escort duties today were to go visit a glacier. It was one of the things Peter really wanted to see, and the fairy godmothers in the Shore Excursions team worked this one for him.  Thank you ladies.

The bus follows the river Olden through the village.  Due to the amount of rainfall West Norway has had over the last couple of days (the most for the last 200 years apparently), the rivers are overflowing.  The bus stopped for a photo break and so we could see the river close up.

Then it was on to Lake Olden.  Just beautiful, and you can just see the Melkevoll Glacier from here

 

This picture was taken through the window of the bus

The back into the bus for Briksdal Inn.  Here the buses stop and we were transferred to "Troll Cars" (8 seater buggies) to take us a fair amount of the climb towards the Briksdal Glacier.  You could of course walk this part of the tour, and many people did.  But for the less fit or able the Troll Cars are excellent.   There was a problem where part of the Troll Car route had been washed away in the recent downpours, but the intrepid Norwegians had come up with a transfer system to get the tourists past that bit.

Not the washed away bit, A waterfall en route. 

The Troll Cars can't take you all the way though.  There's a walk of about half a mile to get you to a decent viewing point.  And it's not an easy walk.  The path is rocky, cracked and uneven.  And there's a little bit of a climb to it.  But the view at the top is worth it.  Peter loved it and got as close as possible to the glacier.  I decided it could really only look good when you could see it all on one go, so I stayed back.   

We have been so lucky with the weather.  Rain was forecast, but it held off and we even got the odd patch of sunshine.  Awesome.

Unfortunately for a few of the passengers on my tour bus, the path was a little bit too much for them.   They never did quite make it to the top, and we had to hold the buses a little longer for them, so that once they'd got down, they could at least enjoy a coffee  from the Briksdal Inn. 

For anyone thinking of taking this tour by the way, save yourself for the cakes provided with the tea and coffee at the Inn (they're provided free as part of the tour).  They are GORGEOUS, and if you walked up to the Glacier, then you've easily earnt yourself at least three. 

Once we were back at the ship and had eaten lunch, Peter and I had an amble around Olden.  As I said, it's a beautiful little town.

A wooden church.  The Norwegians are mostly Lutherians it seems. 

Inside a wooden church - all wood, and wonderfully simple.

Tomorrow is a sea day. Peter will do his classes, and I will mebbe read a little more. Good innit?

Northern Lights Cruise - Eidfjord, Norway

We left Tilbury two days ago.  Yesterday was a sea day and Peter ran two painting classes.  Today is Wednesday and we were up early this morning, I wanted to see the fjord as we sailed in, and we were on deck just after sunrise (7.45).

And it's just as lovely as expected.  The mountains rise steeply from the water into the clouds.  Actually, these mountains aren't that high in truth, but they look it from the still water of the fjord.  Stunning

Peter and I had agreed to escort a tour to go see the Sysem Dam and the Voringsfoss Waterfall,  basically a bus trip with a couple of stops.  The scenery we drove through was absolutely stunning, and I regret my decision to be a good escort and sit on the inside seat of the bus.

The Dam was a little bit of a let down to be honest, I sort of expected a dramatic concrete structure I suppose, and it wasn't.  It might be 260ft high, but because of the way it's built of natural rocks and gravel, it's quite tame really.

The waterfall is not tame.

The bus took us to the Fossli Hotel just above the waterfall, with its fantastic views.

It's a shame the weather wasn't a little better, but then again, if it hadn't been raining for the last two days, we certainly wouldn't have seen the flow that we did. 

Then it was back to the bus to travel once again through the glorious scenery of Norway.   Sadly it was really raining now, and when we got back to the ship, we decided that despite the fact we had an hour's shore time left, it was far too wet.  So we went back on board for lunch

We did take a few pictures of Eidfjord from the ship though

Unfortunately, as the morning had progressed, I realised that the cold that I've been fighting off for weeks was having another go at getting the better of me.  With Peter still coughing as a leftover from his cold, and me with a drippy nose, we decided it was best to hide out in the cabin this afternoon and not breathe all over everyone else.

Amazingly, just about as quickly as it started, my drippy nose dried up at about 6-7pm, Spooky eh?   This was extremely convenient cos we needed to go upstairs for dinner in the Bistro.  I even felt it was safe enough to watch "Bruce Thompson, The Original One Man Band" from the back of the Marco Polo Lounge.   And I'm glad I did, it was an excellent show, full of fun and laughter.

Tomorrow we're in Olden, escorting again and off to see a glacier. Hopefully there'll be no more hints of colds or drippy noses.