Parthemores in Poland

Previously on this blog:  Our heroes navigated the confusing and bike-addled streets of Copenhagen, parked the Skoda, and embarked on a two week cruise to the Land of the Midnight Sun: Norway!

Our first full day on the ship was actually spent at sea, sailing northward to Gieranger and the fjords.  While this might sound a bit boring, this provided us the time to explore the ship and to “get our sea legs.”  And by that I mean adjusting to eating 17 times a day. 

This ship, the Seven Seas Voyager, was large – it can hold around 700 guests and 400+ crew members.  It has 11 decks, four restaurants, three lounges, a theater, a gym, and probably a bunch more stuff we didn’t even find.  Despite this, many people assured us that the boat wasn’t “that big”.  More than a few people referred to the Oasis of the Seas, which will hold 5400 passengers when it is finally completed. 

When we woke up the next morning, we were in the fjords.  We had beautiful weather and beautiful scenery and it was absolutely breathtaking.  Gierangerfjord is a UNESCO world heritage site and considered one of the best places to visit in Norway.  The pictures do not do it justice.

This is next to the “Suitor” waterfall, directly across the fjord from the “Seven Sisters” waterfall. 

And if you think we just sailed on by them, oh no.  The boat stopped in the middle of the fjord and actually nosed up to the waterfall.  Check out how close the bow is to the shore:

At the end of this beautiful fjord is the tiny city of Gieranger, which is mostly just a tourist stop.  We took the opportunity to get off the boat, walk around town, not buy the junky souvenirs, and hike up to a waterfall. 

This helpful sign reminded us not to go in the waterfall:

But since it was all snow-melt, that would be pretty chilly.

Their road system into the town was impressive.  Check out all the switchbacks:

Here is their decommissioned snowplow:

Switchbacks + virtually no daylight in winter + ridiculous amounts of snow = some pretty tough driving.

So after we returned to the boat, we got to enjoy the whole fjord in reverse as we headed back to the ocean and farther north to Trondheim.