A Cruise up the Coast of Norway Part 1 of 4 - Bergen to Geiranger

Bergen - July 8

If only there had been more time!! Flying into Bergen I'm reminded of flying into Juneau, Alaska on steroids.  The town is scattered on hilly peninsulas, and the color of the water is a deep turquoise that is practically begging me to take a skiff out and rip through the channels.  But no.  Instead we have to hurry off the plane and over to the ship ASAP.  No time to browse the racks and pop into those to-die-for boutiques I'm seeing as we zoom past on the bus.  Ugh. Kind of annoyed but I'm not allowed to be upset since I'm about to cruise up the coast of Norway.. like OHH EM GEE!  

 

 

 

Oh how I'd love to go back and spend a month.  Bergen is the rainiest city in all of Europe, so it's no wonder I felt immediately at home as soon as I stepped outside.

 

Olden - July 9

 

As you round the corner into the fjord little houses are scattered and isolated with their farms sloping uphill. I’m wondering how do the people get there? I see no float planes and not very many boats?

We hoped off the ship and headed to a small café for some fresh apple cake and wifi! Great place to check email and catch up on Instagram!  We drove through the small town center following the turquoise water to its end winding through camp grounds and driving through tunnels.

There are approximately 500 people living in Olden  and they see about 400,000 visitors in their season.  Almost like a Skagway, small town with huge personality entertaining people by the thousands!

Briskdal Glacier is the largest in all of Europe! It’s a 45 min hike from the drop off point. It’s a hanging glacier and you can’t see much of it as it has melted substantially over the last couple hundred years. The souvenir shop and little cafeteria offer the BEST cake selection in all of Coastal Norway!!  Also, there is only one bank in town and they are only open on Thursdays! Talk about small town livin’!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hellesylt - July 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kayaking in Geiranger – July 10

 

There’s a little ice cream shop in the heart of the downtown which is a must do when sitting on the boardwalk people watching! There is a lot of camping going on. July is when most Norwegians spend time exploring their backcountry in small RVs and tents. The cute little downtown has a few shops, can definitely tell tourism is the main industry. Geiranger is hidden deep inside a fjord, hardly any marine life but evidence of old times peppered throughout. There’s a waterfall that runs through the center of the downtown with a staircase that runs along side of it bringing your to a lookout point worth viewing!

There are beautiful waterfalls like the Seven Sisters and Bridal Veil pouring down from the mountains above.

You can kayak along the coast from the town to a waterfall, its peaceful and serene and hardly any wake aside from a few boats heading out to deeper water to fish.  

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

What to Wear

This part of Norway is further south so depending on the weather, it can either be a day where you wear a light jacket and jeans, or if the sun is out you can get away with a dress, shorts, and a light top.  

For today's kayaking adventure I wore many layers, it started off raining and was wearing my outer rain jacket, which I eventually stripped off down to a t-shirt as the sun came out and the clouds lifted! 65 Degrees or so!

 

 

xoxo,

 

 UP NEXT:

ERMERGURD SHOPPING IN ÅLESUND - A CRUISE UP THE COAST OF NORWAY PART 2 OF 4