Cruise Day 7 - Alesund, Norway

We arrived in the port of Alesund nice and early.

We then got on a bus and took a ferry across the Fjord there.

We were able to get off the bus and wander around the ferry and take in the landscape.

Again, it's another stunning fjord.

We then got to take a gondola to the top of Mt. Stranda.

Mt. Stranda is popular for skiing in the winter at 2,592 feet tall.

If you have a fear of heights, being in a Gondola on the way up the mountain may not be for you.

Leaving the Gondola, we climbed a bit higher over the very rocky terrain, and were just under the clouds and able to have a beautiful view.

There was still a patch of snow on the mountain.

Maneuvering amongst the rocks took quite a bit of balance work, as the rocks often shifted, some were slippery, and there were bits of moss and muck abounding.  

I definitely got a workout walking the mountain.  After some time sightseeing, we then made our way back to the Gondola station to take it back down and continue with the tour.

Since we had worked up an appetite on our trek up and down Mt. Stranda, the next stop was a feast.

It was an amazing buffet of traditional Norwegian food. Cooked salmon, gravalax, and much more, including many interesting local beverages to try.

The food was amazing, the desserts heavenly, and everyone was very well fed before they left.

We then toured Alesund, including the heights above it where the Germans had emplaced some bunkers in World War 2 and learned a lot of the hisotry of the town.

Sadly we weren't allowed to explore those, but we went to a promontory to view the town from above.

The tour guide gave an excellent narration throughout the day, covering the history and culture of the area.  She also noted that strawberries in Norway will be sweeter than strawberries we are used to as the northern climate encourages them to make sugar quicker.

So, after the tour ended, we wandered into a grocery store to buy some and test the theory.

We then walked to a park we had seen on the way and tried the strawberries.

The survey was unanimous that these were some of the best strawberries we've ever had, so her claim had definite merit.

It was a great day in Alesund and the area around it.

Cruise Day 6 - Geiranger

Geiranger means "Absolutely Stunningly Gorgeous Fjord" in Norwegian.  

Ok, it doesn't really mean that, but it should.

 

Yep, you could certainly be pining for the fjords with views like that.

We drove from Geiranger to a scenic outlook to take it all in.

We then went to a goat farm where they make the famous Norwegian goat cheeses, including the brown cheese.

This meant there were many baby goats around that got scritches.

 

Brown cheese is milk that is heated to an almost caramel level then pressed into a block.

 

The result is  very, very tasty, almost a candy rather than a cheese, full of energy, and lasts a good long time stored even unrefrigerated.

We also got to sample the variety of cheeses made on that farm, including their newest product, a cream cheese made form goat's milk  called Snofrisk.  It  tastes much better than you'd think it would and if you're lactose intolerant, this is the cream cheese for you.

 We also got to see a historic church and some historic houses.

Across the way from the church there's a mountain with three waterfalls due to snow melt.

We then took the twisting narrow road back to Geiranger.

Interestingly, Geiranger features in a Norwegian disaster movie called The Wave. I watched it prior to the cruise.

The Wave demonstrates what will happen when the mountain near the town has a big chunk break off and fall into the Fjord, leading to a quality disaster movie that's rather well done.

Interestingly, both the twisty road we were on and this hotel on the water's edge in Geiranger did indeed have a prominent role in the film, so riding a bus on that road and then walking by the hotel while visiting there was kinda neat. Thankfully no mountain-slides occurred while we were visiting.

To say Geiranger has amazing natural beauty would be an understatement. 

Truly a spot worth visiting if you like looking at absolutely breathtaking natural views.

Cruise Day 5 - Bergen, Norway

We arrived in the early hours at the port of Bergen, Norway.

Once part of the Hanseatic League, the port was an important trading center and retains some of its historic charm and buildings.

The wooden buildings there are now fashionable stores and museums about the Hanseatic League

 Lots of neat narrow alleyways full of shops, with wooden floors that make the sound be absorbed and your footfalls and voices sound rather muted.

 

Bergen is also the home of Trolls, and not the Internet variety.

Bergen is still very much a trading center with lots of wares for sale, mainly to tourists and its own residents now.

Yes, they do offer Elk, Reindeer,  and Whale (sorry Greenpeace) meat to eat and had free samples of each. 

A nice thing about Norway is the Norwegian Krona is .10 to the US dollar, so you lop off a decimal point to know what things cost, which makes it easy to figure it out.

I gave each of the meats try.  Explore different cultures, ya know.

First of all, eating Reindeer is, after all, revenge for grandma. It's tasty, too.

Second, it turns out Whale is really, really, tasty. It doesn't taste fishy but instead it tastes like really, really, good tender beef. Apparently, the meat comes from the Minke whale which is not considered endangered and is considered a delicacy in Norway.

We then took the funicular up the mountain, and riding it, as the name suggests, was rather fun as it goes up and down the mountain on a pretty sharp angle.

We got to the top and had a nice scenic overview of Bergen.

At the top, of the mountain, goats wander around, mixing with the visitors and occasionally standing still for some scritches.

 Yes, goats like scritches.

There was also a pretty waterfall on the top of the hill.

And some fun shops like this ice cream store:

We then descended the funicular.

 

After that, we meandered around Bergen, both the historic Hanseatic League area and the more modern areas of Bergen near to it, and then headed back to the ship after a very enjoyable day ashore.

When It Takes 7 Paragraphs To Get To The Lede . . .

You might just have a little media bias showing.

The Detroit News: Norway officials: Bow-and-arrow attack appears act of terror

It take 7 paragraphs into the story to get to the point that the killer was a Muslim and the mass murder was a probable act of terrorism, and  8 paragraphs to get to the point that he was known by the Norwegian police to be "radicalized", you may be trying to hide something.

Especially so when you get a dig at "right-wing domestic extremist" in the fourth paragraph.

Interestingly, an Islamist with a bow and arrow was able to simply walk around downtown Koningsberg and kill five people with alack of interference while doing so.

No calls so far for banning bows and arrows - yet.

One Very Snazzy Olympic Commercial

Sometimes a commercial can have multiple messages.

Norway's Olympics commercial is an outstanding case in point, and is awesome to boot:

Well played Norway, well played.