North of Bergen and in the Nutshell travel zone is the city of Alesund (OH-leh-soont), built on a scattering of islands connected by bridges and underwater tunnels and is extremely attractive. The population is 52,000. The busy streets do get crowded when multiple cruise ships dock. We spent most of our time in the compact town center that is divided by the waterway called “Bridge Straight.”
Great Breakfast
We arrive by ship at 10:00 am and head to another Thon Hotel. We wanted to just store our luggage until check in at 3:00 pm and go our way. But, what is a nice attribute of the Thon brand is they will early check you into an available room. This is the second time Thon has accommodated us on the trip. Not usually done in European hotels-them rules are the rules. Thon also directed us to a classy, nice café, Raccoon; where we had morning coffee and sweets, and the location of a luggage store. The cobble stone walkways won out, and Janet’s suitcase wheel is broken. We followed up with luggage repair store, no luck, then we decided to “MacGyver ” the wheel with superglue—another shopping spree for glue. This took some valuable time. In any event, moving on…
Alesund, like every Norge town it seems, has been subject to massive fires that destroy everything and the devastating 1904 fire forced almost complete rebuild. The development of this gorgeous small city followed the popular European Art Nouveau style. We enjoyed strolling the city core and waterfront embankments. We did join a group walking tour that was a bit disappointing but did introduce us to the neighborhood patterns of city and park.
Later in the afternoon the sun shined, and we climbed the path leading through the park to the classic Mount Aksla viewpoint. Since the cruise ships had left the crowd was light, but we got tired ascending, until we caught our second breaths. Nice postcard views.
Next day, still in Alesund, we signed up for the “Norway in Nutshell” boat/bus tour with guide. We traveled to the famous Geirangerfjord, nine mile long and 2000-foot-deep fjord.It was beautiful, but our weather luck did not last and we had low hanging fog for most of the the trip, preventing us from seeing the full gorges. The crew did its best to explain the sights and points of interest, like the red shed fishing settlements, scattered farms or waterfalls. We passed groups of kayakers, and the flat boulders that past kayakers have etched with writings.
We docked in Geiranger Town, where its harbor front is bustling with crowds from a large cruise ship. As well, there seems to be a lot of vehicle traffic. It is a launch point for excursions and hiking. It is also a popular camping destination that sits beside a narrow, fast-moving river. We saw many young families and oldsters alike were parking trailers or pitching tents in the local campground. We do a quick hike to the local waterfall and then get snacks and wait to join the panoramic bus part of the experience
We board our large bus for the main attraction; the “Trollstigen” or Troll Ladder Road between Geirangerfjord and our return to Alesund. We agree, this road is in fact the unforgettably twisty stretch of corkscrew, hairpin switchbacks past sheer rock, and waterfalls to reach a stunning viewpoint that Guides talk about. Having a professional driver in “Troll Country” was not a bad Idea. We have admired several Kings of the Road protecting us and we arrived back safely in Alesund for the night. However, if you like the challenge of driving such a course, probably in an electric vehicle, have at it.
The weather can change quickly in Norway, the below photos were all taken in a matter of seconds, after the last one, the clouds had completely obstructed the view.
We are leaving from Alesund later today. We are scheduled for another Cruise Ship transport departing at 8:00 pm. This cruise will be for two nights, three days. It is cold and rainy so we relax in the morning at the hotel until noon then decided to spend the afternoon at the Alesund Aquarium. This is the largest saltwater aquarium in northern Europe, they say. So why not kill time. We like to stay with public transportation, but the bus to the aquarium was 90 minutes and still involved a .7 mile walk. The Uber (first of the trip) got to our destination in 9 minutes for $20. The aquarium building is modern with angular silhouette.
In the entry, the exterior wall forms over rounded granite rock exposed inside. Kids, not discouraged from climbing, no signs, no rules. You can view several areas from a single point, like a spoke. The most vivid is the full story glass tank that displays all sort of exceptionally large saltwater fish. These fish include Atlantic Wolfish (ugly mean), Cod, Cusk, Atlantic Halibut. Just as we walk in there is an amazing fish feeding demonstration with the scuba diver, made a hidden person by all the fish surrounding him.
We also enjoyed feeding demonstrations for Penguins and Otters. But in separate tank exhibits there were some creepy giant crabs and lobsters, octopus, eels, rays, among others. We were surprised. The outing was most enjoyable, due to the types of creatures and presentations. BTW, called Uber, got the same driver. Bye. We picked up the luggage and backpacks, then walk to the cruise terminal; 15 of the16 luggage wheels worked; super glued wheel did hold break. Talk tomorrow.
