A Taste of Norway, whatever the weather
Trondheim to Ålesund
Trondheim was wet, very wet! We breakfasted early so we could spend time having a look around the city, taking in the Cathedral and the old quays and we managed to get pretty soggy in the rain as we walked into the main part of the city. Nevertheless, the view from the Old Town Bridge was still delightful, showing the old fishermen's wharves and the muted paintwork of the wooden buildings. Sheltering in a trendy cafe, Kaffebrenneriet, in the Bakklandet district just over the bridge we warmed up and dried out a bit with some excellent coffee. This area of Trondheim has a number of inviting cafes and small boutiques and also a 'bike lift' which takes the cyclist up the hill by pushing on the right side lowered pedal as far as we could make out! We didn't actually see anyone using it (probably due to the rain..)
Just after leaving Trondheim we sailed past a number of whales popping up out of the water to the starboard side of the ship. Because it was raining we spent the time in the Panorama lounge at the top of the ship with windows all around but visibility was poor throughout the morning. We were entertained by a talk from Egbert explaining the 'Law of Jante' which describes how Nordic society behaves towards individuals, everyone is all the same and an individual shouldn't stand out because they are no better than anyone else.
The weather started to improve and we had a dry stop at Kristiansund in the late afternoon. It is an attractive town, spreading over four main islands connected by bridges and was one of the busiest ports we had seen so far on the journey. As we left Kristiansund we passed the only evidence we had seen of the oil industry in the form of a drilling rig in the sound.
A slightly longer stop at Molde allowed us to see its pretty church, the harbour with its splendid backdrop of snow capped mountains across the fjord and a friendly bar (Tapp & Kork) where we had a taster board of different local beers which was a great hit with my husband and son.
The air was beginning to clear, mountain tops were peeking through the clouds and there was a hint of pink in the sky. Over the next few hours we sailed down a fjord with the sun beginning to set very slowly to our right. We were now south of the Arctic Circle so the sun would eventually go below the horizon but it didn't go far below and there remained a wonderful red band of colour in the lower part of the sky. The sunset we experienced travelling between Molde and Ålesund must surely count as the best I have ever seen and it lasted a very long time.
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| Old wharves at Trondheim |
Just after leaving Trondheim we sailed past a number of whales popping up out of the water to the starboard side of the ship. Because it was raining we spent the time in the Panorama lounge at the top of the ship with windows all around but visibility was poor throughout the morning. We were entertained by a talk from Egbert explaining the 'Law of Jante' which describes how Nordic society behaves towards individuals, everyone is all the same and an individual shouldn't stand out because they are no better than anyone else.
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| Fjords and mountains near Kristiansund |
The weather started to improve and we had a dry stop at Kristiansund in the late afternoon. It is an attractive town, spreading over four main islands connected by bridges and was one of the busiest ports we had seen so far on the journey. As we left Kristiansund we passed the only evidence we had seen of the oil industry in the form of a drilling rig in the sound.
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| Oil platform near Kristiansund |
A slightly longer stop at Molde allowed us to see its pretty church, the harbour with its splendid backdrop of snow capped mountains across the fjord and a friendly bar (Tapp & Kork) where we had a taster board of different local beers which was a great hit with my husband and son.
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| Beer taster platter at Tapp & Kork in Molde |
The air was beginning to clear, mountain tops were peeking through the clouds and there was a hint of pink in the sky. Over the next few hours we sailed down a fjord with the sun beginning to set very slowly to our right. We were now south of the Arctic Circle so the sun would eventually go below the horizon but it didn't go far below and there remained a wonderful red band of colour in the lower part of the sky. The sunset we experienced travelling between Molde and Ålesund must surely count as the best I have ever seen and it lasted a very long time.
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| Sunset along the Midfjorden |
Midnight, walking around the picturesque town of Ålesund with Egbert as our guide, we learned about the art nouveau architectural style in which most of the town was rebuilt after a fire in 1904. The harbour is very pretty and the red glow of the setting sun made it look quite special. A clever little touch that the town planners had added, to help with the cold winter weather, were some seats overlooking the harbour, made with metal pipes that are heated with hot water flowing through the pipes. Quite nice in May too!
Finally, at 1:30 am we headed back to the ship and went up on deck to toast the beautiful scenery with a glass of Norwegian aquavit, Skål!
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| Midnight at Ålesund |
Finally, at 1:30 am we headed back to the ship and went up on deck to toast the beautiful scenery with a glass of Norwegian aquavit, Skål!
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| Skål |
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