Norway Fjords/Sweden - Day 10 - Hurtigruten Cruise

During the cruise today there were two stops, I did not do the first one (Urke) as it was rainy, the second one was Alesund which I visited.

The night was a little disturbed but not too much. There was a call about seeing northern lights around 10 pm and I had changed to my pajamas, but I wore my jacket over it and went out, but did not see anything. Some people did see some though. 

Today is a rainy day. Thank God I have some little windows to peep out of my cabin or it will be hard to get any bearing. I think deck 1 is without windows. I am deck 2. I still feel like Jack on Titanic. But with wifi and drinking water - LOL.

The bathroom and the room itself are quite comfortable. There is ample hot water and soap etc. Cabin is designed well for two people. I ate my left over pizza bun and an oatmeal bar for breakfast. Had some mildly warm tea (made from the hot water from the tap - hehe).

Outside is raining, but the scenery is something else. If the clouds were not there, it would have been fantastic. Many islands on the way, small villages on the main land and islands. We were now going through the Hjorundfjord to get to Urke and then we will come back to Alesund. The scenery was just amazing! High mountains, lots of waterfalls, snow topped mountains, and some houses on these islands main land. I think some of these houses are not occupied, but a lot of them at electric power lines. I could see roads and some cars moving along. At one point we some some small whales jumping around....wow! It was hard to capture them on camera, but fun to watch.

Today I think I can really say that I have felt that I have seen the nature of Norway that I had pictured in my head. Although it turned out to be even more beautiful! 

The stop at Urke was at 12:00 pm for two hours but I did not get off to tour. It was raining and I did not have good shoes. I don't think its that exciting to see a small village. Came to my cabin and took a nap. Then ate my fried rice I had gotten packed. It was actually quite good even cold. Went to sit up on the 7th floor, then roamed on the 5th floor. Now we were going through the fjord again to get to Alesund. We got to admire the scenery again and I took more photos. At 4:30 there was a short presentation on Norway and the program for tomorrow. They had a really funny video on Norway! 

Had a cup of coffee and croissant ...had to. I was feeling cold and a bit hungry. Both were okay.

At 6 pm we stopped at Alesund. I was going to take a walk here since it was not raining anymore. Actually it was drizzling a bit but stopped after 10 mins or so. The cruise staff scanned our cards and gave us a map to walk around. It is a small nice town. It's amazing that it is so developed. There are looks of Bergen and modern buildings too. I walked about 15 mins to the city and came back. It was a nice walk. Not too much going on but nice buildings.  There was public transportation, and here also I saw some middle east immigrants, and of course a Thai and Chinese restaurant! It was cold though and since the ground was wet, my shoes and socks were getting a bit wet. I was definitely not ready for winter touring. I really need to buy some waterproof shoes.

Came back by 6:45 pm. We were to stop here till 8 pm as there was also an excursion going on. I spent too much time on X and Threads and YouTube today. I downloaded some podcasts also for my train journey from Trondheim to Oslo. 

At 8:15 pm the crew showed a documentary on northern lights. It gave a nice background and explanation of how they are formed and of course how and where to see them. God willing someday I will see them. I think this time it may not happen. It is a bit early for it and also cloudy.

Not much else to do so I am back in my cabin.

This Hurtigruten cruise is interesting. It is a small ship so it can go through fjords, but it can hold I think about 400 passengers. It is a transport ship also, so it stops at many ports for just 5-10 mins to drop off or pick up goods. It is very comfortable. Staff are all nice. It is expensive though. At this time there are about 300 passengers on board and most of them are above 50 years of age. It seems more like an adults only cruise. Really the major age group is 60-80. Any one who I talk to said, if not now then when? True. And that this is their dream cruise vacation and of course to see Norway. Well, I am glad I got to do it now at my young age of less than 60. There is still more to see in Norway, but I think I have done more here than most people generally do. 

Norway Fjords/Sweden - Day 5 - Flam 2

Today will be a great day! I am looking forward to my boat tour around Nærøyfjord and Stegastein tour, which is fjord viewing tour. Woke up at 7:30 to see outside and clouds had settled into the fjord in Flam. It looked really nice. Today I had tea in the room and time to have tea, so I had some and then got ready. No rush for breakfast as it is available till 10 am and my first tour is at 10:50 am.

I went for a short walk to see the clouds on the fjords. What I did not realize is that I would see them more even at 11 am in my boat tour. Anyway, it looks really pretty in Flam. Breakfast was quite a spread, so many things to eat but so little for me. Bread was a bit boring. Boiled eggs, scrambled eggs....same old stuff. There was a lot of meat stuff. Salads were there...why? There were many different kinds of milk alternatives, lots of jams and some cheeses (I tried the Norwegian brown cheese - meh). There was pancake which looked like a crepe, and hash brown! Thank god for potatoes. I had a bit of everything. Did not like the brown cheese, pancakes were hard, hash browns had a strange flavor. For all the huge spread, the food was not that great for a vegetarian.

Went for a little walk before the boat tour. A lot of shops are open and there are a lot of people around now. 

At 10:30 am I went to the RIB boat tour place and they dressed us up in water proof clothes and gave us goggles, and life jackets. The clouds had settled in a lot so there was some discussion that we go to the end of the fjord by the RIB boat (which is a fast motor boat on inflated rubber), and come back by bus in case the boat is going slow due to invisibility in the fog/clouds. We did go a little slow, I did not mind it. Took a lot of photos. It was kind of spooky going through the clouds on the water. There were many many waterfalls, some really small villages, one of just one person! He was taking care of the few houses there so no one forgets that they existed. There was another one of 17 people! Norwegians really like their isolation. They seemed to have what they need there - goat milk, farms and meat. For the rest they have boats to get around and get stuff. I would have loved to see the inside of their house. Each little village had their church. They are big on Christianity here.

By the time we reached the end of the fjords, it had cleared up a lot so the view was quite good. But the guys did not want to bring us back on the boats because they had lost a lot of time riding slow. The bus drive was a short 10 min drive from Gundvangen and mostly through a tunnel. 

I had some time before the Stegastein tour at 2:30 pm so went to the rail museum. It is always interesting to see how they made these kinds of challenging railways. Lots of great engineers, hard working men and horses and of course money.

The Stegastein tour left on time at 2:30, there were only 5 of us. The drive was a pretty 30 min on the mountain to get to the top point. The road is only one lane, occasionally there is some space provided so if another vehicle is coming from the other side, one can kind of be on side. The Stegastein point is really pretty. It overlooks the Aurlandsfjord. It may be a bit overrated but its okay if you are not doing any other tour. This view can be seen from the road too. The clouds are all gone now. (Apparently the tour that went in the morning did not get a good view because of the clouds).

30 min drive back and we are back in Flam. There are fewer people at this time in Flam than morning. I think the trains were coming in, the ferry from Bergen came in, so a lot of day visitors were there. It is now about 4 pm - perfect time for lunch. I had some pizza. Ate  half and kept half for tomorrow. Had to walk back to the hotel to keep the pizza in the room. Now all my evening is free. 

I went back for a walk to the fjord. Not much going on from Flam there. Another walk recommended was along the train tracks. So did that one - it was nice. I walked up to a place where I could see a beautiful waterfall. On the way back sat near the Flam river for while and just enjoyed the sound. It is a very shallow flowing river with fresh water from the glaciers and strangely green in color. Really pretty.

Came back to the center of Flam and went to the Coop for snacks. Decided against it as it might be more expensive, but wanted to try out some chocolate. They had them in the bins, so you can mix and match, which I did and it was not that expensive (about 1.25$ for about 10 small pieces). I tried some and yes they are good! I may go back tomorrow and get some more.

That is it. It is about 6 pm and Flam is like a ghost town. No one is around. I came back to my room, had some tea and that's it! That was my lovely day.

I should mention that I did see a lot of little places to stay around here. I am not sure how it works that you rent them, but they are there. My hotel, Freitheim, is an expensive hotel. I am just enjoying it this time because I don't know when I will be this free with my money :-) 

It was cold here in the morning. I am glad I wore my warm jacket to the boat tour and it is cold again in the evening. Except for the bit in the morning with the clouds, the whole day has been sunny and just perfect.

TIP: I would recommend doing both the tours in the afternoon once weather is cleared up.

Norway Fjords/Sweden - Day 3 - Oslo 3

Today is my last full day in Oslo until I come back on 29 Sept. I did not sleep well again last night, up for about 2 hrs from 12-2am. Don't know what's going on but today I will not rest at all in the daytime and hopefully I can sleep tonight. 

Set the alarm today for 8 am. I have to reach by 10:30 am for my Oslofjord cruise at 11am, so I can have breakfast and take a quick nap to compensate for the lost sleep at night.

Breakfast was exactly the same as yesterday. So maybe it will be the same tomorrow. The breads are interesting, but all other things are quite boring. And the other part is I have only a limited appetite. I see other people going over and over and getting more stuff. 

Left around 10:10 to get the tram for Aker Brygge (number 12). I don't think my Oslo card worked today on the tram. Maybe its done with...but how does it know? I have to buy a ticket later. The cruise entry was a little confusing. There was another Indian family there looking for the same cruise. The "father" went and found out where to go, so good, or I would have been running around to find it. The wife, Priti, is my age. They have one son. Smart - a doctor, but the personality of a door mat. He did not feel like he wanted to be there. Anyway, spent a lot of time talking to them - nice couple from New Jersey. I may go and visit them as per her invite.

The cruise was okay. Nothing spectacular, I was expecting some high mountains, but there were none. There were many inhabited islands and one fjord (narrow passageway). The scenery was nice and weather was just perfect - sunny and cool. Came back by 1 pm. I would not recommend this cruise if anyone is expecting the classic scenic Norway fjords.

I need to get to the Frogner/Vigeland Park but my bus pass was not working this morning so I need another one. Soooo found out that you can get them only at certain locations: Narvesen, 7-Eleven, Deli De Luca and Mix. 24 hr valid ticket is 140 NOK which can be used on all buses, trams, ferries and local trains. Well...I was not going to use it a whole lot but I guess it gives me a little more freedom. I think this will be better for me the next time I am in Oslo. 

National Theater

I was near the National Theater station and got on #13 blue tram, to get to central and then change buses, but saw some buildings so got off in the middle, which turned out good because I was able to get on the #12 blue tram which goes to the park. The city is pretty, there were a bunch of nice buildings on the way. I got to the park around 2:15 pm. Had to use the restroom, which was twice that in the train station (10NOK). Oh well..when you have to go, you have to go. I decided to have my puri lunch before starting on my trek. 

The park is primarily the work of one sculpturer, Vigeland. All the statues are naked and in some emotional posture. The statues all depict various moods and family life. It is really good despite that all sculptures are naked. Not only that, there were many many flowers along the way. The roses smelled amazing! It was really beautiful. I am so glad I went there today rather than on the my 2nd trip here. The day was sunny and temperature was perfect 70 F. Spent close to 2 hours there. Saw sooo many tourists here. 

Parliament House

Took the #12 blue tram (I am loving this tram!) to Ovre Slottsgate. I had took the tram from there also before. Anyway....the interesting thing that I saw before which is why I got off before, was the Parliament house. I did not realize there was so much going on there. Basically I was at Karl Johans Gate. I could have gotten out closer to the palace but I wanted to walk from the Gate and I am so glad I did. It was a busy road, no cars allowed. There are so many hotels and restaurants on this road. Then there is the Parliament House, the National Theater, University of Oslo and it ends at the Royal palace. I was walking the palace but there was so much to see in the middle that it took a while. But what a lovely walk, so many flowers, fountains, people playing music....just so lively. I have not seen life like this in many American cities.

Royal Palace

The Palace was closed for renovations but one can walk around the gardens, which was also not that much. I was ready to come home at 6 pm. Had a softy today! 5$ ...Came to the hotel and rested a bit, then went out again to get some junk food from Normal. Walked around the Central station to see where my train will be leaving from - could not find out. Came back to the hotel by 7:30 pm. Not much to do except write my thoughts of the day.

I think I will like to live in Oslo for a couple months. Things are expensive, but there is so much going on here.

The one thing that I found is missing here are drinking water fountains. I remember in Vienna, there was drinking water available everywhere, reminding people to hydrate. Here ... none! I have not been drinking that much water here sadly.

TIPS: Use the restrooms in the train stations, they are 10NOK. At the Vigeland park it was 20NOK. Buy the tickets ahead of time. Their time will start only when you first use them. Normal is a wonderful store with all sorts of personal items. Not cheap but still good.