Beautiful Geiranger

If you have read my last 2 blogs you will know I have recently returned from a Fjords cruise on Celebrity Eclipse. One of my favourite ports of call was Geiranger We had a beautiful sunny day as we sailed in and the views and scenery were spectacular. Geiranger is a port where a lot of Norwegians holiday themselves when they need to escape. The Fjord is located at the foot of Geiranger Village and reaches 10 miles inland and is fed by many waterfall, including Syv Systre (Seven Sisters) Friaren (The Suitor) and the Bridal View. The position of the Seven Sisters and The Suitor gives the appearance of a brooding Suitor proposing to the Sisters on the other side.

The Captain actually turned the ship 360 degrees in the Fjord so that people on the balconies could get a view of both sides which was pretty amazing. Geiranger is also normally a tender port where they use the lifeboats to tender people to shore. This is no longer the case as they now have a floating pier so you can walk off the ship and straight onto land. This means there is no need to worry about missing the last tender back to the ship!

FLOATING PIER 

STANDING ON THE FLOATING PIER 

We decided to get off the ship and do our own thing but for those not wanting to do an excursion there was also a hop on hop off bus that you could do which stopped a the Norwegian Fjord Centre Westeras Farm and the Flydalsjuvet View Point. The cost of this was around £23.00pp although it was slightly cheaper to pay by credit card.

One of the Excursions offered is to Mount Dalsnibba which is 1500m  above the Geiringer Fjord and is Europe’s highest Fjord View from a road. This is a real encounter with the elements and the summit is virtually unique because you can experience the high mountains without having to walk for hours. One thing to remember though if you are doing this tour is that the  weather at the summit is changeable and can vary from very thick fog to radiant sunshine in the blink of an eye.

We walked up to the Fjord Centre and down the other side which took us to the other side of the Fjord whilst passing beautiful scenery and Waterfalls. On route we passed the Hotel Union which is a Spa Hotel  set on the hillside in a stunning location. This is a favorite with the Norwegians who are looking for rest and relaxation and even had a vintage car in the reception area!

UNION HOTEL 

A VIEW FROM THE UNION HOTEL

There was still a lot of snow on the Mountains although it was very hot and sunny and we stopped here to take a few photo’s. One of the staff members from the ship was also there and offered to take our picture for us and he was fascinated because he had never seen snow before, except in pictures. Being curious I asked him if it was what he expected and he said it was colder than what he thought it would be. A simple answer but made me smile when we take things like that for granted.

We stopped for lunch at a lovely little restaurant  which cost about £38.00 for a meat board to share and 2 beers, I wouldn’t want to be dining out in Norway on a regular basis.

Norway is a Beautiful Country and I would definitely recommend a Cruise to anyone in this area. If you have any questions just give me a call 0330 303 8232.