Geiranger Fjord and Ålesund

We got to sleep in a little later today. Wakeup call was at 8:00 and we were on the road by 9:30.

 
Scenery on the way to Geiranger. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)  

We drove from Loen over to Geiranger to catch a ferry across the Geiranger Fjord (recently placed on UNESCO's World Heritage List) to Hellesylt.

 
Cruise ships in the harbor at Geiranger. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)  

The Geiranger Fjord is breathtaking. There were 5 cruise ships in the harbor. (One is hiding around the corner in the picture above.) We stopped at the top of the mountain above Geiranger to get some photos, (The one below is courtesy of a kind stranger.) and then got on the ferry for the 1 hour ride. We hurried to grab some lunch at the onboard cafeteria before the line got too long.

 
The Williams clan above Geiranger. From left: Steve, Kathy, Dad, Mom, Bob, Dawn, Mark, and Junel. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.) 

There are several attractions along the way to Hellesylt. We saw the Ørnevegen (Eagle Road) which has 11 hairpin turns that wind up from the fjord. Right before the Sju Systre (Seven Sisters) waterfall is the Knisflå, an abandoned farm way up near the top.

 
The Seven Sisters waterfall. The Knisflå farm is in the upper right hand corner. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)  

The Seven Sisters themselves are a group of seven waterfalls that drop almost 250 m. to the fjord. Across from the Seven Sisters is a waterfall called Friaren (The Suitor). I don't think that requires an explanation.

 
The Suitor waterfall. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.) 

 Next is the Brudesløvet (Bridal Veil) which closely resembles the identically named waterfall in Yosemite.

The Bridal Veil waterfall. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)  

After taking lots of pictures we went back down and boarded the bus so that we could leave quickly once docked. Our destination for the evening is Ålesund. From Hellesyllt we through the wild landscape of Velledalen. When we reached Ørneset we got on another short ferry to Magerholm, drove about another 1/2 hour and we were at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Ålesund. We got in about 4:00 so we had three hours to kill before dinner. Much of Ålesund was destroyed in 1904 in a fire. Most of it was rebuilt in the Jugendstil (Art Nouveau), so it has very beautiful and interesting architecture.

 
Dance move in Ålesund. (© 2006, Junel Bacigalupo.)  

Mom, Dad, Steve, Kathy, Bob, and Dawn went to the Aquarium. Junel and I decided to walk downtown. She enjoyed taking pictures of the buildings. I wanted to climb the 418 steps to the Fjellstua Viewpoint on Mt. Aksla. Junel was a good sport about it, but after about 3/4 of the way said she'd wait for me. I made it to the top and took a few snapshots.

View from the Fjellstua Viewpoint. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)  

The views of Ålesund, the islands, and the majestic Summøre Alps were worth the sweat I had worked up. I got a couple of sodas at the cafeteria and headed down. At the bottom in the Town Park is a statue of Rollo the Viking. Rollo founded Normandy in the year 911. Back then the "Vikings" were called Norsemen. Rollo was an ancestor of William the Conqueror who conquered England in 1066 at the Battle of Hastings. If I remember correctly he was also an ancestor of the Sinclair family of Roslin, Scotland.

 
Rollo the Viking. (© 2006, Mark D. Williams.)  

We headed back to the Radisson for dinner. All these wonderful buffets are not helping my waistline, but they sure are good. We met up with the rest of the clan, visited while eating, and then headed to our room. Junel did some reading while I wrote up today's adventures. Tomorrow we get up early again to go to Trondheim.