Norwegian Fjords.

The Koningsdam.

In Norway with Trolls.

We boarded the Koningsdam just after lunch on the Sunday. We had been given an upgrade to a Veranda Stateroom, which was very nice. The ship is the newest in the Holland America fleet, and at 99,500 tonnes, it is the largest. The facilities and amenities are first class. As we sail away from Amsterdam we are actually in a canal for over an hour, before entering a lock to make the transition to the North Sea. With sail away drinks in hand, we found a position out on an open deck, and watched the mostly industrial landscape, slide by. That first evening, we sailed past dozens of floating wind farms, and countless oil and gas rigs. As night fell, we could see the lights and flames burning on the oil rigs. We settled in for a casual dinner, before heading to our room to unpack and familiarise ourselves with the layout of the ship, and to check what was on for our first day, which would be at sea.

In Eidfjord.

Meeting the locals.

You can't believe what events are held on a ship of this size! The Captain told us that there are over 50 nationalities on the ship! Every taste is catered for. Dining options range from the formal dining room, to the Lido Buffet restaurant, a burger and hot dog bar, pizza and American sandwiches, the Grand Dutch Cafe, and specialty dining options that you pay extra for, and include the Fine Dining Pinnacle Grill, Canellotto the Italian, Sol de Mer a Seafood, and Tamarind an Asian. We sure won't be going hungry. Oh, and I almost forgot the Gelato Bar! It will be a challenge to do them all justice, but we will be doing our best! The food is good quality, but after a while there is a sameness about it, especially at breakfast. Still, we aren't complaining as they are doing all the cooking and all the washing up!!

Entering Eidfjord.

Traditional Sailing ship

Our first port of call was Eidfjord, in Norway, which is not part of the Euro Zone. Two referendums have kept them out! The population is a little over 5 million, and per capita, it is the world's second richest country! It produces oil, gas timber and seafood in large quantities, and has a rich maritime history, dating back to the dreaded Vikings, who ruled the seas from the 7th to 11th centuries. It has the longest coastline in Europe, and is famed for the magnificent fjords that can be as long as 300kms! 

Berry season.

Eidfjord.

Nothing can prepare you for the breathtaking beauty of the Fjords. We were due at the tiny village of Eidfjord at 7.00am, so we got up early as the sun rose, to watch our arrival. In a huge ship, we could almost touch the sheer cliffs, and feel the spray from the never ending waterfalls that cascade down the cliffs. In the narrow Fjord, it is like river cruising on a 95,500 tonne river boat!!!! Amazingly, we berthed right on the doorstep of the tiny village of Eidfjord, as the lights of the village began coming on, heralding a few hours of mayhem, as 2,500 visitors take over town for a few hours! They are quite used to it of course. Cruise ships bring around 500,000 visitors per year!!

Voringfossen Waterfall.

On Hardangar Mountain Plateau.

We had not booked any of the ships shore excursions, of which they have many available for each port. They are horrendously expensive for what you get!! I will only have the one big whinge about this!! We have booked our own tours, directly with third party local tour operators, in Berlin and St Petersberg, which are the two cities where big days and super expensive tour options are the go. The ships tours will be on coaches with 50 plus tourists, whilst we will be in small groups of 12 to 20, at 25-30% of the cost!! And they wonder why more and more people are doing their own thing!! Good old Google!! In the other ports we will simply leave the ship and walk into the Tourist Office, or the arms of the waiting local operators, eager to offer their own coach or walking tours, at a fraction of the cost!!

Tourist Train around Eidfjord.

The Koningsdam at Eidfjord.

And so it was in Eidfjord. We jumped into the Tourist Office and booked a 1.5 hour bus ride to the Voringfossen Waterfall, followed by a mini train ride around the village. The ride to the waterfall was amazing. Quaint little farms in the valleys, and mountains and cliffs cut by running streams and waterfalls, and of course, those pesky little Trolls hiding under bridges and behind fences everywhere, looking for unsuspecting victims!! The falls themselves were spectacular, falling 182 metres into the valley below. The surrounding plateau is known as Hardangar Mountain Plateau, and is part of northern Europe's largest national park. The hotel at the top of the falls provided us with a hot coffee, and there were the few stall sellers introducing us to the first of 1 squillion Troll souvenirs we would meet in Norway!!

Norwegian waffle with cream & jam.

Viking Burial Mound
from 10th Century

Back in town, we went in search of coffee and the local delicacy, waffles with cream and jam!! We successfully found a lovely little cafe, and enjoyed our first waffle, which Carolyn, who is not a waffle lover, had to admit, was deeeelicious!! So soft and smothered in home made berry jam and fresh cream!! Yumm!! We waddled out to catch the little train, which took us on a scenic tour of town. We headed high up on the mountain, to view the Viking Burial Mounds, one of the largest in Norway, and to see some of the farms . From there we found a great photo stop to get some incredible shots of our ship, nestled in the fjord. We descended back into town and ventured out to the Eidfjord Kirke, a stone church dating back to the 14th century, followed by a stop at a workshop where a guy still hand makes violins!! After that, there was still some time to do the shops over, all of which contained a wall or two of trolls!!

Eidfjord Kirke.

Sailing under Hardangar Bridge.

Sailing out of the fjord was another breathtaking event. Much of our sailing into Eidfjord was done in the dark, so now we got to see it all in the daylight. Passed the Seven Sisters Waterfall, then under the amazing Hardangar Bridge, only opened in 2014, and a larger version of the Golden Gate Bridge. The bridge joins tunnels on opposite sides of the Fjord, and our ship sailed under, with only one metre of clearance!! Very spectacular!!. It took us 5 hours to sail the length of the fjord back to the the North Sea, with one amazing view after another, around every bend. 

Souvenirs & Trolls in Alesund.

Alesund from Mt Aksla.

Our next stop was the lovely town of Alesund. We awoke to rainy skies but they soon cleared and we got to see Alesund in all its beauty. Situated in another fjord, the city is surrounded by water and islands. Fishing is a huge industry. We didn't book any tour here. we walked into town and found another tram doing city tours. We bought tickets for the 11.00am tour, then headed off on foot to explore for a couple of hours. The tour took us further afield than we were able to walk, including the spectacular panoramic view of the city from Mt. Aksla. A rain squall and freezing wind interrupted  our viewing at the mountain, but it quickly passed! Returning to town, we continued our exploring on foot and found a gorgeous little cafe, tucked away in a back lane, and warmed ourselves with a great coffee and house made tart! Back on board, we settled in with a glass of wine to watch the sights as we sailed back out into the North Sea.

Alesund Harbour.

We met Steve & Pat at Music Trivia.

On our second evening, we had headed down to one of the lounges, to watch "Music Trivia"! A couple asked us to join them, and so we met Steve and Pat. We would end up spending a lot of time with Steve and Pat over the duration of the cruise. A lovely couple from the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria, who are also keen caravanners! Music Trivia became a nightly ritual, most nights followed by dinner together, then music in the Piano Bar, where the two pianists played fantastic music, most of which were requests. We were amazed at how wide their music knowledge. We Aussies stumped them some nights requesting Aussie songs, but they would come back the next night and play those songs!! We were most impressed, and became quite pally with Megan and Ted.

At anchor in Geiranger Fjord.

In Geiranger.

Next port of call was Geiranger Fjord. This was a place I had long wished to visit. Those famous photos taken from up high, showing cruise ships anchored at the end of the narrow fjord, had put Geiranger Fjord on my must see list. It did not disappoint!! We forewent breakfast and were among the first off the ship, so early in fact that most of the town had not yet opened! We found a little bakery, and bought a couple of the fresh pastries, then walked down to the caravan park, which was the only place in town open and selling coffee. We sat on a table in the caravan park drinking our hot coffee and eating our delicious pastries, feeling quite at home! The quiet, the soaring cliffs, the waterfalls, it was all so beautiful. We were lined up as the Tourist Office opened, and booked a bus ride up to the mountain top of  Dalsnibba, and a small boat ride on the fjord for the early afternoon.

The road to Dalsnibba.

Incredible scenery.

The bus trip up to Dalsnibba was incredible. We were in the front seat on a sealed but narrow road, that contained dozens of switchbacks, and had huge drop offs down into the valley below. It was just amazing, with huge snow capped mountains, and small mountain lakes nestled in between. Waterfalls tumbling down the mountainsides from everywhere, and us quickly climbing up the mountain to Dalsnibba Lookout. The view is one of those things you know you will remember for life, burned into your memory, never to be forgotten. There, 1500 metres below, was our cruise

Sod roofs keep houses warm!

View from Dalsnibba Lookout.

ship, completely dwarfed by the grandeur of natural wonder. We just stood and stared in all directions, taking our own digital memories, then climbed into the bus for the return journey, which proved even more spectacular than on the way up!! The quiet little boat ride around the fjord was anticlimactic, but nonetheless beautiful, as we passed many waterfalls and marvelled at the winding zig zag Eagles Road, that allows road access to Geiranger all year round. We stopped for a while to view the famous Seven Sisters Waterfall, with its seven streams of water. Back in town, we did the obligatory wander through the huge tourist shop, that sold everything from Expensive winter coats, to around a million varieties of Trolls!! Geiranger was one huge ticket of the Bucket List!!

Beautiful Bergen.

The colorful wooden houses
of Bergen.

The last stop on this first part of our cruise, was the delightful city of Bergen, second largest city in Norway and famous for its brightly coloured old wooden buildings that adorn the shoreline, and the fish market, which is right in the middle of town. We decided to do the Hop On Hop Off  red bus, (The HOHO). However the queue was huge, but we found a single decker open roofed Blue bus, that did the same thing, and included a ticket for the Funicular to take us to the Mount Floyen lookout above town. This proved a master

Reindeer Hot Dog.
Delicious!!

Sightseeing Bergen.

stroke, as the queue for tickets at the Funicular was huge, and we jumped straight to the front of the line!! We enjoyed Bergen very much. We dined on King Crab at the Fish Market, which was delicious, and at the other end of the scale, I dined on a Reindeer Hot Dog, to which Carolyn said she just couldn't eat Bambi, but soon changed her mind when I told her how good it was!! Poor old Bambi!! The view from Mount Floyen was spectacular, with Bergen laid out below. There are pet mountain goats roaming around the lookout. They are very tame, but you sure needed to watch where you stepped!!

Carol with on of the
goats at Mt Floyen.

Bergen's wooden houses.

The brightly coloured Wooden Houses are now a series of Cafes, Bars and shops. We had a lovely time walking in and around these homes. Some of the shops were very classy. The Scandinavian countries are famous for their designs. Fur is widely sold, there are beautiful hand made glass pieces and some of the wood work was incredible. Plenty of Christmas shops. Carolyn had a ball, and I must admit so did I, as the variety in the shops was so different! We headed back to the ship, with several shopping bags!! We joined Steve and Pat for Music Trivia, and a pre dinner drink, then we headed out to dinner at Tamarind, the Asian Specialty Restaurant on  board. The food there was just divine, offering food from most parts of Asia. It was a long, lovely dinner.

Seven Sisters Waterfall.

Sailing the Fjords.

Sailing out into the North Seas again, we now had a full day at sea, as we were on our way back to Amsterdam to drop off those passengers who had just taken the Fjords 7 Day Cruise, and to pick up new passengers doing the Baltic Cruise. We enjoyed a lazy day on lounges around the pool deck, reading our books, and taking turns to join in events that took our fancy around the ship. We had a big night with Steve and Pat, getting closer to a win at Music Trivia, having a lovely dinner in the main dining room,and rocking the night away in the Piano Bar, until retiring around 1.00am!! Our day in Amsterdam was quiet! We slept in, had a lazy late brekkie, then wandered into town for a couple of hours, before taking up our lays on the pool deck to enjoy a sunny sail out of Amsterdam for the second time!