London and 14-Day Arctic Circle Crossing: Edinburgh Evening Stay Holland America Cruise: Day 9 Alesund, Norway- Hjorundfjord Cruise May 20, 2025

 

At 6;15, my husband K got up and went to the gym. Around 7:40, I gave up trying to sleep and got up.

My daughter J was due at 8:30, so I stepped outside around 8:25 to take some photos from the veranda. We were on the Norwegian Sea and sailing toward Ålesund, Norway. We were passing a rather big blob of an island called Valderøya.

  

J was on time and she and I were on the Lido Deck for breakfast by 8:35. I got vanilla yogurt with fruit sauce, apricots, a roll with meat and cheese to fill it, chocolate pastry, cinnamon bun, a banana and OJ. It would be a long time until lunch.

We went back to our cabin and took the opportunity to see some of our sailing into Ålesund. There were clouds, but nice views. We passed Hessa, which had a bit of sun shining on it. The next photo is just before we rounded the tip of Hessa. You can see Ålesund in the background.

 

I took a panoramic of the view when we docked at 9:30. I also took a shot of the area where we would be walking off the ship.

 

Having gotten washed up, we gathered our things, including warm outer garments, for our excursion. At 10, the three of us were sitting in the BB King Lounge waiting to be called for the Hjørundfjord Cruise, our only chance to be in a long fjord. I checked and found the temperature was 48°, but felt like 43°. It was a good thing that J crocheted a scarf for each of us as a Christmas gift.

When we got off the ship, the sun was finally showing up. It was a short walk to the boat that would be taking us up into the fjord. It was called the Bruvik and was docked where that large white boat had been.

By 10:50, we were sailing and I got this shot of the ship as we went by.

They kindly passed around a map showing where we were going. It was nice to see, but the surrounding names meant nothing to me.

As we passed Fiskarstranda, we had a good view of the Fiskerstrand Verft (shipyard). I also noted that it was now 52° and there was sun.

As we sailed the Eidsundet, we saw this charming scene.

Some of the islands had bridges connecting them. This one is the Vegsundbroa, with "broa" meaning "bridge".

 

 

 

 

The scenery could be downright dramatic. 

 

We had to cross an arm of the Norwegian Sea to reach the fjord. As we did so, we could see ferries south of us. They had rather interesting shapes.

  

The mountain/hill/upland or whatever they call it on the south side of the entrance to the fjord had a really different top, as if it was trying to be a butte or had been sliced off.

 The landscape in the fjord was everything you could want a fjord to have. So beautiful! So many waterfalls dropping down from the snowfields! I believe that this landscape is called alpine, even though these are not the Alps.

  

         

We often saw fish pens near the shore. I do not remember what kind of fish they were farming, probably because I don't eat fish and I didn't care.

This photo is of a spot that just amazed me. They are so alone out here. Are they just here in the summer? The isolation would be so hard in winter. At least in summer, you can drive along the road that runs parallel to the coast.

The shape of the one in the middle of the first photo intrigues me. It is so different. The cloud makes the top of the second look like a steaming volcano.

 

It's the stuff in the back of some photos that is the most interesting.

 

This tiny village with the spectacular view is Ytre-Standal.  Wikipedia claims its population is 3, but up to 20 on the weekend. It is evidently a good hiking area. A website for the town seems to be from a farm with 120 goats and cabins to rent. If you look high in the third picture, you can see the power lines that have been stretched across the fjord.

  

The landscape just kept offering interesting things to see. Note how deep the fissures are in the first photo. They are probably formed by waterfalls. The top of the peak in the second is surprisingly round.

 

The fishing shacks or boat houses along the water were always colorful. We saw a ferry up here in the fjord, too, albeit a smaller one.

 

This next picture shows just how high the mountains soar above that village in the photo just above. The second is just incredibly dramatic.

 

By 12:22, we'd traveled as far into the fjord as we were going to. And, strictly speaking, the waterway would soon branch off into two different fjords around Sæbø. The view with the sun on the water was simply spectacular.

 

The boat turned around and J, K, and I now found ourselves looking at the north shore. Dramatic rocks and waterfalls greeted us.

 

At 12:26, we were sailing past Trandal, the site of a pretty big music festival.

 

I'm fascinated by glaciers and the land formations they leave in their wake. I'm fairly certain that this photo shows a bowl or kettle basin up near the peaks.

At 12:32, I looked toward the back of this boat and got this last great shot that way.

On the way up the fjord, the guide had talked about a troll across from Ytre-Standal. I think this is it.

 

I found the roll on the front of some of these peaks to be quite interesting. I was also amazed by the deep cut the waterfall made here.

These shots are from back in the Norwegian Sea and looking north. We started seeing more homes, which is always of interest to me. I don't know what I thought Norwegian housing looked like, but I know it wasn't this. Although, the grass roof wasn't a huge shock.

 

          At about 2, we were back at the pier. K gave the guide a 50 krone tip. We then headed more into Ålesund to take photos and to shop.

Our first stop was the very photogenic Ålesundet or inner harbor. Here there were colorful buildings, appropriate statues, and a hint of the Art Nouveau architecture the town is known for.  The first statue was the Fiskergutten or Fisherboy by Knut Skinnarland. Turning around, I had a nice shot of the Jugendstil, which we didn't go in. 

 

Walking over the Lorkenesgata put us on the other side of the harbor and closer to the Jugendstil. Here, we found a great manhole cover and this terrific statue. It is Sildekona or The Herring Woman (or Wife) and is a tribute to the women who processed the fish.

 

We then found some souvenir shops and picked up some things before getting back on the ship around 3. We'd enjoyed our visit, but we missed lunch. So, we went to the Lido deck for hot chocolate to warm up and got Black Forest cake, chocolate cupcake, and cheesecake to snack on. J added mac and cheese and focaccia. Nice snack.

J and I retired to our cabins, but K went off to the talk on Trondheim, our next stop. I was still cold!

J collected me shortly before 5 and we met K at the dining room. She and I had our Coke product fix for the day, while K wound up drinking 2 Conundrum wine glasses. Remember, we have unlimited drinks on this cruise.

For appetizers, I got white asparagus gratin, while J got French onion soup and K got a non-sharable smoked mackerel and trout.

 

For an entree, I chose the decidedly non-Norwegian Sauerbraten. J picked tri-tip with creamed leeks and bacon. K would not be splitting his fresh cod with caramelized orange, of course.

  

Desserts were shareable- strawberry crisp, triple berry tart, and chocolate fudge brownie cheesecake.

 

Because we were already 3-Star Mariners, K and I were invited to the Mariner Society reception around the pool at 6:30. (J will reach that level during this cruise.) They had sparkling wine and a peach mix in alcohol. It was just people in their own groups chatting. It was nothing like the Mariner lunches we've experienced in the past,where you were seated with strangers and talked about your travels. Before 7, K headed off to the classical concert and I went to the cabin.

There, I got this wonderful picture of Ålesund as we were sailing away.

At 7:30, J and I sat down to conquer the daily crossword. Then, we were at the Effy store for their 8:15 contest. J won for knowing "nahla" means "queen". Then, for the evening drawing, she gave me her winning ticket so that I also won a crystal on a chain, just as she had.

We headed back to our cabins for the evening, where I caught this "sunset" picture at 9:38.

The phone logged 4,941 steps for 1.9 miles and claimed I climbed 3 floors, but I don't know when that happened.