During the first few hours out of Oslo
Next morning, while chewing on some lox and lefse potato bread, I nearly choked to death. WOW! We’re gliding over water in the deep blue shadows of a mind-boggling fjord. So this is what Norway is all about – a land of intense beauty, with steep mountains and deep fjords carved out and shaped by an ancient ice age.
I dashed to the nearest verandah but 700 camera-clicking geezers already lined the drool-stained decks like nervous roosters, scratching fitfully for a photo to catch the magic. So I ran to our cabin and out the balcony. What a blessing that most of this intricate and alluring coastline is on the starboard side, where we live. My camera button clicked like crazy; unfortunately I left the big DSLR at home and only brought my point and shoot (with a bit of remorse in my soul).
Late afternoon and through the night the Prinsendam, with her sleek lines, moved smooth and easily through the heart of the Norwegian Fjords to the innermost cruise-port in Norway, located at the head of the longest navigable fjord in the world – Sognefjord – 120 miles long and more than a mile deep. With all the ships’ glory, we approached Skjolden via the largest glacier on the European mainland and went on shore.
We continued the scenic wonder by taking a tour bus to Jotunheimen National Park, where 27 of the highest peaks in Norway can be found. To get there, one must travel on an ancient thoroughfare linking east and west that was used by primitive Viking mountain-goat-people who had not yet discovered the wheel. In good weather and light traffic, the speed limit is about 10 miles per hour. That’s why our driver was in the grip of a mania that impelled him to floor the accelerator and sent us on a rollercoaster ride of epic proportions, with danger lurking around every corner.
……and while we hung our lives upon his (His) mercy, the guide narrates. “The stories say this land is the backbone of the earth; the place from which the creator built the rest of the world.” Once we arrived on top of “Sognefjell Mountain and I stood on the edge of the sky, nothing I could see would’ve made me believe otherwise. The glacier arms stretched down into green valleys and I was eye to eye with the largest glacier in Europe. After having coffee and Norwegian waffles at the lodge, I wondered off on my own and again felt privileged for being in this extraordinary land of beauty and hospitality.
When the everlasting sun guided us out the fjord we opened a lovely French Red and ordered room service. There’s definitely no more glorious place on earth to celebrate summer than in Norway – on deck of the Prinsendam – wearing a warm and wooly coat.
Last thought: If you ever have the chance to be in Norway and don’t get out to the fjords, you should have your passport revoked.
Next morning, while chewing on some lox and lefse potato bread, I nearly choked to death. WOW! We’re gliding over water in the deep blue shadows of a mind-boggling fjord. So this is what Norway is all about – a land of intense beauty, with steep mountains and deep fjords carved out and shaped by an ancient ice age.
We continued the scenic wonder by taking a tour bus to Jotunheimen National Park, where 27 of the highest peaks in Norway can be found. To get there, one must travel on an ancient thoroughfare linking east and west that was used by primitive Viking mountain-goat-people who had not yet discovered the wheel. In good weather and light traffic, the speed limit is about 10 miles per hour. That’s why our driver was in the grip of a mania that impelled him to floor the accelerator and sent us on a rollercoaster ride of epic proportions, with danger lurking around every corner.
Last thought: If you ever have the chance to be in Norway and don’t get out to the fjords, you should have your passport revoked.
Click on the above YouTube link to see the pictures.