Grande Fjord Hotel Geiranger

... I am going to try and buy something from every country I go to...and seeing as how space, weight & money is limited, I decided on PINS! haha. So I bought my first pin in Norway! Tiny, light, and relatively cheap! I wish I was able to buy tons of things there's a lot of cool stuff you could buy and collect a long the way...but unfortunately I just can't really. Oh well...I ...

Its not Rainin!!!

oh my, this place has out done itself...
we are in the middle of one of the most beautiful fyords in the world... tied or close to toppin Alaska!!!
We needed to take the tender (boats) to shore for this stop, once here we took a tour through the fyord, saw the many amazing waterfalls and the 5 farms on the sides of the mountains... incrediable ...

Boarding the Hurtigruten ship is the beginning of the real reason that we came to Norway. Chris' Mom and Melanie had always wanted to take the Hurtigruten Norwegian fjords cruise. Chris' Mom had a milestone birthday this year and it was also his parents' 50th wedding anniversary this year, so it seemed like a good occasion for Martha to finally see the fjords. Because of the time of year and the downturn in the travel industry they ...

Wir verlassen die Küste und fahren ins Landesinnere via Trolligsten zum Geirangerfjlord.
Der Trolligste ist eine Passstrasse, wie wir es in der Schweiz oft sehen, somit für uns nicht so spektakulär. Es lohnt sich aber dennoch diesen Übergang zu fahren, da man von oben her zum Geirangerfjord kommt.
Und das ist dann wirklich spektakulär. Zuerst sieht man nur einen ...

... highlands the scenery just went from good to better. Photos will just not do this place justice. Yes they will give you an idea of the beauty, but the sence of size and scale will just be lost even if i try to explain. I will try however to sum it up in 2 words... ****ING HUGE. The mountain ranges are incredible so high you have to tilt you head the entire way back to see the top and they just continue for what seems like for ever.

On the way today we stoped at ...

... despite being a cloudy day and having the sky reflecting off the water.

After stopping at a lookout above the town, we entered Geiranger where we had an hour to explore before catching another car ferry to Hellesylt. The Queen Victoria cruise ship was just weighing anchor as we pulled away from the dock, and it was quite a sight seeing such a huge ship being dwarfed by the massive mountains in ...

Went for an early morning run with Arne along the fjord. Wooded trails, short sprints ending with a very cold "sea bath".
We left Meisingset and Arne headed for Videseter. The trip was long but the scenery was breathtaking. Endless fjords and steep, narrow mountain roads. All of the women with the exception of Sunniva, seem to be terrified of ...

... what we would do for the following day as by this stage - Greg with his sore knee and me with my negativity of walking up hill over any distance - let alone only going up hill for 5 hours - meant we had pretty much decided not to do the big hike. He suggested that hike when I asked him about walks and he though it was a 2 maybe 3 hour hike. Obviously never done it! But we did come up with some options of what to do the next day ...

Had an excursion today up to the Eagles Roadfor views of Geiranger Fjord. It was very beautiful. The reflections in the Fjords are amazing. Then we went across to Norddalsfjord to the 'Path of the Trolls'- Trollstigen. The road is one big long zig-zag which is kinda fun-but probably not that fun for the bus driver! It was very beautiful. Did the tourist thing and got the photo of the troll sign. LOL. Stopped off at Gudbrandsjuvet and saw 'Billy Goat's ...

... our yummy Indian food in the parking lot, crossed the barrier to get closer to the glacier, and swam in glacier water too! I didn't dive under like Astrid and Lise did but I went in the water to about my waist. It was freezing!

The beauty of this place, and all of Norway for that matter, is astounding. So is the cost of everything! It's so expensive, but so worth it. Anyway I have a ton of photos, see for yourself.