Geirangerfjorden / Geiranger Fjord
This is the seventh post in the Cruise of Copenhagen and the Norwegian Fjords series. Other posts in this series include Restaurant Karla Copenhagen, Restaurant Relae, Pulpit Rock, Stavanger, Norway, Bergen Norway, and Alesund Norway.
Hello Geirangerfjorden (Geiranger Fjord)!
Welcome to the fourth stop of our 8-day Royal Caribbean cruise exploring the fjords of Norway. This UNESCO heritage site was THE highlight of the entire cruise for me. I absolutely loved it.
The whole area is stunning. The water is pristine, the scenery is breathtaking, and the panorama views are spectacular. There is no real town here, just a small tourist village to support the hundreds of thousands of tourists who visit each year. The village has a mere 250 residents who live there to support all of the tourists that come through every year.
Different boats dock at different locations. I was thankful that our boat docked really close to the village. So close, in fact, that we could just walk to the village via a bridge. Other boats parked further away had to sent mini motorboats to shuttle people back and forth.
Visibility depends on how high or low the clouds are that day. Because there were some clouds hovering over the mountains (you can see them in the photo), we could not go visit the higher viewpoints (e.g., the summit of Mt. Dalsnibba).
Instead, we paid for a bus tour that took us to Flydalsjuvet View Point, a lower (but still high!) view point that allowed us to see the bend of the fjord as well as our cruise ship in the far far distance.
What a view!
Afterwards, we went back to the area right near the village and walked along a beautiful waterfall.
We hiked around the area and it was beautiful.
In the early afternoon, we took a fun and exciting RIB boat ride (rigid inflatable boat) in the fjord. It was so much fun! These motorized boats are FAST! The boat took us to two very famous waterfalls around the bend near Geiranger Fjord.
The "Seven Sisters Waterfall" consists of seven different streams that split from one main stream at the top. On the other side of the fjord is another waterfall facing the Seven Sisters called "Suitor".
As our cruise ship pulled out of Geiranger Fjord, everyone got onto the deck in order to see the two famous waterfalls on our way out. For us it was a bonus since we had already seen the waterfalls up close and personal once via the RIB boat. (Top right: Suitor Waterfall)
We knew this was the last fjord we were visiting. This was the climax of the trip, and it had been magnificent. Our next day was just a day at sea.
As the cruise ship glided out of the fjord, I felt a nostalgic twinge of sadness. I had really enjoyed the excitement of waking up and seeing a new fjord or town every morning. I would definitely miss this.
Next up - our last stop, Kristiansand, Norway
[…] This is the eighth post in the Cruise of Copenhagen and the Norwegian Fjords series. Other posts in this series include Restaurant Karla Copenhagen, Restaurant Relae, Pulpit Rock, Stavanger, Norway, Bergen Norway, Alesund Norway, and Geirangerfjorden. […]