To those who received my 21 stories from Japan in May — let me just say that my dispatches from Norway, which begin now, are NOT going to be similar.
For one thing, I am cruising aboard the Azamara ship Journey, and while I will visit nearly a dozen small fjord towns, I intend to spend more time relaxing than worrying where my next slice of pizza is coming from.
So don’t expect volumes about where to dine, or find espresso, in Norway; this series will be more of a rich visual collection of what I see than of what I consume.
This is our ship, Azamara Journey, home to 690 souls….
Norway, I have been told by well traveled friends, is “the most beautiful country in the world.” For sure, it is one of the richest. The discovery of off-shore oil in 1969 has turned Norway, and its 5.6 million inhabitants, into one of the world’s richest countries.
Its Sovereign Wealth Fund, established to invest the oil money, now manages more than $2 trillion.
Our first port of call was Olden. Here’s what the fjord leading into Olden looks like from the vantage point of a ski lift…
The big attraction in the vicinity of Olden is a massive glacier that is melting, sending fresh glacial water down sluices carved into mountains at the rate of — ready for this? — 10,000 liters per second!
After a mile-and-a-half-climb to the glacier itself, one reaches a basin that is filled with millennia-aged ice that will collect and be flushed via a water fall to the valley below.
We are traveling with two close friends, Helge and Nina, both Norwegians, who took this same cruise many years ago and who convinced us to join them to do it with them again.
That’s Carol on the left, Helge in the center, and Nina on the right.
I liked the zen-serenity of these rocks (below) and the rushing water behind…
Port #2, Alesund
Our second pit-stop along the fjords of Norway was a tiny town of 4,000 souls, called Alesund. Its primary industry is tourism — having ships like ours pull into port for 12 hours to disgorge passengers and let ‘em loose on town shops.
We wandered around town for much of a day. The harbor:
The big attraction here is to walk up a 418-step stairway to a lookout on a mountain overlooking town….
I took the bait… and trekked up all 418 stairs….the views along the way were breathtaking…
Tomorrow is a full day at sea, so don’t expect another dispatch for a few days… unless I win the table tennis tournament onboard, in which case you’ll be among the first to know…
Jim
Fjords, Glaciers, and such dramatic scenery — I’m with you Jim; I mean, who can think about pizza in those surroundings!!?? ;-) giggle…Then again, a little fiskesuppe would go down nice; or a vafler, perhaps??…
Woo-Hoo, another ‘Travel with Jim” segment. Looking forward to all the pictures.
With scenery like this, who needs pictures of food. But send those too. Thanks Jim🇳🇴