The Most Northern Part of Scotland

The clouds and mist gave the Shetland Islands a perfect mysterious appearance. Just in time the pilot arrived and shortly after the pass-control we could visit the nice little capital Lerwick. It was founded in1806 and today it is modern town with a big hospital, different schools and all possibilities of leisure activities.

In the afternoon we started our excursions and again the weather was perfect, partly clouded, no rain and little wind. One trip was to the famous historical site “Jarlshof” and the other a visit of the Quendale Mill. Both excursions gave us a good impression of the wide and treeless landscape. The main professions are agriculture and fishing. There are several places where we saw the cut peat which are traditionally used for heating. Although we expected to see many Shetland ponies we were told that there are only 1000 of them on the islands. A small number compared to the sheep, they are 300.000, more than ten times the number of the human inhabitants.

We stopped in Hoswick, a small village with two nice shops for knitwear, one offers more traditional sweaters and in the other more fashionable designed knitwear. But not everyone was interested in shopping and therefor preferred a short walk along the beach. There are beautiful sandy beaches on the islands and at one place we saw around 30 seals, the common seal and the grey seal, just relaxing and enjoying the sunshine

The Jarlshof is a remarkable archaeological site uncovered 1896 by a storm. The eldest ruins dated back to the Stone Age. During the 6000 to 7000 years all settlers lived at this place therefor we saw ruins from the Bronze Age, the Vikings and from the late Middle Age.

The trip to the Quendale Mill gave us the chance to see many birds like puffins, guillemots or razor bills. We also had the opportunity to visit the eldest lighthouse built by Robert Stevenson in 1821.

For the rest of our stay in Lerwick we took the chance to stroll around through small streets and enjoy the different views on the harbor. We left Lerwick at 8 pm and are now heading directly to the Orkney Islands. Some of the crew showed us in the late evening how to carve funny figures out of ice or fruits.

The Wettest City In Europe

Bergen: one of the prettiest cities in the world and one of the the wettest.  According to Wiki Answers: Bergen is easily the wettest city in Europe.

Tell any Norwegian, “ I love Bergen.  It is such a beautiful city.”

and they will typically respond, 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… but it rains a lot.”

While we enjoyed great weather yesterday, today was more typical Bergenian climate. Cool and damp. 

Most people opted to join an all day excursion to Hardangerfjord by motor coach.

We started with a short city tour and then made our way out of the city where the mountains were verdant with exuberant spring green growth.

The human eye is most senisitive to the middle of the light spectrum which is exactly where green wave lengths lie.  Perhaps it is for this reason that the mountains and countryside are so appealing to us, especially in the spring.

At this time of year the fresh leaves are super saturated hues of green that we see at no other time of year.  Each leaf is perfect.  Time, weather and insects have not yet rendered their deleterious  effects.

The steep mountain slopes were covered in a mixed deciduous, coniferous forest.  The fresh and lively deciduous green was punctuated by dark green swaths of conifers. 

We stopped for photographs and sight seeing at numerous spots including breath taking water falls.  Indeed, Norway could probably be crowned the water fall capital of the world.  With the rain and the spring run-off of winter melt water, the cascading mountain streams and rivers are at their most spectacular.

Our well spoken guide regaled us throughout the day with pertinent facts, information and stories of the regions we visited.  Our trip to Hardangerfjord took us away from the coast where we gained a better appreciation of the interior of Norway. 

Shortly after 17:00 we were back at the ship in Bergen.

And in the rain, at 18:00  we cast off our lines, bid adieu to the most beautiful city in Norway.

Look out Lerwick!  Here we come!

Unexpected Experiences in Bergen

No one expected to stay longer in Bergen, but sometimes life is full of surprises. A longer lasting maintenance of FRAM enlarged our stop until the 15^th of May. But in the end we spend a wonderful day in and around Bergen.

The beautiful city which belongs to the Unesco World Heritage List has around 270 000 inhabitants. The most historical and colorful part is at Bryggen founded by the merchants of the Hanseatic League. The old wooden houses are quite old some are from the beginning of the 18^th century. One of the most beautiful buildings houses the Hanseatic Museum where the history of the trade and the living conditions of that time are perfect presented.

Afterwards we took the Fløien funicular up to 300 meter above sea level. How wonderful! Sunshine, a marvelous view over some parts of the town, the islands and the mountains; is there anything better? The following bus tour gives us an impression of Bergen, the different parts and the development. It is really a wealthy city – and of course a lively city. There is a lot ongoing specially the preparations for the National Day on the 17^th of May.

Some of us preferred to make a hike up on the mountains just behind Bergen. It was a wonderful hike around mount Føien and 21 succeeded to walk up to Blåmannen. The great weather conditions – blue sky, sunshine and some lovely clouds – presented us stunning views.

In the late afternoon we had the possibility to sail on board of Statsrad Lehmkuhl, a 100 years old ship. It is owned and run by the foundation “Seilskipet Statsrad Lehmkuhl” and used for different purposes, f. ex. a trip around Bergen listening to Irish music and eating shrimps and herring.

It was a busy and exciting day filled up with a lot of impressions of Bergen.

A last day in paradise

The last day of our trip to the west fjords in Norway we spent in the Nordfjord region. Olden has been our last port of call. Everything we did or planned we did for the last time on this cruise. Arne and Katja had their last briefing for the next day, which would be our disembarkation day, the last groups got the possibility for a bridge visit, we had a last hike, a last panorama tour, a last cocktail with our captain, Rune Andreassen, and in the evening a last, but wonderful dinner on board.

Suitcases had been packed already and there was still time for a last small talk with new friends in the panorama lounge and last laughing together during the amazing FRAM crew show.It will be difficult to say good bye tomorrow. 

And here you can see them, our last impressions from our last day in the fjords. 

A day out of a picture book

This day has been unbelievable again. We got so many different impressions that we want to show you today lots of pictures in the blog again. Pictures will say than words today.

We started very early in the morning at 5:20 in front of the bird cliff in Runde before we reached Ålesund later in the morning.

Lisa Anderson

Lisa Anderson

Some guests made the decision to go by bus from Ålesund to Geiranger.

FriedaPhoto

Others enjoyed the "art nouveau town" Ålesund before they sailed with FRAM through the impressive fjord system to Geiranger. 

FriedaPhoto

FriedaPhoto

 

FriedaPhoto

FriedaPhoto

FriedaPhoto

FriedaPhoto

FriedaPhoto

Others enjoyed the "art nouveau town" Ålesund before they sailed with FRAM through the impressive fjord system to Geiranger. 

Tomasz Zadrozny

Lisa Anderson

Lisa Anderson

In Geiranger the hikers got another chance to test their fitness.

Tomasz Zadrozny

Tomasz Zadrozny

Tomasz Zadrozny

All passengers had a more or less full packed day in this wonderful and amazing Norwegian fjord area. In the evening everybody was more than tired - but totally happy. What a day!

A day in Sognefjorden

Real explorers start the day early!  We reached Nærøyfjorden 05:30 in the morning. The fjord is regarded to be one of the most beautiful and dramatic in the world and is on the UNESCO world heritage list. Hikers were dropped at Bleiklindi in the inner part of Nærøyfjorden and left there to make their way to Flåm. They followed the old postal route to Styvi. It was a very pleasant experience, as  they walked in the midst of this stunning landscape. The hikers were off the ship before breakfast; however, nobody goes hungry on Fram as the Hotel Manager and Chef had prepared a full breakfast on the beach.

Tomasz Zadrozny

Tomasz Zadrozny

Tomasz Zadrozny

The Royal Postal route were built in the 1600`s to get mail between Bergen and Gudvangen. The post was transported at this time by foot some stretches or by boat if possible. When the fjord was frozen the post had to be transported overland and the mail carrier used the route Bleiklindi-Styvi and onwards by boat.

Tomasz Zadrozny

The hikers chose the same way this morning to catch up with the ship in Flåm. They walked the 6km to Styvi and there they were picked up by Polar Cirkle boats.

Tomasz Zadrozny

In the meantime another adventure had started from Flåm; a ride with the train from Flåm to Myrdal. The railway is 20 km long, but the train climbs 867m during these 20 km, crossing back and forth across rivers and through 20 tunnels. The railway is a masterpiece of engineering.

FriedaPhoto

FriedaPhoto

FriedaPhoto

FriedaPhoto

FriedaPhoto

FriedaPhoto

Next stop in Sognefjorden was Balestrand. Some enjoyed a cultural walk through this beautiful little town surrounded by high mountains and stunning scenery.

Lisa Anderson

To get a better view some even hiked all the way up the steep trail to the viewpoint at Orabenken. 

Tomasz Zadrozny

The evening ended with a fruit and ice carving show presented by our very talented crew out of the galley and the restaurant.

Lisa Anderson