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From Oslo we headed north and west by train. Our destination was the western coast, where we would board the Hurtigruten Coastal Steamer--essentially a cruise ship but also used by locals for coastal transportation--for the ride up Norway's stunningly beautiful coastline all the way up past the Arctic Circle.
We boarded the ship in Ålesund, a town destroyed by fire in 1904 and rebuilt in the art nouveau style of that time. As a result, it is an architectural gem. This is a view from a hilltop overlooking the city through the mist and fog of a wet evening.
Apparently, art nouveau means cool slate roof tops, like those here.
The coastal steamer was great. While during our two night, three day, stay, the weather was wonderfully Norwegian--rain, fog, sun, and clouds--the scenery along the way was spectacular. We spent much of our time on the many decks of this cruise ship, enjoying the amazing views.
Immediately after boarding, we cruised down some of Norway's fjords, including Geirangerfjord. Even with the clouds and mist it was glorious.
On board we quickly met Ennio, from Palermo in Sicily. Ennio was, and is, quite the character, and we traveled around with him for about a week. He was great company and always kept us laughing.
The Seven Sister's waterfalls, thundering down from the steep walls of the Geirangerfjord.
Traveling through the narrow fjords is quite the experience, as you enjoy the steep, vegetation covered walls rising high above you.
But it's not all fjords. Lush and not so lush mountains loom everywhere, some in very improbable shapes and with peaks of all sorts. The cruise ship at the bottom of this photo gives some sense of the size of this hill.
One of the real joys of the Coastal Steamer is seeing all the little fishing communities along the way. Seemingly isolated from the rest of the world, looking in on these small villages gives a great glimpse into a simpler age.
Off the back deck at twilight. While we missed the midnight sun--the time of year when, above the Artic Circle, the sun stays above the horizon for most, if not all, of the day--by about a month, it still stayed relatively light until close to 10:00pm.
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