From Honningsvåg we had a 2 day sail south to reach our next port. Leaving port we had the opportunity to see the North Cape again from the ship.
As we had a sea day the next day we decided it was time to stay up until midnight for the midnight sun. We had been in 24 hour daylight for the past 2 days, and this was our last chance before we exited the Arctic Circle.
Unfortunately it was cloudy so we didn’t get a great photo of the sun, but it was bright daylight in the middle of the night, quite confusing. We were having to use eye masks to sleep.
After a relaxed day at sea we finally entered the Geiranger Fjord on our way to our next port Geiranger.
The scenery was once again stunning, and we made a special stop at one of the main sites the 7 sisters water fall.
As we sailed it felt almost prehistoric, the land before time.
Geiranger is a beautiful little tourist town, at the end of the fjord. As we arrived we were surprised at the number of campers, all with a prime spot on the water. We were very jealous.
The town is built along a waterfall and one of the main things to do is the walk that runs along it up to the Fjord centre.
At the top we spent some time in the Fjord centre, it had some very interesting displays showing what life was like living here in the past.
We then made our way back down to the village to explore a have a local lunch.
Lunch was local fish cake with mash, washed down with a local IPA, and followed with local homemade soft serve.
We then returned to the ship and spent the rest of the day on the top deck admiring the view.
After an overnight sail our next stop was Alesund, a postcard perfect art deco style town. It was completely destroyed by fire in 1904 and rebuilt in an art deco style, very pretty.
We did a walking tour around the town and learned about the rebuilding which was supported by the Russian tsar, and how it was completed in only 2 years.
We also saw how the town is an archipelago, with all of the islands linked by undersea tunnels
After the tour Bel and I explored further before having lunch beside a canal to soak up the atmosphere.
The town was buzzing as they were preparing for their local Pride Parade later that day. When we went back aboard we were able to watch from the ship as they finished at the event centre.
Another beautiful stop, and we really enjoyed learning more about their way of life. From local fishing, to the shared ownership of the oil and gas fields by all of the people of Norway. The Norwegians are a happy, active people, growing wealthy together, who seem to have found the right balance between capitalism and socialism.