It’s Norway week, and today found us in Ålesund, the northernmost port we’ll visit along the country’s North Sea. It’s also unexpectedly the last port we’ll visit in Norway, but more on that below.
Unlike the tiny village of Olden, where we were yesterday, Ålesund is a small city, with a population of 67,000, and it ranks as Norway’s most important fishing port. It wasn’t the fish that brought us here though, but the nearby natural wonders, which we planned to experience by bus, ferry, cable car, and on foot.
At least physically this turned out to be one of the easiest excursions we’ve done, though the tour description was so vague that we had no way to know that in advance. It began with a 30 minute bus ride from the pier to the village of Magerholm, where the bus drove us directly onto a ferry boat that crossed over the Storfjord to Sykkylven.
From there we continued on by bus to the Stranda Ski Resort, which like a lot of other ski resorts runs a chair lift or gondola in the summer to make a few bucks in the off season. In the case of the Stranda Ski Resort they have a very good reason for doing so, as the view from the top of their mountain is amazing. Or at least it would be if the weather was nice.
Today’s weather was much like yesterday’s, and I had a mild degree of trepidation as we boarded the modern, fast, eight person gondola for the ten minute ride to the top. Sure enough, we climbed out into light rain, strong winds, and cold temperatures, and I regret to admit that I had a strong desire to find the scenic view, take a couple quick photos, and get back down to the bottom of the mountain as fast as the gondola could carry me.
In fairness to Stranda, the view is impressive, and I’m sure it’s breathtaking on a nice day. The town of Stranda lies far below, with the fjord stretching into the distance, and I’m sure that photos from up there have graced magazines and postcards, but today the rain reduced visibility enough that award winning photos were out of the question.
Long story short, we snapped a few photos and retreated to the gondola, which won my affection by promptly delivering us to calmer weather at the bottom, along with complimentary waffles and coffee in the lodge.
There isn’t that much more to tell. A short bus ride took us the rest of the way down the mountain into Stranda, where we drove onto another ferry and crossed the fjord to Liabygda. This allowed us to take a different road back to Ålesund, and we got to see more of the area on the way.
Bottom line: we saw some lovely scenery on the way out and back, took a couple ferries across a pretty fjord, rode a gondola to the top of a mountain to take in an impressive view, and ate first rate waffles with strawberry jam and sour cream. Not a bad outing at all.
We were supposed to make one last Norwegian stop tomorrow in Bergen, but it looks like that isn’t going to happen due to some sort of protest going on at the docks in the city. That doesn’t really bother me, since we’ve already visited several other towns and cities in the country, and things like this are bound to happen from time to time on a journey of this length. Besides, today was our 16th port day in a row, and I could really use a sea day tomorrow. And on the plus side, we’ll now get into Amsterdam, our following port, a day early and enjoy an overnight stay there. That tradeoff is fine with me.
We should have lots of interesting experiences in Amsterdam, so be sure to watch for my next blog post. See you then.
The ferry boat that will take us across the fjord is pulling into the dock in Magerholm.
On the way across the fjord we saw a rainbow. I like this photo.
The rainbow was still visible when we pulled into Sykkylven.
Typical scenery along the North Sea coast. There are ribbon-like waterfalls everywhere.
The gondola at Stranda Ski Resort is comfortable, fast and quiet. Very nice.
The view from the top is great, and I can only imagine how much better it would be on a sunny day. That’s the town of Stranda far below.
The weather was pretty miserable up there, but there’s always time for a selfie.
The waffles received the Chadwick seal of approval.
On the pier in Stranda, waiting for the ferry across the fjord to Liabygda.
There’s a monument to the furniture industry on the pier in Stranda. Furniture is a big industry here.
On our way back to Ålesund we passed an octagonal church.
Another common scene on the way back to Ålesund.
On the way back we stopped at an ice cream shop that provided this view of the fjord, a ferry, and a waterfall. All three are common sights here.
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