Around the World 2014 - Norwegian Fjord Cruise (Posting Two)

There are three postings for my Around the World trip.  Posting One covers everything except my two cruises - the Norwegian Fjord Cruise and the Danube River Cruise.  Please visit all three postings.

July 4-15, 2014 - Norwegian Fjord Cruise on Celebrity Infinity

This was our fifth Celebrity cruise, but our first on their smaller Millennium class ship.  It didn't take long to familiarize ourselves with the layout and especially the location of the Martini Bar.  We were seated at a table of eight including two Texan republicans and two couples from the UK, one friendly and one quiet.

July 6, 2014 - Oslo, Norway

After our first day at sea, we arrived in Oslo, Norway.  Eric and I walked to the Akershus castle to get a look at the fjord we had just traversed.  Getting to the castle was an adventure.  We then walked into town visiting the modern opera house, some sculptures by the office buildings, the train station, the flower market, parks and the royal palace.  On the way back we visited the city hall and saw an amazing art exhibit of erotic gay art taken in the fifties.  The artist, John Palatinus, was arrested for sending naked male pictures through the US mail.  In his 80’s, he is still waiting for a pardon.

The Opera House

Neat bicycle stands

Rainbow balloons

A cute sculpture

The Royal Palace

My new friend

Julie, we actually saw some polar bears.  If you don't know, Julie is a blond.

One of John Palatinus' photos.  Mild by today's standards.

July 7, 2014 - Stravanger, Norway

This was the first fjord in western Norway.  While cloudy in the morning, the sun was with us the rest of the day.  We started in the old port village with their classical white houses. We walked around this colorful port town.  The Norwegian trolls were everywhere.

Old port village

We saw lots of trolls

July 8, 2014 - Olden, Norway

Our third fjord was prettier then the last two.  Eric and I walked a few miles to a small lake, with some pretty scary rapids.

July 9, 2014 - Alesund, Norway

We walked with our friends to the fiskermuseet (the fish museum) and glass blowing factory.  There was a street market where you could buy fish, cheese, vegetables and other international food.

July 10, 2014 - Gieranger, Norway

Here we took the bus to get two amazing vistas of our ship and fjord.  Again, every day was prettier then the last.  We walked up a waterfall path for some spectacular views.  On the way out of the fjord we saw many more waterfalls, including the Seven Sisters.

Beautiful reflections in the fjord

Our ship, on the right, from the mountain top.

Me and the rapids

We saw hundreds of waterfalls

The seven (count them) sisters waterfall

July 11, 2014 - Flam, Norway

Here Eric and I climbed a very steep and rugged hill to get a close up view of the Brekkefossen waterfall.  It was an exhausting climb, but worth it in the end.  We had dinner in the USS United States specialty restaurant where we had flambéed lobster and chateaubriand.  It was much better then the ship’s other specialty restaurant.

July 12, 2014 - Bergen, Norway

For our final port of call we visited Bergen, Norway's second largest city. Here our travel agency arranged a city tour.  Our first stop was outside the city where they had reconstructed typical buildings from the old city.  Our second stop was the Bergenhus Fortress.  After the tour I walked to the fish market and port.  As with every stop the city was beautiful.  I wonder what I would say if I visited in February.

A local vendor

In Bergenhus Fortress

Bergen harbour

The fish market