AirDiane: Geiranger, Norway

Thursday, June 15th
Geiranger, Norway
ms Koningsdam
Voyage of the Midnight Sun
Day 4
Partly Cloudy - 71 Degrees

It was another early morning onboard ms Koningsdam, up at 4:30 for scenic cruising through Geirangerfjord, another a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and "one of the most scenic destinations in the world." It 's 120 miles long and a mile deep, absolutely spectacular. There was just enough sunshine and blue sky for contrast, with waterfalls, sheer cliff faces, and deep green forests in every direction. The air was cold, but so fresh and clean with just the hint of the sea. This is why we came.

We are so fortunate to be here during prime waterfall season. They all have names, but the most famous are The Suitor and The Seven Sisters, facing each other across the fjord. The Suitor is said to have proposed to each of the Seven Sisters, only to be rebuffed by one and all. If you look closely, you can just make out seven separate waterfalls cascading down the cliff face. We came upon The Suitor first, still in shade, and then The Seven Sisters came into view just around the bend, bathed in sunlight, sporting a rainbow sash just as we passed.

Geiranger has just 400 year-round residents, but welcomes more than 600,000 visitors during the summer. This is a tender port, so we are not docked. ms Koningsdam is at anchor, and it's about a ten minute ride in one of the lifeboats to reach shore.

We took the tender to the pier ashore, and then took a bus up the 5 km winding road to the summit of Mt. Dalsnibba, 4,911 feet above sea level. The hairpin turns are so many and so steep and so tight that two vehicles cannot pass at the bend, one must back up to let the other one by. We passed another bus on a straightaway, its side mirror an inch away from our windows, its other mirror scraping the rock face. The bus stopped part way up the road for a view back down the valley, and a waterfall ready for its closeup.

It is still a winter wonderland up top. The view goes on forever, and proves how crazy the road is.

We have seen cairns in several places on this trip. These figures made of collected stones are indigenous to the peoples above the Arctic Circle, man-made landmarks in the tundra with few natural ones. We are familiar with them as inuksuit used by Canada's First Nations. Here, they are a popular souvenir that visitors leave behind. Disturbing the rocks is technically a crime, though.

On the way back down the mountain, we stopped at The Norwegian Fjord Center for exhibits on fjord life and a slideshow of the fjord in all four seasons. The slides showed what an incredible place this is, and how our pictures on this one day in time don't do it justice. The Fjord Center is on the Waterfall Walk which descends down the hill into the valley and follows the cascading series of falls that delivers the water from mountain to fjord. The resource is so pure that the municipal water supply is free, and they drink the water untreated.