Copenhagen and the Fjords of Norway: Geiranger Fjord

Serenade of the Seas cruise ship

We boarded our Royal Caribbean cruise ship, “The Serenade of the Seas” in Copenhagen with little to no trouble. Finally out of the Sh*t House in Copenhagen! Our staterooms were a joy to occupy, since they were so much bigger and better set up than our previous venue where we had just spent the past three nights.

Entering Geiranger Fjord

After a rough day at sea, our cruise ship “Serenade” entered the first fjord which was much calmer than the open ocean. The Geiranger (pronounced: GAY-rang-er) Fjord is supposed to be one of Scandinavia’s premier natural attractions, and it certainly lived up to our expectations. Our ship slowly passed by the dramatic cliffs that lined the narrow fjord. We marveled at the many waterfalls tumbling down the cliffs. What a stunning place!

The floating pedestrian walkway moves out to greet us

The Geiranger boating police showed us their mastery of technology by having our cruise ship anchor out in the middle of the fjord and then bringing a motorized pedestrian dock out to us! Yes, a mechanized floating pedestrian walkway in three pieces (each piece about 100 feet long) was steered out to our ship by some port authority dude on his iPad. The walkway was expertly guided out to our ship’s disembarkation portal, where we all merrily pranced down the floating dock to shore. We’ve been on a lot of cruises but have never seen anything like that. Without the floating dock, all passengers would have had to be tendered to shore, which can consume potential tour time, as it is a long process. This was soooo much easier! Of course, Frank’s engineering antennae were at full attention when they put this ingenious device into action.

Our Serenade of the Seas dwarfs everything in the fjord

Our ship looked like an ominous sea monster in the small fjord, dwarfing the tiny town of just 250 year-round residents. The village of Geiranger is virtually cut off from the outside world, especially in the winter. Tourism is the primary source of income and 600,000 visitors arrive every summer, drawn to the tranquil beauty of the seductive place.

Our bus passes another with just inches to spare!

We had booked a private excursion with Viator, and a fifty-passenger tour bus was waiting to take us on a 3-½ hour jaunt around the sights of the area. Geiranger Fjord is extremely mountainous and has only one main road. A very narrow road at best, replete with hairpin switchbacks and thousand-foot drops on the sides. For anyone seated by the window (as Frank was), the level of apprehensiveness was exacerbated by any occasional glances downward. The other challenge for the driver was dealing with oncoming traffic. Since two buses of this size were not able to pass one another easily, one bus needed to stop and pull over as far to one side as possible, while the other bus slowly inched its way forward, sometimes with side mirrors folded inward. A very time-consuming process.

Pockets of snow around the fjord

The scenic drive took us past many overlooks and snow-capped mountains that made this place seem as if we were still in the midst of winter. This road is only open six months out of the year, and the snow is so deep the road is totally buried. The road crews need to use GPS to figure out where to plow along the narrow road. To avoid driving off the cliff!

The views were incredible as we rode through birch forests and then up to the tundra with its sparse vegetation and low-lying shrubs. We were surrounded by rocky terrain with crevices of melting snow that created many rushing waterfalls.

Partially snow-covered Lake Djupvatnet

Our first stop was at Lake Djupvatnet, one of those beautiful, pristine mountain lakes usually seen only on a Courier & Ives greeting card. The sun sparkled on the clear water and parts of the lake were still covered with snow and ice.

Our ship from atop Mount Dalsnibba

One of the most famous sights in Geiranger is the 4920-foot high mountain called Dalsnibba. We stopped at a viewpoint for a breathtaking look at the fjord below us. We could see our cruise ship moored way down there.

Our ship in the fjord

We also stopped at Flydal’s Jubet (jubet means gorge in Nordic) and saw part of the Seven Sisters Waterfall. Each stop emphasized the beauty and vastness of this land.

Goats populate the slopes of the fjord

Our guide Danny talked to us about many things as we went endlessly up and down the mountainous roads. For example, potatoes grow well here, but almost no other veggies or fruits can be grown because of the short growing season; most every food item needs to be imported. Goats are the primary livestock because they get around with little trouble on the steep hillsides of this fjord.

Vertical fissure spells potential rockslide danger

Danny told us the rock fissures along the fjord are going to cause the cliffs to shear away someday and collapse into the fjord’s waters, causing a tsunami that will travel down the fjord and completely destroy the village of Geiranger located at the very end of the fjord. Special sensors have been installed on those rock faces to monitor any micromovements of this dangerous impending rockslide event. Those sensors will give the people of Geiranger ten short minutes to flee to safe high ground away from a possible 100 foot tidal wave coming their way.

Poster for the movie "The Wave"

All of Norway’s fjords are subject to possible rockslides and potentially destructive tsunamis. For anyone who wishes to learn more about tsunamis in these fjords, and in particular Geiranger Fjord, there is a movie called “The Wave” which came out in the year 2015, based on the actual 7 April 1934 rockslide tsunami in the Geiranger Fjord that killed forty people. We saw it prior to taking this trip, but we want to watch it again now that we have been there and seen the layout of the actual location.

Anne wanted to take this little guy home!

Anne was quite taken with the trolls of Norway, the funny-looking mystical creatures with Pinocchio-like noses and devilish tails common in Norwegian folklore. Trolls and troll houses are all over the place in Norway, and we think the Norwegians actually believe in them.

Certificate that shows we have crossed the Arctic Circle

The following day on 6 June 2018, at 11:35 a.m., we crossed the Arctic Circle for the first time! The Captain issued attractive certificates documenting our achievement, but first we celebrated with the “Blue Nose” indoctrination.

The Captain dumps ice water and ice cubes
down Anne's back

Apparently, this is a traditional ceremony among seafaring types where the captain dumps ladles of ice and cold water down the backs of all who cross the Arctic Circle.

The Blue Noses!

Lots of screaming and shivering, followed by a dab with a blue marker on each of the inductee’s noses. (Luckily, the blue stuff washed right off lol). Frank, brave man that he is, volunteered for camera duty while Anne and Kathy braved the ordeal to become official “blue noses!” Ice down the back in the Arctic? Haaaaa! Cameraman Frank ain’t no dummy!

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