Norway part 2

Tuesday July 3  Up at 5 a.m. for Geiringerfjord – wonderful scenery. Mass at 8. On landing at Geiranger by tender we went on the Viking cruise where we pretended to be warriors and saw the fjord from water level. We saw wild goats and salmon jumping. Did not realise that Vikings traded blonde women for Arab men (20 to 1) and the men worked for them! We then gpt pn a coach to the Eagle’s road viewsite and the Flydalsjuvet view point – stunning views. Wonderful weather. We ate near the pool so we could see the stunning views of the fjord as we sailed out. Tai chi on the sports deck was unforgettable. We saw the Amore show again as it was so good. String quartet and bed.

Wednesday July 4 Independence day. Tai chi and ashore in Alesund. This proved to be a nice little town with a harbour. We took the town train trip up to the viewpoint and another beautiful day. Walked to the church 1909 which has 2 organs and classical music playing. One is a Rieger. Visited the Jugendstilsenteret Art Nouveau centre in an old pharmacy with good presentations and films. Time machine explain the 1904 fire which destroyed much of the town.  Underground passageway led to the Kube museum with displays of photos. Another lovely sail away. Supported the 5km walk for cancer cure round the deck. Mass at 5 and I read. We ate in the dining room and sat with 2 Gideons from Dayton Ohio and their wives. They do a truckstop church and disaster relief. Service was a little slow again but we did manage to get to the show which was Frank Sinatra imitation. Had a rest in the afternoon so up for the Indonesian crew show at 11 p.m. which was very good. Loved the dance of 100 hands.

Thiursday July 5 Up at 5 a.m. for the Hardangerfjord the queen of fjords. The weather improved as we reached Eidfjord. Tai chi and on the first tender so we got a minibus trip to the famous Varingfossen waterfall. Fantastic. Wonderful road through tunnels along side of lake. Walked to the new church which had a fine organ and very high roof. Took the town train to Viking graves ( 3 piles of stones) and great viewpoints. Old church (closed) and visited the Hardanga fiddle collection and the wood carver explained them. Bought a wooden angel. Walked back into town and bought souvenirs. Had a rest – it was a lovely day again. Fr Dennis not back in time for Mass so I went to tai chi. Ate in Canaletto which was excellent and lovely views as we sailed away. We sat in the retreat on the back deck. Lovely sunset. The show was very good and involved the 3 women singers and the comic singer. We had a couple of dances in the Crow’s Nest and retired at midnight. Farewell to Norway.

Friday July 6 Mass at 8 for Brien and Violet George and Liz read. Aqua aerobics with Tiemen. Delightful crew farewell in the theatre and nice Mariners lunch with champagne with our neighbours from 2426 Nancy and Joseph who are Catholic and have 8 children. To jive class and back stage tour of the theatre and chatted to the artistes. The ship this week has many Dutch people 50% of whom are new to cruising and lots of children. At lunch we were put with an elderly couple who clearly spoke no English so we were relieved to be able to move! Our surveys on the cruise are just excellent marks all round!  The dinner was a splendid choice of dishes from around the world. Mark celebrated his birthday with his family at the next table (met them all at Mass) and Dale his father is a doctor – he was also in the magician’s show. We sat with our Gideons again – one of them had to go and change out of his shorts to be admitted. Finished our red wine. Felt rather too full to enjoy the Lebanese lamb shank but managed the baked Alaska and a nice tribute to the chefs.Walked on the deck to get some air and string quartet. A very good show with Frank Sinatra imitation and magician. Tired so no dancing and to bed.