Saturday June 22, 2013 (posted July 16)
The Silver Cloud left Bergen at six pm Friday evening for a short overnight sail to the Geiringer Fjord. We were to make two stops at small towns on the fjord. The main purpose of visiting this fjord is to view the absolutely stunning scenery. Geiringer Fjord is a world heritage site famed for large numbers of waterfalls tumbling down high cliffs and little farms perched precariously on the rocky slopes.
We were already well inside the fjord when Michael and I woke around six am. As soon as we could get dressed for the cool wet weather, we were on deck, cameras in hand taking pictures of the mountains and waterfalls as they slid by.
The Silver Cloud docked at 8:30 am at a tiny town named Helleysit at the end of one arm of the fjord. We stayed there only two hours, as the purpose of the stop was to let off passengers who had booked a bus tour across the mountains to Geiringer at the end of a longer arm of the fjord. Our pre cruise information said that no one else would be allowed off the ship. Fortunately, the cruise director announced that anyone who wanted to could go ashore; we just were required to return to the ship by 10:00 am. Michael and I immediately took advantage of the opportunity to explore this tiny town with a waterfall running through it.
The weather was overcast with occasional drizzle. The temperature was in the high 50's F so bundled up appropriately and carrying umbrellas we went out to see the town. I was beginning to learn that in Norway there is always the possibility of rain. Maybe that contributes to the Norwegian sense of humor: very dry – about the only thing that is dry.
Michael and I hiked to the top of the waterfall and took a stroll down a street that led back into the hamlet. We stopped at a very pretty church and took some pictures. Helleysit was a great spot for photography. I took many shots of water, walls, flowers and interesting buildings. There seemed to be no one around except for a few of us from Silver Cloud and a handful of Japanese tourists who arrived by ferry. Norway runs the Hurtigruten ferry system connecting towns and cities all the way up the west coast to North Cape in the far north. Even tiny Helleysit has regular service. We saw at least three ferries in the two hours we were there. In spite of a brand new pier just big enough for Silver Cloud, a small cruise ship, Helleysit is not likely to become a lively cruise destination.
Before starting on the cruise, I had decided to make a quest to find a good Norwegian sweater at a reasonable price. The sweaters for sale at the market in Bergen were very expensive. I thought Helleysit might be less expensive since it was off the beaten track so to speak, so I dragged Michael into the gift shop near the pier.
Michael got into a conversation with the sales clerk, a young woman from Lithuania working on a doctorate during the school year and selling trinkets in Norway as a relatively high paying summer job. While they talked, I found sweaters and jackets at prices much below those in Bergen. I couldn't decide between a fleece sweater and a faux suede jacket. The sales clerk advised me to buy them both. I think I surprised Michael when I decided to do so. Within hours it became evident that this was a good decision as I wore one or another of them almost every day after this stop. I had brought a raincoat and several sweaters in my luggage but did not fully anticipate how windy and rainy Norway would prove.
After a half hour delay to locate a missing passenger –he or she was most likely on the bus trip and didn't get accounted for properly until the captain and staff captain intervened – we continued along the fjord to Geiringer. I can't say much about the passage except that my two hundred pictures are gorgeous.
Geiringer town was the opposite of Helleysit. Geiringer exists solely for the tourist trade. The Silver Cloud was one of four cruise ships anchored off shore. The Hurtigruten ferry landed more tourists, enough to fill six tour buses. The town of 600 full time residents had temporarily swelled to about 20,000. Two blocks of tourist shops and fast food places lined the elaborate tender pier. Carved wooden troll statues were everywhere. There were several tourist hotels and two RV parks in what passed for a downtown. The tourist information center on the dock offered numerous tours into the mountains. Had it not been raining we might have taken a tour to a lookout point to view the fjord from above. As it was, after a walk around the immediate area we were done.
As we made our way back to the tender pier, it stopped raining so we decided to hike up the road, up being the operative word, to a small church that overlooked the fjord. The church was interesting and we appreciated the exercise.
As cruising and other forms of tourism become more affordable, more and more places will come to resemble Geiringer. The spectacular scenery is being loved to death. It is hard to appreciate nature's beauty when one is part of a mob of thousands. The trip in and out of the fjord, watching the waterfalls and rugged mountains go by was well worth the aggravation of the town of Geiringer.
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