Norwegian blues

This was such a magical day. I woke up to find we had already berthed at Flam at the end of the Aurlandfjord. As I was in an inside cabin I had to dash up onto the deck only to find it still too dark for photography. However after a delicious breakfast I left the ship to walk the couple of metres into the village, nestling below steep mountains, to board the Flam railway which took me nearly 3,00' up through the most majestic scenery to Myrdal. During the journey the train passed spectacular waterfalls and plunged into 20 tunnels but I think to appreciate the full extent of the amazing engineering feat one would have to view the railway line from the air. Once back in Flam I pottered around and enjoyed its ambience before returning to the ship promptly, as requested by the Captain, as we were about to cruise down two of his favourite fjords.....quite a promise from a Scandinavian Captain!

We were certainly in for a treat as we initially cruised into Sognefjord which is Norway's longest and deepest fjord, flanked by high, high mountains which are home to the enormous Sea Eagle, one of which graced us with a superb aerial display. The end of the fjord branches off in several directions and one of these is the stunning Naeroyfjord, which at 17 km long and just 250 metres wide at its narrowest is rated as the number one natural heritage site by the National Geographic. It was quite chilly up on deck but I had plenty of layers on and wouldn't have missed the spectacle gently unfolding in front of me. The captain edged the ship slowly into the entrance to the narrow fjord - it must have been like driving on challenging country roads instead of the straightforward tedium of motorway driving - and it was immediately spellbinding with dark blue mountains interlocking before us. At one very narrow point I thought we had reached the end but no, the ship carefully tracked past the markers and on into the depths of the misty mountains, past remote communities perched on the water's edge. Finally we reached the furthest tip of the fjord and had to turn - which we managed - just. As the Captain had promised us "I will turn this beautiful ship on a penny"and it was breathtaking as we nudged our way broadside on to the steep mountains - apologies for the slightly wonky horizon line on the shot but I hope it gives an impression of how close we were.
The evening finished with cocktails, a superb dinner, fun entertainment and some dancing!