What Frozen Things Do in Summer

I wasn't awake 10 minutes before Geiranger fjord blew me away. Sarah says she thinks it looks like Geiranger in heaven. Before even leaving the ship, we climbed up top to check out our surroundings, namely, the massive cliff faces and mountains that walled us in on all sides. The sun was finally out and we basked in it. The fjord was absolutely stunning - right out of a postcard. Back in June, when I was packing for the trip, I Googled the destination and was shocked at how beautiful the destination looked. I could not believe it was a real place that I was going to be visiting. But I was there! In the flesh!

We walked down a gangway onto a floating, bending cruise ship dock (the first I've seen), and into a beautiful Norwegian seaside town. We were advised to climb the 105 steps to the Storfossen Waterfall Viewing Platform. We took the suggestion and began the climb. Not gonna lie, it was a long 105 steps. We almost lost a couple men to those steps. But we pulled through and loved the view of the waterfall and fjord from the top. Once at the top, we wandered a little farther up onto cliffs and into nearby neighborhoods that overlooked the fjord.

The next hour or so was spent relaxing in the warm sun that we missed so much before we continued walking through the area. The artisan shops and cafes teamed with both tourists and locals, which seems to be somewhat rare. In other news, I actually visited a cemetery, which is a small wonder, if you know anything about me. Cemeteries freak me out, but it's hard to resist a killer view and 200-year-old tombstones (that pun was not intended, but once I noticed it, I couldn't bring myself to remove it).

We wandered through a campsite where hundreds we beheld hundreds of campers with swedish and finnish license plates, and to a lovely little bank where I played with rocks for longer than any dignified 22-year-old should. I cannot overstate how beautiful this area was. The air was so clean, the breeze was so cool, and the sun was so warm. I could have just sat there for hours.

The day did not end when we boarded the ship - far from it. We ate dinner and donned our bathing suits (in that order), and proceeded to the hot tub on the back of the ship. You see, those mountains and cliff faces I mentioned composed the innermost point of a very long fjord. A fjord is defined as "a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea between high cliffs, as in Norway, typically formed by submergence of a glaciated valley."

Therefore, we spent the next four hours, or so, sailing out of the narrow inlet with massive cliffs on both sides. I was taking a timelapse at the time, so I didn't get great pictures, but I did get one that was taken once we exited the fjord.

The day finally concluded with an aerialist show and crossword puzzles in bed, naturally.

On to another stop in Norway! From: The Expeditioner