Skjolden – Not To Be Missed!

From Our Hike

Today we were in Skjolden. It is in the same fiord system as Flam, a port we visited

The Skjolden Fiord

earlier. It is at the end of Skjolden fiord, the longest navigable fiord in the world. It is over 4000 feet deep. A few years ago they trapped a submarine in it but never made it surface. We entered the fiord last night around midnight. As we entered a Holland America ship was just leaving. It took 8 hours before we finally came along side. Princess did their planning as this is picture perfect postcard town itself has only about 200 people. Not much of a town but the scenery is spectacular. Hands down it is the most beautiful of all the stops we have made. If planning a trip to Norway, it must be on the list of places to stop. The steep valley walls, the abandoned farms, the fields of hay and the continuous

At The Falls

greenery add to the beauty. We did not have a ship's tour 
today. We booked a bike tour with Adventure Tours. We were off the ship early for a 2 kilometer hike to a lookout. There were lots of people making their way up the hill. It afforded wonderful views of the valley below. The weather was warm and sunny with partly cloudy very blue skies. After the hike up to the lookout, we met our guide for the 7 kilometer ride through the Morkid valley to Drivande Waterfall. There were 4 other bikers and a wonderful guide. In fact he started the company about 4 years ago. 40% of their business comes from the 15 cruise ships that stop here. The bikes we very new and the ride easy, except for a few ups. No harder than the Clearwater

The Falls

bridge. The bikes were different from our bikes and as Judy tried her bike out in the parking lot, I could see another tumble coming. Once we had the helmets (mandatory in Norway) a level of comfort set in. The only problems were coming down the gravel road from the falls. Our guide stopped along the way to explain the features of the area. At the waterfall we had about 40 minute hike up 1000 feet to the falls. Wonderful with a cool spray from the falls. We had a snack of flat bread, cured meat and cheese while listening to the sounds of the waterfall. Just a wonderfully relaxing place. There were very few people at the falls which is in a national park. An easy bike ride got us back to the ship close to the time that we needed to be on board. The 3 hour trip was definitely one of the

The Fiord

highlights of this cruise. We sailed out of the fiord at a slow pace, enjoying the sheer cliffs as we went. Alaska has the glaciers but this has a different kind of beauty. We stopped at the Effy store for our “free gift” and a glass of champagne. We did not buy any of the thousands of dollar jewelry that they have been really hustling during the cruise. After dinner we stopped in at the country western night. We have an early tour tomorrow so lights were out quickly.