Showing posts with label Jewel OTS. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jewel OTS. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

3 Top Attractions Flåm Norway

Save Best For Last
Norwegian Fjords Cruise 
Flåm, Norway

It's hard to believe but Flåm, Norway was our last Norwegian Fjord port of our 12 Night British Isles / Norwegian Fjords cruise. There is so much to do in this area, so we've narrowed the list to our Top 3 Picks.  These sites can be seen, with adequate time for each, during your port call in Flåm.

In order to see our top choices, we booked an organized Royal Caribbean tour, Overland to Voss, Tvinde & Stalheim. There were two offerings of that tour, one did the train first (as described in the tour description) and the other did the train in the afternoon following lunch. We opted for the latter.


Stalheim

Our day began with an early start by motor coach to the Stalheim Hotel. In order to get to the hotel, our motor coach had to navigate spectacular hairpin bends of Stalheimskleivane, the steepest road in Norway. The drivers definitely deserve every krone they receive in wages and tips.



Our bus driver did a wonderful job getting us to our destination safely. Once there we entered the hotel for coffee, tea, and cakes. We had plenty of time to explore on our own, taking in the splendid views of the Naeroy Valley, the river that runs through it and the magnificent waterfalls that graced the mountain walls.

Words cannot describe the scene adequately, so take a look at our Stalheim photo album for some pictures we took.
Tvinde 

Descending the windy mountain roads, our motor coach continued the tour to our next destination, Tvinde Waterfall.

As you can see from this picture, the waterfall cascades down the mountain side. There are rocks at the foot of the waterfall which make for great portrait shots with the waterfall in the background.  These are just a sampling of images from the waterfall. View the rest of our pictures in the Tvinde photo album.

Voss

We had time for a quick refreshment and then we reboarded the motor coach for our trip to Voss, where we would have a traditional Norwegian Lunch Buffet at the Fleischer's Hotel.


Following lunch we had time to explore the quaint town of Voss before heading to the train station for our trip back to Flåm.

In the center of town is Voss Church - Vangskyrkja which was built between 1271-77. It is still in use today. There is a small charge if you want to enter the church and take photos. My husband paid the fee and included in our Voss photo album, you'll find photos of the interior of the church.

Our all day tour continued via the Flam Railway from Voss to Myrdal Station. We changed trains in Myrdal. There was enough time between trains to explore the gift shop at the station and get some ice cream. Make sure you get some ice cream when you are in Norway - it was one of our favorite things to do.


Kjosfossen Waterfall
 
The final highlight of the tour was the photo stop at Kjosfossen Waterfall . We were allowed to disembark the train to get close up pictures of the magnificent waterfall. I have to admit, this is the first time I've been on a train which stopped for photos. The waterfall powers the Flåm Railway. For more pictures of the train trip from Voss to Flåm see our photo album.

Our train pulled into the station at Flåm. As we disembarked the train, we could see the Jewel of the Seas docked just a short walk away. There was some time for shopping in the stores by the pier before boarding the ship for our final sail-away in Norway. We had a day at sea the following day, then on to our final port, Amsterdam, Netherlands before returning to Harwich, England.

We hope that you've enjoyed your trip to the Norwegian Fjords. It's not quite the same as being there in person we know, so hopefully you will get there some day. If you've not quite had enough of the Norwegian Fjords, fear not -  we had another cruise which included the Norwegian Fjords, so in future articles, we'll tell you about that trip.


Monday, June 2, 2014

3 Top Things To Do in Hellesylt Cruise Port

Hellesylt, Norway

Recall from last time that we left the Jewel of the Seas in Geiranger, Norway for an all day tour, Journey to Briksdal Glacier . Usually you begin and end your tour in the same port of call, but that isn't the case with Geiranger. The ship stayed there for most of the day so people could stay in town if they chose to. At 3:30 PM, it set sail for Hellesylt, where the majority of the passengers, who'd been on tours, would rejoin the ship.

During My Cruise Stop in Hellesylt I'd...

Photograph a Waterfall

The site of the village on the mountain sides at the end of the Sunnylvs Fiord is exceptionally picturesque. Right through the centre, 100 meters from Grand Hotel, the Hellesylt waterfall gushes down into the Fiord. This waterfall is one of the most photographed sites in Norway. Of course, we were obliged to get a few pictures of our own.

Relax & Enjoy Picturesque Views

Hellesylt is a small village in the Stranda Municipality, which is a part of the Møre and Romsdal County in the western part of Norway. Our motor coach arrived in this little town and parked near the dock where we would board a tender boat to rejoin our ship.

Hellesylt is well known for for its colorful history, and in the old street most of the old buildings are still intact.  Our tour was behind schedule, so we didn't have much time before we had to board the tender boat.

Not Miss Sail Away

Before boarding the last tender boat, we clicked a few more pictures of the waterfall and of our ship, which despite its 90,090 gross tons, was dwarfed by the fjords.  Words cannot describe the view - you must bring a camera, or at least your smart phone, with you to capture this moment in time to cherish forever.

The tender boat had an upper level, which we selected so that we could capture images of the fjord and our ship from this vantage point.  The ship grew larger as we approached, but it was still dwarfed by its surroundings.


We had late dinner plans, so we were able to relax on our aft balcony verandah, enjoying a glass of wine with friends, as we sailed away (see photo album).



From Hellesylt we sailed for our next port of call, Flåm , where we would see an even more amazing waterfall.

Our 12 Night British Isles / Norwegian Fjords cruise continued to be an exceptional cruise with wonderful memories. When updating my website, and posting to this blog, I can't help but recall those fabulous days in the Norwegian Fjords. I do hope you get to experience this magnificent country some day. 

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Flåm, Norway

It's hard to believe but Flåm, Norway was our last Norwegian Fjord port of our 12 Night British Isles / Norwegian Fjords cruise. We booked an organized RCCL tour, Overland to Voss, Tvinde & Stalheim. There were two offerings of that tour, one did the train first (as described in the tour description) and the other did the train in the afternoon following lunch. We opted for the latter.

Our day began with an early start by motor coach to the Stalheim Hotel. In order to get to the hotel, our motor coach had to navigate spectacular hairpin bends of Stalheimskleivane, the steepest road in Norway. Whenever we take a tour like this, I remind myself why I don't attempt to drive in foreign countries.

Our bus driver did a wonderful job getting us to our destination safely. Once there we entered the hotel for coffee, tea, and cakes. We had plenty of time to explore on our own, taking in the splendid views of the Naeroy Valley, the river that runs through it and the magnificent waterfalls that graced the mountain walls.

Words cannot describe the scene adequately, so take a look at our Stalheim photo album for some pictures we took.

Descending down the windy mountatin roads, our motor coach continued the tour to our next destination, Tvinde Waterfall.

As you can see from this picture, the waterfall cascades down the mountain side. There are rocks at the foot of the waterfall which make for great portrait shots with the waterfall in the background. As usual, I left the photography to my husband who really loves taking pictures on our cruises. Once again, I suggest that you view the rest of our pictures in the Tvinde photo album. We had time for a quick refreshment and then we reboarded the motor coach for our trip to Voss, where we would have a traditional Norwegian Lunch Buffet at the Fleischer's Hotel.

Following lunch we had time to explore the quaint town of Voss before heading to the train station for our trip back to Flåm.

In the center of town is Voss Church - Vangskyrkja which was built between 1271-77. It is still in use today. There is a small charge if you want to enter the church and take photos. My husband paid the fee and included in our Voss photo album, you'll find photos of the interior of the church.

Our all day tour continued via the Flam Railway from Voss to Myrdal Station. We changed trains in Myrdal. There was enough time between trains to explore the gift shop at the station and get some ice cream. Make sure you get some ice cream when you are in Norway - it was one of our favorite things to do.


The final highlight of the tour was the photo stop at Kjosfossen Waterfall . We were allowed to disembark the train to get close up pictures of the magnificent waterfall. I have to admit, this is the first time I've been on a train which stopped for photos. The waterfall powers the Flåm Railway. For more pictures of the train trip from Voss to Flåm see our photo album.

Our train pulled into the station at Flåm. As we disembarked the train, we could see the Jewel of the Seas docked just a short walk away. There was some time for shopping in the stores by the pier before boarding the ship for our final sail-away in Norway. We had a day at sea the following day, then on to our final port, Amsterdam, Netherlands before returning to Harwich, England.

I hope that you've enjoyed your trip to the Norwegian Fjords. It's not quite the same as being there in person I know, so I do hope you get there some day. Fear not, this past year, we had another cruise which included the Norwegian Fjords, so in future articles, I'll tell you about that trip.


Saturday, January 26, 2008

Hellesylt, Norway

Recall from last time that we left the Jewel of the Seas in Geiranger, Norway for an all day tour, Journey to Briksdal Glacier . Usually you begin and end your tour in the same port of call, but that isn't the case with Geiranger. The ship stayed there for most of the day so people could stay in town if they chose to. At 3:30 PM, it set sail for Hellesylt, where the majority of the passengers, who'd been on tours, would rejoin the ship.

Hellesylt is a small village in the Stranda Municipality, which is a part of the Møre and Romsdal County in the western part of Norway. Our motor coach arrived in this little town and parked near the dock where we would board a tender boat to rejoin our ship. Our tour was behind schedule, so we didn't have much time before we had to board the tender boat.

The site of the village on the mountain sides at the end of the Sunnylvs Fiord is exceptionally picturesque. Right through the centre, 100 meters from Grand Hotel, the Hellesylt waterfall gushes down into the Fiord. This waterfall is one of the most photographed sites in Norway. Of course, we were obliged to get a few pictures of our own.

Our ship awaited, so it was time to board the last tender boat, click a few more pictures of the watefall and of our ship, and get ready to sail for our next port of call, Flåm. We once again took advantage of our aft balcony cabin and relaxed on our verandah as we sailed away (see photo album).

Our 12 Night British Isles / Norwegian Fjords cruise continued to be an exceptional cruise with wonderful memories. When updating my website, and posting to this blog, I can't help but recall those fabulous days in the Norwegian Fjords. I do hope you get to experience this magnificient country some day.