Geirangerfjord

Just a short 2hr drive from Alesund is the Geirangerfjord. This is one of, if not the, most visited fjord in Norway. Formed millions of years ago during the Ice Age, the fjord is home to waterfalls and some of the steepest mountains on the west coast of Norway. Geirangerfjord is a major port for cruise lines, and strangely enough, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The UNESCO designation is because Geiranger looks the way a fjord should look. I guess a typical fjord has cruise ships, tour buses, hundreds of people and loads of shops selling all those goods from China.

Raining in Alesund when we left early this morning. Temp is around 50⁰ but it doesn’t really seem that cold. The drive is going to be interesting, lots of hairpin turns going down the fjord and a few tour buses to dodge. I’m sure most buses will pull over once they see our Yaris coming towards them. Unlike Highway 550 in Colorado, this one has guard rails, no 2-3,000’ drop offs! That’s a good thing since the road is just big enough for a couple of cars to pass, you need to pull over for the buses.

At the bottom is the tiny town (more like tourist shops and a farm) of Geiranger. The big thing here is when the tsunami will hit. Yes a tsunami! The mountain Akerneset has been slipping into the fjord for years and it’s just a matter of time before the whole mountain side collapses into the fjord. When that happens, the little town of Geiranger will have about 10 minutes to get to high ground. Hussein Bolt would have a hard time making it out!

OK, made it to the bottom, walked the shops for some good Chinese trinkets now back up to the look-out point for lunch. Nice day, fun drive and awesome views. What a wonderful place to enjoy our lunch.

Holland Line cruise ship in Geiranger

One of the “Seven Sisters” waterfalls

Geiranger Fjord and the town of Geiranger

Entrance in to Geiranger Fjord

Geiranger Hotel

Mountain town on the way to Geiranger Fjord