Olden, Norway

Ted. It is rare for Judy and me to pay for an excursion at a cruise stop. When we do, though, we prefer to hire a local company. 

I booked two excursions at this port with Olden Adventure so that we could explore a bit of the countryside. Olden is only slightly larger than Skjolden but gets a lot more cruise ships because of the extra spectacular scenery nearby. Since it is only a 7 hour drive from Oslo, we also saw lots of folks from all over Europe who were visiting this area by car. 

Once we docked, we hopped on a shuttle bus to the nearby village of Loen where we boarded a gondola that whisked us 3,000 feet up Mt Hoven. 

There are several walking trails at the top and a nice cafe. We savored the 360° views, spotting an eagle and a paraglider. Judy even got a quick glimpse of a base jumper! 

Can you spot our tiny ship on the left?

Just another fjord!

After a bit, we returned to the port and had time for a quick lunch on our ship before taking our next excursion. First, we had a 40 minute bus ride up a charming valley to the little hamlet at the trailhead for the Briksdal Glacier.

Glacial runoff makes this lake appear green

We were fascinated to learn how this very popular destination first attracted visitors. Back in the 1930's, before the Norwegian government had much interest, the local farmers paid to have a road built to this point. They worked out an arrangement whereby the local community would own the rights to the access to the glacier and began organizing visits by tourists. Today, the Briksdal glacier itself lies within a national park but all of the surrounding area is controlled by the local farmers. The buses, cafes, lodge and excursions are all staffed by the local families and it is now an important revenue stream for the community.  

Rather than a long hike, we opted to ride “Troll Cars” (John Deere UTV’s) driven by locals (of course) to get to the glacier’s base. As it was approaching 90°F, the glacier was melting quickly and the resulting river was roaring!

We had to drive through this waterfall!

The same waterfall from above

Worth it!

We had about a half hour to stroll around before we reversed the process returning to the ship just before departure time. As our ship slipped its lines and pulled away from the pier, folks gathered on the terrace of the nearby pub to sing and wave flags in farewell; a touching tradition.