Years ago I asked my well travelled father which country had the most impressive fjords. He noted that the fjords of New Zealand were beautiful, the fjords of Alaska were magnificent but nothing compared to the fjords of Norway.
One of my first surprises was just how long the fjords are. Our first destination, Skjolden lies at the end of the Sognefjord, 127 miles from the sea! It takes many hours to sail the length of it at our reduced speed so we entered it about 3:00 am. The sun rises about 4:30 am so we decided to get up at 5:00 to enjoy the journey up the fjord.
At it’s widest, this fjord is over three miles wide so it’s a bit like traveling along a huge river. It’s also over 3,000 feet deep so there are no worries about hitting any rocks. On this morning, the surface was like a mill pond.
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| No bridges here, one crosses via ferry |
The banks rise steeply up to 5,000 feet high with snow and glaciers capping the tallest peaks and lesser fjords branching off to the side. It is truly unlike anything else we have ever seen.
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| Approaching Skjolden |
The tiny village of Skjolden (population 300) didn’t have much to see; a couple shops, cafes and hotels so we just hiked to two nearby falls.
By the time we got back to the ship, the temperature was in the 80's!
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| Beer with a fjord back! |
It was a lovely introduction to the Land of the Midnight Sun.
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