Narratives from Navigator in Norway

[Focused1]

What an excellent cruise blog, Flossie. It is nice to hear your positive comments while on the Navigator. Continue to have a great time. 

[briar14]

16 hours ago, flossie009 said:

Thanks for all the supportive comments. We will try to keep this blog going in between food, drink, entertainment & excursions!

 

@briar14, Jan - Hope your knee recovers soon. If there is anything specific you want us to investigate on this itinerary please ask away and we will do our best to help you with planning your cruise next year.

Thank you, Susan. We have met, Mariner—April 2018 TA, M&M. I would be especially interested in your thoughts about tours offered for the northernmost ports, Hammerfest, Solovetsky Islands, etc. Your pictures of sailing into Flam brings back wonderful memories of a Voyager cruise several years ago.

[Gilly]

@Mudhen we'd sail on Navigator again in a heartbeat - a fine, sociable and very comfortable ship indeed.   I'm pleased we didn't allow ourselves to be put off by comments here and gave ourselves a chance to make our own minds up.  The itinerary @flossie009 is sailing is the one I have my eye on in particular.  Hey @briar14 it would be even more fun in company wouldn't it?  (though I do have the nay-sayer here on my shoulder to persuade first 😉)

Edited July 28, 2019 by Gilly

[1982CruzStart]

8 hours ago, Gilly said:

@Mudhen we'd sail on Navigator again in a heartbeat - a fine, sociable and very comfortable ship indeed.   I'm pleased we didn't allow ourselves to be put off by comments here and gave ourselves a chance to make our own minds up.  The itinerary @flossie009 is sailing is the one I have my eye on in particular.  Hey @briar14 it would be even more fun in company wouldn't it?  (though I do have the nay-sayer here on my shoulder to persuade first 😉)

This is an itinerary i am really interested in but like you i have a naysayer i am trying to persuade for 2021. We were scheduled to go on Navigator a couple of years ago but had to cancel so have not had a chance to sail her yet. 

 

Susan, thanks for taking the time to bring us a long with you. Have fun. 

[crusin7]

Hi Sue.  I was excited to see your blog. Sailing on the Voyager to the North Cape was our favorite cruise. You are in for a treat!  It will be great reliving old memories.  I hope you both have an excellent time.   Looking forward to the next installment.  

 

[flossie009]

Another gorgeous day as we sail into Molde this morning:

 

 

@1982CruzStart, Kathy, Thanks for the kind words. If you, @Gilly and others need any helpful information to persuade your “naysayers” then let us know😌

 

@crusin7, Crisy, Hope you and Jim are keeping well.

 

 

[flossie009]

Our excursion yesterday was the railway journey from Flåm to Vatnahalsen. This railway, a masterpiece of engineering, climbs 865 metres (2850 feet) over 20km (12 miles); maximum gradient 1:18.

 

 

 

 

The train was comfortable, but very warm. It snaked around the mountains and through tunnels which had been hewn out of the rock by hand. The views were spectacular.

 

 

 

At Vatnahalsen we had an hour to stretch our legs and sample waffles with raspberry jam & cream - yummy.

 

 

 

Then we caught a return train arriving shortly before the Navigator set sail.

[flossie009]

The sail-out from Flåm was truly wonderful. Mere pictures cannot do justice to this beautiful Fjord:

 

 

 

 

[Mudhen]

These were postcards, right?.....haha! Most glorious photos! Thank you for sending them!

Looks like your weather has been "picture" perfect! Enjoy every minute!

[zimmer46]

Thanks for sharing Flossie009 and keep it coming.   Glad briar14 directed me to your blog as we join Navigator for the next leg of her northern journey

[LynnRuns]

We did this train ride but rented mountain bikes at the top in Myrdal and biked back to Flam. The bike ride was spectacular, a bit harrowing on the switch backs but just absolutely stunning. We had a traffic jam of goats across the bike path at one point. ( I actually think we did this on the same day as the thread starter who is posting on the Iceland cruise!)

 

We found Flam itself a bit small with a cruise ship in port - extremely crowded. 

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[RJ2002]

Thanks for sharing your wonderful pictures of Flam.  It is a beautiful region, and it looks like your weather was perfect.

[boblerm]

Susan,

Thanks for posting those lovely pics of the Flam railway, we are doing this excursion in a couple of weeks on our cruise on the Explorer, and you have whet our appetite!  (Also whet our appetite for waffles 😋)

A couple of questions- it appears to me from your picture of the train car that the seats are facing the windows, do I have that right?

Also- is there a "better" side of the train to choose (left or right) ?  I imagine you would want to see one side outbound and the other side inbound😳

Thanks,

Bob

[flossie009]

Today we were in Molde - the “City of Roses”.

Our excursion was not until this afternoon so we spent the morning on the Pool Deck soaking up the warm sunshine.

Apparently one of the items to be done during next year’s dry dock is remodelling the pool and relaying the teak decking. The work could not be done recently because of lack of time and very inclement weather.

 

After a leisurely lunch in La Veranda we met onshore for a paid excursion to the Bergtatt Marble Caves.

On arrival at the caves we donned hard hats & life jackets for a raft ride through the flooded mine workings.

 

 

 

We then went into a Concert Hall within the mountain for coffee and pancakes (with sugar & cream or with Norwegian brown cheese). I abstained but David tried the brown cheese and declared it to be “interesting” and probably an “acquired taste” 🤨

 

We were shown some short films explaining the marble mining; an extensive operation including 40km of roads within the mountain.

Most of the marble extracted is crushed for use in the manufacture of high quality glazed paper. At peak the mine produced 500,000 tonnes per year but this has now dropped to 50,000 tonnes per year, with digital technology replacing the use of paper.

 

A lump of marble from the mine

[Maxmann65]

Thank you @flossie009for sharing your trip. You have made my decision for 2020 an easier one!

[flossie009]

A seam of coloured marble

 

A large chandelier made from thinly cut slices of coloured marble

 

A historic photo of miners (the mine has been commercially operated since the 1930’s)

 

 

After leaving the Bergtatt Marble Caves our coach made a tour through some villages back to Molde, with our guide giving us a commentary on rural life and customs.

 

Some more stunning scenery in the sunshine

[califsealion]

Thanks for sharing your trip!  It is an itinerary that has caught my interest.  Which is not unusual, because really a lot of itineraries catch my interest.  My mom and I will be on the Navigator in a couple months, so it is nice to read about her!

[Wendy The Wanderer]

Oh I love the Norwegian brown cheese!

[flossie009]

7 hours ago, boblerm said:

A couple of questions- it appears to me from your picture of the train car that the seats are facing the windows, do I have that right?

Also- is there a "better" side of the train to choose (left or right) ?  I imagine you would want to see one side outbound and the other side inbound

 

No, the seats do not face the windows.

They are arranged in rows, alternating in direction with 3 seats on one side of the corridor and 2 on the other.

 

Views are good from both sides, and many passengers stand up & move around to take photos.

The train stops for a photo opportunity at a large waterfall, both on the way up and on the return. Passengers may get off for about 5 minutes at this intermediate stop.

 

If you are booked with a group (e.g. a Regent excursion) you will be allocated a carriage but not a specific seat. So you can choose a different seat location (side and/or direction of facing) for the outward and return journey. At this time of year the trains are full so don’t hang back if you want to choose where to sit.

 

There is a museum about the construction & history of the railway next to Flam station, but unfortunately we did not have time to take a look.

 

 

 

Edited July 30, 2019 by flossie009

[Hambagahle]

We did a trip to Flam when we were in Bergen (not on a cruise).  The excursion was called "Norway in a Nutshell" which I thought was a pretty good title.  The waterfall seen from the Flam railway is sensational.  What a lovely part of the world and your photos completely do it justice!

[annapolitan369]

One other suggestion in Flam.  We went on the Fjord Safari and it was the highpoint of our cruise.  You go thru the fjords in a large inflatable in full survival gear and it was quite an experience, much better than we expected.

[flossie009]

We seem to have got a bit behind with this blog 😮. Having too much fun on Navigator 😎.

 

So let’s try to catch up ...............

 

Tuesday, July 30, Trondheim

Trondheim is Norway’s third largest, and second oldest, city.

 

Yet again it was a sunny day for our visit. Good weather makes it so much more enjoyable and easier to see more during the short time in each port during a cruise.

 

Fresh fruit being delivered for our future enjoyment

 

Gulls were fishing in the harbour

[flossie009]

Trondheim is a very pretty town with gaily painted houses and buildings throughout.

 

House in the town centre

 

This house on the outskirts is painted in one of the favourite colours

 

Traditional turf roof on part of this house

 

Warehouses (now converted to dwellings) along the river

[flossie009]

Our afternoon excursion in Trondheim included a trip on one of the trams that goes from the centre of town to the woods and lakes nearby.

The tram line opened in 1924 and is still popular with locals today as a way of getting out of town for picnics, hiking, swimming and fishing.

We saw many Norwegian families near the lakes taking advantage of the warm afternoon sunshine.

 

The tram line is operated by enthusiasts and the tram chartered for our excursion was a heritage vehicle built in Belgium in the 1950’s.

 

Our tram and driver

 

Negotiating a junction in town

 

 

After the tram trip out to the woods, we boarded a coach for the return journey to Nidaros Cathedral, the largest medieval building in Scandinavia.

The altar sits over the grave of St Olav, the Viking king who replaced the Nordic pagan religion with Christianity.

 

An imposing building

 

Edited August 1, 2019 by flossie009

[flossie009]

At the time of our visit there was a major festival ongoing; with many stalls set up in the Cathedral grounds selling handicrafts. There were also demonstrations of various craft skills.

 

Stonemasonry

 

Leaded glass

 

Ironwork

 

Weaving

(a table fork seemed to be this lady’s specialist weaving tool of choice!)

 

 

 

We then returned to our “home”, SS Navigator, which cast off and set sail shortly after boarding.