Edinburgh, Scotland

Friday, July8

What an amazing day in Edinburgh! We walked to Holyroodhouse Palace to find it closed, but found out it was because the Queen was staying there. We went one better than seeing inside the Palace, we saw the Queen and Prince Phillip leaving for an appointment. It made our day and we were 2 excited Aussies - they weren't far away and there were no crowds to fight. Amazing!

IJmuilden, then sailing to Edinburgh

Wednesday - Thursday, July 6-7

We arrived in IJmuiden to end the Norwegian cruise on Wednesday morning. Fortunately our cruise continues this afternoon, so we had some time to catch up on wifi and also to go for a walk to check out the beach at IJmuiden. There are beaches on either side of the waterway that leads to the North Sea, and they are huge and well maintained. Overlooking the beach on both sides are beach huts which are all the same and set out in rows, one slightly above the other. On one side we counted 67 in each row, while on the other side there were 3 rows and twice as many, as the beach was a lot longer on this side.

We settled into our new cabin, and then attended a 4-5 Star Mariner reception in the Crows Nest, followed by the mandatory safety drill. We set off under sunny skies and smooth seas, and hope this continues for the next 14 days of our trip around the UK.

Thursday was a day at sea as we sailed towards Rosyth, the port for Edinburgh. The sea days are always enjoyable and relaxing, and are needed when you have so many ports coming up before we get another sea day!

Day at Sea, sailing towards IJmuiden

Tuesday, July 5

Today was a day at sea, and with this cruise ending tomorrow there was a bit of packing to do as we change cabins for the 14 days of the next cruise. There were a lot of expert talks to attend, as well as saying goodbye to people we have met on this cruise.

Before tonight's show the Captain thanked everyone and we all toasted him and the crew who have made this cruise so memorable. We would thoroughly recommend everyone do a Norwegian cruise on the Prisendam, especially at this time of year and with this captain.

Eidfjord

Monday, July 4

Today we joined up with friends Don & Norma, who had arranged to hire a car, and headed off to see the waterfalls and scenery around the village of Eidfjord. The road out of town took us through the spectacular and steep Mabodalen Valley, where the Voringsfossen waterfall is located. This is the most famous and most photographed waterfall in Norway, as it is very accessible and has a number of viewing points. The vertical drop is about 200 metres or 600 feet, and consists of two separate falls on either side of the gorge. Looking straight down while taking pics made you realise how far they fall!

We continued along the road to the largest mountain plateau in Northern Europe, and most of the houses here had grass growing on the roof for insulation - we even saw one guy on his roof with a whipper-snipper to keep it neat! A bit further along we came to the Sysen Dam, which had an impressive stone wall about 90 metres high and 800 metres long.

We returned to town and headed out on a different road, looking for some Viking graves and another big waterfall. We followed the road along the fjord, passing more massive stone walls that boxed the fjord in, but the road kept getting smaller and smaller. When we came to a dead end and saw cars parked there we figured we had to walk the rest of the way to see the waterfall, but due to our time in port being reduced by 3 hours we didn't want to risk it. Also there were no signposts as to which dirt track to take! (We later found out you could drive on one of the dirt tracks to the waterfall)!

The last thing we aimed for were some old Viking graves, but again the maps let us down, as well as the time factor - so we returned the car, took in the local art gallery and then boarded the ship. The Captain had picked up some local cheese in Flam, so we attended the wine and cheese sail away that was organised.

We had dinner at Canaletto Restaurant with Don & Norma, and had a huge window to admire the fabulous scenery we were sailing past. When we got to a glacier and another famous waterfall, the captain slowed the boat and rotated it so everyone had a good view of them. As we sailed out of the Hardanger Fjord we looked back and saw the most magnificent rainbow, with its own reflection beside it - an amazing sight to complete an amazing day!

Flam

Sunday, July 3

We had pre-booked a tour of the fiords around Flam before we left home, not knowing how great a view we would have from our ship. However we weren't sorry to be spending more time on the water with this adventure.

We kitted up with the gear provided - thermal full length suit and life vest, goggles, woollen gloves and waterproof gloves to go over them! We kept all our clothes and jackets on under the suit provided - the temperature was only about 14C, but the wind chill when doing 20-30 knots (about 35-50kph) meant you were ok except for the small amount of your face that was exposed!

We passed numerous little farms perched on the edge of the fiords and cliffs, as well as small towns and villages, as we travelled along the Aurlandsfiord, a 17 km arm of the world's second longest fiord, the Sognefiord. The scenery was magnificent with the cliffs rising 500m above the water, which is about 500m deep! There were so many spectacular waterfalls, snow capped mountains, lush bright green fields, dark green pine trees, partly cloudy skies and the water colour varied from dark blue to pale green, depending on the reflections. 

Our driver and guide Elenore then took us along the Naeroyfiord which is the narrowest fiord in the world and a UNESCO World heritage site. We could see why it was so special and one that cruise ships can't access. At the village of Gudvangen we turned around and headed back to Flam - on the way back we saw herds of goats grazing on the steep hillsides, with some even having a nap on the rocks. How they don't fall off the steep rocks was incredible to us!

After a quick tour of the museum and shops, we caught the ship's tender back to our ship. We had an early dinner as we wanted to get front row seats to see Patrick McMahon perform again. He is a talented and energetic Aussie performer who everyone has loved - he is so enthusiastic about everything and is definitely the best entertainer we have seen on the cruises we have done.

Alesund

Saturday, July 2

We left the ship in bright sunshine again, and headed for Alesund Park to begin the 418 step climb to the lookout on top of Mt. Aksia. After a number of rest stops we made it, and enjoyed the magnificent views from the top. There were also some WW2 German bunkers at the top - how they got the materials for the cement and solid steel up there would have been a huge job!  We negotiated the steps down and enjoyed walking around this beautiful town with its Art Nouveau buildings.

These are due to a fire in the early 1900s, so when the town was rebuilt Art Nouveau was in style, and they have kept that character over the past 100 years or so. Being on the water and a big fishing port there were lots of boats about, as well as the old warehouses we have seen in other ports. At the Alesund Church we saw a bridal party getting there photos taken, but we couldn't walk around inside due to the wedding - however the glimpses we had showed a magnificent stained glass window.

Trondheim

Friday, July 1

We arrived in Trondheim after breakfast, grabbed a map and headed off to explore Norway's 3rd largest city. We took in the old wharves and warehouses, which have now been converted to trendy apartments. As we were walking past the Courthouse we saw a crowd, and soon a bride and groom appeared. The crowd, who must have been a choir started singing to the bride and groom, and it was beautiful to see and hear.

Next up was the Nidarosdomen Cathedral, the largest one in Northern Europe, the Archbishops Palace which was next door, and the Army and Resistance museum. All of these were very good. On our way back to the ship we walked over the old bridge, looked in at Our Lady's Church which dated back to 1739, checked out the Royal Residence, but this wasn't open to visitors today!