Part Two of my Norwegian escapade was a couple of days in gorgeous rainy Bergen. I’ll be sharing more on what we got up to there in my next post, but after our incredible hike up Preikestolen we knew we wanted to get back into the Norwegian fjords. This time round, we opted for sightseeing with considerably less effort, by taking a cruise.
With limited time, we jumped onto a 3 hour cruise which would take us up into the Osterfjord. The comfortable boat departed right from the middle of Bergen and we nabbed a table inside – it was chilly out on the water! As we sped out through the harbour, the guide gave us a quick history of the town and some of the landmarks around us. I spent most of my time trying to decide which cute waterside house or colour scheme I preferred the most – there were some gorgeous spots.
Apparently this couple greet every cruise boat that passes with flag waving, horn tooting and garden hose spraying – that’s dedication!
The sides of the fjord grew steeper as we motored further north, past Osterøy Island, the largest internal island in Norway. With only two road bridges connecting either side of this massive island to the mainland, it was quickly apparent why most locals choose boats as their main form of transportation.
By this point I was getting strong reminders of the fjords of New Zealand’s South Island, although sadly the Norwegian equivalent didn’t have a resident dolphin population. That aside, the gorgeous green tones and many waterfalls were very familiar. It was so tranquil out there, with barely any other boats as we progressed further along the fjord.
Soon we were approaching Mostraumen, an exceptionally narrow sound stretching off the Osterfjord and the far point of our tour. The boat slowed right down and to the sounds of the pastoral classic Greig’s ‘Morning Mood’ we edged gently through.
The teeny settlement at the edge of Mostraumen
Once through, we headed straight for the cliff face – deliberately, thank goodness. A few brave souls had their arms twisted volunteered to collect the fresh fjord waterfall spray in a bucket from the front of the boat – given how cold it was in the far reaches of the fjord I was more than happy to watch from the upper deck!
Close enough for me!
All rugged up!
Before we knew it, we were gingerly navigating back through the pinch point at Mostraumen and heading at speed back down Osterfjord. I headed back inside to regain the feeling in my fingers and watched the green cliffs flash by. Back in Bergen harbour it felt positively bustling in contrast to the serenity of the fjord!
For more information on the cruise we took, click here.
Have you taken a cruise around islands or along a fjord?
Linking up for Travel Tuesday with Bonnie, Christine and Sara!
