In August of 2017, we visited our daughter in Hove, England and family friends near Sheffield. After spending several days traveling around the country, we boarded the Celebrity Eclipse in Southampton and headed to Norway! We had visited two of the ports on a previous cruise and were looking forward to seeing them again and to exploring several new ones. This was a special cruise for the Eclipse…they only visit these ports twice per season…once in the spring and once in late summer. First stop was Bergen, where we had been before. This time, it was pouring rain and windy, but we went ashore and walked around the Hanseatic port. Bergen is very walkable. The hop-on-hop-off bus is also a great option to explore the city. Be sure to visit the outdoor fish market and try some of the local sausages, which include reindeer, elk and whale. After returning to the ship and drying out, we received a lovely surprise in our cabin from Captain Leo and enjoyed a delicious dinner in the main dining room. The next morning we arrived in Flam. Flåm is a village in southwestern Norway, in an area known for its fjords. It sits at the end of Aurlandsfjord, a branch of the vast Sognefjord. The dramatic Stegastein viewing platform juts out high above the Aurlandsfjord. South of Flåm Harbor, the 17th-century wooden Flåm Church lies in the valley. The Flåm Railway offers valley and waterfall views as it climbs to a station on the Hardangervidda plateau (wikipedia). We opted to not take the railway and instead hiked to the Brekkefossen waterfall. It was a pretty steep and strenuous hike, but the views from the top were 100% worth it. On the way back to the ship, we passed the Aegir Brewery. It is the local brewery in Flåm and has received several awards for their delicious tasting beer. The brewery opened in 2007 and has been named “Norway’s BrewPub of the year” three years in a row. The brewery produces a wide range of varieties of beer and offer many types of different flavors, with seasonal varieties. Be sure to visit the Gilde hall which was built in the Viking style, with walls marked by driftwood dragon heads and a 9-meter-high chimney. You can also purchase a pint in the historic hotel, Freitheim Hotel or the Bakkastova Cafe. Both are located very close to the fjord and provide great views of the ship. After our adventures, we were exhausted and returned to the ship to enjoy the evening with another wonderful meal in Silhouette, the main dining room. Geiranger was our next port of call. We visited this port in 2014 and were excited to be back. We chose to walk up the stairs alongside the Fossevandring waterfall. It is an easy walk with metal steps and hand rails. On the prior visit, we visited the Union Hotel, which we decided to do again. We enjoyed a quick glass of wine for me and a beer for my husband. After visiting with the front desk, we decided to do what they described as an “easy, 20 minute hike” to the local farmhouse. Let me just say….boy, were they wrong! An hour later, and another straight up climb, we reached the Westerås Farm and Restaurant. Even though the climb was tough (especially after the climb we did the prior day), the view was once again amazing and totally worth the effort. The restaurant is housed in a building dating from 1603 and has panoramic views of Geiranger. We met some wonderful English ladies on the way up and joined them for another beer and some Norwegian waffles with homemade strawberry sauce. Delicious! We decided to walk back down to the ship via the road….SO much easier! And the views were just as stunning. Geiranger has a really cute port area with shops and food stalls. A favorite of the crew is the coffee shop just across the street from the main shopping area. It was hard to believe we only had two ports left. Alesund was next on our agenda. Ålesund is a port town on the west coast of Norway, at the entrance to the Geirangerfjord. It’s known for the art nouveau architectural style, in which most of the town was rebuilt after a fire in 1904. It is a very walkable town with cobblestone streets and is surrounded by water. Many tourists visit the Aksla viewpoint, the Sunnmore Museum, or walk through the Art Nouveau district (many buildings have numbered plagues that correspond to a map that is available at tourist information). We found the Miracle House. About ten thousand people became homeless when 850 homes were lost during the great fire in Ålesund on January 23rd, 1904. One house in Grensegata remained standing among the ruins. Anders Nor, who lived in the house, was visited by an angel the day before. The angel promised that his home was going to be spared. Furniture that was removed from the house lit up in flames but the house stood unharmed when every other building in the eastern district burned to the ground. The house was built around 1870 and has been the property of the Walde family. In 2012, the Pentecostal Church Filadelfia Ålesund aquired the house. It has since been restored and is now open to the public free of charge. There is a small kitchen were you can purchase a tea and cake to enjoy either in the house or on the patio. That evening, we were invited to the helicopter deck for sail away. As we left the port, a tug boat gave us a nice send off. Our final port was Stavanger….another city we had never visited. Stavanger is a city in southwestern Norway. In the center of town, Stavanger Cathedral dates back to the city’s 12th-century founding. Stavanger Museum chronicles the city’s history and displays preserved wildlife. The Norwegian Petroleum Museum illuminates the oil industry with submersibles, a large drill bit and an escape chute.ContinueContinue reading “Norway Fjord Cruise on the Celebrity Eclipse!”