Norway: Sailing the Fjords

July 4, 2012

What better way for an American to spend the Fouth of July, than to be sailing through the beautiful fjords of Norway right?

Okay, so my independence day may have been a little short of fireworks, but what I lacked in pyrotechnics, God more than provided for with incredible displays of his majesty.

Norway, in the summer, is something that I sincerely wish everyone could see.  When I look back at my time in the fjords one word continually pops into my head: magnitude.

First of all, you're sailing in water that is at sea level and on both sides of you are cliffs, often sheer.  And they keep going up!  You are better off lying down and watching Norway go by above you.  At least that way you won't need your chiropractor at the end of the day.

Okay, I know, I know...enough talk.  Here are the pictures.  I have to say though that these pictures fail to capture the feeling of being overwhelmed by nature.  There's nothing I can do about that, other than saying that you owe it to yourself to experience a place like this in person one day.

Best way to see Norway: Summer and Ship.

Marcy shows us how to enjoy Norway from the comfort of the observation deck.

What's a fjord?

"Geologically, a fjord (/ˈfjɔərd/ or ⁱ/ˈfiːɔərd/; also spelt fiord) is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created in a valley carved by glacial activity. The word comes to English from Norwegian, but related words are used in several Scandinavian languages, in many cases to refer to any long narrow body of water other than the more specific meaning it has in English. Both the whole coast of Norway and the island of Greenland have many fjords.<sup>[1]"

Thanks wikipedia.</sup> 

Just a little bit further to Hogwarts.

 I know, what you're thinking.  I was thinking the same thing.  Is this the lake from Harry Potter?  Let's just have our moment and say that it is.  Don't look it up.

This is much bigger than it looks.  That's not moss.  Those are trees.  Big trees.

The cliffs of Norway are always crying.  Waterfalls are everywhere.
The picture on the right is a close up on the top section of the waterfall on the left.
The angle changed a little as we were sailing by.

Goats!

Can you see the goats?

These next pictures were brought to you by my Nikon 18x zoom lens.

You're looking at a mansion on a cliff.  It's owned by an American and he rents it out for tens of thousands of dollars.  The waiting list is over a year long.  To access this mansion there is a little red boat house at the bottom and a zig zaggy trail up to the top.

Mansion 4 Rent

The little red boat house that I posted above is in this picture.  Can you find it?

Answer

Having lived on a ship for over five months now, I've grown an appreciation for them.  It was this trip to Norway though that showed me how invaluable ships have been to cultures throughout history.  In this case, these people could not live here without them.  For most of the history of our world, water meant access.  The same way you and I look at a freeway, they look at the sea.  Here are a few places allowed to exist by our mastering of the waters.

People live here.

Could you handle living in the shadow of this awesome?

In the few places there is enough room by the water for a town, they make one.

Little town, little quiet village.

This is a church, those were it's people.

 

Awww...

Next time, MORE NORWAY!