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Can help with Ålesund & Norwegian Fjords:-)

I-Cruiser

By I-Cruiser,
in Northern Europe & Baltic Sea

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I-Cruiser

I-Cruiser

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Thanks! The ship's Path of the Trolls is $175 per person and is more than we normally spend. Also we are doing a Baltics cruise on May 19th and will have spent on that cruise.

 

Sounds like we will probably do the hop on / hop off bus .

 

Thanks,

Ruth

 

Tours for two port intensive cruises sure adds up. I am sure you will have a fantastic day exploring Ålesund with the hop on/off bus:)

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sippican

sippican

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Just dropped by today "exploring". We already have three cruises scheduled for this year, but since we typically look at the bucket list two years out, we had decided that Norway was next up :D - but not until 2016 :(. After reding through I am now super excited. Disney sent a promotional video out on Facebook and the images are breathtaking. (Although we are not considering them for this trip.) I am eager to hear more as the 2015 itinerraies are released.

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I-Cruiser

I-Cruiser

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Just dropped by today "exploring". We already have three cruises scheduled for this year, but since we typically look at the bucket list two years out, we had decided that Norway was next up :D - but not until 2016 :(. After reading through I am now super excited. Disney sent a promotional video out on Facebook and the images are breathtaking. (Although we are not considering them for this trip.) I am eager to hear more as the 2015 itineraries are released.

 

 

I am glad you enjoy what you read - It sure makes the time worthwhile:)

 

On this forum there is a thread called Norway itineraries 2015. It lists all the cruise lines which has released their Norway itines for next year. Its very good information.

My hope is that Celebrity will return to do an Arctic and Spitzbergen cruise again in 2016.

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sippican

sippican

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I am glad you enjoy what you read - It sure makes the time worthwhile:)

 

On this forum there is a thread called Norway itineraries 2015. It lists all the cruise lines which has released their Norway itines for next year. Its very good information.

My hope is that Celebrity will return to do an Arctic and Spitzbergen cruise again in 2016.

 

Yes, thank you for pointing that out - that was where I had actually intended to post. Guess in the excitement of reading all of this wonderful information I posted here. I'm sure I will asking many, many question as we plan.

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auntdot

auntdot

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Hi Lars,

 

Thank you so much for taking your time to answers so many questions about Norway. We will be on a Norwegian Fjord cruise in mid June and can hardly wait! I will pack three questions into this one email!!:)

 

We stop at the usual ports - Bergen, Flam, Hellesylt / Geiranger, Trondheim, Honnigsvag, Tromso, and Stavanger. Would you know of the best places to look for some small paintings or water colours done by a local artist? I have a place on my wall that is begging for something like this and it would be a wonderful reminder of this trip! My travel mate is also wondering what the best 'Norwegian products' to bring home would be? Beautiful knitted articles and ???

 

I am also thinking about 'layers' for clothing, hoping that most of our days will be in the mid teens! As it will be daylight for so many hours I would think we would need a jacket out on the deck in the early mornings and evenings; is that your opinion too?

 

Many thanks for your help!

Dorothy

Edited by auntdot
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I-Cruiser

I-Cruiser

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Hi Lars,

 

Thank you so much for taking your time to answers so many questions about Norway. We will be on a Norwegian Fjord cruise in mid June and can hardly wait! I will pack three questions into this one email!!:)

 

We stop at the usual ports - Bergen, Flam, Hellesylt / Geiranger, Trondheim, Honnigsvag, Tromso, and Stavanger. Would you know of the best places to look for some small paintings or water colours done by a local artist? I have a place on my wall that is begging for something like this and it would be a wonderful reminder of this trip! My travel mate is also wondering what the best 'Norwegian products' to bring home would be? Beautiful knitted articles and ???

 

I am also thinking about 'layers' for clothing, hoping that most of our days will be in the mid teens! As it will be daylight for so many hours I would think we would need a jacket out on the deck in the early mornings and evenings; is that your opinion too?

 

Many thanks for your help!

Dorothy

 

Hi Dorothy,

 

You will be able to find small galleries in all the ports you are visiting. I would suggest you visit Geiranger Gallery.

Its situated close by Hotel Geiranger and the grocery shop Joker. The gallery used to be the old school building. I believe my mother went to that school.

The gallery is well signed so you will not miss it.

Here is a link.

http://www.geiranger.no/index.php/nb/museum-galleri-opplevelsessenter/296-geiranger-galleri.html

 

Knitted sweaters are very popular souvenirs. You would be able to find them cheaper in the big cities of Bergen/Tromsø/Trondheim.

Also, those that are no hand knitted will cost less.

Other popular products would be the carved Trolls which comes in many shapes and sizes.

I particularly like the small books with pictures of the fjords, northern light, the various seasons. They are small books and vary easy to carry.

Also knitted scarves, hats, gloves with traditional Norwegian patterns are popular.

A very popular design that have had a sort of renaissance is the "Marius" pattern. You will find in on sweaters, bed linen, mugs, pillows and even on sweaters for dogs:)

http://soydesignblog.blogspot.no/p/designene.html

 

You will have daylight 24 hrs and also the midnight sun. June can see temperatures up to the high 60F.

However, I would as you mention pack some warm clothes like a jacket. You would not need a thick jacket but a wool, cashmere, fleece, windbreaker type of jacket. Do pack and dress in layers to be the most comfortable.

 

I hope this help a little:)

Lars

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auntdot

auntdot

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Hi Dorothy,

 

You will be able to find small galleries in all the ports you are visiting. I would suggest you visit Geiranger Gallery.

 

Here is a link.

http://www.geiranger.no/index.php/nb/museum-galleri-opplevelsessenter/296-geiranger-galleri.html

 

I hope this help a little:)

Lars

 

Thank you, Lars! This helps a LOT! I will keep your list of souvenirs in mind!

 

You have now got me re- thinking our tours. We had planned to take the full day tour from Hellesylt which ends in Geiranger, but that leaves us almost no time in Geiranger to go to the gallery you mentioned.

 

The tour we have picked starts in Hellesylt and goes to Mt Dalsnibba, StrynLake, and Buldrefossen Falls. It ends in Geiranger. The description says the road to Mt Dalsnibba might not be open in June because of snow! I think choosing this tour also means that we will miss a very scenic sailing in the Geiranger Fjord between Hellesylt and Geiranger, if I understand the itinerary? Or maybe we would see this after we leave Geiranger on our way to Trondheim?

 

Would you think a better choice might be to stay on the ship at Hellesylt ( you can only disembark there if you are going on a tour ) and get off in Geiranger instead? We could then choose a half day tour to Mt Dalsnibba and Flydalsjuvet or a tour to Herdal Summerfarm and Eagles Bend, which includes views of the Seven Sisters waterfall.

 

One more thing I did not mention - I am not able to walk too far or stand too long due to mobility issues; that is why we have chosen ship tours - to make it easier to see as much as I can. So any options that require a lot of walking are not good choices for me.

 

So many choices! And being unfamiliar with the area I have no idea what to choose!!

 

Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated!

 

Thank you!

Dorothy

Edited by auntdot
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I-Cruiser

I-Cruiser

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Thank you, Lars! This helps a LOT! I will keep your list of souvenirs in mind!

 

You have now got me re- thinking our tours. We had planned to take the full day tour from Hellesylt which ends in Geiranger, but that leaves us almost no time in Geiranger to go to the gallery you mentioned.

 

The tour we have picked starts in Hellesylt and goes to Mt Dalsnibba, StrynLake, and Buldrefossen Falls. It ends in Geiranger. The description says the road to Mt Dalsnibba might not be open in June because of snow! I think choosing this tour also means that we will miss a very scenic sailing in the Geiranger Fjord between Hellesylt and Geiranger, if I understand the itinerary? Or maybe we would see this after we leave Geiranger on our way to Trondheim?

 

Would you think a better choice might be to stay on the ship at Hellesylt ( you can only disembark there if you are going on a tour ) and get off in Geiranger instead? We could then choose a half day tour to Mt Dalsnibba and Flydalsjuvet or a tour to Herdal Summerfarm and Eagles Bend, which includes views of the Seven Sisters waterfall.

 

One more thing I did not mention - I am not able to walk too far or stand too long due to mobility issues; that is why we have chosen ship tours - to make it easier to see as much as I can. So any options that require a lot of walking are not good choices for me.

 

So many choices! And being unfamiliar with the area I have no idea what to choose!!

 

Any suggestions or ideas would be appreciated!

 

Thank you!

Dorothy

 

Your overland tour from Hellesylt to Geiranger will be very memorable with lots of stunning scenery.

It will make for a long day but well worth it.

Dont worry about not seeing the sail in from Hellesylt to Geiranger because when you sail out fro Geiranger the ship back tracks out to the ocean again.

You can see the sail out from the top deck:)

If the road is open in June or not all depends on how much snow there is in the mountains. We have hardly had any snow this winter so the chances are the road will open in late May or early June.

Another option which will allow for more time in the village of Geiranger - Its a very small village so you can easily do "everything" in 1 hr or less - is to take a tour or hop on/off bus to The Eagle rd-Flydalsjuvet and Mt. Dalsnibba.

This way you will have more time exploring the village comfortably.

 

All these options involve minimal walking.

You could check how much time after the overland tour you have to explore the village.

From the village to the gallery its no more than a 5-10 minute walk.

 

To be honest I think the overland tour will be the one that will "wow" you:)

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auntdot

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Dear Lars,

 

Thank you so very much for helping us out with all this information. You are very kind and generous to put so much time into helping tourists! That says a lot about how proud you are of your country and how much you want your visitors to enjoy their short stops.

 

Many, many thanks!

Dorothy

:)

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timetravler

timetravler

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I have enjoyed reading all your posts. Thank you so very much. I have a uncle near Narvik that I am hoping to see, but I have not yet heard from him. Anyways the only part of Norway I have been to is Oslo. So my upcoming trip in June(Ruby Princess) has been on my bucket list for a long time. Thanks again for answering so many questions.

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I-Cruiser

I-Cruiser

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I have enjoyed reading all your posts. Thank you so very much. I have a uncle near Narvik that I am hoping to see, but I have not yet heard from him. Anyways the only part of Norway I have been to is Oslo. So my upcoming trip in June(Ruby Princess) has been on my bucket list for a long time. Thanks again for answering so many questions.

 

Thank you so much - your comment is very much appreciated.

Enjoy your cruise on the Ruby Princess and I hope you get to meet your uncle.

 

Lars:)

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I-Cruiser

I-Cruiser

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The latest information about the opening of Trollstigen (Path of the Trolls) and the road to Mt. Dalsnibba suggest mid to end of May

 

Historically Trollstigen opens before the last week of May. Only 3 times since 1988 has the road opened as late as June.

 

The locals :D suggest an early opening of the roads this year but I would not hope for anything before medio May.

 

I will of course post exact opening date as soon as I know.

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