The sunshine of yesterday had deserted us as we slowly made our way up the Romsdasfjord to the small town of Andalsnes. In Norwegian folklore it is said that the hills around this area are the home of the trolls, and the eerie lighting and mist on the mountains seemed to comfirm the tales.
The mountains that rise up from either side of the fjord appeared higher and more menacing than those of the earlier fjords with less vegetation.
The ship was today moored in the fjord with tenders ferrying the passengers to the shore. As we hadn’t booked any tours today we had a leisurely breakfast and after the mandatory game of table tennis took in the morning trivia. Now I haven’t spoken much about the trivia basically because we haven’t had a lot of success. The questions have tended to have a more American slant and although we have been close on a number of occasions have not won a cigar (or a pen, lanyard or keyring). Today to our dismay we discovered another reason, two fellow passengers who we had met on our previous Princess cruise on the Crown. This couple from Scotland had on that trip clocked up over 100 cruises and have now probably added another dozen to that total. They tend to stay on the same ship for two or three cruises back to back before flying back to Edinburgh and always take part in the trivia games. They must know all the questions by heart. The chalenge this cruise is to beat them just once, I’ll keep you posted.
When we eventually went ashore there was little to see in the town apart from the railway that took people to the troll wall, the highest sheer cliff in Europe. We did however discover a pleasant woodland walk which led to a viewing point over the fjord. Sylvia decided that this may be a little arduous for her so as she went back to the ship I started the climb. It was hard work but worth it for these shots...
of the town, the fjord and the mountains beyond.
Sylvia once again used the time to paint some watercolours of the snow capped mountains behind the town.
Despite today being much cooler than yesterday the shorts were worn all day, although tomorrow in Trondheim as we will be visiting the cathedral my knees will not be in view.
