Can help with Ålesund & Norwegian Fjords:-)

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Its been a long while since I visited Narvik in Northern Norway.

 

But some things to do which would be really interesting are:

The Ofotbanen railroad trip.

A fjord cruise on the Ofotfjorden.

 

There are of course lots of other things to do but its time restricted.

You can visit one of the most beautiful mountains in Norway but its a 90km drive south.

 

I enclose a link so you better can choose activities in the time frame you have.

http://www.visitnarvik.com/Home

 

Thanks for the info. I

[I-Cruiser]

A beautiful grey spring they with 7C....

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It looks beautiful

[mek]

How easy is it to find pastry shops in Norway? Are they easily found in the tourist areas or off the beaten path? We love taking something back on the ship for later in the evening.

[I-Cruiser]

How easy is it to find pastry shops in Norway? Are they easily found in the tourist areas or off the beaten path? We love taking something back on the ship for later in the evening.

 

Good pastry shops are in all parts of the world I would imagine dotted around the towns and cities. They are found streetside and in the malls.

Isn't the rule of thumb that very rarely are there anything magnificent in terms of eateries in the touristy areas.

Look for bakeries and you will be on your way to find something delicious to bring back to the ship.

 

The coffee shop "Raccoon" in Ålesund have some fantastic baked goods etc.

In Geiranger there is a local bakery.

[garden girl]

Last time we were on a fjord cruise we also were looking for a bakery. The tourist ones we found were disappointing but the best cardamom rolls we found came from a grocery store close to the Flåm pier.

[mek]

Thanks for the replies. I'm sure there are bakeries where we will be traveling - that isn't quite what I was asking - I was more interested in knowing if there are any little treasures that may not be in the immediate tourist area, but not too far away from most of the attractions. My husband uses a transport chair, so we can't go too far and over the years we have found some great places that are just down the street from the touristy stuff.

Edited May 18, 2016 by mek

[uofaboie]

Hi everyone i am sure this has been asked before but i am very interested in taking a cruise to Norway leaving out of Amsterdam ..on Holland America in 2017..i have 2 different iteneraries im hoping someone can let me know if 1 is better than the other,,,they BOTH look awesome

 

Ameterdam

at sea

Eidfjord

Alesund

Geiranger

Bergen

at sea

Amsterdam

 

Amsterdam

at sea

Flam

Stavanger

Kristiansand

Oslo

at sea

Amsterdam

 

this will be my first time doing a Northern Europe cruise,,any info will be greatful

 

Marcus

[I-Cruiser]

Thanks for the replies. I'm sure there are bakeries where we will be traveling - that isn't quite what I was asking - I was more interested in knowing if there are any little treasures that may not be in the immediate tourist area, but not too far away from most of the attractions. My husband uses a transport chair, so we can't go too far and over the years we have found some great places that are just down the street from the touristy stuff.

 

In Geiranger there is the chocolate house. All chocolates are handmade using local ingredients.

Its not far from the port but not sure if you are tendering or using what they call the seawalk.

In Ålesund again there is the coffee shop called Racoon. Also close to the pier.

They have lots of home made chocolates and litte treats which are all made local.

 

I hope this help you a little....

[I-Cruiser]

Hi everyone i am sure this has been asked before but i am very interested in taking a cruise to Norway leaving out of Amsterdam ..on Holland America in 2017..i have 2 different iteneraries im hoping someone can let me know if 1 is better than the other,,,they BOTH look awesome

 

Ameterdam

at sea

Eidfjord

Alesund

Geiranger

Bergen

at sea

Amsterdam

 

Amsterdam

at sea

Flam

Stavanger

Kristiansand

Oslo

at sea

Amsterdam

 

this will be my first time doing a Northern Europe cruise,,any info will be greatful

 

Marcus

 

 

HI Marcus - No. 1 !!!

:D:D

No. 2 has mostly cities with only Flåm being in a fjord.

Itinerary 1 gives you lots of fjords and important towns. This is what I would call a Norwegian Fjord cruise.

Can you not make it a B2B and get the best of both worlds..?:)

[mek]

In Geiranger there is the chocolate house. All chocolates are handmade using local ingredients.

Its not far from the port but not sure if you are tendering or using what they call the seawalk.

In Ålesund again there is the coffee shop called Racoon. Also close to the pier.

They have lots of home made chocolates and litte treats which are all made local.

 

I hope this help you a little....

 

Those sound great - thanks.

[mek]

Hi everyone i am sure this has been asked before but i am very interested in taking a cruise to Norway leaving out of Amsterdam ..on Holland America in 2017..i have 2 different iteneraries im hoping someone can let me know if 1 is better than the other,,,they BOTH look awesome

 

Ameterdam

at sea

Eidfjord

Alesund

Geiranger

Bergen

at sea

Amsterdam

 

Amsterdam

at sea

Flam

Stavanger

Kristiansand

Oslo

at sea

Amsterdam

 

this will be my first time doing a Northern Europe cruise,,any info will be greatful

 

Marcus

 

I agree with the previous poster - #1 is the best.

[uofaboie]

thank you so much I-CRUISER,,that was the 1 i was leaning towards,,i cant do a back to back due to schedule but i can always come back :)

[RogerP2]

A beautiful grey spring they with 7C....

 

But today you have arranged fantastic sunny weather for those of us in port on the Norwegian Star. We are enjoying Alesund and the lovely coffee, and free wifi, in Invit!

[I-Cruiser]

But today you have arranged fantastic sunny weather for those of us in port on the Norwegian Star. We are enjoying Alesund and the lovely coffee, and free wifi, in Invit!

 

 

My favoritt hang out... Excellent Food and coffee...

[linderbelle]

Good point on returning the car!!! Ooooo on the dentist---I guess Google maps was wrong and put the wrong thing in--now to figure out what I really wanted. lol. I'm sure this has been discussed somewhere but we will be in Norway for 12 days--no idea how much money to bring--of course we will charge and use cards whereever we can and if its like the states that means pretty much everything. I'm not sure about transit if that takes cards etc. I'm going to have to order money from the bank soon. Thanks I-cruiser--so appreciate all the help you give.

[I-Cruiser]

Good point on returning the car!!! Ooooo on the dentist---I guess Google maps was wrong and put the wrong thing in--now to figure out what I really wanted. lol. I'm sure this has been discussed somewhere but we will be in Norway for 12 days--no idea how much money to bring--of course we will charge and use cards whereever we can and if its like the states that means pretty much everything. I'm not sure about transit if that takes cards etc. I'm going to have to order money from the bank soon. Thanks I-cruiser--so appreciate all the help you give.

 

You wanted Brosundet (the canal/sounds that goes through the town...also you wanted the bridge Hellebroa...:D:D:D

You can use credit cards all over. No problems. But, its always good to bring some cash.

How much?? Depends how much you are thinking of spending but a few 1000US$ probably.....

[linderbelle]

Oh I know on the thousands but how much "cash". Can't we charge 95% of it--really what will we need "cash" for?

 

Linda

[I-Cruiser]

Oh I know on the thousands but how much "cash". Can't we charge 95% of it--really what will we need "cash" for?

 

Linda

 

I am in the same situation now planning the cash for our Reflection cruise.

some cash for toilets (sometimes there is a charge of NOK 5 or 10), coffee, tips, lunch. I like to pay in cash for those.

You can charge 95% of your purchases on your card. But, will you not get a transaction fee/exchange fee for every time you use it?

 

What we do when we travel (on our upcoming cruise) is to take cash. We calculate to use Euro 50 or Euro 100 per port. In some ports we spend less and in some more.

We never get souvenirs or anything like that. We are not into shopping that much when we are travelling.

We will spend money on coffees, lunches, private tours, transfer etc..all in cash.

 

Its funny really; when we travel we use cash at home I cant remember the last time I had cash in the wallet as we always use cards.

Edited May 19, 2016 by I-Cruiser

[bunnyNwife]

Hi I-cruiser,

 

We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary on 11/8/16 and we will be arriving at Alesund at 7am till 5pm. We would like renew our vow at chapel/church and have a photographer and a guide to bring us around to capture all the nice photos for us on such memorable day. Would appreciate any suggestion from you as we are clueless who to approach. Thanks in advance!

 

Best regards,

Sharon & John

[linderbelle]

Yea on the souvenirs--we usually don't buy any either BUT on this trip I will--I'm 100% norwegian but american made lets say--lol. I will be looking for God Jul Christmas items or other things to remind me of my heritage etc. I also want a troll or two to bring back. Never know what I will find. Bringing NOK we're going to have exchange rate stuff so don't want to get too many. Hard decision to make. Not sure how easy it will be to exchange american money to NOK etc.

[I-Cruiser]

Hi I-cruiser,

 

We will be celebrating our 10th anniversary on 11/8/16 and we will be arriving at Alesund at 7am till 5pm. We would like renew our vow at chapel/church and have a photographer and a guide to bring us around to capture all the nice photos for us on such memorable day. Would appreciate any suggestion from you as we are clueless who to approach. Thanks in advance!

 

Best regards,

Sharon & John

 

Hi Sharon and John - What a lovely thing to do. Congratulations on 10 years.

 

You will have to try to email the Church office at this address:

aalesund@kirken-aalesund.no

 

This office handles all the churches in the Ålesund area.

I hope they will be able to help you or guide you to the right place.

 

I know that if you want to marry they have a meny of prices. the website in Norwegian only said nothing about renewal of vows. But, I am sure they can help you.

 

As for photographer you may contact this studio:

post@saltstudio.no

 

They are the best studio in the area.

 

The best of luck and do come back and tell us how you got on.

 

Lars

[cincicouple]

I am sorry if this has already been discussed, but I am looking at our ship's excursion Hellesylt-Geiranger that includes Mt. Dalsnibba and Styrn Road. I was also interested in the excursion to the Path of the Trolls from Alesund. They both price out at approx. $200 per person. I realize that we could rent a car in Alesund and drive to the Troll Road, however, quite honestly, my husband is a terrible driver! I would fear for our safety! So my question is the scenery pretty much the same between the two. Is it worth doing both? If I have to pick one, which should it be? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

[I-Cruiser]

I am sorry if this has already been discussed, but I am looking at our ship's excursion Hellesylt-Geiranger that includes Mt. Dalsnibba and Styrn Road. I was also interested in the excursion to the Path of the Trolls from Alesund. They both price out at approx. $200 per person. I realize that we could rent a car in Alesund and drive to the Troll Road, however, quite honestly, my husband is a terrible driver! I would fear for our safety! So my question is the scenery pretty much the same between the two. Is it worth doing both? If I have to pick one, which should it be? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

 

Not easy to answer. Almost impossible to choose the "better of two evils"

For some a mountain is a mountain and a fjord is a fjord.

If you have seen a few you have seem them all.

 

For me the landscape, tho similar, is very different.

The landscape at Trollstigen is more dramatic and rugged. Even driving to Trollstigen is jawdropping.

My favourite part is the stretch from Valldal to Trollstigen.

 

On the Hellesylt to Geiranger route you are passing some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world. Hard to choose, right:-)

But, the best part of this route is the drive to Mt. Dalsnibba and down to Geiranger.

 

So, if I had to choose I would choose the Trollstigen and probably do Mt. Dalsnibba from Geiranger instead of the overland tour.

[I-Cruiser]

Yea on the souvenirs--we usually don't buy any either BUT on this trip I will--I'm 100% norwegian but american made lets say--lol. I will be looking for God Jul Christmas items or other things to remind me of my heritage etc. I also want a troll or two to bring back. Never know what I will find. Bringing NOK we're going to have exchange rate stuff so don't want to get too many. Hard decision to make. Not sure how easy it will be to exchange american money to NOK etc.

 

Its always hard to say how much money but those items you listed does not cost to much.

Since you are planning on using mostly your card I would imagine NOK 6000-7000 would suffice....

In the larger towns you have exchange offices. In the smaller places as in Geiranger and Ålesund I know the tourist office exchanges money.

The banks does not do this and they have currencies in their Atms.

The safest bet is to exchange before you go.