The stunning scenery of the Norwegian Fjords is known the world over and is somewhere that The Man and I have always wanted to visit. Recently, we joined Mummy Bird on a Cunard Cruise aboard the beautiful Queen Anne, setting sail for the northerly country that is 1,100miles long from North-to-South, and just a teeny-tiny 3.6 miles wide at its narrowest point! After spending an evening and then a full day at sea, we quietly arrived in our first port, Stavanger (pop. approximately 150, 000), at 8.00am on Sunday morning.
We took our breakfast at a table that afforded us all beautiful views of the pretty waterfront and we made plans to leave the ship and venture into this city that has a contrasting mix of architecture styles; some dwellings are centuries-old wooden constructions, others ultra-modern. Nowadays, Stavanger is the centre of Norway’s energy industry, and prices reflect this!
Mummy Bird loved the Cinnamon Buns and coffee that we had in Bøker og Børst on Fargegaten, people watching from our table and chilling out in the relaxed atmosphere of the café. Scandinavians are big on their coffee culture, whatever day of the week it is, but especially at weekends when they use it as time to get together with friends and family. So, what were our first impressions of Norwegians? Warm, friendly, and very helpful – you do have to get used to the directness of them, though; it isn’t rudeness, it’s just being straight-forward and succinct.
Having stretched her legs, without actually doing so (!), we took Mummy back onboard and enjoyed lunch together before His Nibs and I made our way into Stavanger in the afternoon. Although we ventured further afield, we didn’t get to go inside Stavanger Cathedral…possibly due to being side-tracked by a Christmas shop and then the delights of a Hot Chocolate and a curiously fruity-tasting Sea Buckthorn Tart in Sirkus Renaa. Lots of locals were enjoying their weekend with a slice or two of delicious-smelling Pizzas – one to try next time we visit, as well as the elusive Cardamom Buns that we didn’t manage to snaffle this time.
Returning to the Queen Anne, we headed up to the observation deck to get some breath-taking views as we sailed into Sognefjord before entering the Lustrafjord, possibly one of the world’s most scenic areas. The waters were striking tones of Emerald and Turquoise, and waterfalls snaked down rock faces from the snow-capped mountain where their journey began. That evening, we continued our journey to the very far end of Lustrafjord where our next port of call, Skjolden, awaited us the following morning.
From the hustle and bustle of city living in Stavanger, we entered the understated serenity of Skjolden, a small village of only a couple of hundred people…and seemingly just as many sheep! The Queen Anne towered over the small port, which really does epitomize the saying ‘small but mighty’ I defy anyone not to be awed by the dramatic scenery. Avid walkers and hikers visit this area as the Jotunheimen National Park is close by, but we chose a more sedate pace as we ambled along the paths into the village. For a small village, the souvenir shop was one of the best we went into on our Scandi adventure. This was truly a place where you could retreat to and find yourself; Mother Nature revealed her power and magic in this area, so go ahead and press the reset button if you need to.
Our third port stop was the picturesque city of Ålesund, which is quite remarkable in that it spans several islands that are prettily framed by the Sunnmøre Alps. As if this wasn’t enough, the UNESCO world heritage site of the breath-taking Geirangerfjord can be visited on an excursion from Ålesund – if you get chance, take a RIB boat tour of the fjord and, if photography is your passion, snap away to your heart’s content. The town had to be rebuilt following a devastating fire in 1904 but, wow, what a phoenix of a city rose from those flames!
Art Nouveau was the main influence of the architecture for the rebuilding, and now its beauty and uniqueness draw visitors from around the globe – including us. Mummy loved the buildings here, and it’s definitely a place where you need to ‘look up’ to get the most from it. As was our regular morning habit when out with Mummy, we found a specialty coffee shop, Racoon Coffee, and indulged in another Cinnamon Bun – well, all calories on holiday don’t count, do they?!
Whilst Mummy found a comfy corner in one of Queen Anne’s many lounges, The Man and I took a tour around Ålesund on a ‘hop on, hop off’ bus taking in the Penguins (and their breeding programme) at Atlanterhavsparken, the Art Nouveau district, and the little red Molja Lighthouse. Believe it or not, you can stay in the lighthouse; it has been converted to ‘Room 47’, the world’s smallest boutique hotel room. Not feeling the 418-step climb to Aksla viewpoint and its ‘see for miles’ views, we stayed on the bus until it stopped there and then trekked along the lovely walking paths - with age does come some wisdom! I don’t think it’s much of a stretch to say that Ålesund is one of Norway’s most attractive towns/cities.
The final port on our itinerary was Haugesund, perhaps the most obviously Viking of our Norse country odyssey; in fact, it is said that the Haraldshaugen monument in the town marks the burial site of Norway’s first King, Harald Fairhair. We spotted a ‘City Sightseeing’ Tour Bus and grabbed ourselves a couple of tickets to try and see as much of the local sights as we could – time was not on our side for us to do it on foot, sadly. Possibly the most bizarre sight we saw on our cruise was right here in Haugesund; put it this way, you wouldn’t come to Norway expecting to see the Statue of Liberty, would you?! Yet here she was! Ok, it was a much smaller replica that stands in Visnes on the neighbouring island of Karmøy, and it was erected in commemoration of the fact that the New York landmark’s outer covering was made from Copper mined from Visnes. It’s a small world really, ain’t it?
Despite its relatively small size, Haugesund boasts lively Jazz and Film scenes; perfect for adventurous culture-vultures. The town centre’s main shopping area is decked out in colourful bunting that is suspended from opposing buildings, making it a lovely relaxed place to satisfy your retail cravings. No surprise when I tell you that His Nibs and I found a fantastic bakery, Naturbakst, and settled down to munch a freshly baked, warm Cinnamon Bun with our creamy Hot Chocolates! Whilst we rested, plenty of locals were coming in to pick up their fresh bread and pastry orders – even office workers were collecting what we call ‘shipping orders’ (i.e. large, multi-item orders) for themselves and their co-workers. Clearly, Naturbakst has a great reputation locally as the bakery to go-to for quality morsels.
My waistline was relieved to only see the famous cupcake venue, Cupcakehuset; I don’t think it could’ve coped with any more gluttony on my part! You certainly won’t miss this marvellous building – it looks as if it could be a peach-and-pastel-blue cupcake itself, complete with dark brown frosting.
Haugesund probably gave us the most authentic taste of regular Norwegian life, though we had thoroughly loved each port and town we’d visited on our Cunard ‘Norwegian Fjords with Michel Roux’ cruise.
Read about our time onboard Cunard's Queen Anne
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