R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 31

Touring Haugesund on Foot 2 – Crossing Risøy Bridge

Risøy Bridge, Haugesund, Norway

Jewel of the Seas arrived at our next-to-last Norwegian destination on 29 June 2022. Continuing today and running through 29 December I present to you the port city of Haugesund in Western Norway. During this time I’m going to once again get photo-centric on you, as we traveled Haugesund by foot on our own. The title of each Monday and Wednesday article in this series will give you an idea of what area is being presented. The series runs as follows:

4 Decem...

Touring Haugesund on Foot 1 — Arrival

Haugesund Harbour Park

Jewel of the Seas arrived at our next-to-last Norwegian destination on 29 June 2022. Starting today and running for the next four weeks I present to you the port city of Haugesund in Western Norway. During this time I’m going to once again get photo-centric on you, as we traveled Haugesund by foot on our own. The title of each Monday and Wednesday article in this series will give you an idea of what area is being presented. The series will run as follows:

4 December...

Fun Photo Friday — Flåm and Flåmsbana Favorites 4

Flåmsbana Antique

Today’s Fun Photo Friday finishes up our look at Flåm, the Flåmsbana, and the fjords leaving Flåm. Next week we’re on to our next June 2022 Norwegian destination, Haugesund.

View of the Flåmselvi river from the Flåmsbana railway Falls from the Flåmsbana Jewel of the Seas in Flåm, Norway Bidding Goodbye to Sognefjord

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Jewel of the Seas — Norway; Continuing through the Fjords after Flåm 2

Cruising the fjords after leaving Flåm

Jewel of the Seas departed Flåm sometime after 5:00 p.m. The two fjords we sailed on this departure were Aurlandsfjord, and then Sognefjord. Sognefjord is the deepest and longest among the famously photogenic Norwegian fjords. Today I’ll be highlighting (while giving myself a bit of a break) these fjords by just posting slide shows of this transit from 28 June 2022. Click on any image below to enlarge the image and engage the slide show:

Слава Укр...

Jewel of the Seas — Norway; Continuing through the Fjords after Flåm 1

Cruising the fjords after leaving Flåm

Jewel of the Seas departed Flåm sometime after 5:00 p.m. The two fjords we sailed on this departure were Aurlandsfjord, and then Sognefjord. Sognefjord is the deepest and longest among the famously photogenic Norwegian fjords. Today, as well as Wednesday, I’ll be highlighting (while giving myself a bit of a break) these fjords by just posting slide shows of this transit from 28 June 2022. Click on any image below to enlarge the image and engage the slide...

Fun Photo Friday — Flåm and Flåmsbana Favorites 3

Mooring Lines Beat Boring Lines Anytime

Today is the third of four Fun Photo Friday’s feature Flåm, the Flåmsbana, and our departure through the fjords leaving Flåm.

Seeing Red Along the Fjord Myrdalsfossen Falls and the Hairpins Along the Myrdalsvingane Having Barrels of Fun in Flåm Confab at Myrdal Station

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Jewel of the Seas — Norway; Departing Flåm through the Fjords

Fjords leaving Flåm

Jewel of the Seas departed Flåm sometime after 5:00 p.m., according to the timestamps of today’s images. The two fjords we sailed on this departure were Aurlandsfjord, and then Sognefjord. Sognefjord is the deepest and longest among the famously photogenic Norwegian fjords. Today, as well as next Monday and Wednesday, I’ll be highlighting (while giving myself a bit of a break) these fjords by just posting slide shows of this transit from 28 June 2022. Click on any image be...

Jewel of the Seas — Norway; Flåmsbana Myrdal Station back to Flåm

Myrdal Station, Flåmsbana, Norway

Our Flåmsbana train reached Myrdal Station around 11:15 a.m. Ursula and I took the opportunity to step outside our railcar, stretch our legs a bit, enjoy the brisk air at 866 meters/2,841 feet, and take in the scenery. As you can see below, many of our fellow passengers likewise availed themselves of the same opportunity:

Myrdal Station

As you can see from this sign, we’re 21 kilometers/13 miles from Flåm:

Myrdal Station

Reboarding the Flåmsbana for...

Fun Photo Friday — Flåm and Flåmsbana Favorites 2

Statue of Fridtjov overlooking Sognefjord

Norway’s largest and deepest fjord is Sognefjord. At approximately the midpoint of this fjord is the village of Vangsnes, which Jewel of the Seas passed after we departed Flåm for our next destination. Overlooking Vangsnes and Sagnefjord is a giant 74-foot/22.5-meter statue of Fridtjov the Bold. That is the statue you see in the image above. Here are today’s remaing Fun Photo Friday favorites of Flåm and Flåmsbana favorites:

Flåm panorama Flåm br...

Jewel of the Seas — Norway; Flåmsbana stop at Kjosfossen and on to Myrdal Station

The Kjosfossen stop aboard the Flåmsbana

The Flåmsbana stop at Kjosfossen Station lasted perhaps ten minutes or so. There are no residents at this station. It’s merely a tourist stop to allow photos of he magnificent Kjosfossen waterfall. Today I’m going to show you the sights at the waterfall and the areas heading from the waterfall toward Myrdal Station. As with Monday’s article, today’s photos will be captioned with timestamps to give you a sense of the timeline.

Kjosfossen 10:54 a.m....