R. Doug Wicker's Blog, page 32

Jewel of the Seas — Norway; Continuing on the Flåmsbana Railway

Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:37 a.m.

Today’s article will start where last Wednesday’s left off and conclude with a stop the train made for photos of the Kjosfossen waterfall. So, without further delay, let us continue the journey to Myrdal Station:

Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:43 a.m. Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:48 a.m. Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:46 a.m. Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:48 a.m. Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:50 a.m. Our coach on the Flåmsbana Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 1...

Fun Photo Friday — Flåm and Flåmsbana Favorites 1

Sailing out of Flåm; 28 June 2022 at 5:44 p.m.

Today is the first for four Fun Photo Fridays featuring Flåm and Flåmsbana favorites:

Former Flåmsbana railcar Sailing fjords after departing Flåm Flåmsbana turn Flåm Calm

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Jewel of the Seas — Norway; Beginning our Flåmsbana Adventure

Flåmsbana (the Flåm Railway) 10:16 a.m.

Traversing the Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) is a real treat. The scenery is breathtaking. Tall mountains line both sides, and picturesque waterfalls draw white ribbons along steep cliffs as they cascade toward the Flåmselvi river. Rather than give a blow-by-blow description of the sights, I’m going to caption the photos below with their time stamps to give you an idea of the timeline for this journey.

Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:20 a.m. Flåmsdalen (Flå...

Jewel of the Seas — Norway; Arriving Flåm

Jewel of the Seas arrives to Flåm, Norway — 28 June 2022

This long, long trip began with a transatlantic voyage on 7 May aboard Vision of the Seas. And I’ve been blogging about this trip since 1 August 2022, shortly after our return. Now, five voyages and two side trips later, we’re slowly coming to an end on this extensive travel series. Today I begin a four-part look at our visit to Flåm, Norway. After that there are only two destinations left to cover, and both of those are in Norway.

F...

Fun Photo Friday — 9 Ålesund Favorites 3

“Mina Morska” — Norwegian “sea mine” from World War I

Today’s Fun Photo Friday concludes our look at Ålesund, Norway. Next week I’ll show you another Norwegian destination from 27 June 2022, the city of Flåm and a scenic journey aboard the Flåmsbana (the Flåm Railway). The Flåmsbana is rated by National Geographic as one of Europe’s best train journeys, and beginning next week I’ll show you why. Until then, here’s our final look at Ålesund from 26 June 2022:

What Happens When Your Chute Do...

Jewel of the Seas — Norway; Ålesund — On Nørvøy headed back to Jewel of the Seas

Ålesund street corner across from Ålesund Kirke

With the exception of the photo above, today’s collection of Ålesund images were snapped during our leisurely trek back to the Jewel of the Seas. Some of the sights I’ve already described to you, but today’s images are included for different perspectives or were taken under afternoon conditions. Many of the images are water related. For instance, here’s the light marking the northern entrance to the Ålesundet:

Ålesund, northern entrance

Thi...

Jewel of the Seas — Norway; Ålesund — Strolling from Aspøya back onto Nørvøya

Aspøy Skole (school), Aspøy

Rather than give a lengthy description of our route on foot today, I will instead let these photos pretty much speak for themselves. The city of Ålesund stretches over seven islands, but on this visit Ursula and I toured by foot on the two main islands — Aspøy to the west of the Ålesund Canal, and Nørvøya to the east. As you saw in last week’s articles, we walked between the two by traversing the Hellebroa Bridge. So, today, my descriptions will be brief as we take...

Fun Photo Friday — Ålesund Favorites 2

Løvenvold Theater, Ålesund, Norway

With the exception of the above image, today’s collection of Ålesund Fun Photo Friday favorites will concentrate on statuary:

Слава Україні! (Slava Ukraini!)

Jewel of the Seas — Norway; Ålesund — Ålesundet to Ålesundet Kirke

In Monday’s article I gave you a brief glimpse of Ålesund, with most of that collection of photos being taken on or east of the Hellebroa Bridge spanning across the Ålesund Canal. Today I’m going to show you the sights when strolling from the Hellebroa Bridge westbound to the Ålesund Kirke (Ålesund Church). Looking at the map below, we begin at the red position pin near the center and head toward the smaller red position pin toward the left edge:

The Hellebroa Bridge will give you a lo...

Jewel of the Seas — Norway; Ålesund — Overlooking the Ålesundet

Joachim Rønneberg Memorial

Ålesundet is a narrow inlet that separates the two islands upon which Ålesund is situated. The east side, where Jewel of the Seas moored and where last week’s articles were centered, is on Nørvøya. Cross a short bridge and you’ll find yourself in west Ålesund, which is on Aspøya. Today I’m going to share with you the sights that await you in this small, easily walked area. To see precisely what area this is, here’s a map:

Aspøya island (left); Nørvøya island (rig...