Thursday, July 29, 2010
Eidfjord, Norway
Today we visited our last port before we disembark in Dover. Wow…although it seems like being in New York was MONTHS ago, (because of all we’ve done) it does not seem like 18 days is almost over. I want a few more weeks, please! This has been a really relaxing and wonderful cruise. Tomorrow will be our final day ‘at sea’ so we will get one more enjoyable day to putter around our beloved ship, and to visit with new friends and relaaaaxxx =).
The port visit was a short one today. We arrived around 7:30 am, and left at 2pm. We had a tour scheduled to visit the Voringfossen Waterfall, but we didn’t need to meet for that tour until 9:15 so we hopped off the ship early to poke around the town of Eidfjord for a while. It was early, and nothing was open yet, but it was nice to walk around in the cool morning mist and view the lovely town near the harbor. Soon it was time to get back on the ship and meet with our fellow passengers and go on tour. We gathered in the Cabaret lounge and headed off the ship again to our awaiting tour bus. Our tour guide was a nice fellow who struggled a bit with his English, but did a nice job. He pointed out some landmarks along our route and he explained a little about the economy, and the tunnels we went through, and the road taxes, and such. Sounds really boring, but it was interesting.
Our first stop was not the falls, but Sysendam, which directs water to the Sima Hydro Plant, dam where they use the water to create power. Across the reservoir was a range of mountains and a peek at one of the local glaciers.
After leaving the dam, we went to the Fossli Hotel which is right next to the Voringfossen Waterfall. We viewed the waterfall and then were treated to cake and coffee in the Hotel.
Such a lovely view from our veranda
Then it was time to head back to the harbor after a brief detour to view an old church that had been restored in town. We poked around town and got some sodas and then boarded the ship for our sail-away. They must not get many cruise ships in this harbor because several people gathered in the harbor area to watch the ship as she sailed away. Many people waved to us as we were leaving.
The rest of the after noon, we’ve been enjoying some lazy time in our cabin. Lots of beautiful scenery going by outside, so we’ve taken lots of photographs, and just had some quite relaxing time.
Tonight is our last formal night, so we will need to start getting dressed for dinner soon…. I’m starting to get sad… but this has been a wonderful vacation!