Visit a fjord

“Early in the morning, I woke up, put on loads of layers, grabbed my camera and headed up on deck. Jonathan wasn't feeling well so I was on my own at first. As soon as the automatic doors opened up and the wind hit my face, I knew I was in for a long morning, but when I emerged onto the deck and saw the greenery and the waterfalls and the massive mountains in the distance, I knew I was also in for one of the best long mornings of my life. I went straight to the beverage station to get some hot peppermint tea and went up as high as I could on the ship for 360 uninterrupted views. At the time I went up, there were maybe 5 or 6 other people on deck so it was very quiet. All I could hear was the sound of the wind whipping through the flags and the gentle cawing of birds. The scenery was unreal and I felt myself starting to tear up. I was so unequivocally at peace. It is funny because nobody really tells you how cold Fjord cruising is so I am shivering and the wind is almost knocking me over and it's blowing this scorching hot tea in my face. There is a slight sprinkling of rain and I have to keep tucking my camera in my jacket between shots to protect it and the whole while, the only thing I can think about is how dreamlike the whole experience is.”

“When settled into a Victorian-era fjordside hotel, I find myself spending lots of time sitting on porches, mesmerized by Norwegian mountains. Rather than jagged, they’re bald and splotchy, with snow fields on top and characteristic cliffs plunging into inky fjords. Tonight I took my strawberries à la mode onto one such porch and sat there long after my coffee cooled and the ice cream melted. After dinner, I strolled through the village enjoying the blond cherubs running barefoot through the stalled twilight. Cobbled lanes led past shiplap houses to rock cliffs — gullies and cracks green with trees. Half the sky was taken up by the black rock face of the mountain. Sitting on a lonely pier, I enjoyed the souvenir stains: black splatters on my khakis — carbon smudges from my glacier hike.”