Tapp's Travels

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Well, on Sunday morning, after 36 hours we are still at sea and not expected in “port” in Eidfjord for another 14 hours.  However,  it’s true to say that nine of those hours will be sailing up the fjord!

I don’t think I mentioned the other little problem we had yesterday…  After we had unpacked two suitcases,  we realised we were one case short of a picnic!  And despite lots of visits to lost property we remained so until ten minutes before we cast off.  So, I do have shoes other than the trainers I stood up in as we boarded.  Lucky!

The trainers might have looked a bit odd last night…

Under purple roof lights before dinner in the Atlantide restaurant with Rob and Mary from Melbourne.  And after there was a musical show featuring rock hits from the era of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

A bit wild, but at least we knew most of the words!

We put the drone up to get this shot of Silver Moon, our ship and home for two weeks…

I knew the fjords were extensive, but they have exceeded expectations!  The settlement of Eidfjord at the head of the fjord is well over 100 miles from the open sea!

The scenery has been getting more and more spectacular as we sail up the fjord.  Lots of time for a relaxing lunch on deck – I was going to say breakfast, but I noticed the bottle of wine on the table.  I don’t think we’ve had wine that early in the day (yet) – but I might be wrong about that!

While we were eating, the pilot came on board…

… and he steered us past lots of little lighthouses…

… and tiny, waterside settlements nestled under the increasingly mountainous backdrop with no obvious signs of road transport connections with the outside world …

… all the way to the small settlement of Eidfjord (population – about 900.  It’s the 341st most populous municipality in Norway!).

However, with increasing spectacularity comes another problem – a total electronic blackout.  No phone and no internet in the steep-sided canyons!  Glenda’s idea of Heaven!

On the Monday morning while peacefully anchored, a massive German ship joined us (sadly) with 5600 people on board.

Including us and the Germans, the population of Eidfjord is now well over 7500 and has risen from 341 to about 70 on the list of towns by number of “residents”.  You can really see why the Norwegian authorities are planning to limit the numbers of large cruise ships operating in the fjords.

It’s now Tuesday and normal communications have been restored!  We are in Bergen now but I’ve got a bit of catching up to do…

I’ll have to get to that later.  It’s so busy here – I just can’t keep up!