Fantastic Fjords
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
Nordfjord, Norway
Last evening, our ship sailed inland to Nordfjiord, the gateway to the glaciers. We dropped anchor in an inlet lake smooth as glass near the edge of a colossal Jostedal Glacier, the largest ice floe in Europe.
Norway’s dramatic fjords, carved over millennia by retreating glaciers, creating the country’s iconic landscapes. Towering cliffs plunge into deep, serene waters, forming a maze of inlets that stretch from the rugged coastline far into the mountainous interior. Our ship is small and nimble enough to navigate into these secluded places. These fjords—like Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord, both UNESCO World Heritage Sites—aren’t just breathtaking natural wonders; they’re a source of national pride and a powerful draw for millions of international visitors like us. Tourism centered around the fjords supports local economies.
Learning about Norway and its importance to the world is part of our immersion, with onboard guest lecturers providing background and history that includes Vikings, trolls and royal dynasties. We’re also keeping an eye on the global geopolitical developments such as the G-7 Summit taking place in Canada when our TV signal allows us to catch up on news. There seem to be many Canadian guests aboard and we haven’t been engaging in political discussions so far. :-) There are actually a few couples who were on the World Cruise with us in 2024, including the lovely woman who is a native of Pitcairn Island (of the Mutiny on the Bounty fame.)
At the same time, since the discovery of oil in the North Sea in the late 1960s, Norway has become one of the world’s leading oil producers. Revenue from oil and gas exports has fueled the growth of the Norwegian economy, helped fund a welfare state, and contributed to one of the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world—the Government Pension Fund Global.
Loen Skylift is one of the steepest cable cars in the world and lifts you a thousand meters almost straight up - to the restaurant, viewing platform on the edge of Mt. Hoven and of course a gift shop! We can see our ship on the bucolic lake and jaw-dropping views of the surrounding mountains and little villages below.
Note the sunrise and sunset times! We’re approaching the coming Summer Solstice on June 21, the moment when one of Earth’s poles is tilted most directly toward the Sun, giving us the longest day and shortest night of the year in this hemisphere. On this day, the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky at noon, and places above the Arctic Circle experience 24 hours of daylight, known as the midnight sun. It’s a time that’s been celebrated for millennia with festivals, bonfires, and rituals—especially in Nordic countries like Norway, where Midsummer is a cherished tradition.
