Norway. Who can fjord it $?

Norway is another incredibly expensive place to visit with the U.S. dollar.  That burger and beer is going to be about $30.  

Our trip to Norway was during the same cruise to Iceland.  We visited 4 Norwegian ports and 2 of them were new to me.  Geiranger, Alesund, Olden and Stavanger.

My kayak experience in the Geiranger fjord 2 years ago was so amazing I needed to relive that.  I lead out a small group and my goal was to make it further this time, all the way to the 7 sisters waterfall.  We kayaked for 3 hours straight. My arms were feeling the burn and it was Jamie's first time kayaking.  Way to dive in head first Jamie.  Ben didn't dive in head first but he did flip his kayak within the first 10 minutes.  That was a chilly paddle for the rest of the afternoon.  Heh...amateurs.  

Teammate love <3

Panoramic from my kayak of the fjord bend.  The cruise ships are to the left by town and the waterfalls are to the right.  You should really click on this one to enlarge.

A view from the ship sailing back out of the fjord.

Alesund, Norway is a pretty quiet place.  The only thing worthy of me mentioning here is a small hike up to this really lovely viewpoint of the town and the neighboring islands.

My bro Joe loves to come to the hot glass shows.  We did a contract two years ago on the Eclipse and we successfully managed to get scheduled on here again together.  He could practically narrate the shows for us he has seen so many.  So sometimes it's really fun to accept challenges from your friends of crazy things to make at work.  Exhibit A: Bröver our beloved Norwegian balloon dog.  I cannot not laugh at how ridiculous this guy is.

Olden is an even sleepier town than Alesund and the main attraction is a glacier visit a ways away.  I had been and was trying to conserve some money after Iceland so the lovely views from the ship were good enough for me.  It was also pouring out so it was a good reason to hibernate.

If there was ever a port in Norway I would love to return to it would be Stavanger.  Very cool and hip little city.  Lots of colorful buildings and murals.  Again you see here elves and trolls.  I don't get it but they are really into it.  Still a cool print none the less.  Great little city with trendy shops and restaurants and an all around good vibe.

Some local glassware.

Stavanger had several small museums and sometimes if you tell them you are a crew member they let you in for free.  The Norwegian Canning Museum...why the hell not?  Who knew sardines were such a big thing here.  The museum was actually in one of the town's former canning factories that was open from 1880-1930.  The coolest part was to see the genuine working canning machinery and also the hundred of canning labels (especially from a design perspective).  In the early 1900's Stavanger was a major exporter of canned fish and shipped to 59 countries.  Jamie and I had a hell of a time goofing off in here.

A display of the smoking technique.  They did have a smoker and fire going but neither of us were too keen on trying the samples.

Some of the many labels.

When in Norway????!!!