Iceland and Norway on the Oriana

continuing the account of a cruise voyage to Iceland and Norway last summer .....

Early morning and the ship was approaching Trondheimsfjorden in thick fog, with visibility virtually zero and quite eerie on the top deck with the deafening sound of the ship's horn blasting out every minute or so. However by the time we reached the city of Trondheim the weather had cleared and all was ready for us to go ashore by around 10.am.

The ship's berth overlooked vast railway sidings and it was clear that this was an important City, indeed, Trondheim is the regional capital of northern Norway, and the country's third largest city with a population of around 155,000. A shuttle bus was provided into the city centre, and as we had decided to take a tram ride we headed first for the information bureau to find out where to go. The city has just the one tram line and at arriving at the main stop there was an empty tram waiting for us. The journey took us through the city centre and then up into the hills with views across the city and then through various suburban stations until it reached the end of the line at Lian, overlooking parkland and the beautiful Lianvannet Lake, amongst the hills and mountains that surround the city. Unfortunately it turned rather wet at this stage and so the opportunity to explore the countryside was a little limited, but it was nevertheless a pretty and peaceful place.

We had been just about the only passengers on the way out, but the tram was a lot busier going back to town, and we enjoyed seeing the local life, with people scurrying to catch the tram as it went through the small station stops along the way. Soon the tram was winding its way through the busy streets of the city and back to where we had started, conveniently well timed for us to catch the shuttle bus back to the ship for lunch.

After lunch a couple of us ventured back to the city centre to explore some of the other attractions, especially the magnificent Nidaros Cathedral, one of Scandinavia's largest and most important buildings, and the focal point of Trondheim. The original church dates back to around 1075, and is an impressive building both outside and in, with beautiful stained glass windows, and many interesting and historic features. Every half-an-hour a limited number of visitors are admitted up the very narrow and winding steps that lead to the top of the tower. From here there are spectacular views across the city. It is, however, a very exhausting climb!

After exploring the Cathedral and the museum in the Archbishop's Palace alongside, there was time to walk across the river into the old town with its picturesque and brightly coloured wooden buildings before returning to the ship for its 6.pm departure.

The next port of call was Geiranger. This small village is reached by passing through Storfjord, Sunnylvsfjord and Geirangerfjord, a journey in all of some fifty miles inland, and with spectacular scenery, the fjord in places being only a few hundred yards wide and banked by mountains with numerous waterfalls.

Gieranger is often inaccessible in the winter; its two mountain roads are cut off by the snow, and the fjord freezes over. We took a tour up the narrow and twisting mountain roads, with spectacular views around every corner, up to the summit of Mount Dalsnibba, which is the mountain overlooking the village. Although it was the end of June the snow was still deep on the ground, and part of the lake just below was still frozen over.

In the afternoon we explored the village and walked up to the lovely church which stands high on a hill overlooking this small community.

There remained three ports of call to come. The following day Oriana arrived at Norway's second most important city, Bergen, berthed alongside the Newcastle car ferry.

The short walk into the city centre from the ship passes by Nryggen, brightly painted wooden warehouses reminiscent of medieval times, closely packed together, tall and narrow, these buildings are now used for boutiques, antique shops, souvenir shops and restaurants. We decided to take a ride on the cable car that climbs to the top of Mount Ulriken, 2,106 ft above the city. From here there was a panoramic view of this huge city, and a clear picture of the vast expanse of water around which the city has developed.

The next day we anchored at Eidfjord (not strictly true, as the water in the fjord was too deep for the anchor), and we arrived by tender at this tiny village set amongst dramatic mountainous landscape. Apparently the village is one of the wealthiest communities in Norway because of the nearby Sima hydroelectric power plant. Here we took a tour, which included a ferry crossing over the fjord to Osafjord and the village of Osa. Here at a viewpoint 700 metres above sea level the view was of waterfalls in every direction, green birch forest and snow-clad mountains.

Then the final day and our last destination before returning home. The city of Stavanger developed as the centre for sardine canning; in the 1920's there were 70 canneries. In modern times it has become the capital of Norway's oil industry. The city is a charming mixture of old wooden houses and modern architecture. The ship's berth overlooked 'Gamie' Stavanger, the largest concentration of 18th century wooden buildings in northern Europe, with over 173 such houses in narrow cobbled streets, like a living museum.

Stavanger Domkirke, the cathedral was built under the direction of Bishop Renald of Winchester, its English connection explaining its dedication to St Swithun who was Bishop of Winchester from 852 to 862 AD. Local tradition has it that Bishop Renald brought to Stavanger some relics of St Swithun.

It so happened that immediately alongside the ship, a temporary stadium had been built to house the world volleyball championships. This was a very noisy affair indeed, and a grandstand view was to be had of the proceedings from the promenade deck. As the ship was due to depart, the commentator appealed to the captain to stay and allow the passengers to enjoy the conclusion of the competition, but in vain and to much noise and excitement from commentator, crowd and Oriana passengers the ship slipped its mooring sharp at 5.30.pm for the sailing across the north sea, and finally back to Southampton.

During the cruise we had visited ten ports, in five different countries, exploring places we had not been to before, with spectacular snow topped mountains, waterfalls and lakes, cities with trams, quaint colourful buildings, and glorious cathedrals. A very interesting trip, and a part of the world that we would be happy to visit again.

John Johnson