The air temperature was just below freezing as we continued south along the Norwegian coast late January, and the surface ice levels increased, particularly near freshwater inflows away from the warming effects of the Gulf Stream. After departing Kvitsoy, we anchored for a night at Nordragabet near Egersund and saw little ice on a tender…
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Kvitsoy
Kvitsoy, with its historic lighthouse and millennium-old stone cross, was on our list of places to visit since our 2018 Norwegian cruise. We finally stopped there on our way south, near the end of our current visit to Norway. Getting there was a little more interesting than usual: we encountered a surprising amount of ice…
Haugesund
On our third stop in Haugesund, the town was much quieter than our previous visit in early August, when we took the last available berth. Dock space was not a problem late January, and we had the place mostly to ourselves. We spent a peaceful two nights there, and enjoyed a visit from two Stavanger…
Coastal Vestland
Vestland is Norway’s newest county, established on January 1, 2020, and lies directly south of More Og Romsdal county. After departing Vestland’s administrative center, Bergen, we spent a week cruising coastal Vestland between Austevoll and Lammavagen. We’d already explored much of inland Vestland, including Nordfjorden, Sognefjorden, and Hardangerfjorden but hadn’t spent much time in the…
January in Bergen
We returned in January to the beautiful city of Bergen, made even more so with a fresh coating of snow. While there, we enjoyed several walks through the winter landscape, particularly at dusk and dawn. We also refueled, restocked and learned about an awesome new piece of winter gear, shoe grippers, a wonderful invention that…
More Og Romsdal
We spent the darkest and most northerly part of our Norwegian winter cruise, from early December to early January, in the the More Og Romsdal region directly north of the headland Stad. This area encompasses several major centers, including Alesund, Kristiansund, Andalsnes and Molde, plus spectacular scenic destinations such as UNESCO World Heritage site Geriangerfjord,…
Helleviksundet and Resesundet
Winter storms arrived frequently in early January as we continued south from the headland Stad. We travelled in calmer weather and stopped at Helleviksundet and Resesundet, pictured above, as the systems passed through. In calmer conditions we made a tender trip through the complex islets around Resesundet, and in the stormier weather completed some boat…
South Around Stad
When we returned back south of the notorious headland Stad in early January from Haddalsvika, conditions were so calm that we continued along the exposed outer coast rather than taking the more protected channel past Maloy. It was our first time passing the Krakenes Lighthouse, pictured above, on the western coast of Vagsoy, where several…
Haddalsvika
After exploring Storfjorden, we made one more stop in the Ulsteinvik area as we proceeded south. This time we anchored to the southeast in Haddalsvika, surrounded by dramatic winter scenery, and completed our tender tour of the area on another cold but clear day. Below are highlights from Jan 4th, 2021. Click any image for…
Geirangerfjord
Geirangerfjord, a branch of Storfjorden, is one of the better known and popular fjords in Norway and is part of the West Norwegian Fjords UNESCO World Heritage Site. Full-sized cruise ships regularly travel the waterway, as do the Hurtigruten coastal ferries, local ferries and countless other commercial vessels. A lesser-known branch of of Storfjorden is…
