Stad, a headland on Norway’s southwest coast, is one of 24 areas listed in the Norwegian Coastal Pilot as likely to have rough seas in certain wind and tide conditions. Stad is considered the worst and is so notorious for dangerous conditions that an escort service is provided for small boats and funds have been…
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Nesahaugen
Before arriving in Fjærland, we had planned to hike up to the Flatbrehytta Mountain Cabin, 3,280 ft (1000 m) up at the head of Fjærlandsfjord. But the Fjærland information center said the trail wasn’t passable yet due to snow and suggested Nesahaugen instead for great views. Below are trip highlights from May 9th, 2018 in…
Tender NMEA2000 System
Frequent readers of this blog know we like NMEA2000 and have become very dependent upon Maretron N2KView at the core of our monitoring and control system on Dirona. The screens above are our underway and at rest monitoring displays for Dirona. They are repeated in the pilot house, salon, and master stateroom. Knowing how much…
Jostedalsbreen
Jostedalsbreen, at 188 sq miles (486 sq km), is the largest icecap in mainland Europe. The icecap extends close to Fjærland at the head of Fjærlandsfjord, a northerly arm of Sognefjord, Norway’s longest fjord. From the guest dock at Fjærland we made an easy bike trip to Jostedalsbreen at Supphellebreen Glacier. On the way back…
Flåm
Flåm is a small village at the head of Aurlandsfjrod, a branch off Sognefjord, the longest fjord in Norway. The village is the terminus of the Flåm Railway, considered one of the world’s most scenic railway trips. It’s also the main embarkation point for boat tours of UNESCO World Heritage site Nærøyfjord, and is home…
Nærøyfjord
Nærøyfjord was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2005 for being among the most scenically outstanding in the world. At its narrowest the fjord is only 820ft (250m) across with sheer cliffs on either side. Dozens of dramatic waterfalls plunge down the steeply-sloped shores. A standout is Kjelsfossen, one of the highest waterfalls in…
Aurlandsfjord Road Tour
The Stegastein Viewpoint juts 100ft (30m) out from the mountain 1,250ft (650m) above Aurlandsfjord. While in Flåm, we rented a car to visit the viewpoint and explore a few other attractions around Aurlandsfjord by road. Below are trip highlights from May 7th in Flåm, Norway. Click any image for a larger view, or click the…
Flåmsbana
As we’ve been travelling the world, longtime blog reader Jacques Vuye has been scouting ahead and recommending scenic and unique train trips. One of our favourites was the West Coast Wilderness Railway in Tasmania, Australia. Shortly after we arrived into Norway, Jacques encouraged us to take a trip on Flåmsbana (the Flåm Railway), considered one…
Flåm Arrival
We left Indrefjord, but not the waterfalls and fabulous mountain scenery, as we cruised to the village of Flåm at the head of Aurlandsfjord. We lost count of the waterfalls en route, and pretty much ran out of superlatives to desribe the scenery. At Flåm we had their guest dock all to ourselves, with a…
Indrefjord
Our initial plan for cruising Norway was to run straight north to Tromsø with few diversions en route, and to tour the Norwegian fjords on our return trip south. But we decided to take a few days to explore 115-mile Sognefjord, the longest fjord in Norway. This time of year the mountains would still have…