Hjørundfjorden Tour in Ålesund (Aalesund)

For our third Norway port, we booked another Viator Tour, Trollstigen - The Land Of The Trolls Small-Group Day Tour from Ålesund.

On the day our cruise embarked from Southampton, England, we received an e-mail stating that snowfall had shut down Trollstigen, a road of hairpin turns and cliffsides.

If an essential road is closed, then obviously the tour company cannot go on that exact tour.

We were told that the road might re-open, but otherwise we could either cancel or go on their Hjørundfjorden Tour as a substitute.

"If the road is not opened on 18.05.2023, we will offer a special tour in the area that is at least as spectacular.

"We will go to Strandafjellet Ski Resort, Ljøen View Point, Hellesylt waterfall, Norangsdalen med Øye, Sæbø and finally to the ViewPoint Aksla Fjellstua in Ålesund, including mountains, fjords, waterfalls and viewpoints."

"At least as spectacular" sounded much better than starting from scratch to plan our day, so we decided to go with it.

Because there would be lots of driving time between stops, I had high hopes for this tour as an opportunity to learn about local lore, Viking history and Old Norse mythology.  I anticipated a guide similar to a very amusing chap who took us on Viator tours from Bath, England, who not only loved sharing all we could have hoped for but went way off script with some interesting sidebars.

Our Norwegian guide spoke English fluently, and he did identify landmarks we passed.  He also pointed out all of the hydroelectric power stations along the way, of which he seemed quite proud.  Most ferries are electric-powered, despite the fact that Norway is an exporter of North Sea oil.

While it is relatively cold in Norway, they seem to be quite concerned about global warming.  

I later learned he was a retiree who had been called at 11 PM the night before by his friend who owns the excursion company and asked to drive this tour.

He went on to say that he had been a driver for three years, so this wasn't his first one, but he had not planned to drive this season.  I actually think he was qualified to drive but should have been accompanied by an actual guide.  While a very good driver, he disappointed as a tour guide, at least for me.

In any case, we did see lots of spectacular scenery as we drove and when we stopped for photos, as promised.

We left on schedule for our first half hour drive to Magerholm, where we boarded a ferry for the ride to Sykkylven.

On the ferries, we were free to get out of the van and take in the views.

On the water, we had a 15-minute break for photos and restrooms.

Back on the van, we drove to Strandafjellet Ski Resort.  Check.

As a skier, the most interesting thing to me is how close ski resorts can be to sea level in Norway.

Of course, it is logical, because the fjords are basically mountains with a flooded channel between them, and temperatures as cold as our ski areas, with good snow coverage.

The ski resort had closed for the season, but there were water closets.  WC is the designation for restrooms in Norway. 

While it may be very lovely in ski season, the views weren't impressive on that day.

I doubt at its best it would be nearly as great as Big Sky for views or skiing.

Back in the van for another half hour drive to Ljøen View Point.  Check.

This indeed was a gorgeous place.  We had 10 minutes --- probably stretched to 15 minutes for photos and WC --- then back in the van.

After just a 10-minute drive to Hellesylt Waterfall for photos and a mini-lunch.  Check.

Hellesylt was our longest stop, coming in at 30 minutes that stretched a few minutes longer.

While Hellesylt is a lovely little town, we really didn't have much direction beyond mentioning that we would be having a mini-lunch upon arriving at 10:20 AM.

Hellesylt 2

Hellesylt 3

Our van of travelers joined up with a couple of other vans full of tourists who were on the same tour. 

We were served a rather odd snack of something that was some kind of Norwegian tortilla with thin spread (cheese?) in it, a chocolate covered marshmallow ball of some kind, licorice in the shape of a Leprechaun's pipe(?), apples and strong tea.  A troll's lunch?

It seemed like someone had a budget and went to the store and bought junk food at random that would fit the budget rather than a planned menu.

No explanation was offered about why this was a typical Norwegian meal.

I would have expected something like pickled herring or dried salmon, which would be good for me but bad for Julie.  We weren't hungry anyway, as we had already been on a floating gourmet restaurant with unlimited feasts for five days.  

Despite it being the longest stop, laggards were in the WC a couple hundred yards away when it was time to go, so the drivers moved our vans got closer to the WC and double parked until the late arrivals joined us, which wasn't terribly long to wait.  

Our driver had a good way of keeping the group on schedule without seeming too strict or lax, which as anyone knows can be like directing clouds to positions in the sky.

From Hellesylt, a 70-minute drive took us to Leknes ferry port.  After lunch, this might have been time to nap, but this mini-lunch had not exactly been a Thanksgiving feast, so we were engaged watching the scenery pass by, without much narration.

With this being our longest driving time, it is a good chance to mention that we were constantly passing beautiful scenery, and occasionally the driver would pause to make photos easier to take, so it wasn't like being stuck on the 5 Freeway at rush hour in Los Angeles.

We arrived a few minutes before the ferry, which allowed time for photos of the fjord and beautiful area surrounding it.

 

The ferry to Sæbø, with a WC and lots of photo ops from the water lasted 15 minutes.  Check.

Back on the van for 35-minute drive to Standalhytta on the mountain.

We had a 10-minute opportunity to experience snow, and a few people picked up snowballs to throw at each other.  It was not nearly as much snow as we are accustomed to having in winter in Montana.  Of course, this was late spring in Norway, when it is "Mud Season" in Big Sky.

Back in the van for the 40-minute drive to Festøya ferry port along the fjord. 

As we boarded this 20-minute ferry ride we were finally hungry, so we bought a hotdog wrapped in bacon as a meal to split.  It was very tasty, and because we ate it on a ferry in Norway, it had no calories or saturated fat.

Back in the van, we had a 25-minute drive to ViewPoint Aksla Fjellstua in Ålesund, where our driver outsmarted a lack of parking spaces to allow us to stay a few minutes more than the allotted 10 minutes for the photo stop. Check.

Back in the van, we had a ten minute ride to the cruise terminal, where we arrived with plenty of time to catch the ship.  Check.

We did not have time to explore Ålesund, which looks like it could be a wonderful place to spend the day without any excursion at all, if you were so inclined.

The tour company did all they promised, but I guess I was looking for that magic of discovery that a great tour guide brings.  Nonetheless, our driver earned his tip, because he was a good driver who showed up when his company needed him.  Besides, we had a lot of Norwegian Kroner leftover.

Next stop, Iceland, but first a sea day.

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