Alesund

Thursday 26th June

The noises began today around 5.30 as we approached the port. I had used ear plugs and they muffled the noise but did not stop it completely. I was able to doze but kept waking up. I had wondered if I'd be able to hear my alarm through the ear plugs so asked for a wake-up call for 7.45. I heard the alarm, muffled though it was, as I was probably only in a light sleep, but by 8.15 I had to phone to cancel the alarm call! I wonder if it would have ever come.

From my balcony I could see that Alesund is quite a large city. It's spread over 7 islands. The jetty stretches in front of two of them, so the front of the ship was tethered at one island and the back of the ship tethered at another. Much of Alesund was destroyed by fire in 1914 and rebuilt in Art Nouveau style, so it was impressive to look at from the ship.

Judith and I had booked a tour and needed to be ready to leave by 9.15. Our group walked a few metres along the dock and got on board a boat. 

We decided to go up on deck. There were no chairs set out, but being a rebel I untied a rope and others followed my example and took a seat. We set our seats right at the front of the ship. We soon discovered that the wind was fierce! We were cold and blown to bits. It was lucky I'd put lots of modeling clay on my hair as it just bounced back afterwards! It was worth it for the splendid views. They felt more immediate up on deck than down in the cabin.

We lasted about 15 minutes and then decided to go inside. Judith stood up and the wind bowled her chair right along the deck until it was stopped by other people in the way! Inside it was warm and comfortable and traditional waffles with jam were soon served to us with a hot cup of coffee.

After two hours out on the fjords we transferred to a coach and were taken to see the sights. We saw the view from Aksla Lookout. 

On the way back to the ship we drove through the town itself to see some of the Art Nouveau buildings. The guide on the bus was nowhere near as knowledgeable as the guide on the boat.

We were back on the ship before 2pm eating lunch. Judith decided go out again, as we were so close to the town, but I was weary and sleepy so went to bed for over 2 hours. I slept, but was continually woken by banging doors! I suspect it was from the engineering section as it's a louder bang than a stateroom door. Then, of course, just before 5 the noises started up again in preparation for us leaving port. Because it was such a simple port to leave, they did not continue for too long. 

I decided not to rush to get ready for dinner but to write my diary instead. I hadn't been on the computer the day before and I wanted to catch up. There is always food available by room service or in the Buffet. Seeing I'm not a foodie, it doesn't worry me if I don't go to the dining room.