Olden

Wednesday 25th June

I had set my alarm for 8.30 am but was woken at least 2 hours before that by engine noises as we pulled into Olden. I could hear both a high-pitched noise (which a later visit from housekeeping suggested could be hydraulics opening the little hatch just below and ahead of my room where someone stands if extra help is needed guiding the ship into port) and a very loud engine noise. I was shattered by 8am.

The view from my balcony was superb.

Judith and I had arranged to meet up at 10 to explore Olden. It is only a small port with not enough space for two ships to berth. An Azamara ship was in port but had kindly agreed to vacate the berth for an hour so that our passengers could disembark on foot. From 11 onwards it was a tender operation. That meant we could walk off but had to return later in the day by boat (ship's lifeboat).

We had decided to catch the local bus to Briksdal Glacier. I had seen photos online of where to catch the bus (turn left off the ship and walk to the level crossing and wait - no bus stop sign) and had printed off a bus timetable. We saw the 9:55 bus still there when we got off, so decided to investigate details and check the timetable before going to cash some money. We discovered they took credit cards so decided to go ahead, rather than waiting over an hour for the next one. A return trip was around £6-7 for seniors whereas exactly the same trip by ship's tour would have been about £55, and with a local tour would have been over £30.

The roads are very narrow with passing places for the occasional times you meet another car. Just before one tunnel we encountered a traffic jam with too many cars and coaches trying to pass each other and no way for the first vehicle to get past because the last one in the other direction was blocking the tunnel. Our bus driver got out and organised everyone and we were soon moving again.

The coaches and cars all stop at a cafeteria and from there it is a 45-minute walk to the glacier, most of it uphill, or else a ride in a troll car (electric cart) followed by a 10-minute walk.

We chose to walk, and passed some lovely views and waterfalls. I had worn my black woollen jacket and carried my fur-lined gloves, but I soon took off the jacket as the sun was streaming down and I was sweating even without the jacket. It was glorious. I had read that temperatures in our ports at this time of year would average between 6 and 13 degrees. We struck a day when it was over 20 degrees, and we learnt the next day that 20 is the height of the summer heat in Norway!

In places we saw tiny cairns of pebbles placed by other walkers. I wondered if there was a significance. 

I picked up a pebble from the path and placed it on the next flat rock I saw. I wonder if others will add to it. 

The walk felt much longer than 45 minutes and my legs felt like lead after each uphill part. Photographing the beautiful views made a good excuse for a stop. I especially enjoyed the wildflowers.

It was lovely to see the pristine glacier after the dirty one I had seen in Canada. Halfway down the glacier was a slight waterfall, so we could see that it was melting in the glorious sunshine.

The walk back seemed much shorter, more like a pleasant stroll in the sun. Judith checked the app on her phone and it had only been about 12 thousand steps - but with the uphill sections I'm sure we used up more than the 185 calories it said! The 1.30 bus was waiting but we had time for a quick look in the gift shop.

Olden is very tiny and we decided not to take the 10-minute walk to see the few shops there. We thought we'd walked far enough. We looked at the souvenir shops by the port instead. A tender was waiting to get us back to the ship where we had a late lunch.

If you look at the ship just where the black line meets the white, towards the front you can see a little white line on the black. That's the lookout hatch that caused the noisy hydraulic whine when it was opened. My stateroom was just above and to the right, the first stateroom on that floor.

Shortly before we left port, all the noises started up again - the high-pitched whine and various clangings and the loud noise of the motor. I had been advised to phone Reception every time I am disturbed, because then they get multiple reports sent in to Cunard. Someone from housekeeping finally arrived, just one minute after the noises stopped.

The view sailing out of the fjord was magnificent.

After this I was so exhausted that all I wanted to do was go to bed! I was in bed shortly after 6. I knew there was no point trying to sleep because of all the noises from banging doors and people shouting in corridors. I lay in bed and read. At about 8 I felt hungry and had a toasted ham and cheese panini from room service and then went back to bed. I kept the curtains open all night so I could catch glimpses of the long fjord, and managed to get up and look out just at the right time as we passed into the sea. It was strange to see light all through the night, every time I opened my eyes.