June 25, a Viking ship in the canal in Ålesund.

Scotland and Norway, 2025

June 17th - Skjolden/Sognefjord, Norway

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I don't remember if I went to bed early and woke up a little after midnight, or if I just stayed up late, but here we were traveling up the Sognefjord and its branches to Skjolden where we'd be docking around 7:00 AM. Click here to see some pictures of us sailing through the fjord.

Around 6:15 AM we slowed to a crawl as the captain guided our 141,000 ton, 1,083 foot (330 meter) long ship into the dock at Skjolden as people watched from Deck 16 (while I was up on Deck 17). By 7:00, the ship was secured and the tour buses were waiting.

Back in our room, we took a selfie with Skjolden behind us, then got ready for....

...Look familiar? Another sandwich with lox, red onion, and tomato on a small roll and some smoked fish for breakfast.

After breakfast, we went up on Deck 16 again to take a few more pictures as a light rain fell and clouds settled in on the town and the fjord - and on the ship and us.

At 11:00, we all met up in the Princess Theater to be assigned to a group for our shore excursion. After about a half hour wait, our group number was called and we exited the ship onto a wet boardwalk on the pier. The light rain continued.

A By 11:45, we on our bus and, saying goodbye to our ship, headed off on our way. (We had no idea what to expect, just a scenic tour of the area. We had to be back on board the ship by 3:00, so, being almost noon when we left, we knew we weren't going too far or too long.) Click here to see a bunch of pictures I took during our scenic drive.

Back on the ship, we went back to our rooms, dropped off our jackets and backpacks, freshened up a bit, and met Teresa and Steve up on Deck 16 for lunch at the buffet. I started with a a small Caesar salad and some chicken wings, then decided this would be a good time to try something from the Salty Dog Grill across the pool deck opposite the buffet. They're basically a hamburger and hot dog joint; I ordered a cheeseburger which, despite the fact that they give you a hamburger and throw a piece of cold cheese on it, was really good. And their fries, fresh out of the deep fryer, were also good. (The fries are a popular item. As I waited for them to cook my hamburger, several people came by just wanting an order of fries, which required a constant supply of fresh ones, as they disappeared so quickly.) Next     Top