The 'glaciated valley' that is Geiranger

What is a fjord, really.



The word sounds so enigmatic.
I felt like the boat we were in was travelling through the ocean and not a river (the Geirangelva River, in this case), and so the mountains felt more majestic. Suffice it to say, a fjord is, via people and the internet, a glaciated valley. And I happen to have visited one of the most famous fjords in all of Europe, the Geiranger Fjord. Naturally, I was ecstatic.



Alex, T and I camped for the night at the Grande Hytteutleige, where the tent we pitched was facing the Geiranger, and where we had our breakfast at the short and wooden wharf while enjoying the view of the river.

The boat that took us along the fjord had a recorded voice-over. It had several languages - Norwegian, German, French, and English, and it may be long trying to wait for the last part which was English (still practicing on my Norwegian, the kindergarten way), but it was fun listening to all the translations. I learned that Geiranger is UNESCO-protected and is under its World Heritage List in 2005. The voice-over also lent some stories surrounding the history of the fjord, and trivias on the sites, which where synchronized while we were passing the exact site it was describing.

The falls were just beautiful to look at. In this album, you will see De Syv Søstrene or the Seven Sisters (seven falls beside each other), and Friaren or The Friar or even more popularly called as The Suitor. The Suitor is said to have tried to court or woo each of the seven sisters, but, sigh, failed.




In this album, you will also see that which they call the Devil's Lair, a vertical crack in the mountain, so deep that it is said to be unreachable even by the sunlight.

Some pictures here (where you can see Alex, T, and me) were taken at a viewing deck where a glass map of the Geiranger stands.

I tried taking pictures of the old farms on either mountains flanking the river, but as I was just using my phone camera for all the pictures here, they may not be that clear to see. These farms are being preserved as culture monuments.

>>>> More photos here.