2019 July Cruising Norwegian
Fjords
I set sail from Rosyth (near Edinburgh, Scotland)
on Thursday 25th July, the Balmoral (Fred Olsen line) gliding gracefully under
the three bridges which cross the River Forth. This is my third cruise out of
Rosyth but I am still in awe of the respective feats of engineering it took to
build them. On a boiling-hot day, I sat sipping chardonnay in the ‘Lido’ bar at
the rear of the ship and at around 5 p.m. we left the port of Rosyth.
The ship first went under the newest Queensferry
Crossing Bridge,
followed by the Forth Road Bridge
and then the Victorian built Railway
Bridge. I guess the ‘newbie thrill’ must be gone
since I only took a couple of photographs this time, my collection already
quite extensive.
It’s so very easy to segue into
the cruising life and even easier since my last trip was also on the Balmoral.
Familiarity means exploring the ship isn’t so necessary and once my ‘unpacking’
desire was satisfied it was time to relax and enjoy. This time, I’m in a very spacious
junior suite which has loads of wardrobe space. No need to squash my formal
evening wear and my OH’s tartan trews outfit in along with the rest of our
smart-casual clothes.
Friday 26th July was a cruising
at sea day and compared to the previous cruises to Greenland and to the Baltic Sea it was like sailing on a millpond. I only went
to one of the ‘shore trips’ talks but I could have been entertained all day.
The food on board in the various restaurants is excellent and it’s possible to
eat as much or as little as is wanted. Though my main dining will be in the
largest main restaurant – the Ballindalloch – I have been determined to sample
all the different restaurant possibilities during this trip. The rules of the
ship are that all restaurants are available to all passengers during breakfast
and lunch sittings (those serving, that is) but dinner is generally partaken at
a personally assigned restaurant with a fixed evening meal table and a personal
waiter with an assistant. Should cruisers not wish to attend their assigned
evening meal table, especially on the ‘formal’ evenings when a dress code
applies, then it’s possible for them to eat in the Palms Café which serves a
buffet meal. So far, my husband and I have donned formal wear and have thoroughly
enjoyed choosing from the special menu.
Dinner on Friday 26th July was
particularly good since the Balmoral had just begun to cruise the very long
Lysefjorden, a little to the east of Stavanger
in south-west Norway.
After my excellent meal of an Oslo platter; Chateaubriand; and varied cheeses
we decided to abandon our norm of spending the rest of the evening up in the
Observatory Lounge sipping red wine and admiring the views. Instead we sipped a
bottle of fine red wine on our balcony as the ship glided up to the head and
back down the Lysefjorden. The temperature was still an incredible 25 deg C (at
least) and the sky as blue as can be. The views were truly awesome and I use
that word in its true sense. So, now I do have many, many photos of this amazing
fjord.
What I also found incredible was
that it is so much easier to understand the ‘Viking’ mentality when those hardy
men left their homes centuries ago to venture to new lands which would give
them the farming space they so desired. On the Lysefjord there is absolutely no
coastal farmland, except perhaps on the top of the impressive cliffs that
weren’t visible from the boat.
Those early men going a ‘Viking’
must have been so amazed to land their boats on the beautiful beaches of east
coast Scotland and England so easily, within sight of prospective farm fields
close to the shore.
Roll on the next port of call
which is Bergen.
ps i eve managed to add a tiny bit to my current WIP - Beathan the Brigante.
Slainthe!
