Olden, Nordfjord, Norway

A lovely place with beautiful scenery and an old white coloured church in the village. Sermons are no longer preached at the old church, but occasionally the grounds are used for the burial of those that hold a family plot. The practising church is a brown structure just outside of the village that has metal guy lines in place following a creaking sound coupled with the building shaking during a sermon many years ago. The guy lines are in place to secure the building.

This lovely photo was taken by Mrs B and shows Cunard's Queen Victoria to the left and the Celebrity Eclipse to the right hand side. Element a lovely couple from Bristol who are having their first ever cruise and are on the Queen Victoria and of course we exchanged stories and our views of each brand. There is an awful lot for Celebrity to learn, but Cunard could up their game as well. Two beautiful ships resting in a beautiful fjord.

There are no salmon in the fresh water lake as there is no salmon ladder from the tidal river up to the lake.

Here are a few tips for those who intend to visit Olden (although no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions).

TOP TIPS:

The Internet on the quayside was slow but importantly (given the high Celebrity on board costs) it was free of charge. This was the third port of call that I have been able to access the Internet either free or charge or for the cost of a small and enjoyable coffee.

The Road Train stops at the quayside and tickets can be bought from the tourist information or while queuing for the train. The cost was 150 Kron each for a round trip.

The smaller red Road Train is the better summer train as the windows open. It was a wonderful round trip lasting just over an hour with two photo stops (1) at a lake, and (2) the other by a bridge over the river. You can hop off when you get back to the village and re-board any Road Train when you are ready to return to the Quay.

We did not do the trip, but there was a Glacier Shuttle Taxi Bus from the Quayside to a nearby Glacier for around £35 each with two hours at the Glacier before returning to the Quay.

Cards or cash for the Glacier Bus with tickets bought at the Tourist Centre.

Cash only in the Road Train queue but the conductor was accepting Sterling and local currency. The Sterling price when we were there was £35 for two persons for the Road Train.

Jewel in the Crown

Geirangerfjord is a beautiful place with stunning topography of astonishing scale. Indeed a local tour guide likened it to Lord of the Rings in scale and presence. It was a great port of call for our Celebrity Eclipse Iceland-Faroe Islands-Norway Cruise.

We are now cruising between Geiranger Fjord and Olden on the innermost arm of the Nordfjord. But before we go, it is worth mentioning a few tips for those who intend to visit Geiranger (although no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or omissions).

TOP TIPS:

There is free Internet at the Tourist Information Centre right on the pier.

The pier area is compact and everything is to hand and there was no charge for using the WC

Check out the Gift shops as prices seem to vary greatly for the same items.

The ferry costs about £10 each for a return ticket for a journey lasting 1 hour each way along the Fjord.

If you catch the ferry and return early enough before having to rejoin your cruise ship then you could walk up the hill to the Fjord Centre.

If you have never been to Norway before then the scale of the mountains will astonish you. 250m to the first ledge, 600m to the next and so on. This means that low cloud can obscure both the mountains, and of course if you travel to a higher altitude viewing point then the few to the attractions below may also be obscured.