Eidfjord
Eidfjord Shore Excursion
As we approached Eidfjord, the waterfalls and snowy peaks capped by clouds created a sense of excitement. Our Eidfjord Shore Excursion looked like it would be chilly, wet and windy. Immediately after the ship docked, we ventured out to explore the small village. We walked to an area where you could look back at the Holland America Rotterdam against the mountains and the fjord. Lucky, we had good quality raincoats to block the wind and rain.
Next we crossed the foot bridge over the raging Eio River and joined the children on their way up the hill toward their school. We then made our way to the Eidfjord Church. On our way back to the ship, we also walked along the avenue where all the tree trunks are adorned with knitting.
Voringsfossen Waterfall
Eidfjord Shore Excursion – Voringsfossen Waterfall
Our Eidfjord Shore Excursion to Voringsfossen Waterfall was booked through BookHardanger.com At the tourist information, we exchanged our confirmation email for a QR code to board the bus right at the tourist information center. The tour included the half hour trip each way to the falls and one hour on our own to explore the trails at Voringsfossen. The twisting road with multiple tunnels made the trip to the falls very entertaining.
On the trails between all the Voringsfossen viewpoints, I behaved like a teenager instead of an aging senior citizen. I scrambled down slippery irregular rock surfaces interspersed occasionally with small sections of concrete steps. My wife followed behind like a parent about to assist an injured child who had refused to be cautious. Although I’m quite scared of heights, I crossed the narrow metal steeply descending step bridges with little hesitation. I was determined to see it all within the allotted one hour.
Once you’ve done all that descending and taken a ton of pictures, the hard part is finding the energy to climb all the way back up to the original starting point. We made it back up without slipping or having a heart attack. Mission accomplished!
At the top again, we entered the Fossli Hotel, but decided not to try any of the offerings as the place was packed with tourists and no tables were available. I have to say that I absolutely loved Voringsfossen Waterfall. The experience far exceeded my expectations.
Eidfjord Shore Excursion – Bergslien Gallery
After our waterfall tour, we stopped in at the Bergslien Gallery in the Voringsfoss Hotel across from the cruise port. Yes, as you may have noticed, the Voringsfoss Hotel is at the cruise port, but the Fossli Hotel is a half hour away at the Voringsfossen Waterfall. The Bergslien Gallery was quite interesting, but the most entertaining part was the cheeky pictures of monks looking unexpectedly mischievous in various portraits.
We spent the remaining time of our visit to Eidfjord enjoying the views over the small village from the cruise ship and our balcony. The weather changed to windy with sunny breaks, causing the village to turn a lovely green hue every once in a while. We would soon confirm in other ports that this was typical weather in Norway.
