We woke up to quite a bit of movement. Shortly after an announcement came through that we were crossing from the North Sea into the Norwegian Sea, and that it would take about 2 hours to cover this stretch during which time we should expect some rough seas.
Micha got up anyway, had a quick walk around the deck, and then had a nice breakfast. Afterwards he went back to the cabin and got his jacket out for spending a bit more time outside in the fresh air to take pictures. Dana was finially stirring as well and also came outside. The coastline was very impressive and quite rugged.
We had an early lunch just before arriving at Ålesund and then quickly got ready to get off the ship and explore the town. Ålesund is renowned for its Art Nouveau architecture as most of the town burned town at the turn of last century. So when it was rebuilt the citizens did so in the currently fashionable style.
Even so, our first stop wasn’t the town centre.. instead, we climbed the 418 steps up Akslan, a local hill overlooking the town. From the top we had a wonderful view and took photos despite the wind which was trying to blow us off the other side! Even the sun made some brief appearances to light up our photos.
Back down in town we wandered through the streets and finally found the church. Unfortunately it was closed so we just had a wander through the cemetary before heading back to the ship.
Shortly after departing there was a scientific film shown about the Aurora and what causes them. They also briefly covered aurora photography. It was quite interesting although unfortunately there was no up-to-date information such as weather and aurora forecast.
The cruise onwards was very slow for some reason. Somebody said that a fast ship was going to overtake, but it never showed up. Perhaps it was planned that way though as the area had breathtaking scenery, with the sun setting through a gap in the mountains. Micha very nearly missed that as he was napping on the observation deck when Dana nudged him awake.
The ship continued on very slowly until finally reaching Molde about a quarter of an hour late. Despite having a half-hour stop here, Micha and Dana decided to stay on board and relax, Micha writing this post while Dana kept reading. Besides, it was very nearly time for dinner!
