February 2017 | Midship weather is (if it’s sun you’re after, you’re in the wrong place) and the fact that everything is incredibly pricey (and it was even before the pound took a nose dive). It’s another benefit of taking a cruise to the region: with all meals on board included, and drinks at a very reasonable price (especially if you take advantage of the £17 per person, per day drinks package), you’re sheltered from this – unless you want to eat and drink ashore. In Bergen, we decline, after a little deliberation, to pay £20 for a whale sandwich – as intriguing as it sounds. From the top of the city’s funicular on Mount Fløyen – the price of which is included in our Bergen card, which allows access to several museums – is a glimpse of the dramatic landscapes to come. While many of Cruise & Maritime Voyages call at the fjords first and Bergen on the way home, this itinerary is the opposite: it may not be as dramatic an introduction, but the gradual shift in scenery as we sail deeper into the fjords is just as breathtaking. The next day, we arrive in Molde and take a coach to the Vardestua Cafe, which overlooks the Romsdalsfjord, and offers some of the best views in the region, a staggering 222 peaks outside its window (although, today, a particularly heavy fog all but obscures them). From there, we head to the Atlantic Road, a highway that connects the archipelago to the north of Molde, leaving the ship behind, which sails onto Åndalsnes. The area, part of the Fræna municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, is the definition of remote: we take a longship-style boat across to Håholmen, a 10-acre island that faces out to the vast Norwegian sea. It feels like the edge of the world. In a woodpanelled, grass-roofed hut, we enjoy a warming fish broth, that’s as pure and invigorating as the clean coastal air. That afternoon, we head to Åndalsnes to join the Rauma Line train, taking it up to Dombås, past waterfalls, towering mountains and alpine forests, easily justifying its reputation as one of Europe’s best rail journeys. On the coach journey back, there’s even time to stop at Kylling Bridge and Vermafossen waterfall. It’s beautiful enough to be a major tourist attraction, but we have it to ourselves. Overwhelmed by beauty
Fjord focus (clockwise from top): Geiranger; Fossli hotel, Eidfjord; Håholmen; Vøringsfoss; and Geiranger again, from Dalsnibba
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