TWO NORWEGIAN FJORDS Guest Post by Caroline Hatton

Nærøyfjord, Norway.

My friend Caroline Hatton, a children’s writer and frequent contributor to this blog, took the photos in this post in July 2025.

Why Norway? For scenery and Viking history! Under “scenery,” my husband and I targeted three natural wonders: the Lofoten Islands, fjords, and Jotunheimen National Park, home of the highest mountains in Norway. This blog post is about the fjords.

Fjiords (F), Norway (N), Oslo (O).

We decided to visit the two Norwegian fjords listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Nærøyfjord, perhaps the narrowest, most stunning of them all, and the wider Geirangerfjord. We usually prefer to design our own tailored itineraries, and to buy tickets and make reservations ourselves. But to avoid long drives in a rental car, we favored public transportation. And to avoid errors in connecting trains, boats, and buses, I looked for a package deal, for only four of the many days we would spend exploring Scandinavia.

My online research zoomed in on www.FjordTours.com, which I wholeheartedly recommend. The website offers many trip outlines for traveling without a guide. For the “Norway in a Nutshell & Geirangerfjord” tour, I had to try different start dates before the interactive tool could find availability for two people on five trains, three boats, and four buses. Booking the whole package took only one click.

Star Wars filming location.

From Oslo, a 6:20 a.m. train** took us through farmland into mountains past Finse, the filming location of the ice planet Hoth in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. A second scenic train ride took us steeply down the mountains, including through 20 tunnels, to sea level at the head of a fjord.

There, the supreme highlight of the entire four days was to be a two-hour boat ride. The second half of it would take us into Nærøyfjord. In the 1888 book, Midnight Sunbeams or Bits of Travel Through the Land of the Norseman, author Edwin Coolidge Kimball wrote, “The fjord is winding in its course, and in places the mountains close it in so that it appears to be a small lake, the great headlands of granite forming grand and imposing boundaries. Many waterfalls—some over a thousand feet high appearing like threads of silver as they descend in a broken course from the snow-fields above, others with more volume of water from lesser heights—plunge into the fjord below. Every turn of the steamer unfolds new grandeurs of rock formation and a fresh supply of waterfalls.”

Given the fickle Norwegian summer weather, I couldn’t believe our luck when we lined up to board the boat under bright blue skies. That’s when the captain appeared, unsmiling. “Sorry,” he said. “The boat ride is canceled due to a technical problem. This is not a joke.” No one was laughing. FjordTours immediately sent buses to take stranded customers to the next stop in only 20 minutes… through a lo‑o‑ong tunnel—some sightseeing! I took the postcard-like photo of Nærøyfjord (at the top of this post) from the spot where the indisposed boat would have docked at the end of the cruise.

View from the Stalheim Hotel.

A bus took us as planned to see an incredible view from the Stalheim Hotel, then to a train to Bergen where we arrived at bedtime. Staying there two nights gave us time to visit the excellent Edvard Grieg Museum, the former home of the most famous Norwegian composer.

Medieval alley in Bergen.

We also visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bryggen, including a few narrow medieval alleys with wooden bridges connecting former fishing-trade warehouses. And we ate the best fish ever, fresh, not from medieval times: monkfish and flounder at Fjellskål. At home, I am a near-vegetarian, but on trips, I am willing to taste some of what the locals eat.

A beautiful summer day to go sailing in Norway.

Next, we spent a day traveling north by scenic boat and bus to Ålesund*** (pronounced awl-soon’d) on the Atlantic coast.

Hotel Brosundet in Alesund.

Our yellow Hotel Brosundet on a historic harbor canal was a repurposed fishing industry warehouse. Around town, we spotted pastel colored Art Nouveau buildings with stylized botanical motifs such as daisies and leaves. We tasted more delicious seafood at Anno, crab-encrusted haddock and fish soup.

The next morning, we embarked on a three-hour boat ride headed inland where the waterway would finally narrow down to Geirangerfjord. I ran around the outdoor deck, hunting for photos of shoreline villages in sun patches, charming old boat sheds, and waterfalls, trying to click fast enough to catch the best angle before the boat motored on.

Historic farm.

The most amazing sights were of historic farms perched partway up dizzying slopes, out of reach of potential attackers. In his 1888 book, Kimball wrote about such a farm, “…one wonders how a human being can choose such a place for a habitation, midway between heaven and earth, exposed to falling avalanches from above, and to sliding down the yawning precipices into the fjord below. It is said that the parents here tether their children with ropes, to keep them from the edge of the cliff, and from ‘taking a header far down below’.”

Entering Geirangerfjiord.

Our boat turned into Geirangerfjord for the last half hour of the cruise.

The Seven Sisters.

In the above photo of the Seven Sisters waterfall, a kayak gives an idea of the scale. On the opposite wall of the fjord, our boat approached a rushing waterfall, making passengers squeal and laugh as they got misted.

That afternoon, a scenic bus ride brought us to Åndalsnes. There, instead of taking two trains back to Oslo that night, we dropped out of the tour and picked up a rental car we had reserved from home, to go hiking for a week in Jotunheimen National Park.

Footnotes:

* Credit for the globe image: Rob984 - Derived from Germany on the globe (Germany centered).svg, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

**Read CarolineArnold’s post about Bergen.

***Read CarolineArnold’s post about Ålesund.

 

COPPER CANYON TRIP, Chihuahua, Mexico, Part 3, Guest Post by Susan Kean

Deer Dance in El Fuerte, Mexico.

In January my friend Susan Kean and her partner George took a ten-day Road Scholar trip to Copper Canyon in Mexico, a canyon three times greater than the Grand Canyon in the United States. She has graciously agreed to share her thoughts and photos about the trip.

From the balmy 80 degrees of Batopilas at the bottom of Copper Canyon, we headed back up to the top of the canyon by bus. Up there, at 7000 feet, it was snowy and icy! It had rained in the night before and our bus driver had to be vigilant for falling rocks.

Boarding the Chepe Express at Creel in the early morning.

After staying the night in Creel, we boarded the famous Chepe Train to descend 70 miles into the Septentrion Canyon to El Fuerte, where we stayed the next night.

View of restaurant car and domed viewing area.

I tried taking pictures from the train window-- not very successfully. This shows the carriage with the restaurant and glass viewing area. One of the required qualifications for this trip was to be able to walk on a moving train. We had lunch in the restaurant and climbed steps up to the viewing area. Quite a fun experience.

Descending into Septentrion Canyon.

The train was long and we were able to see the engine ahead of us as it came around one of the many curves to help it ascend and descend about 7000 feet.

Canyon bottom.

Finally, we approached the plain at the bottom of the canyon.

Susan and George. 

During our trip we spent a lot of time learning about the various indigenous groups of people in this part of Mexico. They hosted us to meals, shared their customs, showed us basket weaving, and we learned how they had modified the Catholic faith to blend with their original religious practices. The Tarahumara were in the main part of Copper Canyon, and then in El Fuerte we shared a religious experience of the Deer Dance with the Mayo People. We also enjoyed lunch with a Mennonite community near Divisadero. 

Young girl learning the deer dance.

We watched a young girl learning the Deer Dance. Usually the tradition goes from grandfather to grandson, but there is no grandson in the line so the granddaughter is inheriting the responsibility of keeping the tradition alive

Sunset from a fort in El Fuerte. We are now back in balmy temperatures and George went for a swim in the hotel pool.

From Fuerte we drove by bus to Los Mochis where we got a flight to Tijuana International Airport. We followed directions carefully for passport control and literally walked across a bridge and were in San Diego.

It was an incredibly interesting trip and Road Scholar did a great job. Our leader knew everyone at each location. My photos only scratch the surface of an extraordinary travel experience. 

COPPER CANYON TRIP, Chihuahua, Mexico, Part 2: Guest Post by Susan Kean

Descending into Copper Canyon.

In January, my friend Susan Kean and her partner George took a ten-day Road Scholar trip to Copper Canyon in Chihuahua, Mexico--a canyon three times greater than the Grand Canyon in the United States. She has graciously agreed to share her thoughts and photos about the trip. Here is the second half of her two-part report.

At the top of Copper (cobre) Canyon.

This morning we left Divisadero on the top of the canyon and drove down a very twisty road to Batopilas, stopping on the way in a restaurant run by the local indigenous people--the Tarahumara.

Restaurant on the way to Batopilas.

We had delicious chile relleno served with beans and rice and I loved the beautifully decorated china. The mural shows the cave house where the indigenous folks live.The motel/ restaurant has no electricity by choice. They use hurricane lamps and fires for heating.

Tarahumara woman along the side of the road.

There were lots of rocks on the road at various spots. In the worst spots the driver checked the hillside to make sure none were rolling down on us!!!

View of Copper Canyon from the toilet stop. Note narrow winding road into the canyon.

 
The toilet stop on the way was an outhouse with a long drop down to the canyon floor if you missed a step! This trip is not for sissies. Walking at 7000 feet in freezing cold to go and see a waterfall was tough for me at this stage of my life. Lots of steps, no railings. I used my stick and George!

Bedroom and lounge area in the hotel in Batopilas.

Batopilas is an absolutely beautiful town. Our hotel is a 19th Century hacienda with amazing rooms and vintage bathtubs. Not sure about that!

Vintage bathrub.

At dinner we were told about the amazing history of Batopilas. Silver has made the town rich.

Early the next morning we said goodbye to Copper Canyon