Yesterday morning, we sailed into Alesund...
our final Norwegian stop...
and the biggest town we've visited so far in Norway ~ currently the 9th largest in the country...
Alesund suffered a terrible fire in the early 1900s, and most of the buildings were destroyed. The town is quite unique today because it was rebuilt after the fire, and most of the architecture is now in the art nouveau style.
One thing we quickly noticed is that the weather, in this area specifically, can change on a dime!
Our early risers ~ Hubby & L ~ went off to explore first thing...
finding a park with a playground...
and a hiking trail...
up the Aksla steps ~ 418 of them!
B had joined in at this point, as well...
There were a few rest areas along the way...
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and views for days!
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Remember the weather I mentioned?
At this point, they had experienced sun, wind, drizzle, and a downpour. From there, much like in Stavanger, they headed over to the local football (soccer) stadium for Alesund Football...
and found their way onto the field again, too!
Due to the crazy weather, Grandma decided to stay put on the ship, which I think was a good decision, as we had a good bit of walking to do just to get to the town center. Here, you actually have to walk through a tunnel that goes under the main road to get to the more walkable town center.
Hubby, B & L made their way back from the stadium about the time M & I got off the ship, and we headed into town together...
to do a little shopping...
.HEIC)
Norway charges around 25%(!!!) sales tax, but foreigners are able to get that part refunded upon the completion of a form and proof of citizenship in another country. A representative was on board to assist, as this was our last port in Norway. Hubby said that the process was pretty easy, but we will see if it really works!
L & I found another little free library like we'd seen in Stavanger...
.heic)
and then Hubby, B & L decided to take M & me up to the city park...
and I do mean UP to the city park...
The city park (which is up above the shopping district) is where the starting point for the hike up the Aksla steps is...
It is a beautiful park...
high above the town...
On the way out of the park, we saw the most unique tree!
From there, we headed back down into the town...
and stopped at Egon Restaurant to grab some lunch...
The ordering was a little interesting...
as we placed our order from our table and paid before even seeing a server!
But, alas, our food arrived!
M tried the cottage pie...
I had a veggie quesadilla. It was interesting with corn and edamame included inside...
and L had a BLT croissant...
After lunch, we headed back to the ship...
Goodbye, Norway!
Today was a slow (and much-needed) day at sea. We all slept in (I'm telling you... Inside cabins are the absolute best for sleeping, and napping, too!)...
Hubby and I were the first to get up, and we headed to the destination talk on Akureyri, our first port in Iceland...
We grabbed breakfast afterwards, and then took it easy before heading back to the destination talk on Isafjordur, our second port in Iceland...
After lunch, Hubby and I took a stroll out on the promenade, and it was cold! Even the water looked chilly...
Sweet B took Grandma to lunch, and they had a good time visiting...
Later, we all did an assortment of things, but mostly either exercising, napping, watching movies, or a combination of all three!
We all met back up for dinner...
ahead of the production show for tonight, DISCO - Blame it on the Boogie...
After the show, Hubby, B and I went on to try our hands at the night's music trivia, featuring one of Hubby's favorite bands, Queen. We didn't win, but only missed two questions of the twenty total, so I thought we did pretty well. Hubby absolutely ACED the song section where they played a few notes and asked us to write down the song titles.
We took one more stroll outside before heading back to the cabin, and it was cold!
We are currently nearing the Arctic Circle, that we must cross to get to our first stop. Excited for Iceland tomorrow!
More {EUROPE} 2025 Fun...
