Scenic Skjolden

The View From My Beer

Sometimes it is a challenge to find a pub or bar that is able to convey the beautiful views that are available. No today, the view was simply stunning. So much so that I decided to have two 0.6 litre glasses of Ægir Pils at the Skjolden Hotel. The beer hails from Florø, which is 200km west of here.

Skjolden

The second stop on my 14-day cruise to Norway & Iceland. Skjolden is a small village with a population of only 200 people. Again, the presence of our cruise ship such as ours in the town makes a huge difference to the crowds. The village is located at the very end of the king of fjords, Sognefjord.

To understand just how far inland we have travelled last night, I really needed to look at a map. To get here we travelled 200km up Norway’s longest and deepest fjord, Sognefjord. Norway itself is only 400km wide at its widest point. Its almost like being on a river cruise!

Skjolden also lies just to the south of Jostedalsbreen, the largest glacier on the European mainland. Tonight we will sail around to the northern side of the glacier.

My Walk

Skjolden Village

It was a nice 1km walk from where our ship docked into the village.

Mørkriselvi

Next, I then followed a road that lead out of town along the river. It was not exactly what I had planned, but it worked out to be a very scenic alternative. I found a bunch of houses with sod rooves. The stream was flowing strongly, and I even found a llama farm along the way.

Sengjaberget Viewpoint

I decided it was time to pull out my phone and find my way back to by intended destination, Sengjaberget Viewpoint, where I believed I could get a very scenic view of the village and the fjord. It was a little bit of a climb but I was not disappointed when I got there. I got to take in one of the best views I have had in Norway. And the bar is pretty high!

Sognefjord

Our cruise ship departed at the very early time of 3:30PM today. I am guessing the reason for this was that we would be cruising back down Sognefjord, before reaching the ocean around 11PM. The cruises up the fjords have always been a special part of the Norwegian cruise itinerary and today’s was probably the best yet.