All aboard the Iona around the Norwegian Fjords

This is definitely the year my travelling bug is back. And in this, case, really doing something I have not done before. In more ways than one. One, that this is all about Norway, a country, I have never been to before. 

The second is that, I lost my cruise virginity with this one. 

A cruise is not something I would normally consider, but when my friend's family invited me and my best friend along, there was no way could I say no to this adventure. 

This was a week-long cruise around the Norwegian fjords, stopping in four different towns: Stavanger, Olden, Hellesylt and Haugesund; many of which were Viking ports, relying on fishing and farming. Then the oil industry (boo) took off in the 60s, turning Norway from one of the poorest European countries, to the richest. 

Most of the fjords were formed by retreating glaciers. And the lakes these produce can get to be six times deeper than the North Sea. 

Before going into each stop, I thought I would get Iona herself out of the way. What was it like, being on a cruise ship?

Well, she was massive! In fact, getting lost was a regular occurrence. But the big plus was that most things were all-inclusive; so you could eat as much as you wanted (in most places), and take part in as many activities on the ship as you wished. You could essentially take it easy on the sea days, or after a long day exploring. 

• If you wanted to swim in the pool every day - do it (especially the Beachcomber one as screaming kids were not allowed). 
• If you wanted to play sports, or take part in a painting class, you go do that. 
• If you wanted to see a film, why not? (I saw Super Mario on the last day)
• Or if you wanted to go to the Headliner's Theatre and see a very cheesy show, or an amazing Irish band at 10.30pm, that works too. 
• And most importantly, if you wanted to grab more than one dessert, you deserve it!

It wasn't what I was used to, but a nice change of pace. 

The major only thing I would advise for any other cruise virgins out there: take protection, that being travel sickness tablets. Trust me, you do feel the boat moving and it takes some getting used to.

As far the excursions went, we on average had between 9am-4pm to get off the boat and explore the area. You could have booked experiences through the cruise company, but they were really expensive (I was brought back to memories of Contiki, where the most I had to pay for an experience was 40 euros for the River Cruise in Budapest). We definitely made the right decision in doing our own thing at our own pace, and not paying a fortune. 

Being only on shore for a few hours was both a blessing and a curse depending on which port we were in. For bigger towns such as Stavenger and Haugesund, you could easily have spent a couple of days there. Whereas for Hellesylt, and especially Olden, that time was really all you needed; you ended up exploring the area in the mornings, and then go back to the ship for a late lunch and chill before watching the boat sail away. 

(In my case in Hellesylt, lying on a lounger after being in the pool, mocktail in hand.)

Stavanger: Stavanger is Norway's 4th biggest city, behind Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim. It's one of the prime examples of a town flourishing due to the oil industry; previously it was big in herring, and there is the Canning Museum to prove it. 

As expected, there's plenty of choices here, perfect for a big group to split up depending on their interests. The first port of call was the open-top tourist bus; but because of the weather, they put down the plastic sheeting on the top deck, and we couldn't see a thing. The commentary though was very knowledgeable. 

A two minute walk from the port, is the cathedral, which is the oldest working cathedral in Norway, being in place since the 1300s. Unfortunately, it was having maintenance done, and so tourists weren't allowed in! (First Notre Dame, now here). 

There is however other attractions to take in: if there is one museum you see in Stavanger, make sure it is the Stavanger Museum. The best part about this is definitely the top floor, which is all about the history of the bunad, the traditional Norwegian dress. It's fascinating to see how it's evolved. Bunad are traditionally used for weddings, and are now worn at graduation ceremonies and on 17th May, Norway's National Day. 

There is so much to look into: from a case of embroidered gloves that Brides were expected to make for her future husband, father in law, and her pageboys: the story of Sahfana M.Ali, who incorporated the Muslim hijab into her bunad and received both the good and bad from social media from it: to the conversation on the role of bunad in queer Norwegian culture, and whether it gives the space to allow people to be who they want to be. 

When you've looked around the Museum, either head towards the park if you have time, or meander back towards the old town, and walk down the cobbled streets and up to the watchtower for a view of the city. And also, take in the street art. There is a lot of incredible graffiti, similar to Banksy, around the streets of Stavanger. 

In the port, the Viking shop (Stavanger was possibly one of the birthplaces of the Vikings) holds a VR experience; we sadly did not have time for the experience, but the gift shop does have a lot of Viking related goods. There was a Viking related souvenir shop in each port, but this one was my favourite. 

Olden: With Olden, my advice is bring your walking boots and pray for good weather. The weather this day was, frankly, terrible. But we made do, as there isn't much to do round here. If you have better luck with the weather, take the Sky Lift up for a hell of a view, or walk up to the Briksdal Glacier. 

We however, made the most of the weather, and the options available to us. We took a little tour train bus, that did an hour-long route ending up in the village centre. Unlike the tour bus in Stavanger, we could actually see out of the window; and even in the rain, the fjord is beautiful; from the river and waterfalls, to the giant lake you see in the picture above you. Our driver stopped a couple of times to allow us to get off and take some proper photos without the risk of reflection back from the window glass. 

Typically, it only cleared up as we were leaving port... 

Hellesylt: This was another shorter day, but thankfully, the weather cleared up, and we were able to explore a bit more. 

Hellesylt is a town that is part of the Geirangerfjord; for any Frozen fans, this is the fjord which was one of the inspirations for Arendelle. It's also an old Viking port with a population of less than 300 people. 

There are so many different viewpoints around the town. On the right, there's the harbour and the rickety tower off the side staring out into the fjord - if you're not scared of heights, and trust me when I say it is shaky at the top. You can dip your toes in the lakewater on the small beach that the tower sits on. 

The pride and joy of the town however is the Hellesyltfossen, one of the most stunning waterfalls you will likely ever see. Head over the bridge, and then down to the left, to find a tiny hut, and many a photo opportunity. Again, if you have your walking boots, there is a hiking route or two that you can do. 

Then if you head up the hill (one that could rival Bangor in terms of steepness), and head right, you will eventually get to the Sunnylven Church. It may not be grand like the basiliques in Paris, but it has it's own homely charm and peace. Much of the decoration is painted wood. There's almost a simpleness to its beauty; it is definitely worth leaving a message in their guest book. 

Once you've checked out the church, head back down the hill and check out the coffee shops (pick up a kannelsnurrer, or cinnamon roll if you can), and pop your head into the Peer Gynt Galleriet if you have time. This gallery tells the story of Peer Gynt through wooden carvings and music from Evard Grieg that you may or may not recognise. 

If you wanted to venture out a bit further, then you can hop on the ferry, which takes you past the famous Seven Sisters waterfall. That is, if you're not sick of being on a boat at this point. 

Haugesund: The last stop was Haugesund, known for being "the port of Viking Kings", and also "built on herring bones", due to the amount of herring fishing. Despite being only two weeks in the whole year (anytime between January and March), the herring season was a very wealthy business to be involved in back then.  

The Dokken Museum is highly recommended if you want to explore this further: as you get to experience what it was like for families living and working in the herring industry 150 years ago. 

The museum is built around a few houses, still standing from that time, housing the owner of the salt-house (which you also got to look in), right down to poorer farming families: three or more of whom sharing one house. 

They also, rather than hire new land, dismantled their house and brought it with them, labelling each piece so they knew which one went where. My friends and I had the same thought: IKEA houses. 

To get to the museum from the port, it is about a 25 minute walk altogether. Head over the Risøybroen Bridge into the centre, through the shops, and past the Ryporken Park. The Havnaberg Viewing Point is worth a two second stop, with its Viking statue, but be prepared for it to be busy. 

If you want to venture out further, then take yourself over to the Ryvarden Lighthouse. 

There is a lot to do - you can easily spend a couple of days here, exploring the museums and galleries, or hiking one of the marked routes. I must say the maps from the tourist office here are incredibly helpful, and offer so much information about all the different attractions. 

As a final personal recommendation, especially for any bookworms like me, Den Lille Bokbutikken is definitely worth a look if you are looking for a new read. They sell a selection of English language books on the first floor, including a lot on myths and folk tales from around the world. Not as many local ones as you may perhaps think, but I still got a really good book about Norse myths, and my best friend grabbed a small book of Norwegian fairy tales for her nephew and niece. 

So, wrapping this up, and tying everything together, would I go on a cruise again? 

I may, but it depends on the destination, and the route that it is taking more than anything else for me.

One thing I was sad about was I didn't get to try as much local food as I did. Our meals were mainly eaten on the ship, seeing as "we'd technically already paid", particularly as Norway is not the cheapest country... Like I said before, richest country in Europe. 

Therefore, local bits and pieces ended up being snacks, especially pastries. This custard one from Haugesund was probably my favourite, it was divine! But the honourable mention was the kannelsnurrer in Hellesylt, which had salted caramel on top!

(Also, turned out it was just as well we didn't get any more than that, as I would have ran out of Krone a lot earlier than I did, instead of the perfect timing being the penultimate souvenir shop in Haugesund - I digress). 

However, there was one street food place on the Sky Deck of the ship, the 360, which did a Norwegian street food option. Now me, being a numpty, I only realised half way through the trip the option changed every day, so I went for it every lunchtime after that. 

There were cheese dumplings and bacon served with rye bread: reindeer meatballs (tasted just like lamb) which I had with some fries: a traditional Scandi pork roast (this was a bit dry though): and my personal favourite, and the one pictured, salmon and mussel stew. That was delicious! 

The main restaurants though did not offer Scandinavian options on the menu. It was a completely wasted opportunity in my opinion. The could have even done a Scandi special for one night to get guests trying the local cuisine. 

Putting this aside, I will say that 90-something% of what I did eat on the ship was delicious. Especially the breakfast bar. I will miss that when I go back to work... And my last night gave me the best steak and chips I have had in a very long time...! 

Taking everything easy, and so much to do being on the ship (rather than going here, there and everywhere), took some getting used to for me. I am used to my holidays being a bit more low-maintenance and going BANG BANG BANG in terms of fitting attractions in, walking everywhere to find the not-so-touristy spots etc; that was definitely the case for Paris. I don't think I really got into the relaxed-cruise mindset until either the end of the first Sea day, or in Stavenger. 

Would I visit Norway differently next time? Yes of course I would. Why do the same twice? I would want to visit Oslo and Bergen, and maybe try bits and pieces I wasn't able to do this time around - and try more Scandi food. 

If you are open to a cruise, then I think it's worth trying; if you are severely prone to travel sickness however, then perhaps not. 

More than anything, I have enjoyed doing something completely different than normal. Getting back on land has taken some getting used to... I've been caught swaying in the living room...