Norwegian Celebration Cruise - Eidfjord Page

Sunday 18th May

We got up at 0720, just after the Braemar had berthed at Eidfjord & went off to breakfast at 8, only to be accosted by William, saying I was escorting the Hardanger Vidda tour, Avis coming with a ticket & I had to be on the quay, officially at 0830 but up to 0850 would be all right, as he was putting me on the last coach (of three = 120 pax. I had 38). So breakfast was a scramble but I got to the quay at 0837 with clean teeth.

Looking back from Eidfjord

Eidfjord Village

Eidfjord Village from further round

We drove, in beautiful, very un-Norwegian, weather, first to the Visitor Centre in the valley still. There was a five screen video of the Vidda from a courageously piloted helicopter. Then, we went round the displays of stuffed animals in phoney context. The real work is scientific, though. There was a restaurant & shop with a turf roof opposite.

Hardanger Vidda Visitors Centre

A Hunter of olden times

Stuffed Reindeer

The Restaurant & Shop (Turf Roof)

From The Visitor Centre

Then, the road climbed, in places through tunnels, which were partly used to gain height. Some of the old road, narrow, dangerous from rock fall & disused, was visible in places & scary. This is the main road to Oslo (330km from Eidfjord) but it is sometimes closed, either by snow or reindeer herds (!) We stopped at the Hotel Fossli for coffee & a view, after a short but somewhat challenging walk, of the Voringsfossen Waterfall, which was quite spectacular, with a brilliantly coloured rainbow in the gorge.

The coach then took us up to a dam, the Sysendammen, at over 1200m. This seemed to be less high on the water side but it had been drained by hydro power use in the Winter & some of the remaining water was till frozen. We were pushed for time, so could not walk out far enough to see the glacier at the end & anyway, one had to walk across snow & many people, including Avis, were improperly shod. I put in my report, that people should be warned to wear suitable footwear

The Sysendammen

The Lake behind the dam

We were back for a light lunch, because there was a cake festival in the pub in the afternoon. Meanwhile, I had to finish the washing I had started before breakfast, change into my whites, rehearse the Holst Show & give it to a very few but including Rebecca Omordia. Unfortunately for me, there was a sail away party & magnificent views all along the Hardanger Fjord, which at least, we got a lot of after.

We had to change for dinner, as it was a formal evening. We ate small dinners & went to the Show Team’s show in the Coral Club, after which we went to the Observatory Lounge, dodging the Crew Show & chatting to the dance hosts until they went to work, watched as we entered the North Sea immediately into a fog bank, read a bit & went to the Chef’s introduction of his team of chefs.

Monday 19th May 2014

There was another day at sea on the way home. Julian Lloyd-Webber did a Q & A, which was interesting. I asked what next? as he needs a job & he talked about how music education was a mess & the government was cutting everything the Labour government had put in. He said how he, Andrew & someone else had been to see Charles Clarke, who made the right noises but no new money. However, he got to see Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, who did put money in. Later, I heard someone say, in surprise, that Julian supported Labour. I said that so did almost everybody in the Arts. then, for some walking round the deck. Andrea Kmecova had a concert at 1430, again well planned & finishing with Scott Joplin's "Entertainer". We left a £30 for Teresa, our cabin steward. Theoretically, as entertainers, we only had to give her £14 but that seemed a bit mean. The evening was crowded after dinner in the Palms as usual for entertainers, with In-Tune in the Coral Club & the Show Team in the Neptune.