Norway-North Cape, Bergen, Geiranger, Tromso, Flam and Stavanger

Geirangerfjord as seen from the top of Mt. Dalsnibba, over 4800 feet above the fjord. Weather was ordered up to perfection, and the solo stranger wearing the red jacket is straight out of the landscape photography instructional books.

Old Town District of Bergen Norway, called Bryggen, and the trademark waterfront buildings that date back to the 14th century.

The approach into Bergen treated us to a variety of interesting landscapes, not the least of which was this fashionably occupied island.

Pride shows in the manhole covers, works of art in Bergen. The covers in Stavanger were made the same way with local landmarks also featured.

Old Town Bergen is laced with a network of rough-hewn buildings such as these, 400 plus years old, apparently still in use. Most were originally fish warehouses.

A gift shop with what must be tons of history in Bryggen, Norway.

I liked the reflections around this unusual vessel in Bergen.

This vessel is used to service the offshore drilling rigs in the nearby North Sea. We saw several of these huge rigs here and in Stavanger.

Sea lanes were busy in the Bergen harbor area and adjacent access waterways.

This family looked so typically Scandinavian I had to bring them home. They are dodging vessels right in the middle of Bergen's busy shipping lanes (see previous photo) and ready to cross our wake close to the stern. But nervous? I doubt it. Dad's locked on the phone, they're waving calmly and their ancestors are Vikings.

The AIDAluna leaves Bergen right behind us. AIDA has six ships with the trademark lips on the bow.

Waterfront in Bergen as seen from downtown just across the harbor.

The tall ship Statsraad LehmKuhl sits at the waterfront in Bergen.

The square rigged Statsraad LehmKuhl has taken to the water as we are leaving Bergen, Norway.

The funicular railway in Bergen takes passengers to the top of Mt. Floyen for a great overview of the city. I never expected to get this clear shot of the other railcar. Jan and I were the last two passengers to board our cab for the return trip to town. With Jan seated and no seats left, the conductor had me sit on the steps at the very front where commercial photographers take the postcard shots. Talk about luck!

Looking northwest across Bergen, as seen from Mt. Floyen. The North Sea is in the distance.

The Carribean Princess tied up in Bergen, our first port of call on the Norwegian adventure.

Side street near the waterfront in Bergen.

Classy front doors of a business in Bergen, Norway.

One of several pleasant sunsets over the North Sea, June 2012.

A gull flying right by our sun deck as we leave Bergen.

You are reasonably well connected to the sea when you can salt water fish from your coffee table! Bergen, Norway.

Check out the nice rock colors on this wall near Bergen. Many weathered boat sheds dotted the shores of the waterways. There were plenty of shiny ones too, but my weakness is the older ones that have not seen a paint brush in a while.

This waterfall is typical of many we saw. It's hard to tell how high it is, but the adjacent trees were large and the water appeared to fall slowly. We saw a lot more high waterfalls in Norway than in Alaska. In some fjords we could see five or six at once from one vantage point. That was memorable.

Our ship rests as we went ashore for the bus ride out of Helleslyt.

Helleslyt Waterfalls, Norway.

Mill House at Helleslyt Falls, Norway.

Along the road after we left Helleslyt and before we got to Hornindsdals Lake.

Hornindalsvatnet. At 1686 feet, this is the deepest lake in Europe. The small dock was highly unstable and it was wicked fun watching everybody fight for balance. I contributed to the hilarity as well.

This is the view being captured in the previous photo by the tourists on the dock. The tiny ripples were made by our floating dock on an otherwise dead calm lake.

Hornindsdalvatnet (lake). We had a snack here on the bus ride out of Helleslyt that took us to Geraingerfjord via Mt. Dalsnibba. These Nordic names were somewhat intimidating at first, but got a little easier as we heard them over and over. I said a little.

Shuttle boats on Lake Hornindsdals.

Maybe the preponderance of high mountains so close to the lakes blocks the wind, but glassy lake water in Norway is more common than you might expect. This is Hornindsdal Lake, taken from the bus at speed.

Idyllic small town of Stryn, Norway.

Stryn, Norway

The Town of Stryn has this gorgeous river running right through town. At shallow points the water has this bright green tinted look. I really wanted a photo looking down over the river from above and tried to scramble up the hillside in the background, but I was totally blocked by hedges, homes, terraces and no-step landscaping.

The barren rock of the North Cape around Honningsvag seems a world apart from the lush greenery of central Norway (shown here). One constant between the two sectors was the presence of snow fields at low altitudes.

In the high country above Helleslyt, Norway, near Videseter, where we had lunch.

It seems odd that the Viking legend could be tourist-trumped by a regional fairy tale, but trolls far outnumber all Viking gifts, shirts and props. And the Viking themed items usually had impish smiling faces or cartoons to lighten the mood. Maybe the Vikings were not exactly model citizens, but few countries can lay claim to anything close to those fearless, world-shaping pioneers.

This ski area, in the mountains above Helleslyt, has snow all year long. This is late June, 2012.

We're just below Mt. Dalsnibba, and the flat valley floor is a frozen lake. A lone Norwegian Air Force F-16 ripped through the valley low and fast toward the horizon at an altitude about half the height of the mountains. As he turned sharply to line up the next mountain gap he had to be smiling. I took this photo going up the road, but the jet went by as we came down. I was on the wrong side of the bus to capture it.

This is the high mountain road from Helleslyt to Mt. Dalsnibba which had only been cleared for use in the past two weeks. The road channel had cuts through the snow deeper than the height of our bus. Late June, 2012.

When I asked Falt, our modest and unassuming Norwegian bus driver, for a picture I was quickly joined by other passengers because his flawless driving had made him a star. He got us through several "you gotta be kidding" tight spots.

Geirangerfjord. One of the postcard views our tour took us to.

This was taken along the road above Geirangerfjord after we had left Mt. Dalsnibba. This is in central Norway in late June of 2012. Our cruise ship looks small but it is 951 feet long.