Our bodies are finally getting to the point where we are sleeping until after 6 a.m. Doug and Sandy had breakfast delivered to their stateroom because they had an early excursion departure. Our included Eagle’s Bend Overlook and Panoramic Drive excursion was not scheduled to start until 12:55pm so we had time for a leisurely morning.
After grabbing breakfast between Mamsen’s for her fabulous waffles and fresh berries, we also picked up a few dim sum items in the World Cafe. There is a dedicated Asian counter back by the Aquavit Terrace which features congee and dim sum items in the morning.
We took advantage of the fitness center and thermal spa during our free morning. There were very few people there, making for a relaxing morning.
We rendezvoused with Mark and Jan at 11 a.m. when the World Cafe opened for lunch service. Excursions with departure times before noon met in the Star Theater, but after 10:30 a.m., the tenders were opened for independent travel. So after grabbing lunch, we boarded a tender at 11:50 a.m. to give us some time to wander a bit through Eidsdal. While waiting for our tender, a group of Norwegians came through the boarding area escorted by a ship’s officer. Today was apparently the very first time the Viking Neptune has called on Eidsdal as a port of call, so a delegation of officials from Eidsdal were brought aboard the ship for an exchange of plaques ceremony to commemorate this first call.
In July 2017, we had visited Geiranger on the Crown Princess, and at that time, we docked right in town and walked off the ship directly ashore. We got to visit the Fjord Center museum complex, church, and waterfalls park complex. We also boarded buses for a trip to see a glacier.
Our itinerary today was quite different. Since we were arriving in Eidsdal, it is a 40-minute bus ride to get to Geiranger. It is a scenic drive through the glacial valley connecting Eidsdal to Geiranger.
Our first stop was called the Eagle’s Bend Overlook. This high viewpoint from the rim of the fjord affords a view from the Seven Sisters waterfalls to Geiranger below. Doug and Sandy had discovered an excellent viewpoint at the end of an unmarked trail next to the official overlook view platform. This required a bit of hiking on a steep rocky path, but it proved well worth the effort.
The bus took us through Geiranger without actually stopping anywhere in the town, which surprised us. However, a large Costa cruise was tied up at the dock, and the town was congested and chaotic. Our guide did point out sites like the octagonal church and the Fjord Center museum, but only in passing.
The bus continued winding its way up the valley, passing innumerable waterfall crossings before stopping at a second viewpoint from which you could see from the glaciers at the head of the valley down to the city and fjord below, complete with the Costa cruise ship.
From that high viewpoint of the valley, we continued even higher, climbing above the tree line and amongst boulder-strewn snow fields and waterfalls that looked like a fantasy world from a video game. The bus finally stopped at a huge lake, Djupvatnet, which was partially covered in ice. We learned that this lake completely freezes over most winters and that local residents use the frozen lake bed to learn how to drive on ice. This is apparently required to get a Norwegian driver’s license. There was a quaint hotel on the lakeshore with spectacular views and a large gift shop.
The drive back to Eidsdal was long but reversing through all the interesting valleys and countrysides. The Viking Daily had published that the last tender back to the ship was at 4 p.m., but we had returned at 4:30 p.m., and there was at least one more tender load of passengers to return to the ship by then.
The ship had recovered all its tenders, and we all rendezvoused for dinner at the Restaurant at 6:15 p.m. The dinner menu featured roasted venison, lamb shank, and bacon-wrapped prawns.
The evening was finished off with a performance by Becki Biggins, who is a multi-award-winning UK singer, saxophonist, and songwriter who performed a medley of American Songbook music. She was an excellent performer, but since it had been a really long day, and it was pretty warm in the packed theater, it was hard to keep our eyes open for the whole show.
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