- Day 22-26: From Bergen to Trolltunga+5 things to do in Bergen UPD 2018
- Day 18-21: Ålesund, Trollstigen, Geiranger – The most beautiful of Norway! (…seen so far) UPD 2017
- Day 14-17: Trondheim – the pearl of wooden architecture, 5 things to do; + Norwegian farmland [OLD]
- Day 10-13: Airplanes and coastal roads, 5 Things to do in Bodø [UPD 2018]
- Day 7-10: A cruise through the whole Northern Norway: Tromsø to Bodø [UPD 2018]
- Day 4-6: Tromsø, a warm welcome in a city in the Arctic circle, 5 things to do [UPD 2018]
- Day 2-3: Oulu, the last stop before Norway north, 6 things to do [OLD]
- All Norway from North to South, Day 1-3: Trip plan [OLD]
The time has come to see what the world-famous Norwegian fjords look like!
I am on the ship again, traveling from Trondheim to Bergen, with a stop in Ålesund. From Ålesund, I am traveling to see the notable fjords: Trollstigen and Geiranger.
Table of Contents
Trondheim to Ålesund
While leaving Trondheim, I was saying goodbye to the countryside house, that gave me such a warm welcome.
The views are nice, but after all the places I have been, they don’t look so exciting. My previous research somehow confirmed: when approaching southern part of Norway – the most beautiful views are inside the country, and cannot be seen from the ocean side.
As soon as the ship turns to Molde (city), the amazing things start to appear. Despite the wind, many got outside to take the shots. I even thought it was a mistake to take Molde out of my list.
Ålesund
The small town is one of the most impressive places of the trip. It is located between two amazingly beautiful fjords: Geiranger and Hjørundfjord. Besides the natural sites, the town is interesting for its unique, stone architecture.
Past and present, few facts
In 1904, the fire destroyed the whole town, which was made out of wood at that time. From the aches, Ålesund was reborn in new, unique outlook. It was made out of stone and bricks in the architecture style called “Art Nouveau” (I have no idea what it means, but looks very impressive).
Apart from architectural heritage, Ålesund is one of the most important towns in the fishing industry and has one of the most modern fishing fleets in the world.(The ports are away from the old town, and with the little time I had, I decided not to go there.)
In the 70th the oil was found in the North Sea, and from this point up Ålesund is largely involved in this industry.
Impressions
I am surprised Ålesund is not famous! The town is very compact, full of colorful houses. Its architecture looks simple and very inviting. All this is surrounded by the sea from the three sides and has mountains on the background. Amazing!
I usually explore many things in the places I go, but in Ålesund, I decided to relax and enjoy the atmosphere of the old town. It is very calm and gives some sort of home feeling. You don’t want to hurry, instead, you want to spend an hour sipping morning coffee on the shore side.
You should see Ålesund from the mountain top. And the way is to do it, is to go up 418 steps to the Fjellstua viewpoint. It definitely worth the effort. You can see the surrounding fjords and old town. I got there two times, during the day and in the evening. 
Åndalsnes, Trollstigen, Geiranger
I was told that Trollstigen and Geiranger, are not allowed to miss if you visit Norway! They are within a few hours trip! Ålesund has a bus connection to Åndalsnes (few kilometers to Trollstigen), and to Geiranger. In summer there is a bus connection between Åndalsnes and Geiranger. It makes photo-stops at Trollstigen and at a beautiful viewpoint on top of Geiranger.
Road to Åndalsnes
First, I was thinking to get to Åndalsnes from Molde, which is closer, but, decided to spend more time in Ålesund. What I realized, is that you should not avoid long trips in Norway. There is always a new view behind the corner.
Åndalsnes
This is a small hub for tourists, known for its closeness to Trollstigen and some other notable fjords.
The main thing to do there is to go for the mountain hike to Romsdalseggen. It gets you at about 1.3 km height and opens the views onto the village and the surrounding fjord.
Trollstigen
This fjord is insane! To get up onto the mountain, the bus takes 11 tight turns. The road was built at the beginning of the previous century, and also made me think of tremendous engineering challenge.
Sun rarely gets into the valley and shadow or fog are there most of the time. The head of the valley is a gloomy mountain. Silence makes this place surreal.
The bus makes a 20 minutes photo-stop on the top of the fjord.
Geiranger
And the best for the last! I think, Geiranger is the most beautiful place on earth, I cannot think about any other competitors.
If Trollfjord was a grim part of the fairy tale, this one is bright. Geiranger is green, sunny and has enormous proportions. A huge cruise ship looks very tiny in comparison.
Next stop – Bergen
And, a bit of a sidenote. I would say, the trip is similarly beautiful if you go all the way on a car. I recommend reading this Norway roadtrip, that includes Bergen, Ålesund and Geiranger.
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