A SHORT STOP AT Åndalsnes’:
Last night we were treated to a nice sunset and the Stabben Lighthouse.
In 1866/87, a sturdy lighthouse with a solid reinforced stone and mortar foundation was built on a slippery, rounded-off skerry in the middle of the shipping lane.
It is a timber house measuring 12 by 8.3 meters with its foundation wall consisting of 108 cargos of stone, occupies practically every square foot of the skerry. Towards the northwest, where the skerry (a rock island) is most exposed to the ocean through the Hellefjord, the foundation wall is built like a ship¿s bow to minimize the effect of the breakers.
The lighthouse has a characteristic shape, and it has become a landmark and a popular motif for artists and photographers ever since it was completed some 130 years ago.
The reason why the lighthouse was built was the dangerous and treacherous waters with extremely strong currents. This was most likely one of the most difficult navigational points along the Norwegian coastline, which is highly evident in the many ships that went down or ran aground, even after the lighthouse became operational.
The lighthouse is now listed in accordance with the Directorate for Cultural Heritages National Lighthouse Preservation Plan.
Now onto today's Port of Call - Åndalsnes.
Today's (27/8) Port o Call is Åndalsnes’. We were up at about 0500, cleaning up and having in room coffee. Yes doing our dedicates so they will dry during the day. I must say the heated bathroom floor feels great. And aids in the drying.
Our room is 640 and on the walking deck (4 laps is 1K) so we must remember to be aware of our state of dress and open curtains. :)
Our time in port is posted as 0830 - 1400, enough time to do a walkabout. Unfortunately the train from here is not running as it is another “Worlds Most Beautiful Trips”.
We will wander about the town to see what we can see. This is the Mountaineering center for Norway.
Not much has been written about Åndalsnes’ early days. It later enters the record books when climbers started scaling the region’s many alpine summits. This is a town that began and still continues, thanks to its reputation for climbing.
Keeping a drunken bet at a wedding, two locals, Christen Smed and Hans Bjermeland, became the first men to conquer the 1,550-metre-high Romsdalshorn in 1828. No-one believed them until Danish climber Carl Hall finally made it to the top half a century later, in 1881, and found a stone cairn left by the pair.
By the 1940s, all of the Romsdalen mountain tops had been summited and mountaineers moved on to tackling big walls like the sheer and intimidating 1,100-metre-high Trollveggen (Troll Wall).
World War II would delay any such attempts for decades.
Åndalsnes’ involvement in the war came in April 1940. The German army had invaded Norway and an Allied British Army expeditionary force was deployed to help the Norwegian Army retake Trondheim in a pincer attack known as the Åndalsnes Landings. The mission was a disaster due to lack of training, weapons, and too few battalions. Of the 1,500 men to take part, 1,190 sadly perished.
When the war ended, climbing slowly resumed. In 1965, Norwegian and British teams raced to scale Trollveggen – Europe’s tallest vertical rock face – with the Norwegians winning (of course).
Later, Åndalsnes port was used to help build offshore oil and gas wells in the North Sea and railway tracks were laid right to the waterfront to ship in steel for their construction.
Today, the town is still crazy for all things mountain. The strenuous 10-hour, 10km Romsdalseggen is one of the world’s most scenic hikes, so says Lonely Planet.
As you’d expect, there’s a state-of-the art mountaineering center and museum, and the town also proudly hosts the annual Norse Fjellfestival (Norwegian Mountain Festival) in summer.
We were a tad late docking but we were off the ship a bit before 0900 and followed the waterfront into the city center.
The maps we were provided made the points of interest seem much farther apart. This nice city is somewhat small and compact.
Being the Mountaineering Center of Norway there are many outdoor shops and we checked all their sale items. Lynn did see a fleece she liked but alas it was not in her size.
We made a stop at the Extra (grocery store) and got some room supplies of soda and chocolate. We did not find any interesting jams to bring home. Our route took us passed the Romsdal Gondola which takes one to the top of Nesaksla Mountain 708 meters above sea level. Then there was the Tindesenter where one can learn about the history of the mountains in this area. This building looks like a climbing wall.
On our return we passed the Andalsnes Station where, when operating, one can catch the Golden Train. Again one of the many Most Beautiful train rides in the world.
Then we visited the Train Chapel. This is an old railway car from 1934 which was refitted as a religious chapel in 2003. With 55 seats it can be booked for weddings and private events. There is a visitor guest book we were told is a must to sign.
Our whole walkabout with stops took us two hours and I must say we did dawdle the whole 2K. I do enjoy the small marinas where the local watercraft as docked.
We were back on the boat in plenty of time for lunch. After lunch we awaited sail away and spent some time taking scenic photos.
Photo Dump Ahead:
Time to get ready to tomorrow’s briefing and then dinner. There is a presentation later tonight about Hurtigruten’s costal kitchen concept of using local ingredients.
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