Ålesund, Norway

After our last walk into town and one final coffee stop at the Sødalhuset cafe, we took the 2 hour bus ride from Åndalsnes to Ålesund. The hostel was a short 10 minute walk from the bus station so we got checked in, dropped our stuff off, and headed out for an early dinner. We had an incredible sushi dinner with excellent service at Zuuma, a welcome change from the primarily camping cuisine we had in Åndalsnes. After dinner we explored the town, walking up to the beautiful stone church on one side of the channel and up to the Fjellstua overlook on the other. It was incredibly windy at the top of the overlook but so beautiful with the classic view of Ålesund as the sun was beginning to set.

Our second day in Ålesund was for a round trip tour through the famous Geirangerfjord. We caught a bus that took us to Hellesylt where we had about an hour before the ferry picked us up for the trip through the fjord. Norway was full of breathtaking views and it was easy to see why this fjord was designated as a UNESCO world heritage site. The ferry dropped us off in the town of Geiranger where we had 2.5 hours to explore before catching the next bus. We stopped for lunch at the quaint Café Olé and then hiked up the Waterfall Trail towards the Norsk Fjordsenter. We decided to loop by down the road by the church on our way back to the bus stop. Our bus driver for the first leg of the trip back, stopped at the Ørnesvingen overlook so we could all get out and take pictures. One more ferry and two buses later we were back in Ålesund.

We had a relaxing morning on our last day in Ålesund, getting coffee and pastries at Invit before catching the bus to Atlanterhavsparken, the Ålesund aquarium. The aquarium had all kinds of fish, seals, penguins, and crustaceans. We got to see a dive show feeding the fish in the North Atlantic tank, including salmon, cod, halibut, and wolffish. The North Atlantic tank has thousands of gallons of seawater straight from the ocean pumped through each day so the fish are in as close to their natural habitat as possible. After a quick lunch back in town center at Anno, we went to the Jugendstil Senteret (Art Nouveau and Architecture museum) and the Kube (Contemporary Art museum) to learn more about the history and culture of the town. We headed back up Aksla for sunset and stumbled upon an old bunker and got some pictures of the city lights on our way down.

Day One

Fjellstua overlook

Day Two

Geirangerfjord

Geiranger

Norsk Fjordsenter

Church at Geiranger

Classic Geirangerfjord

Day Three

Atlanterhavsparken