As we boarded the ship, we were notified that the port visit at Flåm was deleted and a substitute stop at Skjolden will be done.
Owen's paternal aunt Elsie married a man named Tom Fortney. The Fortney family came from Fortun, Norway. Fortun is just beyond Skjolden at the very end of Songnefjord. But with short notice like this, we have no time to set up any family contact, nor to get details on which farm they left.
The photo at right is of the Fortun Valley.
My photo at right shows part of a farm and part of the village. The little white things on the green grass are sheep. Noisy little sheep since many if not all wear bells. The whole field clangs.
I stepped onto the dock and into the shop. They must have good internet because half the crew was in there on their smartphones. The shop didn't have much, so I saved money there. Temp at 1030 is 43*f, a little cool.
Back to the cabin to do internet things and these notes.
Photo Link
We boarded the tour bus for the glacier. It's a one hour forty-five minute run to the glacier. We saw lots of fjord, some small villages, some roadwork that delayed us, and went through several tunnels. The bus driver was really good at getting through tight places.
The toilet line was two busses long.
We reached the glacier and started taking pictures. Pictures for us, and then pictures of other people using their cameras. Then we took serious pictures. We all got back on the bus. There was a photo stop at a distance from the glacier (left) so we had another opportunity.
Then we did the trip back. Since D & I sat on the same side each way we had the other side of the trip coming back. Lots of pictures.
I talked with the guide briefly about Fortun and my by-marriage Fortney clan. He says the name is very common there and that it's a nice village five km beyond Skjolden at the beginning of the climb into the mountains. That road is not maintained in the winter.
Roadwork (again) slowed us so we returned to the ship late (1615) as the ship was preparing to get underway.
F&D invited us to their luxurious cabin for wine, nibbles, and to take pictures as the ship went down the fjord. Very enjoyable shrimp nibbles and cheese croquettes and wine and sitting on their huge deck watching the (Norwegian) world go by.
Had to stop to dress for dinner and met again at dinner. Ricardo the wine steward told something that had us all laughing. Food and service very nice.
Then we gave up on having fun so we could get comfy and relax. We did that.