On opening the curtains on our last morning in Olden we were surprised to see a large ship mooring across the fjord. The fjord is not particularly wide here but it must be deeper than it looks. Buses were waiting so we assumed the guests were going on a glacier tour.

But we were moving on, further north, and on the way we were driving another two of the National Tourist Routes. The two routes combine to become the Geiranger-Trollstigen Route. 

The road starts its upward journey quickly, and not far along the southern part of this route is Dalsnibba Pass, at 1500m Europe's highest fjord view from a road. But things were not looking good in the viewing department, as we could see a heavy band of cloud on the mountains. And as we twisted and turned to higher elevations, we were soon in that cloud, with little to see but whiteness. So we ruled out the side trip to the Dalsnibba and continued onwards..
 
 
 
As we approached the Geiranger Fjord, there was a lookout where many promotional pictures of the fjord have been taken. The blue water of the fjord could be seen, and the green steep mountain sides, but it was through a mist that did not do it justice. The Geiranger Fjord is one of the very well known fjords and is part of many cruise tours. Geiranger township, at the head of the fjord, is apparently visited by 600,000 each year as many cruise ships visit this area. It is such a tiny place it is hard to imagine that. 
 
Once we had made our way down to Geiranger, the road immediately climbed up again via Ornevegen (the Eagles Road). So we went up and down until we got out of the fog and to the next ferry crossing. On the other side of the water we stopped at Valldal for coffee. We sat by the water and did not stop long because it was chilly. Valldal is just a small town, but the area is known for fruit and vegetable crops, particularly strawberries. A large proportion of Norwegian strawberries are grown here, though we notice that many that are for sale in stores are imported.

 
 
We continued on to the Trollstigen (Troll's Ladder) part of the road, one of the most visited attractions in Norway. Stigfossen waterfall gushes down between the enormous mountains in this area. The cloud was thick and it was wet and the views we got were not good. There were crowds of people at the new and very popular lookout. People who like us, tramped a couple of hundred metres along the boardwalk in fog and drizzle to find that there the view was also white on white. 

A little further.and going downhill, we did manage to see the view of the road with its switchbacks and steep slope, so we did have an idea of what was ahead. Gradually we drove out of the cloud, and what we saw then was sparkling green forest. We arrived at Alesund late in the afternoon, but there was still time for a walk around. The streets were almost deserted

Next morning we took the steep walk via 418 steps to Fjellstua, a mountain lodge set high above Alesund where there is a panoramic view over Alesund. It is an interesting view of a city as it is spread over a number of islands.

The city centre itself is renowned for its large number of buildings built in Art-Deco style. This occurred because this area was burnt down in a catastrophic fire in 1904. Other European nations helped them rebuild, and as a result most of the centre was rebuilt within 3 years, with all buildings in similar style. It is certainly an attractive town.