Alesund, Norway

August 2nd and 3rd, 2004

Monday morning we jumped on the train which would take us Northwest from Oslo, through Lillehammer, to Dombas. At Dombas we picked up the next train which went through some mountainous area to Andalsnes. This part of the train ride was really pretty. From Andalsnes, a bus picked us up and drove us to Alesund. To see some of the pictures when we were in transit, just click on my Norway in Transit Page
Arriving in Alesund in the late afternoon, we just did a preliminary walk around and picked out a place to eat dinner.

Tuesday morning we headed for the highest point in Alesund, the Mount Aksla viewpoint. There are 418 steps to the top and the view was beautiful. And although it was a little cold, it was the perfect place to have an ice cream.

From Mount Aksla, I located the Alesund Church and headed in that general direction. The first church built in this location in 1854 was damaged by the Town Fire in 1904. The present day church, designed by Sverre Knudsen, had it's first stone laid by King Haakon in July 1906.

After the church, we grabbed a bus to the Sunnmore Museum. This is an outdoor museum consisting of various structures displaying how the people lived in a coastal village. For example, there is a little house built in 1753, a waterpowered sawmill constructed in 1853, a barn more than 300 years old, and a little house used as a school in 1743. I thought the grass growing on the rooftops was really neat to see and the stroll around the grounds quite relaxing. One of the buildings housed numerous boats and descriptions of how they were used.

That night we had a midnight departure on the Hurtigruten Coastal Steamer bound for Bergen. Of course, when I booked the trip my main concern was keeping my mom awake until the departure. However, I didn't have to worry. We had a late dinner that night, grabbed our bags, and headed for the pier. The steamer arrived on time, everybody was assigned a room, and once settled I slept like a rock. The only disappointment was the overcast skies that night, since I had a romantic notion of seeing the coastline by moonlight.