Saturday 1 July 2023

Day 11 Alesund, Norway

Fabulous birthday for JG today. A hike and bike in Alesund, Norway!







The company we used for our hike and e-bike tour was Uteguiden. If I had been savvy enough in booking this excursion I would have booked them directly with Uteguiden.com - but Viator commands a large presence on Google and we ended up booking the trip with Viator. Ultimately we were really happy with today’s trip. Antona was our guide. He was French and Canadian but grew up in the Philippines. Another family of four from Southern California was on the trip with us. We were all fitted with e-bikes (Cannondale brand) and the battery operated just like mine at home so I was comfortable with it.

We cycled for about 15 minutes to a nearby island where we locked up our bikes and began the hike to Sukkertoppen. The elevation gain was about 300 metres of vertical though maybe 60 had been gained while climbing with the e-bikes. The trail had sections that were very steep with large rocks in it - often placed as stepping stones. For me it took one hour and 10 minutes to climb to the top and of course I was the slowest. What an amazing 360 degree view at the top. We are a delicious lunch of bagel sandwiches, cinnamon buns and berry smoothies at the top. It  was 15 Celsius today with blue sky. Absolutely gorgeous for hiking!  The descent took me about 50 minutes and I made full use of my poles to steady myself and my knee which is scheduled for a full knee replacement within the next year. 

Once back at the bikes we cycled around the island - so probably another 30 minutes of cycling for fun!! And the power boost was appreciated on all the climbs!

We returned to the city and our starting point four hours later. The whole tour was from 11 am till 3 pm - perfect time to enjoy the day and not be rushed at the start or finish. Our all aboard time was 4:30 pm. 

We returned to our stateroom to see chocolate truffles delivered courtesy of the Maître’D, Moises Lequerica. J and I had talked to him last night to tell him how much we were enjoying the food, staff and itinerary in this cruise and that it was our first Norwegian Cruise Line trip!  He asked for our room number and the chocolates showed up today!!

JG also had chocolate truffles delivered to him today to celebrate his birthday!  After our delicious supper in the Commodore Room tonight, P and I went up to Indulge Food Hall and bought him a special Red Velvet cake and wished him happy birthday!



Then JG asked that we watch the movie “Catch me if you Can” for his birthday so we did that too!!

Tonight we get an extra hour of sleep and we have a sea day tomorrow!  My weary bones will appreciate that!

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