The king of fjords, mountain hairpins and our first ferries

Our Lonely Planet guide book puts Norway's fjords as the number one attraction in Scandinavia. And it reckons Geirangerfjord is the king of them all: "Well this is the big one: the world-famous Unesco-listed, oft-photographed fjord that every visitor to Norway just has to tick off their bucket list... it is quite simply, one of the world's great natural features, a majestic combination of huge cliffs, tumbling waterfalls and deep blue water that's guaranteed to leave a lasting imprint on your memory." And that's without the incredible dizzying drive into and out of the valley. 

Florence staying away from the road

We spent last night in a parking area beneath a lay-by near the turn-off to Geiranger. We're being tight when it comes to overnights in Norway. Wild camping is accepted, as long as there are no notices to the contrary, and everything else is so expensive that we're prepared to live with the odd lay-by to reduce costs. So far we've always managed to get away from the road, and our stopovers have been quiet, clean and offered beautiful views. Last night was no different, and even though the drop in temperature meant digging out the winter box with our hats and gloves, we were able to take the pups for a lovely walk across what we would call moorland, but beside rivers and lakes. Elsa and I couldn't resist the opportunity to find some of the snow still hanging around at the end of July. The climb up there was a lot steeper than it looks.

The orange patch is me

The road enters in the dip, top right 

Then it was time to head for Geiranger. We were at 925m when we started, a little lower than the top of Helvellyn. Forty-five minutes later we were alongside the cruise ships moored, needless to say, at sea-level. Nick did an excellent job of dodging the tour buses on their way up, and ignoring my hand clenched around my seat cushion. But it took concentration, so we swapped over in a lay-by, and I drove us back up the hairpin bends on the way out. We have established that I prefer driving up mountain roads, and he prefers driving down, so we are the Mr and Mrs Jack Spratt of hairpin bends. 
The best viewpoints on the drive were full of cars, but a picnic area just off the road gave access to some walking trails, and we were able to hike back to the edge of the fjord for some fantastic views. 

The fjord is there somewhere

Then it was onward to our first Norwegian ferry. It was a little roll-on roll-off, essentially part of the road network but crossing the fjords. It was exactly like the Shetland ferries that had become so familiar in the years my Mum and Dad lived up there. We were very glad we had decided to take the bike rack off the back of Florence. Without it we are under 6m, and charged like a car. Once over six meters the cost can double. The last of today's three ferry crossings cost about £9 for vehicle and driver. If we'd been over 6m it would have been nearly £23. We have printed out the vehicle specifications to show to sceptical ferry workers, as being 5.96m does raise some eyebrows. 

The ferry from Sykkylven to Magerholm

The last ferry took us towards Alesund, which we will visit tomorrow. We are parked tonight in the car park to the town's Aquarium, and there are already four other motorhomes here. The official motorhome parking in the town costs £25 for the night. We have dog food to pay for you know!