Mostraumen Fjord Cruise, Bergen, Norway

Bergen is Norway's second largest city, and it is the acknowledged gateway to exploring the western fjords of Norway, of which there are literally hundreds, more than a thousand. The town is quite charming. We stayed in a historic hotel in a charming residential neighborhood that was a 15 minute walk to the harbor, where you can catch any one of a number of cruise boats to experience the fjords from the water. We chose a popular 1/2 cruise. It featured narrow fjords, steep mountainsides and waterfalls. We sailed up the 27-kilometer long Osterfjord towards Modalen, the country’s second smallest municipality with only around 380 inhabitants. Along the way, we navigated through strong currents in the shallow and narrow Mostraumen straits. It is quite lovely to see, but in truth, after spending three days driving a southerly route to get from Oslo to Bergen, we had seen dozens of spectacular views along the way and since we were on a leisurely drive, we were able to pull over and experience it at our own pace. That is what I would recommend--do not necessarily skip the cruise out of the Bergen harbor, but don't stop there. The train hits the same gorgeous spots but it doesn't pause. This is a beautiful country--don't race through it.