Alesund, Noway

From Storfjord we made the quick journey to the coastal town of Alesund for two nights.  Alesund burned down to the ground in 1904 and was rebuilt in the style of Art Nouveau.  The buildings, and their relationship to the water, was really interesting to see so we did a decent amount of wandering around while here.  

We arrived early in the afternoon and since it was a Saturday, Grace and I immediately headed to an antique store she had read about (it was going to be closed Sunday).  I always find it interesting to see antiques in other countries and Grace even sound something to bring home as a souvenir!  

In the afternoon, we had a really fun time partaking in the hotel's tubs, sauna and sea jumping!  The bubbles were huge and the wind was blowing them all around!  While I would have some notes for the set up of the tubs, it was a really fun and funny experience!  Turns out Harris loves a sauna!

The next day, we signed up for a Sea Safari!  It was a fun way to get out on the water and see some of the islands surrounding Alesund, as well as to see some seabirds (puffins included).  It was a speed boat and was a very bumpy, and thrilling, ride so I have very few pictures.

In the afternoon, we made our way to Aksla viewpoint.  Here you start at Byparken and climb the 418 to the viewpoint where you are rewarded with a stellar view of the city.  

I loved the flowers in the grass!

At this point, the children were sort of tired of exploring, and Grace had some work to do, so they peeled off and Bryce and I wandered around for a bit longer.  We went to find "the church" and I loved the scalloped roof tiles (or were they fish scales?).  We also walked past the old wooden fisheries.  I'm so amazed that these wooden buildings last next to the harsh conditions of the sea.

The next morning we knew we wanted to get up and head out but Grace and I were determined to make a stop at the Devold factory store.  Devold knitwear has been made in Noway since 1853 and the original factory (now their offices and a factory store) are a ferry ride away from Alesund.  Our hotel told us that the ferry ran every 15 minutes so we made sure to be there right when the store would open.  However, the hotel was wrong and only after we were well on our way did we discover that after the next pick up the ferry stopped for several hours.  Therefore, we literally had 30 minutes to run to the store (a 8 minute walk), shop and then run back (again 8 minutes!).  It was the fastest shopping trip ever!  Fortunately, we made the ferry and were soon on our way to lovely Loen.