Norwegian Experience: Day 2

Yes, it is that time again. Time to play “where in the world is the Norwegian Experience winner, Bruce Johnson, today?” If you’ve been following the progress of the MS Balmoral with the ship locator feature then you know that Bruce has arrived in Stavanger, Norway.

When we left off yesterday morning, Bruce was enjoying his last views of Scotland before heading off to Norway and the North Sea. Later that night Bruce and his wife attended a reception for the ship’s international travelers and met 4 other American passengers, two of which were from Minnesota and had also booked their cruise with Borton Overseas. Apparently Bruce hasn’t forgotten how he became eligible for the recruitment contest in the first place, since he shared Sons of Norway materials with his fellow American travelers and even worked on recruiting them.

Upon arriving in Norway, the Johnson's took a walking tour of Stavanger, enjoying the “beautiful town and cobblestone walks and nice shops.” After the tour, they took a 3-hour boat trip to the Stavanger archipelago and the 31-mile-long Lysefjord. During the tour the boat traveled just underneath the Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock), a natural cliff that is just over 1,800 feet above sea level. Bruce says the tour boat actually got close enough to the waterfalls in the area that the crew was able to collect some of the water in a container for them to drink. They also got up close and personal with some of the wildlife and hand fed mountain goats. They finished their tour with freshly made waffles and cream and coffee.

Tomorrow, Bruce will be visiting Eidfjord, a municipality of the Hardangerfjord area. The Hardangerfjord is the third largest fjord in the world and second largest in Norway.

Don’t forget to visit the blog later this week for more updates from Bruce’s trip.