MSC Magnifica-Olden-Briksdalgletscher

Saturday, August 3, 2018, Olden

Quietly, almost silently, the MSC Magnifica glided through the water of the Nordfjord. I had been standing on our balcony since early morning, amazed. Around me were towering mountains, waterfalls, the deep blue fjord, small houses, and this special atmosphere created by the low-hanging clouds. This was Norway as I had imagined it. The day before, I had complained about having a completely different idea of Norway, but now I was getting the full experience. Norway as if it were straight out of a model railway landscape. Pure nature, fantastically beautiful without any frills. At 8:00 am, our ship docked in the small harbor of Olden.

Olden itself is a small village at the mouth of the Oldeelva river and is located about 6 km southwest of the village of Loen and about 16 km southeast of the city center of Stryn. The small town has about 505 inhabitants and was about to be flooded with about 2500 cruise passengers and 1000 crew members. In the small center of the town, there are cafes, grocery stores, and some clothing stores. It's hard to believe when you see the simple harbor, but Olden is one of the most important ports for cruise ships in Western Norway. This is due to the breathtaking natural beauty of the area. The nature here is a dream. We were impressed by beautiful meadows, lakes, and waterfalls as far as the eye could see. You can explore the surroundings comfortably with small "trains" and the inevitable hop-on hop-off buses.

The main reason for cruise ships to dock in Olden, however, is definitely the Briksdalgletscher. The glacier is located in the interior of the beautiful Oldendalen Valley, about 20 km from the town of Olden. From a height of 1200 meters, the wild glacier wall falls and flows into a lake located at an altitude of 346 meters. Its ice covers 486 km² and is 400 meters thick at its thickest point. The ice block rises up to 1,950 meters. Unfortunately, in recent years, the glacier has been melting more and more. I have seen pictures from 2010, 2014, and 2016 and was shocked by how much it has disappeared.

There are various ways to reach the glacier. A more expensive excursion is offered directly from the ship. Buses from a provider who also works with the ship drive for 45.00 euros per person and the public glacier bus from Stryn departs from the port of Olden once daily at around 10:00 am. The public bus ride costs about 6.00 euros one way, so 12.00 euros for the tour. This affordable option seemed to have spread on the ship. From the balcony, I could see how the small stop in front of the ship was already getting fuller and fuller from 09:00 am. The internet said that no advance registration was necessary for the bus, as it had a seat guarantee, but I could not imagine how this could work. When the bus arrived, there was quite a hustle and bustle, but a second and a third bus followed the first one, so that all passengers who wanted to use this affordable option got a seat. We drove with the bus through the beautiful Norwegian landscape for about 45 minutes and could not get enough of the nature. From the glacier parking lot, we continued on foot, past a waterfall, towards the glacier. Gigantic. The water rushing into the valley and the glacier shining blue in the background. In contrast to the hike to Preikestolen, this was a walk on a well-developed path in a fantastic natural environment. Unfortunately, the weather didn't really cooperate again, so we had everything from sunshine to rain on our hike. If you didn't want to walk to the glacier, you could also take a trolley for 12.00 euros to get close to the glacier lake. However, you would miss out on the great views that the way up always offers. After having a look around the glacier lake, we made our way back to the bus. We bought our fridge magnet in the well-equipped souvenir shop and then headed back to the ship. The 3 buses were waiting for us, so it was no problem to get a seat on the way back. Unfortunately, it was pouring rain again when we arrived at the ship, so we spent the afternoon in the sauna after a quick lunch at the buffet restaurant. The departure was also very impressive. All the port employees waved Norwegian flags, and "Sail Away" was played from the small harbor building. That gave us goosebumps. We enjoyed the ride through the fjord before it was time for dinner.