We had an early start that morning. We were allowed to get off the ship at 07:00 and all aboard was already at 15:00. The weather forecast was not promising. We still set the alarm for 06:30 and figured we would see what the weather was doing. When our alarm went off, the ship was still moving. However, by the time we were dressed and had gone into the Lido, we had anchored. The weather did look promising. We picked up what we needed for the day and headed downstairs.
Our port that day was Odda, which was a tender port. While we were on our way downstairs, there was an announcement that the tender operation had started. The meeting point was B.B. King’s Blues Lounge where we were supposed to pick up our tender tickets. However, when we got there, they had a tender ready and we were just sent directly downstairs. We waited for a short while for more people to arrive, but soon we were on our way even though the tender was only about half full. Once we got off the tender, we stopped for some photos and then we went exploring.
Just outside the port area, a marquee had been set up with people giving out maps and also selling some excursions. We got talking to one of the ladies there and asked her what we absolutely needed to see or do in Odda. She suggested Låtefossen waterfall. Gage had mentioned this in his port presentation as well. Låtefossen is a twin waterfall where two separate streams from Lake Lotevatnet merge into one. This sounded good to us. We asked how we could get there and one of the other people in the marquee sold tickets for a bus tour to Låtefossen. The tour took about an hour with half an hour at the waterfall. This sounded good to us and was also very reasonably priced. We booked tickets for the first bus, which was just over an hour later.
After this, we went exploring. The high street was just a short walk from the port, but all the shops and cafes there were still closed. We were hoping to find some breakfast somewhere. We carried on to the outskirts of the town where we found a supermarket that was open. They had quite a good bakery selection. We got a pastry each. Graham had a plain custard pastry, and I had some school bread which is sweet bun filled with custard and dipped in coconut. I had previously had this in Oslo, and I had fond memories of this. The supermarket also had all kinds of iced coffee drinks on offer. We got one each. This ended up being quite a nice breakfast.
We explored the immediate area. We spotted some houses with the traditional grass roofs. There was also a museum in a former factory, which looked interesting. This was also still close, but there were some signs outside telling us about the history. When we had about half an hour to go, we headed back towards the port. On the way, we stopped at the bus station to use the bathroom.
Odda is a charming little town. We had a bit more of a wander and I had a look at a couple of shops. Then we headed back to the marquee where we had started. I overheard a conversation about an excursion going to the Buarbreen glacier. I had hoped to see a glacier, but had all but given up on this idea. I mentioned this to Graham, and he was up for this. We checked if it was feasible to do both tours. They had an eleven o’clock departure and we signed up for this. Then we headed down to the departure point for the excursion to the waterfall.
The coach for this tour was full. We headed out of the town. The scenery was absolutely stunning. About 15 minutes later, we reached the twin waterfalls. We were dropped off and the driver told us when to be back. We headed to the bridge at the bottom of the twin falls. There was a lot of mist, and we started to get a little damp. We moved along. There was a small waterfall on the same side with a little stream running along the roadside. Graham could not resist having a quick paddle. Further along this road and on the opposite side was another waterfall. This area is really stunning. I was glad that we had made the trip.
We headed back to the pick-up point, and the coach came shortly afterwards. We headed back towards town. I was at the ride side of the coach to get some nice shots of the lake. On the way back into town, we stopped at the stave church. Most people opted to get off there. We knew that we would be back there later and carried on back to where we started off.
When we got back to the port, Graham went to find a bathroom. We arranged to meet up back at the marquee. I noticed that the church was open. I headed over there. It was quite a simple church, but I really liked it. Once I had a good look around, I headed back to the marquee. I was offered a cup coffee by the person who sold us the glacier tour. I gratefully accepted. I found out that we were the only people for the 11:00 departure. She offered that we could join the midday tour, but I did not want to hang about for an extra hour. In the end, another couple joined us.
The minibus was stuck in traffic. In the end, we left about 20 minutes late. We headed out of Odda once more. Initially we headed towards the waterfalls, but we turned off at the lake. Our guide told us a bit about Odda. Soon we arrived at the foot of Buarbreen glacier. The glacier is quite high up, but we still got a good view of the glacier. We had some time to admire it. Then we headed to the stave church. When we turned into the road leading up to the stave church, our driver got a call to see where we were.
The stave church is not a church at all. It is actually very recent and was only built in 2024 and opened last year. It acts as reception for Camp Lothepus, but also is home to a restaurant. It is the brainchild of Leif Einar Lothe who goes by the name Lothepus. Lothepus is a reality TV star, musician and entrepreneur. He is eccentric, seems to have more money than sense and is given to vanity projects. Sounds familiar? I thought so, too. Thankfully, that is where the parallels to another former reality TV star end. He genuinely seems to care about his community rather than just himself.
We had been told that as part of the tour, we would get a cider tasting. I had expected that we would get a shot glass of cider. This could not have been further from the truth. We were welcomed outside the stave church by Renate. She runs the restaurant together with her partner Magne. They are a young couple in their late twenties or early thirties who have been born and raised in Odda. Renate is in charge of the kitchen and Magne sources what is served in the restaurant and deals with front of house. Getting to run a restaurant at a relatively young age was a huge chance for them. The restaurant was fairly busy when we were there, which is great news.
Renate took us up to the mezzanine where Magne was waiting for us. He told us that the cider tasting was something they were trying out. Indeed, they had only done this once before and that was for the first tour group of the day. They are planning to role this out to the restaurant if this is well received by the tour groups. We had learned earlier in the day that one of the key industries in Odda and surrounding areas is agriculture and more specifically apple orchards. Magne told us that Hardanger cider is a protected product of origin, much like Champagne. They had been planning of doing a cider tasting for a while and had invited various producers, but he found what was offered was a little limited. He eventually found a young producer about 30 miles away that made cider in different styles. This is what we would get to sample that day. Rather than getting a shot glass worth of cider, we got four different ciders in Champagne glasses. Alongside this, we got a cheese and charcuterie platter each with consisted of a ham that was similar to prosciutto, a ham made from lamb, a sausage made from reindeer, a smoked cheese olives, roasted nuts, marmalade, bread, and aioli. I do not eat lamb or game, so I swapped those with Graham for some of his prosciutto and smoked cheese. The ciders we got were a traditional apple cider, a cider with the addition of hops, a rose cider that got its colour due to an addition of redcurrants and an ice cider. Graham and I both liked the one with the hops best, but they were all amazing. This was really enjoyable.
Magne pointed out that we could see our ship through the large window of the restaurant. I took a photo of this unique perspective. He also pointed out a polar bear fur on the wall. Apparently on opening day of the restaurant, Mr Lothepus brought this in as a housewarming gift. I told you that the guy is eccentric.
Once we had finished our ciders and the food, we headed out. I took some photos of the outside of the stave church and then we headed back towards the port. We had been told it was a 5-to-10-minute walk, but this was a touch optimistic. We followed the river initially and retraced our steps from where the supermarket was. We were just entering the high street when the rain arrived. Thankfully it was not raining heavily. When we got to the port, there was a huge line for the tenders. Still, this was well organised and the line moved swiftly. The line started quite a long way outside the port gates. Once we were inside the port gates, members of the crew were giving out hot chocolate. This was a nice touch. The hot chocolate was nice, too. I just had enough time to have my hot chocolate before it was time to get on a tender.
When we were back on the ship, we headed back to cabin to drop off our stuff. There were a couple of square loungers available at the time, but we wanted to get some lunch first. We headed to the buffet. Graham had some fish and chips, and I had some pesto chicken penne casserole and some lasagna. I also had some vanilla and chocolate soft serve.
When we came back to the Panorama Deck, all the square loungers had been taken. Graham found two regular loungers together on the opposite side of where we normally were. We settled down. Not long afterwards, everybody was on board and we made our way down Hardangerfjord. The scenery was absolutely stunning. The colours along the fjords are amazing. There is a lot of almost fluorescent green. We also were blessed with multiple glaciers. It was just stunning.
Whenever a Holland America ship does scenic cruising, they open the bow. I decided to check this out. Graham stayed put. We had both expected that this would be very crowded, but that was not the case. It was however very windy. I took some photos from a different perspective. There were also some of the photographers out there and I got some professional photos while I was at it. Then I headed back inside.
Neither of us really felt like dinner. Part of this was because we did not want to give up on our view and part of this was that after the late lunch, we were not particularly hungry. They had a cheese and chocolate buffet in the Lido buffet that evening. I went to get all kinds of cheeses and some white chocolate. They had no crackers to go with the cheese, but I got some garlic bread from the pasta counter. This made a lovely light dinner. I did mention to Graham that all I needed for complete bliss was a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. It was as if they had heard us as a bar server turned up shortly afterwards. We ended up getting a glass of Sauvignon Blanc each. At some stage, I headed back to the buffet. They had beef satay that evening and I cannot resist satay. I got four sticks of satay and took them back outside. They were pretty tasty, but not as good as what they serve in their Asian restaurant Tamarind.
They started to set up for the Lido fair. On Koningsdam, they had offered this on the last sea day. I had really enjoyed this and was planning to do this again. I wondered why they had chosen to do it that evening, but the light started to fade pretty quickly and by the time this started, there was not much left to see. Graham was not interested in this, but originally planned to just stay on the Panorama Deck. However, they turned up the music, and he decided to go back to the cabin.
On Koningsdam, the Lido fair was fairly lowkey, but on Nieuw Statendam, they went all out. The basic premises was the same. There was a range of carnival games, and you got a raffle ticket for each game you participated in and further tickets for winning. They had a lot more games on Nieuw Statendam. I actually did not manage to do all of them. Periodically, they drew a ticket for some logo gifts or for some gift from the various concessions on board. I did not win anything, but I had a lot of fun.
What was also different on Nieuw Statendam is that they had all kinds of fairground snacks like popcorn and toffee apples. A lot of this was available from the gelato counter. Gelato is normally an upcharge item at about $5 a scoop, but during the Lido fair, it was free. I was delighted when I spotted that they had two of my favourite flavours from my childhood, straciatella and Amarena cherry. I was allowed two scoops and ended up getting both of them. I was one very happy bunny.
I initially sat down at one of the tables near the gelato bar, but I figured it would be difficult to make my way to the front if I was going to win something. I headed to the pool and sat down on the wooden pool surround. I witnessed two older ladies nearly coming to blows. Just before the next draw, there was a call for any additional tickets. They then temporarily stopped the addition of tickets until the draw had taken place. There were two women approaching from different directions and one of them managed to add her tickets and the other did not. The one that missed out went absolutely berserk. I actually thought she would throw a punch. I was absolutely astonished by such behaviour. It was not even that this was the final draw, but even if it had been, this would have been out of order.
Once the Lido fair wrapped up, I headed back to the cabin. Graham was already fast asleep. I got ready for bed, read for a bit and then settled down for the night, too.
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