Inky Marina!

The day that Brooke and I visited Sunnmøre Museum, we also had the chance to explore Ålesund! Our ship, the Disney Magic, had docked in Ålesund's harbor for the day. We had so much fun at the Sunnmøre Museum, but the day wasn't over yet- it was time to see more sights. We rode our coach bus up, up, up to Fjellstua- a lookout point that lets you see the town of Ålesund from above.  Can you see the ship over my shoulder?


It was so windy up at the Fjellstua! Did you notice how Brooke's braid is blowing in the wind in this picture? Ålesund is a city on an isthmus, which is a narrow strip of land between two bodies of water- like Madison, Wisconsin!


It was pretty chilly up on the mountain too! We took one more look at the Disney Magic from above and then boarded the coach for a little tour of the rest of the city.


After we drove down from the Fjellstua (you can actually see the lookout point! It's the building in white on the mountain to the left of my ear!), we drove around the harbor to see the Magic from another point of view. Our ship looked huge compared the beautiful buildings of Ålesund.



In January of 1904, much of Ålesund burned down in a giant fire.  In the cold of winter, thousands of people had no shelter.  Luckily, Kaiser Wilhelm (the last German Emperor and King of Prussia) had spent many vacations in Sunnmøre and loved the region very much. He donated four "shipfuls" of material to make temporary homes for the people of Ålesund.  When the city was rebuilt, it was re-made in Art Nouveau style, which was very popular at that time.


My family LOVES to send post cards when we are traveling, so the first place we looked for while exploring was the post box! It was easy to see the bright red post box near the harbor.  I'm glad I was able to send mail home with Norwegian stamps!


Do you see the water behind me? That's Ålesundet, the canal that runs through Ålesund.  After stopping to buy a plush moose, we headed back to the Magic in the gentle rain.  I forgot to take photos of my plush moose while in Ålesund; I'll have to remember to take a photo of him later! Ålesund is such a pretty city. It's really sad that it went through the big fire, but I'm happy that it came back and thrived. 

Have you ever been to a really beautiful city or town? Where was it?