Tuesday, June 14th we cruised on the Geitangergfjord before docking downtown Ålesund, Norway, one of Norways most beautiful cities. 

In the night of 23 January 1904. The city center was the scene of the Ålesund fire. Most of the entire downtown area was destroyed during the night, a gale aiding the flames, and everyone had to leave the town in the middle of the night with only a few minutes’ notice. Only one person died in the fire, the 76-year-old Ane Heen. More than 10,000 people were left without shelter.

Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany sent four warships with materials to build temporary shelters and barracks. After a period of planning, the town was rebuilt in stone, brick and mortar in the Art Nouveau style, the architectural style of the time. There are elaborate Turrets and spires on the historic buildings along a large pedestrian shopping street called Kongensgata. The Ålesund Church was built in 1909 and  finished in natural stone.

We went on a 2-hour excursion around the city by bus. Unfortunately, it was raining  pretty hard and difficult to get good pictures during our tour. There was only one spot where we got off the bus and that was downtown, not too far from the ship, so we decided not to get back on the bus and stayed downtown and do a little shopping. Unfortunately, the rain picked up and we got pretty wet.

After dinner we attended the Deal or No Deal show. They are always fund to watch. 

John attended the Love & Marriage Show later in the evening.