The Sognefjord with crew

As we did last year, Christine's mum (Traudi) comes on board with a good friend of ours (Teresa) for 16 days. The sailing trip starts together from Bergen with destination Sognefjord, Flåm. In total we are travelling 282 nm.

We board the two of them in Bergen. During the first days of arrival, the weather is wonderfully warm and sunny. The mooring in Bergen's city harbour has a lively city atmosphere. With the heating switched off and the hatches open. A dream! There's a bustling atmosphere on land and on the water. We meet "TO-ler" (www.transocean.de) from Cuxhafen, Julia and Jens from SY Senjia and also recognise other boats from our trip to Tromsø last year. With a trip to Ulriken we escape the hustle and bustle a little. Traudi is kindly given a spontaneous hitchhike to the gondola station, as the ascent is quite steep. The mountain day is enjoyed with a picnic and a cool dip.

Over the next few days, the weather remains sunny and warm. Fishing is already successful on the way into the Sognefjord and we anchor between small islands. Traudi climbs into the dinghy and the lobster basket is laid out - we are lucky!

With an excellent sailing wind, we spend the next few days travelling in the fjord. We put all our sailing gear to good use once again. Heading upwind in the fjord is great fun without any waves. Heeling and travelling at a good speed, Traudi is relaxed. And Teresa becomes an active co-sailor and feels more confident every day with the manoeuvres and line handling. It is brilliant to have such good practice conditions in the fjord with lots of manoeuvres, as Teresa will be sailing with us to the Faeroe Islands.

The landscape changes dramatically from Bergen to Flåm in the Songefjord. In Ortnevik, Losna/Kvitøy and Vik we experience the diversity of nature very impressively: different shades of green in the forests, colourful gardens, fruit blossom, Norwegian strawberry fields, waterfalls and, as a contrast, the nearby snow-capped mountains. The lush meadows are a great place to help ourselves to a delicious wild herb salad. The Flåm railway takes us back to the snow. Afterwards, we treat ourselves to a visit to the "AEGIR brewery pub" in Flåm.

In the Naerøyfjord it gets narrower again and the rocks are high. One waterfall after another can be marvelled at. Anchoring in the middle of the fjord, we take a long dinghy trip to Gudvangen. Near Mjømna we drop hook. With summer temperatures, we unpack the SUP and paddle relaxed through shallow waters. We grab limpets from the rocks to enrich our dinner.

In culinary terms, we have a very good time overall. At lunchtime, we either have a delicious warm soup or a colourful (leftover) salad. In the evening, we cook more elaborate or simpler dishes depending on the energy supply. And on Friday we make THE Norwegian dinner: Tacos with Mexican Aegir beer (really true!). And if the mood is summery, we even use the barbecue.

Through Fedje we sail to Strusshamn. Two wonderful places on our tour through Vestland. We finish our sailing trip together in Strusshamn. There, Bernd from SY Hullo Puro (TO member) has secured us a place in the hidden, idyllic harbour. One Norwegian sailor is moored next to us and emphasises "you're in paradise" - we agree. In hot summer temperatures, we round off our trip here in a marvellous way, lying in a packet with the Hullo Puro.

It was just over two weeks together with a varied programme: Pure nature, great weather conditions, the joy of fishing, sailing school, first-class catering and lots of fun together. We will soon be travelling on to the Faroe Islands with Teresa.