Geiriangerfjorden

The reason tourists have been coming to Geiranger for the last one hundred years, besides the abundance of souvenir shot glasses and reindeer jerky, is the fjord itself. It has the same steep mountains, rocky cliffs, deep water, high waterfalls, and small farms perched on ledges as all the other fjords, but it assembles all the nicest examples into a very compact space. Plus, UNESCO gave it a World Heritage stamp (though this always struck me as a bit of racket).

We had booked our RIB boat ride months before, although it turned out we probably didn't need to, as there were empty seats in the boat. I had been apprehensive about this option, but given the weather, it turned out a far better choice than one of the larger tour boats (which were also overflowing with people from the cruise ships). We had a good tour guide, perfect weather, and neither of us dropped our phones into the fjord.