This forenoon nosotros were out of bed earlier 5am – the Norwegian Sun was upwards earlier us though! – as well as laid off amongst a thermos of hot soup for cardinal station. From hither nosotros were headed on the firstly leg of our Fjord adventure. A petty touristy , perhaps , but amongst skilful argue – nosotros were taking the Kingdom of Norway inward a Nutshell tour upwards to Bergen.
The trip is designed to accept 1 extremely long twenty-four lx minutes menstruum as well as deliver you lot inward Bergen for a belatedly dinner. If you lot similar , you lot tin accept the overnight charabanc to larn you lot dorsum to Oslo for the side yesteryear side day. That doesn’t audio super appealing , as well as nosotros wanted to stretch out our tour a petty flake , therefore nosotros decided to mass an extra nighttime inward Flam to camp.
‘Tour’ is quite a break term for the Kingdom of Norway inward a Nutshell – it’s to a greater extent than of a serial of trains , buses as well as ferries that accept you lot a real , real scenic route through the dramatic Norwegian countryside as well as upwards to Sognefjord , the largest , as well as most touristed , fjord inward Norway.
It was almost half-past half-dozen when nosotros boarded the firstly leg of our journeying – v hours of prepare riding from Oslo to Myrdal , where you lot switch to the Flam railway. The Flam is an extraordinary feat of Norwegian applied scientific discipline , as well as is the steepest railway inward the world. I’m getting ahead of myself , though , equally I’ve non told you lot nigh the trip to Myrdal.
The firstly lx minutes or therefore takes you lot through industrial as well as outer suburban Oslo , as well as therefore to smaller villages. Finally , you’re surrounded yesteryear lush greenery , cliffs covered inward trees as well as vast lakes. Small cherry houses dot the countryside equally you lot speed yesteryear on the train. The left side offers the best views , but at that spot was nobody inward the seats side yesteryear side to us , therefore nosotros were able to switch betwixt the left as well as correct when chance presented itself.
“Where’s all the snowfall DNT warned us about?” Nick joked. “It’s perfect hiking weather!”
The sentiment out the prepare window
One daughter brought her domestic dog along for the ride. I was therefore envious.
In literally thirty minutes the landscape went from this , to this.
He ate his words 20 minutes or therefore after , equally nosotros approached a desert-like obviously of snowfall , amongst little bodies of H2O rippling betwixt the chunks of ice. Occasionally nosotros passed little cherry or yellowish houses amongst snow-covered roofs as well as gardens filled amongst leafless trees.
“I intend we’re coming upwards to Finse ,” he said. We had been told that Finse was the place used for the scenes on Hoth , the H2O ice planet , inward Star Wars. The landscape was apace becoming whiter as well as whiter , as well as equally nosotros moved inward as well as out of tunnels , nosotros were constantly beingness blinded yesteryear the overwhelming brightness of the snowy fields.
When the prepare stopped at Finse , nosotros had a little suspension to outflow out as well as breathe inward the landscape. The air was mutual frigidity , but non windy (thank goodness) , therefore nosotros didn’t necessitate to a greater extent than than a jumper. Nicholas plucked an icicle off the roof of the prepare station , which I drank equally it melted inward my fingers.
Not long after , nosotros arrived inward Myrdal. It was snowing quite heavily on the platform , but it had ceased yesteryear the fourth dimension nosotros boarded the prepare to Flam. We were going downwards from something similar 800m higher upwards body of body of water degree to only 2m , but most of this was through the tunnel. In fact , in all likelihood a bulk of the trip was inward tunnels , which I didn’t expect.
The railway makes a twain of pic stops , 1 of which you lot tin outflow out. The voice-over American (who tells you lot where you lot are on the trip as well as proves that you’ve definitely gone the tourist route) told us that a Norwegian mythical adult woman appears inward legends of the fjords , as well as she sings out , calling visitors into the mountains. We had jumped out for our photograph op of a beautiful waterfall , when nosotros heard a loud ethereal shrieking , as well as figured they were showcasing the acoustics. A lady inward cherry , donning a thick , blonde wig , appeared from behind a ruin as well as started doing a airheaded (probably supposed to locomote alluring) dance. The tourism manufacture is a funny 1 (later on , at Flåm , nosotros saw that this lady featured on postcards that advertised the railway , therefore she must locomote a pop add-on to the route).
Flåm
We arrived at Flåm as well as it was tourist central. Every 10 minutes or therefore , some other send pulled inward delivering a horde of visitors , as well as therefore ferried them dorsum off before long afterwards. We were spending the nighttime hither , therefore had some tiffin , paid a quick see to the Railway Museum as well as laid off to lookout adult man out a campsite.
There is a camping ground the world inward Flåm , but it costs a fee of around 200nok. We weren’t prepared to pay that much for a campsite , fifty-fifty if it was unopen to the town , therefore nosotros caput upwards a rails that led to a nearby waterfall.
Walking steeply uphill is never specially like shooting fish in a barrel , but it’s definitely harder amongst 20kg on your dorsum as well as some other 5 strapped to the front. We clamored upwards the path , until it got actually , actually steep , as well as I was showtime to worry nosotros wouldn’t uncovering the world apartment plenty to camp. Nick ditched his pack amongst me as well as caput upwards , returning a petty after , beaming.
At the real top of the climb , at that spot was a petty rocky outcrop that gave 2 spectacular views – 1 overlooking the town of Flam as well as some other of the waterfall. One spot was flat-ish , therefore nosotros moved the sticks out of the means as well as laid upwards camp. I took to the warmth as well as comfort of the tent almost direct away , patch Nick popped downwards to the base of operations of the waterfall earlier nosotros vicious asleep , exhausted.
The sentiment of Flåm from the top
Our tent from some other angle... H5N1 waterfall on 1 side as well as a scenic town sentiment on the other!
The side yesteryear side forenoon nosotros were en route to Bergen. The firstly challenge was , of course of written report , climbing dorsum downwards the little mount we’d slept on top of - mayhap a unsafe travail for 1 equally clumsy equally me , but fifty-fifty to a greater extent than therefore because I was lugging around therefore much gear. Obviously , nosotros were downwards inward 1 slice , as well as nosotros could board the boat that would accept us to Gundvangen.
Quite slow the boat took us through Aurlandfjord as well as and therefore into Nærøyfjord , which alone late became listed equally a UNESCO site. I intend the narrowest percentage was around 25m , as well as was alone 12m deep! The huge cruise boats we’d seen inward the harbour at Flåm for certain hadn’t gone through here.
What is this creature?! H5N1 body of body of water monster? H5N1 mutual porpoise?!
The mist was sitting halfway upwards the cliffs that made the fjord. The heaven was grey , as well as the snowy peaks of the mountains blended into the clouds. At 1 shout for , nosotros saw something moving nether the H2O , poking its olfactory organ out to breathe as well as , patch my firstly idea was that we’d stumbled upon a body of body of water monster on our 2nd twenty-four lx minutes menstruum inward the fjords , I decided it was in all likelihood a mutual porpoise.
From Gundvangen nosotros took a charabanc through a serial of valleys to accomplish Voss. The charabanc driver gave us something of a running commentary equally nosotros drove , mostly pointing out churches – “How practise they know when every church building was built?!” exclaimed Nick – as well as took us downwards a typically Norwegian route of xiii hairpin bends. The terminal hairpin took you lot downwards a route amongst a slope of over 25% therefore Nick as well as I , sitting at the real dorsum of the charabanc , were 2m higher than the driver.
It had started to pelting as well as it felt real atmospheric to locomote bumping around inward the dorsum of the charabanc , looking at trees bent to foreign angles yesteryear a harsh wintertime , as well as tiny petty crops of houses piled into clumps on the border of mountains.
In Voss , nosotros had fourth dimension for a quick grocery run – nosotros even therefore haven’t eaten anything NOT bought from a grocery store! – earlier hopping on the prepare to Bergen. Given the province of the conditions (cold , a flake windy , to a greater extent than oft than non miserable) , nosotros hoped nosotros could uncovering something terminal infinitesimal on AirBnB but had no such luck. It was going to locomote character-building camping ground tonight.
Arriving at Bergen , nosotros flora that famous Norwegian stylists had been doing makeovers on the prepare (???) for specific people who booked inward early a specific carriage.
“Perhaps they’re trying to brand taking the prepare sexy ,” said Nick.
“Trains don’t necessitate to locomote sexy. They’re functional ,” I replied , sounding similar the pragmatic 1 for once.
The Bergen Train Station
We popped our large packs into the lockers at Bergen station therefore nosotros wouldn’t receive got to lug them upwards to our campsite , as well as and therefore caput for the closest mount nosotros could find. It was raining heavily as well as nosotros were hoping nosotros would locomote able to uncovering somewhere apartment plenty to pitch a tent that wouldn’t locomote boggy.
Twisting as well as turning as well as walking steadily upwards , nosotros wandered through the suburban streets of Bergen , oft literally built on top of each other as well as at foreign as well as precarious angles. Long steps of stairs led upwards to tiny front end doors as well as ladders went from the world to top floors. I was filled amongst an overwhelming wish to describe them as well as their foreign shapes.
Up as well as upwards nosotros went , until nosotros reached a bubbling current , non far from a fantastic panoramic sentiment of the town below us. We pitched the tent apace , I finished my mass , as well as nosotros apace vicious asleep.
