Norway - Part 3

Oslo to Bergen

We left Oslo for a scenic journey westward across the middle of southern Norway. In early morning we took a short walk from our hotel to the neighboring central train station. Down we went through a freaky passageway to the boarding platform of our first train out of Oslo.

The first train took several hours to reach our transfer point at Myrdal. For me, the ride was mostly unremarkable. I spent most of the time hunched over in a drowsy, sweaty, woozy funk, still reeling from the previous travel day. It was snowing as we approached Myrdal, and the 3 or 4 inches accumulated on the ground and fir trees was pretty.

At Myrdal we stepped out into cold, fresh air on the station platform. Walking a bit outside helped revive me. With little delay we boarded the famed Flam Railway for the 20 km (12.4 mile) trip down to Flam. The steep, twisting route revealed many gorgeous views of colorful valleys and waterfalls. The Kjosfossen waterfall has a fall of 93 meters (305 feet).

Many Norwegian waterfalls are long, narrow, and steep, like the one seen in the next picture. The steep switchback road, also visible, made me wonder if I was still strong enough to bike its length.

Many trees had lost their leaves, but enough fall colors lingered to make me wonder how magnificent valley views would be on a sunny day.

The rail line ends at the small town for which it is named, Flam.

Flam is located at an inland tip of the Aurlandsfjord where a ship, seen on the right in the next picture, was waiting to take us on the next portion of our journey, a cruise along the fjord.

Notice the wet pavement and gloomy overcast of another gray Norwegian day. Before the fjord cruise we were given some free time to wander around in Flam. Here are some scenes from my quick walk around town.

Soon we were on our ship cruising up the Aurlandsfjord. The following panoramic image captures the character of many views along the fjord. The hanging clouds had a misty beauty, and the water surface was extremely calm. Click on the image to enlarge it.

The ship offered items for lunch. I couldn't resist a delicious-looking grilled hot dog wrapped in bacon. They also offered intriguing lamb hot dogs which I declined to try. The hot dog and water bottle cost 101 Norwegian krone. My rough approximation for converting krone to dollars was to divide krone by eight. So the hot dog and water cost about $12.63!

We exited the ship in Gudvangen where we boarded a bus to our hotel in Voss. We stayed at picturesque Fleischer's Hotel, built in 1889. The old-fashioned wood-paneled reception area and dining room were charming.

The next morning we continued our bus journey to Bergen, passing through scenic countryside along the edge of the Hardangerfjord. We stopped at a beautiful waterfall arching out so far from its source we could walk behind it. In the next picture you can see the walkway passing behind the waterfall.

The next panoramic picture shows the nice little area around the waterfall. Click on the image to enlarge it.

Someone was nice enough to take our picture standing behind the falls.

As I was about to leave, someone pointed out a strange little tree growing upside down from the rock face behind the falls.

After the waterfall we stopped for a nice chicken and rice lunch in this charming building in the town of Norheimsun.

Our bus then traveled on twisty, motion-sickness-inducing roads, until we arrived in Bergen, Norway's second largest city. Rain continued. Bergen's historic harbor/wharf area had lots of colorful, interesting old wooden buildings and shops. We would have loved the freedom to wander around exploring these shops, but we were under the control of a local guide who marched us through the rain from one place to another. Don't the following shops look inviting? We had no chance to go inside.

Ancient wooden alleyways also included some shops.

All too soon, our guide herded us back on the bus. She probably thought our group would prefer a warm, dry bus tour of the city instead of free time to stroll around in the rain. Maybe she was right about the group as a whole. At any rate, I was disappointed in not being allowed to wander through the shops. On and on the bus swayed while twisting through Bergen streets. I began feeling vaguely sick. Finally, thankfully, the bus tour ended. We climbed off the bus near a dock and then boarded our home for the next 5.5 days, the Hurtigruten ferry ship M/S Polarlys. We put our luggage in our shipboard room, had a buffet dinner, and began our northward journey along the west coast of Norway.