DAY NINE: Oslo-Myrdal-Flam-Gudvangen-Voss-Bergen

Awoke early on our last morning in Oslo to catch the 8:05am (not the 7:05, Kuce!) express train west towards Bergen. We all packed a sandwich as this was going to be a long day with little time for lunch. We upgraded to Komfort Class, which is analogous to "economy plus" on an airplane. You get extra legroom, a table, free wi-fi, free coffee/tea and newspapers--a great bargain at $15! Today our "Norway in a Nutshell" tour includes a nearly five hour express train, a one hour scenic train ride, a two hour ferry ride through the fjords, an hour bus ride and then two more hours on a "local" train into Bergen--totaling nearly 13 hours!

The train ride from Oslo-Bergen is widely regarded as one of the most scenic train rides in the world. The first segment of our trip took us through Drammen, Honefoss and Gol--where we entered a scenic high plateau with the train tracks over a mile above sea level. The landscape changed from urban to small towns to rugged terrain with snow and glacial streams. The mid-70 temperatures we enjoyed in Oslo dwindled to the mid-40s over this nearly five hour panoramic segment.

We disembarked at Myrdal station in a cold drizzle. It was too crowded and steamy inside the train station, however outside it was nearly sleeting at one point. Luckily, we had just a short wait before the Flamsbana train appeared on the adjacent set of tracks.

Our train from Oslo departing Myrdal

The Flamsbana is a scenic train trip which runs from mountainous Myrdal down to the small sea level town of Flam on the Aurlandsfjord--which is a tributary off Sognefjord, the longest fjord in Norway. From the Norwegian Sea, Sognefjord cuts into Norway for more than 125 miles and has sections that are nearly 4000 ft. deep.

The Flåm Railway (Flåmsbana), one of the world's steepest railway lines, takes you in and out of 20 tunnels through snow-capped mountains and past cascading waterfalls. At the Kjosfossen waterfall, according to Norwegian legend, a temptress lives behind the falls and tries to lure men into the rocks. With thanks to our lovely wives, Manfred and I were able to resist the wily temptress!

The Flamsbana is not a cogwheel railroad, but has steel wheels with five separate braking systems. The train slows/makes short stops at particularly scenic vistas...and after just about an hour, the town of Flam comes into view.

Flam

Manfred getting ready for the ferry segment

After a short wait in Flam, the ferry departs on Aurlandsfjord towards the towns of Aurland, Undredal and Gudvangen. If you like waterfalls, this region is waterfall nirvana. At first, you are tempted to take a photo of every little rivulet in this scenic vista. After awhile, you start to become a bit more discriminating about which waterfall photos are worthy. In the latter portion of the cruise, it REALLY has to be an impressive waterfall to exert oneself to press the shutter release button. Apparently the locals call this condition "waterfall sickness".

The ferry winds its way through fjords with towering rock faces, goats/sheep, small towns, awesome cliffs and other interesting scenery. At one point we passed a group of kayakers who had pulled up on shore for the evening.

Finally, we entered the beautiful 6 mile long Naeroyfjord (Narrow Fjord), which is just over 800 feet wide, and cruised into the town of Gudvangen. To be honest, Naeroyfjord looked expansive when compared to the much more narrow mouth of Trollfjord, which is only 325 feet wide--and the Hurtigruten ship was much larger than the ferry. To date, we have had very good fortune with our weather. Although this was a mostly cloudy day, the fjord scenery was still amazing!

Our bus driver from Gudvanger to Voss was a bit of a ham and obviously aspired to do standup in a comedy club. He told stories, jokes, myths, legends and still was amazingly precise with a huge bus on some very narrow and steep roads. The steep Stalheimkleiva road is a series of switchbacks with an 18% grade--the steepest in Norway...and yet MORE waterfalls.

Notice the elevation and distanceso to Oslo & Bergen

Upon arrival in Voss, we discovered the small cafe in the train station served wine...so, it now became "wine-thirty"! The folks here certainly have gotten these various Nutshell connections down to a science. After one glass of wine, our Bergen train arrived and it was time to hop on our final means of conveyance on this day trip.

Although it has been a long travel day, we are having a great time and looking forward to our time in the coastal city of Bergen!

 

Posted by TBW Travel Today!

DAY EIGHT: The Bygdoy Peninsula

Another great breakfast and another beautiful morning! From Oslo S, you can take the #30 bus all the way to Bygdoy, however we took the #11 tram to the Radhus (City Hall) stop and walked to pier #3 to catch the Bygdoy ferry boat across the harbor to the peninsula. It is a scenic ride that passes by the waterside Akershuss Fortress.

Radhus and ferry pier

Akershuss Fortress

The ferry travels a triangular loop with two Bygdoy stops at Dronningen and Bygdoynes. From Dronningen, a ten minute walk takes you to the Norwegian Folk Museum--which is an open-air park with 150 traditional log buildings from all corners of Norway.

The Gol stave church, built in 1212 in Hallingdal and exactingly reconstructed here, is spectacular. Authentically costumed guides and craftsmen/women doing their traditional activities add to the experience.

Keeper of the church key

Paths wind around the 35 acre park and each turn brings a new exhibit. I was taking photos of milk cows in a lush pasture when I stumbled upon a small open-air dance floor with a traditional fiddle and dance show.

During our sightseeing, we easily developed the habit of "midday beer breaks" to recharge for the afternoon. The Folk Museum deserved a beer break as well.

The Viking Ship Museum features two majestic oak Viking ships from the 9th and 10th centuries. The ships, the Oseberg 834 AD and the Gokstad 950 AD, were well-preserved only because they had been purposefully used for burial of notable gentry. Also numerous displays with remarkable artifacts that shed a personal light on life in those difficult times.

The Kon-Tiki Museum houses the original Kon-Tiki and Ra II ships built by Thor Heyerdahl. In 1947, Heyerdahl and five crewmen constructed the Kon-Tiki out of balsa wood using only traditional Peruvian tools and materials. Trying to prove that South Americans could have settled Polynesia, they sailed for 101 days and 4300 miles living on fresh fish, coconuts and Peruvian sweet potatoes.

Kon-Tiki

The Ra

In 1970, Heyerdahl made a similar 3000 mile journey from Morocco to Barbados to prove that Africans could have populated the Caribbean and America.

FRAM

The FRAM Museum holds the original 125-foot ship, FRAM, which made three historic Arctic and Antarctic expeditions under the command of Nansen and Amundsen. After having seen the Polar Museum in Tromso, it was especially fascinating to see the actual FRAM and climb all over her. Unlike many museums, the FRAM allows visitors to walk over a third-story walkway onto the ship's deck. From there, you can climb a ladder to a platform overlooking the deck and climb down into the lower two levels of the ship. This was the most sturdy ship ever built to withstand being frozen in polar ice. Let's just say the accommodations were not luxurious!

Amundsen and other Polar explorers

After all these testosterone-laden voyages, the ladies decided to take a "wine break" while Manfred and I checked out the Norwegian Maritime Museum. In addition to displays showing centuries of Norwegian maritime history, there was a Supervideografen (IMAX-type) movie depicting Norway's maritime landscapes from the south all the way up to the North Cape.

By now, the ladies were considering a third glass of wine, so we rescued them from their beautiful waterside table and we departed from the Bygdoynes ferry stop and returned to the Radhus pier.

By this time were all "tourista-ed" out. The #12 tram returned us to our hotel and a very nicely prepared buffet dinner on our last night in Oslo. Tomorrow we are on the move, taking the NSB train to Bergen, by way of the Nutshell.

 

Posted by TBW Travel Today!