Flam, Gudvangen, Voss & Bergen - Bergen, Norway
Bergen, Norway
Where I stayed
Overnight train to Oslo
What I did
Flam Railway Bergen
"Norway in a Nutshell" tour - our way.
The train left Honefoss for Myrdal at 8.17. We set the alarm 'just in case', but we awake in plenty of time. This was our first European breakfast in a hotel and we were overwhelmed by all the choices! I left all the fishy products alone, but there were still so many types of cheese and cold meats; various types of bread as well as different types of belVita breakfast biscuits. Then there were cereals, fruit, yoghurt, juice, coffee - and plenty of it. Then it was just a few minutes up the hill to the station - funny how it seemed such a long way last night!
This train trip (part of the Oslo to Bergen line) is classed as one of the most scenic railways in the world. (We did plenty of 'the most scenic railways in the world' by the time we'd finished our Eurail Pass!!) It was so exciting seeing snow on the distant mountains - took loads of photos, just in case this was all there was! We were lucky enough to sit opposite a Norwegian 'engineer' who gave us lots of information. He pointed out the cycling track, which closely followed the train line; told us that the lake near Ustaoset was very low as there'd been a drought (and now there were floods - familiar story!); etc.[ He also paid for his ticket on the train, and we'd read everywhere that reservations were compulsory.] Of course, the scenery just got more and more spectacular as we crossed the Hardangervidda, Europe's highest mountain plateau. And lots more snow.
The train stopped for a few minutes at Finse, which is 1,222 metres above sea level and is the highest point on the line. A young Australian couple, heading to live and work in Bergen, asked a young guy to take their photo in the snow using their ipad. Unfortunately he held it by the magnetically attached cover - it dropped and shattered. The guy did a bunk.
At Myrdal we crossed the platform and got on the train to Flam (departed 12.11 and arrived 13.05). One of the guards just said to get on and then pay onboard. [We got a discount with the Eurail pass and it cost 195 NOK each.] We sat down and were chatting away to a couple from England, while a bit of commotion went on in the background. Soon we were approached by a uniformed man who told us that this end of the train was reserved for the cruise ship passengers, who'd come up in the train from Flam - so we had to walk through to the very last carriage before we found a seat. The people down this end were much nicer - even though they were on the cruise too!
We were settled before the train passed through a hairpin tunnel that turns 180° but it was too crowded to get a good view when there was an opening in the tunnel. Apparently ... "Several hundred metres straight down from the carriage window the river resembles a silver ribbon lying on the valley floor, while you see the steep mountainside with the rail track cut into a narrow ledge." Soon after, the train stopped at Kjosfossen to see the waterfall - awesome sight and
very noisy from the water hitting the mountain on its way down. This is where the Norwegian folk music plays and the nymph does a dance up on a rock.
The Flam Railway is one of the world's steepest railways on a normal gauge. Nearly 80 percent of the route has a rise of one meter per 18. Lots of steep mountain sides, deep ravines, and countless waterfalls. Lower down, it "crosses the valley and river three times, but there are no bridges over the river. Instead of bridges, the river is led through the mountain in tunnels underneath the railway line." There were spectacular views, but the trip would have been much better if it was less crowded. Unless you have a lot of time there's not much you can do about that I guess. It's probably possible to check whether there's a cruise ship in though.
The first thing we noticed on arriving at Flam was the cruise ship - enormous and out of place. Flam is on the innermost corner of the Aurlandfjord, which is an arm of the mighty Sognefjord, Norway's longest (204 km) and deepest (1308 m) fjord. A few minutes walk from the station and we were on the "Fjord 1 Fylkesbat" for the cruise to Gudvangen via the Nærøyfjord which is the narrowest fiord in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage attraction. This cost 286 NOK for both of us - Seniors half price!
What an awesome trip! We left Flam at 13.20 and arrived at Gudvangen at 15.30. It was nice in the sun, but that breeze was very cool in the shade! The ferry moved at a reasonable pace - we moved along the wider fiord and turned west with Aurland on the right bank looking very inviting as a place to stay in the future. Then passed Undredal on our left. Apart from looking at the stunning scenery we watched the seagulls catch bread in the air as other passengers and crew threw pieces out the back and sides of the deck. Once around the corner we turned left (south) into the Naeroyfiord - 18 kilometres long and just 500 metres wide at some points. On the eastern bank we passed Styvi - no road goes to Styvi but there is a footpath along the fiord to Bleiklindi. And there was Bakka and its church on the west. Many many waterfalls.
Off the ferry at Gudvangen and onto a bus bound for Voss 10 minutes later - 94 NOK for both of us - that half price for Seniors once again. The bus ride was interesting until we turned off to do a loop past the Stalheim Hotel. This drive along the road which used to be the main 'highway' until 1982 was totally unbelievable. It is 1.75 kilometres and is one way and very steep. There are 13 hairpin bends and as the bus turned the driver could be a metre below the passengers up the back. Stalheimskleiva is only open May to September. Magnificent views.
When I was planning the trip, I wanted to go from Gudvangen to Sogndal [Booktown] and then on to Skjolden by bus. Skjolden is a village of about 200 located at the end of the Lustrafjord. After staying there the night, I'd planned on going on the route Rv55 over the Jutunheimen National Park by bus and reconnecting with the train at Otta. I was so annoyed that the road was closed to the bus until 25th June. But if we'd done that I'd have missed Stalheimskleiva!!
We could have purchased tickets from a travel agent in advance for the Myrdal-Flam-Gudvangen-Voss trip, however it was cheaper to pay separately for each section on board the train, boat and bus.
The bus got to Voss at 17.00 and we wandered around the souvenir shop until the train to Bergen came in just before 18.00. Got to Bergen about 18.00 and the train for Oslo didn't leave until 23.10. I guess there were no lockers - why else would we carry the bags with us?
Bergen was one of "those" stations - no maps, no directional signs. We followed the crowd - which ended up being the wrong way. Got to see a nice park, some seedy streets, expensive cafes - came across a Subway so had one of those for our dinner. The special was veggie burgers so we paid full price for a chicken teriyaki. Fortified by our first food since breakfast, we headed the other way and came to the market place on the harbour. Wandered around the stalls and then over to Bryggen, the old trading wharf where the steeple roofed warehouses are painted in bright colours and have a decided lean.
Noisy bars weren't appealing so wandered around and ended up back at the station with plenty of time before the train. The small cobbled street across the road from the station looked interesting so we went up there. I thought the wheels might break off the wheely bag it was so uneven - so I carried it. Some really nice places to eat this way - should have come here first! Had a couple of beers at a Chinese place - it did a great trade in take-aways and had quite a few people inside as well.
When we got on the train, we told the conductor that we'd like a sleeper if anyone cancelled. The sitting carriages were quite full and then a noisy group got on at Voss soon after midnight (00.27). We weren't looking forward to the rest of the trip! Then the conductor came and said there'd been a cancellation on a sleeper and did we want it. Yes please! It cost full price (850 NOK) and was right near some extremely noisy wheels - but we slept fine. Arrived in Oslo at 6.27.