Travelling the Nærøyfjord and Aurlandsfjord to Flåm

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Today our journey started at 8am - and what a day it was! We walked to the train station for the first part of the journey, our train from Bergen to Voss at 8:45am. When we arrived the queue for the train was enormous but we lined up with all the other tourists. Once we were in the train I managed to snag a window seat. The train ride takes about an hour and I really enjoyed the view out the window as it was very picturesque with it mountains, waterfalls and rivers as well as the homes and farms along the way.

On arrival in Voss, we were sheparded onto buses for the next part of the journey - our trip to Gudvangen. Gudvangen is a little port with the primary (probably sole) purpose is the gateway to the Nærøyfjord. Even though the first part of this trip was picturesque, this part surpassed that by becoming even more dramatic! The highlight was traversing the Stalheimskleiva - the 1.5km stretch of road that twists its way down the mountainside to the beginning of the Nærøyfjor. The steepest gradient on this road is 1 to 5, or 20%, which makes it one of the steepest stretches of road in Northern Europe. As our driver informed us, the people on the back seat of the bus would be 2 meters higher than him on our way down! The Stalheimskleiva winds its way down 13 sharp hairpin bends and we past two cascading waterfalls on our way down - although it was hard to take photos due to the fact you were handing onto the handle with a slightly terrified grip as you peered all the way down to the bottom. Amazing!

Once we arrived safely in Gudvangen we all boarded the fjord cruiser, a very modern boat that has been designed to take in the full view on either side. The trip to Flåm would take 2 hours and I don't believe there was one minute of that time where the view didn't take your breath away. I could easily have taken a thousand photos (maybe I did???) but it was also nice to just sit back and take it all in. I know it's a cliche to say that photos don't fully capture this majestic beauty but in this case it is so true. So, while I sit back and take it all in, let me tell you a bit about the two fjords on this part of the trip.

The Nærøyfjord is the narrowest and best known of the many arms of the Sognefjord. The Sognefjord is the King of all fjords - it is the worlds longest and deepest and it is 204km from the coast to its innermost fjord arm. The Nærøyfjor, with its steep mountainside, hanging valleys, towering peaks, snowfields, waterfalls and small hamlets, is the most outstanding natural attraction in Norway. The Nærøyfjord is 20kms long, only 250 metres across at its narrowest and a mere 12 meters at its shallowest. The surrounding mountains reach heights of 1,660 metres. UNESCO has included it in its famous World Heritage List. The boat pulled right into the Sagfossen waterfall, which is a 500 metre long waterfall and one of the highest waterfalls along the fjord! I was hoping the people right at the front of the boat would get wet and had my camera poised for the shot but alas, it was not to be lol.

We then turned into the Aurlandsfjord as we made our way to Flåm. Again we were surrounded by towering mountains and numerous waterfalls. The little hamlets (or villages) along the way make for the postcard photo! I love the story of the two farms at Stigen. They are perched 300 metres above sea level and require ladders to negotiate the steepest parts of their paths. Back in the day, when the church's men travelled to collect the taxes, the people of these farms could see them coming up the fjord so they just pulled up the ladders and the tax men could not reach them!

Then we reached Flåm. Oh wow, what a pretty little town. There are approx 400 people that live here but I suspect the number of tourists daily far surpass this number! Flåm is the home of the famous Flåm railway, and we will be catching this tomorrow. The origins of Flåm dates back to the end of the 19th century, when large numbers of British tourists, also called "salmon lords" came to fish the Flåmselva river. We headed to our hotel (one of only two in this town) as we wanted to check in and drop our bags off. We had to wait about 20 minutes to check in so I went for a quick walk around the town. After I checked in it started raining and I was feeling tired so decided to rest up for a while. I had, after all, seen the whole town in that 20 minute walk ?. My room is amazing - it is on the top floor (level 4) and has a fulky glass little alcove, perfect for looking out over the harbour, down the fjord and up at the mountains!

Around 5:30 I headed out again and wandered down to the harbour then along the river to a little beach. There were some girls swimming in the river! They must be crazy as it would be freezing. Sometimes I have to stop and pinch myself - it is hard to believe that I am actually seeing what I am. I was completely surrounded by dramatic scenery every which way I turned. Time to just take it all in. And then, when I had, time to hit the local brewery! I had a glass of the blonde ale that is brewed on the premises. Very nice.

Dinner was at 7pm and it was a buffet. The food was mostly locally sourced and there was quite a great selection of items. I could have had goat ribs and whale steak but decided to not haha. Regardless, I still managed to eat too much as per usual when offered an all you can eat option!

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