Small Towns and Train Rides As We Dodge Nutshell Tourists

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Oslo to Balestrand

While we have grown significantly in our travel skills and resilience in the face of new challenges over the last 8 months, there are two scenarios that continue to make Mike and I raise the “uggh” flag: getting up ‘n out really early and long distance train travel. The first is just plain desire for sleep and a leisurely life - early mornings make you kind of on edge, you’re not completely on all cylinders so decisions and reactions are fuzzy and finally, sleep is good. Really good. The second has nothing to do with us being on a train, in fact they’re really fun for the most part - you get to see the scenery (unlike planes), they’re almost always on time (unlike planes again) and they go in a pretty direct route with minimum extraneous time on the road (unlike buses). Next to being able to drive ourselves, a train is a great way to move our bones any good distance. Our bags, however, are a whole other story. Sans luggage, we can quickly hop on and off carriages and hustle across platforms, but our bags are heavy and unwieldy which make us slow and deliberate. Not optimal for quick on/off-boarding. Additionally, in contrast to planes and busses where you either check your bags or store them under the bus, you have to drag your stuff onto the train. Then, you either hope to find a spot for them in a luggage closet in your carriage or jam them in somewhere far away from your seat and hope no one takes them as a souvenir from their own great train experience. Trains are a great reason to have good carry on luggage and pack light. Word from the wise, people!

Our day of travel from Oslo to the fjords of Norway had both ingredients and thus, we were a little trepidatious about the day to come. Our nerves were more than amply counteracted by excitement to see the much-lauded fjords, but we were still nervous. We got up early and packed up our stuff so that we could be at the station by 7.30am. Checked out and ready to go, we ended up having some extra time at the station before the train left so we munched on our “breakfast to go” from the hotel - a box of bread, cold cuts and a container of yogurt. Breakfast is always the one meal that really changes from country to country and is rarely what you’re used to; for lunch and dinner there’s always a variety of restaurant options to choose from (and McDonald’s if you’re really jonesing for American tastes) but breakfast is a local deal. Thus we’ve averted our eyes (and noses) from many a pickled/dried/curry fish-in-sauce dish in the Scandinavian countries breakfasts. Bread and cheese is always a safe bet and a popular one for us.

Starting with this first train trip, we were traveling an extended path of a packaged tour called “Norway in a Nutshell” that gives tourists a 48 hour experience of the Norwegian fjords through the Norwegian rail system and a boat tour. We chose to spread it out a little more and were staying 4 days in the fjords and with a brief excursion to some of Norway’s fantastic glaciers. I worked with a Norwegian travel agency to help book train/boat/hotel tickets, but the navigation and execution was on our own.

Our first train trip took us from the Oslo train station to a small train stop in the town of Myrdal. Myrdal is a midway point from Oslo to another city on the western coast, Bergen, and is the changeover point for a train to Flam, a small town directly on the fjords and a boat hub for fjord travel. The train to Myrdal was great, we were in a less populated carriage and we found room for our bags right above our heads . . . except we were in the wrong carriage. Oops, turns out seats 57 and 58 are in Carriage 1 (our ticketed seats) and in Carriage 5 (our chosen seats). We were really nervous that we’d get in trouble or something or have to get up at the last minute and miss the train but the conductor said “no problem” and that we could change seats at the next stop, 2 hours later. Thus, we got to experience the trip from 2 different spots and they were both fine. Train travel is great once you’re on the train and your stuff is stored - you can get up and walk around, there’s a food car if you’re hungry and the scenery is tops. One poor lady threw up big time in the food car so that was a less appealing option for a while, but the ride was great all the same. Poor lady, never a good feeling!

Norway’s scenery is incredibly green and lush. I spent most of my time staring out the window while Mike dozed and listened to his iPod. Most of the countryside is undeveloped with large swathes of forests, farmlands and beautiful lakes and ponds interspersed between the two. Beautiful! As we got closer to the fjords and into higher altitudes, we could see snow on the tops of the mountain peaks along the lakes - snow in July, crazy! Small, rustic summer cabins dotted the countryside as well, Norwegians getting away to truly experience nature. Hiking and biking are big up here as in many Scandinavian countries - with scenery this beautiful, it’s understandable why you’d want to get into it and away from the cities and towns.

After about four hours on the train, we got off to change trains at the town of Myrdal. Myrdal has about 5 houses, a train station and a bakery, that’s it. With the hundreds of other Norway in a Nutshell travelers, we all stood on the platform to wait for our train to Flam. Mike stood guard over our packs while I shot some pictures of the area around us and we waited. When the train to Flam rolled up, it reminded us of a WWII train coming around the bend. With the only air inside coming from open windows and the seats being fold-down specials it was a bit more rustic than the first one. We clambered aboard with everyone else, found some seats next to a very exuberant and large Italian family and settled in for the next hour or so. The train to Flam is known as one of the most beautiful in Northern Europe because it cuts through the mountains by absolutely gorgeous waterfalls and rock cliffs. One waterfall even had local actors doing a Lady of the Water dance around it with piped music - a bit tacky, but fun all the same. The Japanese tourists went nuts for that one! I stayed inside to keep our seats but Mike grabbed a quick picture through the mob of fellow travelers.

When we got to Flam, the crowd split into the 48 hour tour group who headed onto a fjord cruise and the people who were staying longer to experience more. Thankfully, we were in the latter, not the former. We headed onto a large ferry to another town, Balestrand, where we would be staying for the next 2 nights. Along with us and a lot of other travelers, there were 2 large family groups - one of 9 people from Minnesota and another of 21 people from Iowa - who were in Norway to visit relatives and see where their ancestors are from. That seems to be a theme for travelers here: we haven’t seen many independent American travelers in Scandinavia, most are either (a) coming to see their roots and ethnic heritage or (b) on a cruise. Our ferry was a couple of hours and we spent it outside on the top deck, soaking in the gorgeous fjord scenery and battling the wind and sea spray. I, of course, loved it! Kel + boat ride always = happiness.

Once in Balestrand, we settled into our hotel, a lovely old place right on the water. Dinner that night would be in the hotel, as well, since the town didn’t have any real dining options and the tour company booked us on a breakfast and dinner package. Before dinner we took the chance to walk around the town and explore along the fjord. Cute houses set into the hillside, brightly colored dinghies bobbing in the ocean, a historic stave church along the road all made Balestrand a really pretty little town. Dinner was a low key buffet affair in the dining room and we crashed into bed pretty quickly afterward. Norwegian food for the most part has not been our favorite - more pickled and creamed fishes, urgh - but we managed to find some standard fare along with a lot of bread and called it dinner. Into everyone’s travel must some so-so food come. We also left off a few items of clothing for the hotel to wash; we chose sparingly as hotel laundry is sooo expensive! A necessary evil, but it’s important to be clean.


More Fjords and Glaciers
The next day was our glacier day. Along with the fjords, Norway has some of Europe’s most accessible glaciers (i.e. lowest to sea level) so they are used by scientists extensively to track weather and climate change impacts over time. We hopped an 8am ferry to another - even smaller - town called Fjaerland where we caught our bus tour to the Glacier Museum and two local glaciers. The Norwegian tour company booked it for us and we said “okay” but we wouldn’t have gone out of our way to book it on our own. We’ve seen glaciers in New Zealand along with similar scenery, but the majesty of these huge mountains above the water of the fjords and the blueness of the ice on the glaciers is always a bit mind boggling. We wandered and stared and snapped some pictures along with enjoying a gorgeous, blue sky sunny day.

After the tour, we took another ferry back to the hotel and laid low until dinner. I did some internet research for our next destination (Iceland) and Mike called his parents. Dinner was ye olde Norwegian buffet and another crash into bed early. Early days combined with lots of outside boat/hike time make you genuinely sleepy and it’s a great feeling. Lots of sunshine and fresh air just makes your body feel good.

We checked out early the next morning and packed up our stuff for the 8am boat to our final Norway destination, Bergen. Known as the gateway to the fjords, Bergen is a larger city on the western coast of Norway. The plan is to stay there for another two nights before we head out and on to our next adventure.

Hope everyone is enjoying summer vacation and warm weather and sunshine! Love to all from the fjords!

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