Norway - Day 6, Flåm

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I think the part of the trip that I was most looking forward to was Flåm. It was the place where I had based my roadtrip around, even though it was not my original plan at all. While researching my trip, i noticed a hotel called Flåmsbrygga, which had a two-night package, including dinner both nights, a beer tasting at its brewery and nice rooms. I thought this looked perfect - a good mix of chilling and sightseeing in a typical Norwegian fjord. It is a town that typically receives cruise ships during the summer months, but thankfully it looked pretty low season this time of year. My kinda place.

After driving through the tunnel from Undredal Stave church, i took the exit into town and easily found my hotel, got checked in and went to my room to unpack and freshen up. It was not facing the main fjord views, but still a nice balcony overlooking the edge of the fjord with the mountains as a backdrop. It had a nice little reading chair that I enjoyed during my down time over the next two days. I had to book a table for dinner and I picked 6pm, since I do not like to eat too late. So, I only had about an hour until it started and I made my way over. I was seated right away and was told that I would have two courses for tonight's dinner: main and dessert. I picked fall off the bone pork with mashed potatoes and sticky toffee pudding, along with a pilsner to wash it all down. After dinner, I tried to walk some of it off by see some of the areas of town and along the beach at the fjord.

The next morning, I had a nice breakfast before heading into the village center, planning to book the first train of the day on the Flåmsbana. I was not the only one and I was a bit surprised how many people were there, quite a few taking a one-way with their luggage. At the end, they would be joining the Oslo-Bergen line. I was looking forward to the train ride, but it was pretty expensive. However, I loved the cabin interior, very classic and whimsical. Thankfully it was not too crowded, meaning I had an entire row to myself so I could cross window to window as we rode along. The rail line from Flåm to Myrdal is called the "20" because it is 20 km, 20 tunnels (18 hand dug), and took 20 years to build (1924-1944). It was built to connect some of the fjord towns to the main rail line, but was clearly a difficult task. A switchback road was made at the end of the valley to carry supplies to the top, and the line sometimes has a steep gradient.

It was so interesting with great views. However, I will say this time of year is probably not the most ideal - the greenery has not come in yet and the slopes are still covered in snow meaning a lot of the side activities were not available. For instance, the Kjosfossen was almost completely frozen over and hidden in the shade, so, not much to see, while in the warmer months, they have a little dancing 'woman' (I've heard it is sometimes a man in a red dress) on the stones above the train platform. Still, it was nice to get out and stretch your legs, and I took the opportunity to get good photos and video of the empty train. At the top, Myrdal, we had a few minutes to wait around before departing again. During the warmer months, there is a zipline, hiking, or you can walk or bike back to Flåm. No such options for me: snow, ice and cold in all directions, I did see a group of guys with a dog, carrying skis and heading to the nearby slopes - that was pretty cool. The return trip was much quieter, with fewer people on the train - I think there was only one other woman in my cabin this time. The sun was also higher and I knew what to expect on the way down, and was able to open the windows this time for better photos. So, it was an extremely peaceful, beautiful trip.

I got back into town, taking some more photos, grabbed a bit of popcorn for a snack and returned to my room to read for an hour. Then I drove up the valley to view more sites. First stop, the Flåm Kirkje. This dark colored church was built in 1667 as a replacement of the old stave church. I could hear some kind of music inside so clearly it is still very much in use and in such a beautiful setting. It is located right along the little river with the mountains and fjord in the background. Moving a bit further up the valley, I next visited the Cave Waterfalls, which is located beneath a bridge along a very narrow road hugging the mountain side. Yikes. There were surprisingly quite a few cars on my way up. I also noted two waterfalls that I had also seen on the train ride, such as Rjoandefossen and Brekkenfossen (which I planned to hike to the next day).

However, I had to get back to make my 2pm appointment at the floating sauna. So, I returned to my room, changed and packed up some stuff including a change of clothes in case I had the energy to walk afterwards. I could see the sauna from my room so knew just where to go. A nice guy waited to check me in, surprised that my phone number was a UAE number and we had a short discussion about the difference in weather. I was one of about 8 people, but they all seemed nice enough. The sauna was really neat! It is clearly floating and you can get into the water by jumping from the top (a few brave souls did that, not me), or enter from the side, or in the sauna itself in the bottom half of the structure there is a hole in the floor for direct access into the water (I did this twice, though not a full submerge because I am a wuss). It was so, so, so cold! So, I stayed for about 45 minutes and enjoyed the experience.

After this I walked back to the room to change, then went to the hotel restaurant for my beer tasting, where I got three decent sized pours and enjoyed them all. Dinner tonight was the Viking plank, which included five beer tastings (that is a lot of beer for me!) and five food tastings: salmon tartare, slow cooked deer with blueberry cream, tomato and coconut soup with fish and mussels, goat with mashed potatoes (not a fan of goat), and dark chocolate cake. I think I even ordered another beer and just enjoyed my last night.

The next morning, I got breakfast and checked out early. My last thing to do in Flåm was to hike to Brekkefossen, a waterfall with a view over the fjord. It was a very steep hike up for about 30 minutes, but totally worth it. I was the second person there, though since it was so early, the views were fantastic but not clear in the photos. I met a woman, Olga, from Ukraine up here; she and her husband had moved to Norway a few weeks before and she was telling me about her life. In a good way - it was a nice conversation. She said they had stayed in Ukraine because it seemed to be far from the conflict, but recently there was an incident that made them realize they should probably leave. Her husband volunteers to help civilians (it sounds similar to the National Guard) so goes to Poland to help as needed. Norway gives them a stipend but they have to keep trying to get a job. She wants a job in the tourism / hospitality industry, but needed to improve her English - I was happy to help. We chatted for about 20 minutes before I needed to leave - I had more driving to do today!

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Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Sampling local foods
We are foodies and love sampling local foods.

[Ake Och Emma]

That looks awesome
Lovely picture of a town with a spectacular setting. There are many spectacular places in Norway. I have seen a few over the years and I hope to see many more. Thanks for letting me see your pictures and read your blog. /Ake