Flam, Norway

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Our hotel in Oslo was actually in an older part of the main train station so it wasn't a struggle to get up at 6am to board the train to Myrdal which is at the peak of the mountain range that divides west and east Norway (or north/south depending on your perspective). This station is where you transfer to the Flamsbana, a historic smaller train that winds its way down the Sognefjord to Flam. Again, the unseasonable weather was dogging us and even before we reached Myrdal we encountered snow and near blizzard conditions! We were repeating the route Barb and I had done in 2012, but about 6 weeks earlier so there was a LOT more snow on the ground. In many places it still had the buildings buried to their roofs. Once we boarded the Flamsbana and began our descent into the fjord the snow turned back to rain and the greenery emerged.

We checked into our hotel and took Lisa and Larry on a walkabout of the small village which is pretty much 100% supported by tourism. It's amazing how the large cruise ships make it all the way back into this fjord. We ate lunch at a small house back away from the mainstream and had some of the best soup and cake in Norway! The next leg of our journey differed from our last time here as we boarded one of the car ferries instead of an express boat and journeyed up another fjord to Gudvangen where we boarded a bus back up the mountain to re-unite with the main railway line in Voss. Last time we had taken the express boat directly from Flam to Bergen so this option provided a bit of a variety in a boat/bus/train combo for the day.

Regardless of how one travels through the Norwegian fjords, be prepared for stunning scenery, numerous waterfalls, and an occasional mountain goat!

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