Today we are leaving the metropolis of Bergen and heading out to explore a little bit of the naturescape that is wild Norway. It was a twenty minute walk across town from our hotel to the train station. I was very excited because we were heading to Voss. When I was looking up things to do in Voss, I came across the Bordalsgjelet Gorge, a spectacular gorge and a short walk from the town center. In my mind, this was going to be one of the highlights of the whole trip. But, through a series of unfortunate incidents (due to my ineptitude), it was not to be.
The train ride to Voss is only about an hour long. Halfway along the journey, it occurred to me that I had left my passport in the hotel safe back in Bergen. What could I do? Paula, our tour leader called headquarters and told me that it would cost about $300 to get it delivered to my hotel in Voss. I needed the passport to visit the other two countries that were on the tour and I probably needed it to get back in the U.S. So as everybody else checked into the hotel and had the afternoon to do whatever they wanted, I hopped back on the train, rode the hour back to Bergen, walked across town to the hotel, got my passport and reversed direction. I got back to Voss about 5:30, too late to go hike the gorge. Oh well. I guess it was not to be. The good news is that I now know how to ride the trains in Norway.
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| Waiting for the train in Voss |
The hotel we were staying at in Voss was the Fleischer's Hotel, a multi-generational, historic hotel founded in 1864. It reminded me of the great railroad hotels in the U.S.(think the Stanley Hotel in the movie The Shining).It was a very elegant hotel with modern conveniences and old-world charm.
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| Fleischer's Hotel |
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| I've never cared for salmon, but this was exquisite - I may have finally matured enough to like salmon |
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| Vangsvatnet Lake |
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| On the shores of the lake, I found this plaque Rockne - considered one of the greatest college football (American football) coaches in U.S. history. |
After a quiet night, we boarded a train that took us to the mountain village of Myrdal where we transferred to the famous Flam Railway. This railway has been described as one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world. It is only 12.5 miles long and is known as the steepest standard-gauge railway in the world. The scenery was incredible, big mountains, big valleys. You are traveling thru the Flam Valley when all of a sudden the train stops. Everybody gets out of the train and there is this otherworldly music playing as you walk towards the front of the train. All of a sudden there is one of the most beautiful waterfalls I have ever seen in my life - the Kjosfossen waterfall. It is definitely in my top three of my all-time waterfall list. The music is playing, and over on the top of a cliff a Huldra is dancing. A Huldra is a seductive female forest spirit, known for luring men into the forest and to their death. This stop may well be the highlight of this trip!
Note: I was at the back of the train and by the time I got up to the waterfall, the Huldra was almost done dancing
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| Kjosfossen Waterfall |
Once we got to the town of Flam, we had some free time to explore. There were a few restaurants and a few touristy gift shops.
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| A Viking cruise ship was in town which meant there were lots and lots of people swarming around |
We were waiting to take a ship thru the Naerofjord and Aurlandsford fjords. This particular cruise was just a day trip, actually I think it was about three hours long which had me a bit worried. (Gilligan's Island) but all was good. We couldn't have asked for better weather, a nice sunny day. Just magnificent!
I thought fjords were just sort of inlets off of an ocean. I was surprised to see how far inland I was from the North Sea.
After our boat ride, we took a bus back to our fabulous hotel and my oh-so cozy room.
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| My room with a view of Vangsvatnet Lake |
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