August 4: "Norway in a Nutshell" Tour

We did the “Norway in a Nutshell” tour today and it definitely had a different feel than our other adventures in Norway. Instead of long, grueling hikes to see the natural beauty of this country, we simply sat back in trains, buses and boats and were amazed by our surroundings.   The first leg was the Bergen Railway, which is a majestic train ride from Bergen to Oslo.  From the “Norway in a Nutshell” information guide, “The Bergen Railway runs between Oslo and Bergen and has been named “one of the best train journeys in the world” by Lonely Planet. The construction of the Bergen Railway was a huge project in its day and was completed in 1909. The railway line is Northern Europe's highest stretch of railway, roughly 100 km of which runs through wild mountain terrain.  The highest point on the Bergen Railway is Finse train station at 1,222 meters above sea level. Finse is only reachable by train, foot or by bike and few places in Norway offer mightier nature experiences. Finse has also been used as a location in the Star Wars film “The Empire Strikes Back” from 1979. The raw mountain scenery and cold weather conditions made Finse perfect as the planet “Hoth” in this epic movie.”

Next on the itinerary was the Flam Railway.  Quoting once again from the information packet, “Flåmsbana, or the Flåm Railway, is considered one of the most scenic train rides in the world. The Flåm Railway is a masterpiece of engineering that took over 20 years to build, has 20 tunnels and is 20 kilometers long. Trial operation started in 1940 with small steam locomotives, and the line was fully electrified in 1944. The Flåm Railway is Northern Europe's steepest railway and 18 of the line´s 20 tunnels were built by hand!” The scenery was amazing but was incredibly difficult to capture the beauty through the glare of our window.  We did make one stop by a spectacular waterfall so we could enjoy the sight and sound of this powerful cascade of H20.

We had about two hours to explore the village of Flam where we took in the picturesque views of the Naeroyfjord from the shore.  We also ventured into a cool pub and threw back a pint in this Viking inspired watering hole.

One of the highlights of the tour was the fjord cruise on the UNESCO Nærøyfjord between Flåm and Gudvangen. And according to our info guide, “The Nærøyfjord is the narrowest branch of the Sognefjord and with its steep mountainsides, hanging valleys, towering peaks, waterfalls and small hamlets, this fjord is perhaps the most outstanding natural attraction in Norway.” I spent the entire 2 hour journey on the top deck taking pictures and videos of this amazing waterway. 

From here, we traveled on bus and then train back to Bergen where we crashed after a long, enjoyable day.