Oslo serves as the starting point of this highly recommended trip. A colleague of mine at work recommended that I take this, and since my mom had never been to Norway, I suggested to her that we take this trip while she was in Europe. Needless to say, we were not disappointed.
We got our tickets in the Oslo Central station the day before our trip. The itinerary varies depending on the month, so it’s better to check the website, but here’s how ours looked like:- Train from Oslo to Myrdal – 8:11am to 12:53pm
- Myrdal to Flam via the Flamsbana – 1:02pm to 2pm
- Ferry ride from Flam to Gudvangen – 3:10pm to 5pm
- Bus ride from Gudvangen to Voss – 5:45pm to 7:05pm
- Train ride from Voss to Bergen – 7:20pm to 8:34pm
It takes some time to actually get out of the city limits, but when you do, you get a good sampling of the amazing views you can expect to see the rest of trip. I took several photos but some of them weren’t very good because I was taking them from inside a train, and the smudges and the reflections on the windows took away from the quality of the pics. We were very lucky though in that the skies were so clear so I did manage to capture a few really good shots.
What surprised me about this trip was that our train was passed through snow-capped mountains. I started taking more pictures but the reflections were even more prominent this time. So it made our day when the train took a 3 (or was it 5?) minute stop in Finse so that passengers could go out and have pictures taken with the snow. I actually think it was the first time my mom had seen snow.
It didn’t take much longer after this stop before we arrived at our first destination, Myrdal. It was here that we switched trains to get onto the Flamsbana, or the Flam Railway.Myrdal to Flam
The scenery now changes from mountains and lakes to mountains and valleys. At one point during this train ride, a voice from the speakers tells us in English that to we would be coming up to see the Kjosfoss waterfalls, where the train would stop for a few minutes so passengers can take pictures. It's pretty cool that the train ride actually slows down or even stops at the best views, and Kjosfoss is definitely worth a stop. Standing next to these powerful falls was truly an awesome experience!
We finally arrive at the quaint village of Flam where we have about an hour before our ferry takes off. My mom spent most of her time here looking for souvenirs while I went around taking more photos. We also visited the Flamsbana Museet (museum; entrance was free). Shortly before 3pm, we board the ferry that would then take us from Flam to Gudvangen.
Flam to Gudvangen
This trip then took us over two fjords. It starts off at the wider, deeper, and longer Aurlandsfjord before heading into the Naeroyfjord, the narrowest fjord in Europe. The Naeroyfjord is now included on UNESCO's famous World Heritage List.
At one point during the trip, our boat slowed down and stopped for a few minutes next to one of the many waterfalls that poured out from the mountains that lined the fjords. One of the ferry people used a long implement that had a filter on one end to catch water from the falls and direct it inside the boat - he positioned the filter end under the falls and passengers then caught the water with their cups or water bottles at the other end. My mom and I were able to get a cuple of cups and even half-fill one of our empty water bottles. We were then informed that the residents of this area of Norway tend to have long lives, and people attribute this longevity to the purity of the drinking water they have here.
The boat then finally docks at Gudvangen. There’s about 45 minute wait here before the bus departs (although our boat was 15 minutes late) which gave me enough time to have coffee and a pastry while my mom looked for more souvenirs. One amazing thing about the café here – I was able to use my credit card with no problem. Considering that Gudvangen had that faraway provincial feel, it was great that it was actually well-connected. You gotta be impressed with the infrastructure in Scandinavia!
Gudvangen to Voss
Now the most frightening part of the trip. For several minutes our bus travels along a level road heading towards Voss. But then all of a sudden it starts heading up the very steep Stalheimskleiva. This was a very narrow road – one lane actually – that had several hairpin bends. Each time we'd make a turn it felt almost like the bus was inches away from falling over. But the scenery here was amazing. You could see two more spectacular waterfalls along the way – the Stalheimsfossen and the Sivlefossen – but I wasn't able to catch either of them because it was hard taking pictures while the bus was twisting and turning. We finally got to the top, at the Stalheim hotel, where the bus stopped for about 15 minutes so that passengers can once again take pictures of the nature at its best.
I just read that from October to April, the bus actually doesn’t drive up the Stalheimskleiva due to safety reasons, and we took this trip on May 1st, so I am very glad that we ended up taking this trip when we did so we didn’t miss out on anything. Anyways, the bus then heads on over to Voss where we take the final leg of our tour.Voss to Bergen
Voss actually seemed like a very lovely town, situated right next to a lake, and we had about 30 minutes to spare when we got there so I could’ve walked around a bit and took a few more pictures. But it was the end of a long day and we were tired so we just decided to just relax in the train, which left promptly at 7:20pm. There were still some great views to be seen on this final leg, but lots of wires and posts blocked the wonderful views, so I spent the time just looking out the window and enjoying the scenery. By 8:34pm our train arrived in Bergen and we head over to our hotel.
Norway is widely considered to have the best scenery among all the Scandinavian countries, and the Norway in a Nutshell tour is does loads to validate this claim. Check out their website to read more about this day trip as well as the many other options you can take.
