Flåm, Norway

June 26 -

After a very rough day and night in the North Sea, we finally entered the calmer waters of the Sognefjord and made our way to Flåm which lies at the end of one of the branches of the fjord, the Aurlandsfjorden. 

A little about yesterday (Sunday) first.  We were in gale force winds pretty much all day.  A lot of our fellow passengers were feeling it.  Fortunately we didn’t, but walking about was a challenge.  We played trivia at noon (didn’t win) and continued our Scrabble games in the afternoon.  We’re now tied three games apiece.

So, back to Flåm.  We rode down in the elevator with our captain and he said the weather should turn sunny and the next two days should bring pretty good weather. I hope he knows what he’s talking about.  We set off on our excursion through the mountains around the fjord to the town of Voss.  The first half of the day was by bus.  Our first stop was at the Hotel Stalheim which sits at the top of a valley.  The place has a spectacular view of the mountains and valley below. We had about half an hour there to enjoy coffee and one of the best pastries I’ve eaten.  When we left the hotel we took  Stalheim Road, the steepest road in Norway.  Our driver did a marvelous job getting us around the hairpin turns.

Valley below the Stalheim Hotel

Then we were on our way to Voss.  Along the way we passed lots of small waterfalls, rushing streams and lush farmland.  There were a few ski areas along the way, so we saw some ski jumps and slalom courses.  After a couple of hours we arrived in the town.  Because of its location, Voss is a sportsman’s paradise. There are lakes, mountains and white water rivers, so a host of sports are available.  The last week in June is Extreme Sports Week and we saw people preparing for white water rafting and kayaking, skydivers and parasailors. 

Tvinde Waterfall

 

One of hundreds of rushing rivers we saw

Our group was served a buffet lunch in Fleischers Hotel, a picturesque building right next to the train tracks.  The dining room was quite ornate with lots of dark wood.  The food was pretty good.  After lunch we boarded the local train to Myrdal which is at an altitude of 2850 feet.  We had a short wait there before we boarded the Flåm railway.

 

Al with a very large troll

Signpost on the Myrdal platform

The Flåm railway is a 12.6 mile line which goes from 2850 feet to sea level at the Sognefjord.  Along the way it passes through twenty tunnels and one bridge.  The railway was begun in the 1920’s, took 20 years to build, and has a gradient of 1:18.  It is truly a marvel!  Along the way we made one stop for photos at Kjosfossen.  The waterfall drops about 740 feet and is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Norway.  One thing that makes it of particular interest is that in the summer months, art students dressed as a legendary forest character called a Huldra dance and sing in front of the falls.  The Huldra is supposed to be a beautiful woman who has a cow’s tail under her dress.  Legend has it that the only way she can lose her tail is to marry a religious man.  Unfortunately I didn’t capture any pictures of the Huldra.

Kjosfossen  Sorry no Huldras in the picture

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The end of the line was a hundred meters from the tender dock.  After a long day we were ready to head back to the ship and watch our sailaway through the fjords.