Fjord Norway lives up to the hype. Any preconceived notion of grandeur you may have about Norway and it’s fjords, will be surpassed upon actually visiting there. Margaret and I ventured to this stunning part of the world, by catching the Oslo to Bergen train on an early Sunday morning in late August. Well, that’s not quite true, yes it was damn early, it was a 6am train ride, and yes it was the Oslo to Bergen route, but Bergen wasn’t the destination. 5.5 hours into the 7 hour haul to Bergen, we alighted from the train at a little junction, come town, called Myrdal. Myrdal is the jump off point for mountain biking enthusiasts and for those folk headed for the world famous Flåm railway, or Flåmsbana as it’s dubbed locally. We were in the latter group.

The Flåm railway descends from mountainous heights, (860 metres above sea level in fact) in a  seemingly downward and graceful arc, cutting through green valleys, passing magnificent waterfalls careering down the sides of valley walls, all on route to the fjord hub town of Flåm. One such waterfall was the tumultuous Kjosfossen. Such a magnificent spectacle and the train allowed us 5 minutes out onto the platform to take it in. It was almost serene, apart from the fact that the falls were thundering, and the rest of the Flåm railway tourist throng were all vying to take in the view as well. Add to the melee, the injection of Norwegian pantomime; a couple of wigged Norwegian nymphs dancing to some mystical music at the foot of the falls – and my original wonder at the scenery, drew a couple of nonplussed breaths at this staged performance. If they were really Norwegian nymphs why were they wearing blonde wigs? Yes, we were definitely on the Norwegian tourist trail.

Mystic Kjosfossen

Flåmsbana, Flåm Railway

The tourist mobbed train arrived at Flåm within about 45 minutes. While the scenery was spectacular, the experience was also interesting having random tourists ignore all rules of personal space, and literally stand on top of you to gain access to a window for a photo. This does not happen on London’s Underground, but it happens on the Flåm railway. One guy attracted the ire of a number of fellow passengers by flitting across the carriage, window to window, like a deranged lune – leaning over people who were seated, admiring the view through a 2×2 inch LCD screen. But we eventually arrived in Flåm and checked into our hotel, the Fretheim, the only hotel it would seem in Flåm, given that most people tend to jump straight onto a ferry to take in the fjords of Aurlandsfjorden and Nærøyfjorden on route to Gudvangen. So while the little town was bustling at 1pm when we arrived, come late afternoon, Flam was like a ghost-town. We took a short 3km hike up to another waterfall, Brekkefossen to while away the afternoon. Time well spent, as we barely saw a soul and it was nice to sit by a truly serene waterfall, take some photos. No impromptu Norwegian nymphs in sight. You can see a photo I took at Brekkefossen in my previous blog entry.

The following morning we did as the tourist throng did the day before and did a round trip from Flam to Gudvangen. The ferry ride was 2 hours each way, and takes you up Aurlandsfjorden and then hangs a left down another fjord branch, into Nærøyfjorden. Both fjords were magnificent, but my favourite was certainly Nærøyfjorden. As the ferry turned into Nærøyfjorden the looming white cliffs and the rolling grey of the early morning clouds made for a surreal scene.

Entering Nærøyfjorden

Nærøyfjorden is the narrowest fjord in Norway, and perhaps this accentuates the height of the surrounding cliffs. They certainly felt imposing. Equally stunning were the many reflections on the water. The water was surprisingly still considering there was a stiff breeze blowing, and I took a flurry of what would be the first of many Norwegian reflection photos. One final highlight before arriving in Gudvangen was seeing some seals, relaxing on a small rock outcrop, quite oblivious to the size of the ferry and its gawping cargo. In actual fact the journey reminded me very much of Milford Sound, New Zealand’s premier fjord on it’s South Island. Margaret and I visited there in 2002, and in actual fact was my first experience of any fjord.

Nærøyfjorden Reflections

Gudvangen was a little more sedate. It clearly is just a quick stop for people who undertake the “Norway in a Nutshell” tour. Most people from here have a bus waiting to take them on to Voss, where they then pick up the Oslo-Bergen train again and either head onto Bergen or some even head back to Oslo as part of a day-trip. Perhaps, that wasn’t entirely fair, Gudvangen was still a pretty place. Quite like Flåm it’s nestled in the nook of a fjord, with waterfall glazed mountains looming on both sides. We did a short walk while we were there, the only walk by the looks of it, before making our way back to the tourist centre and eventually the ferry for our trip back to Flåm.

Lone Kayaker, Nærøyfjorden, Gudvangen

Gull, Aurlandsfjorden

So, why had we gone back on ourselves? Well, I had it in my head that I wanted to do a fjord cruise on Norway’s largest fjord, Sognefjorden. As it happens the ferry company Fjord1 does cruises from Flåm to Bergen via Sognefjorden, so this was the following day’s itinerary. It’s quite a journey at 6 hours, but thought it would be a little different from following the tourist hoards onto Bergen.

The ferry from Flåm to Bergen didn’t leave the following day until 3pm. So, we whiled away the morning, by flanking the eastern side of the fjord to a quiet headland, past the two rather conspicuous cruise liners that had hauled up to Flam during the night and were offloading tourists in a flurry of orange boats in monotonous rhythm. The little headland was great. Beautiful Aurlandsfjorden all to ourselves. Margaret read a book and I scouted for photos. The first one below is of serene Aurlandsfjorden, and the second is of a bee, one of many which were visiting these purple flowers.

Relaxing in Aurlandsfjorden

Working in Aurlandsfjorden

The afternoon came, and we took not a ferry this time, but a Super-Cat to Bergen. What took us about an hour to get to the neck of Nærøyfjorden the day before, was a mere 20 minutes on the Super-Cat, and this time instead of veering left for Gudvangen, we continued northwards along Aurlandsfjorden to the mighty Sognefjorden. In actual fact it is not just Norway’s largest fjord, but the world’s second largest fjord at over 200km in length. The largest being Scoresby Sound in Greenland. (Thanks Wikipedia)

Sognefjord was certainly vast  and we stopped at many small towns along the way, from Leikanger to Balestrand and then to Lavik. We would be passing through Lavik again in a couple of days time as it is the northern port for the car ferry crossing across the fjord. One of the highlights of the cruise was catching a glimpse of a glacier tongue of the Jostedalsbreen ice-cap, poking its way over a mountain’s saddle on approach to the town of Balestrand. Jostedalsbreen is mainland Europe’s largest ice-cap. After braving frigid winds, the Super-Cat eventually left the fjord for the Norwegian sea. At this point we headed southwards through a seemingly interminable archipelago of islands and waterways before finally arriving in Bergen harbour at about 9am.

Bergen was a quaint town, notable for its fishing trade and incessant rain. We spent a full day in the town, taking in the bustle of the fish-market and paying particular interest in the Minke whale steaks that were proudly on display in the stalls. Norway is one of a few countries in the world that still partake in whale hunting, and so it was a bit odd to see it flaunted on the displays as though it was a prime bit of rump. Indeed, one sign was advertising whale toast as a breakfast snack. After our little visit, we made our way up to Mt Føyen via the cable car, this despite the rain. We took a few short walks up the top, but the weather was quite bad, so we spent a good part of it admiring the ducks on a lake. Quite a come down from having experienced the majesty of Norwegian fjords the day before. Giving up on the ducks and the rain we discovered shortly after that Norwegians don’t really do coffee cafe culture. A Norwegian coffee is drawn from a pot of dark instant, which seemingly pervades most places that pass themselves off for a cafe. We stuck to Norwegian tea. That afternoon, the rain eased a little, so I attempted to take some photos of Bergen’s fascinating Hanseatic wharf. I say attempted because there was many a shower while taking the pictures.

Bergen’s Hanseatic Wharf

The colours of Bergen

I did have more success during the night of capturing the essence of Bergen. The first shot was taken in a bar on the Bryggen. The most notable point of the night was the beautiful interior of the pub, and the 150 Kroners for 2 drinks, or 15 pounds sterling for a bottle of Heineken and a Malibu and diet coke to be precise. We had a 30 quid night. The music was good, despite the fleecing we had at the bar. Case in point, Norway is the world’s most expensive country.

Night Life on the Bryggen

The next photo was taken using a tripod and cable release. The exposure was around 3 seconds and Bergen harbour never looked more stunning. Maybe the Norwegians don’t notice the rain, especially during the winter months, when daylight is a mere few hours and the city is lit up most of the time?

Bergen by Night

That concluded the first half of our Norwegian journey.The following day we hired a car and headed northwards to Stryn, our launching pad for visiting the Jostedalsbreen ice cap. But that’s the next blog entry. In the mean-time, you can check out more photos from our Fjord Norway Experience here.