The Oslo-Bergen rail journey

The Oslo-Bergen rail journey is listed in the top 10 rail journeys of the world. It takes around 7 hours from start to finish but it is time well spent. I joined in at Myrdal which connects the Oslo-Bergen line to the Sognefjord through the Flam railway.

The train journey is at a high altitude and the highest point is Finse at 1222 meters above sea level. Throughout the journey you can see nature at its best.

One of the greatest challenges for the Bergen Line is the harsh and changeable weather. The line is exposed to deep low-pressure centers from the west, which can mean strong winds and heavy snow for part of the year. Keeping the railway open demands great effort and technical expertise. Skilled workers, effective equipment, tunnels and snow tunnels currently make the Bergen Line one of the safest and most comfortable ways of traveling between Oslo and Bergen.

Flam

The Flam railway station

The village Flam is a true delight. It is one of the main stops on the Fjord cruises and is the start/end point of the Flam railway. It is a good place to stop over for a night or two. One can hike in the neighbouring mountains or even explore the neighbouring villages of Gudvangen and Underdal. You can either access these villages by road or by water.

The boat that takes you to the neighbouring villages

Gudvangen has a cave with stalacites and stalagmites but a booking must be made well in advance. Underdal is famous for the stave church and its farms where you can see cheese being made and learn more about organic farming and sheep rearing in Norway.

The Stave church in Underdhal

A sheep farm in Flam

A hotel in Gudvangen

My best moments in Flam were:

- Staying at the historic Freitheim Hotel.
- Walking through the village which is nestled in the foothills of the mountains. The place is scenic with its river running through the village and the lovely waterfalls.
- The beautiful stave church built in 1667, which to my good luck, was open. A stave church is a medieval wooden church with a post and beam construction. Once quite common in Northern Europe, they are now mostly found in Norway.
- The Panaroma film which highlighted the beautiful sights in the different seasons.

The tourist information centre in Flam and the shopping area.

The local pub!

The river runs through it.....

Flam from a height.

In the lobby of the Freitheim Hotel

The comfortable lounge area of the Freitheim Hotel

The beautiful stave church in Flam

The altar of the church

The pulpit with frescoes unique to a stave church

The Flam Railway

The Flåm Railway is one of the worlds steepest railway lines on normal gauge. The gradient is 55/1000 on almost 80% of the line, i.e. a gradient of one in eighteen. The twisting tunnels that spiral in and out of the mountain are manifestations of the most daring and skilful engineering in Norwegian railway history. It took 20 years to complete and connects the Oslo - Bergen railway line to the Sognefjord.

The train journey provides some of Norway's wildest and most magnificent scenery. On the 20 km-long train ride you can see rivers that cut through deep ravines, waterfalls cascade down the side of steep, snow-capped mountains and mountain farms cling dizzily to sheer slopes.

The most time-consuming work when constructing the railway line was on the tunnels. These were excavated manually. Only two of the twenty tunnels, which have a total length of 6 km, were excavated using machines. Every metre of tunnel cost the labour force, the navvies, up to a month's hard work. The labour force, 120 strong at the outset, rapidly increased to 220.

The steep mountainsides were a major challenge, the solution being to build hairpin tunnels in order to equalise the big differences in altitude on the steep mountain. The danger of avalanches and rock falls also constituted a problem. To avoid these hazardous stretches, the line crosses the river and valley three times during the journey, but it does not cross the river on bridges. Instead, the river is led through the mountain in tunnels underneath the railway line.

One can also check out the Flam Museum to understand the history of this engineering marvel.

Cruising on the fjords in Norway

Fjords are found in locations where current or past glaciation extended below current sea level. A fjord is formed when a glacier retreats, after carving its typical U-shaped valley, and the sea fills the resulting valley floor. This forms a narrow, steep sided inlet (sometimes deeper than 1300 metres) connected to the sea. The terminal moraine pushed down the valley by the glacier is left underwater at the fjord's entrance, causing the water at the neck of the fjord to be shallower than the main body of the fjord behind it. http://www.fjords.com/

I had no idea what I was getting into when I decided to go on a fjord cruise. I was pleasantly surprised and totally overwhelmed. I started off in Bergen and took the "Sognefjord in a Nutshell" cruise which commenced in Bergen and ended in Oslo with a trip on the famous Flam railway in between.
http://www.norwaynutshell.com/en/explore-the-fjords/sognefjord-in-a-nutshell/

The Sognefjord, Norway’s longest and deepest fjord, extends more than 200 km inland to the foot of the Jotunheimen mountains. This area is said to be one of the most beautiful travel destinations in the world. We passed quite a few villages some of which had as many as 50 residents and 150 goats! Coming from a populous country like India, it was a novel experience for me.

I decided to stay the night in the small picturesque village of Flåm which is situated innermost in the Aurlandsfjord, an arm of the 204-km long and up to 1308-metre-deep Sognefjord. Flåm is also the start or end station of the popular Flåm Railway, depending which way you commence your journey.

Flåm has a population of appximately 400 inhabitants and it is situated in Aurland municipality, which consists of Flåm, Aurland, Gudvangen and Undredal. 

I also did a cruise on the Nærøyfjord in Sognefjord - Western Norway. It is one of the worlds most beautiful and dramatic fjords! The name Nærøyfjord origin from the norse god 'Njord', the god of the seafarer and the sea. Nærøyfjord is one of many fjordarms in the 204 km long Sognefjord, the 'King of the Fjords'. In 2005 it became a part of UNESCO's World Heritage together with Geirangerfjord.

When you book a cruise, you have the option of making it a day trip or an extended trip with many stops along the way. Whatever you ultimately choose, a cruise on the fjords is breathtaking experience - fresh air, dramatic contrasts, vivid colours, pindrop silence, scenic waterfalls and deep blue waters. You have to experience it for yourself but in the meantime, take a look at some of my pics.

The Stave church of Underdal

Gundvagen

Can you believe this is a hotel?

Lost in the solitude of this place.