After our time in Oslo, we woke up early had dropped our luggage off with a porter service to take our luggage to Bergen. We would be without it for a couple days. We felt pretty good about the service since he showed up right on time....we will revisit that later!
In order to make our way across Norway we scheduled tickets through Norway in a nutshell. This is a set of tickets on trains, busses and boats to make your way across the country. We started with a train out of Oslo to Mydard. We switched trains in Mydard and boarded the Flambana. This train ride to Flam is known as one of the most beautiful train rides in the world. It certainly didn't disappoint! We saw many waterfalls and gorgeous scenery. At one point we were able to get out briefly to take pictures next to a huge waterfall! During this stop we were first introduced to the "houdres". Beautiful women singing on a mountaintop in Norway?? Interesting....we would learn more about this later. It was a nice little show they put on during our stop! Upon arriving in Flam we were absolutely floored by the beauty. Flam is at the end of one of the deepest Fjords in the world. They said if you turn the mountaintop over its still not as deep as the water is! Over 4000 ft deep! There is a sunken ship in the fjord from WW2 when a cargo ship was seeking refuge in the town. The townspeople sunk the ship so that it wouldn't cause the Germans a reason to come to Flam.
Before Dinner, on a whim we decided to rent these very small electric cars. Only room for one person in front and one in back. We drove them up the mountain to a lookout point. What a fun excursion! Our hotel was right at the back end of the Fjord and it was called Heimly Pensjonat. One of the more rustic places we stayed but it was very quaint and perfect. Off the beaten path a bit and away from the cruise ships that visit Flam most days. Dinner was even included along with Breakfast! I had the best salmon of the trip at that meal! We concluded our day at the Marina bar just a few steps from our hotel. Anne was still hungry so we had beef nachos and a few drinks to close out our day :)
The next day we were particularly excited for! Kayak trip! We walked down just past the cruise boat stop and found our guides Valerie and Erika. They went over the gear (wet suits, rain coats, other waterproof gear) and then we got a quick lesson in kayaking. This was Bryce and I's first time so lessons were important! It was two people per kayak. As we took off we quickly realized why our guides called them divorce boats :). Luckily we pulled it together and got it figured out! The Woolard's even made it out ok despite their constant zig zagging boat path! We had lots of laughs and heard many fun facts and legends about the area. Halfway through the trip we got out of the boats and did a short hike up to see a waterfall for lunch. It was the perfect place to stop for a snack. The stories we heard were more about the Houdre legend, the Troll's nose, summer farm and the sunken cargo ship just outside of Flam! So many great stories!
Sadly after our kayaking trip it was time to continue our trek across Norway so we boarded a sightseeing cruise in Flam and continued on our Norway in a nutshell tour. The first leg was a cruise through the fjords to a town called Gevundgen. This cruise showed us some of the most beautiful waterfalls and scenery in the world. Waterfall after waterfall, cliff after cliff, we couldn't get enough!! In Gevundgen we quickly boarded a bus and drove to Voss. On that buss ride we took some pretty crazy roads, one of which took us down a cliff through 13 hairpin turns. Once in Voss we took a quick peek at an old church in town and then we boarded a train into Bergen. We finally arrived in Bergen around 9pm. 6 hour trip! Praying our bags had made it we made our way to our hotel. After checking in we all had minor heart attacks for about 30 minutes while we were getting settled because they couldn't find Bryce's bag! Thankfully after a stressful hot minute they found it at a hotel down the Street! We quickly retrieved it and all agreed the trip was saved.
Even though we only had a couple hours in Bergen we made the best of it. We visited a lookout point on the Clarion hotel, got a fresh seafood dinner in the wharf, visited a country western bar and listened to Garth Brooks, and found a hot dog and kebab stand for a late night snack! Whew! What a day!
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