Day 4 - Oslo to Flam to Balestrand

Our train left Oslo fairly early. The ride was about four hours to Myrdal, where we would switch trains onto the famous Flam Railway. It was an easy ride. When we bought the tickets all the coach seats were sold out so we had to buy comfort class. Which turned out to be totally worth it, especially since it was only about $12 difference. The country side changed frequently as we headed west. For some time, it was just rolling hills, lakes, rivers, and small towns. Then we started to gain altitude and it started to look a lot like Colorado. As we started to get closer to Myrdal, it started to look more like some sort of grassy moon scape. Craggy rocks covered with mosses and grass, broken up by waterfalls and lakes. Not a tree to be seen. The train station is Myrdal is precariously perched on the edge of the mountain, about 900 metres above sea level. Loading onto the train to Flam was hectic, we no longer had assigned seats so everyone was trying to pile on in a hurry. The train itself looks old, exactly what you would choose to carry you through this pristine valley. Flam is at sea level, and is about 25 kilometres away from Myrdal. So it's a pretty steep trip down.





At first I didn't think I got that good of a seat, I would have rather been next to the window with a better view. But once we got moving, I realized it was just fine that I was sitting on the aisle. I had a perfectly good view, and I didn't have to see just how close to the edge we were. The view was amazing all the way down. Sometimes it was rushing waterfalls, sometimes it was tiny little villages nestled into the valley. About a third of the way down, we stopped at a particularly large waterfall and we were able to get off the train for a few minutes to take pictures. After a couple minutes, this music started up and a woman dressed in a flowing gown popped up on the wall of a ruined building and started to dance. I'm guessing it was supposed to be one of the mountain spirits the engineer had told us about, but it was mostly a combination of very odd and gimmicky. At any rate, the waterfall was beautiful!





Flam was a very beautiful town, right on the edge of the fjord. It was bustling with tourists. I'd imagine there is an area where the locals mostly hang out, because I can't imagine them being too excited about going out for dinner in a restaurant swarming with tourists. It's a shame we didn't have more time to explore, but we only had about 30 minutes before our ferry came. We actually talked about staying in Flam for the night. Todd's family comes from a very small town just a few miles away. But we decided to go ahead to Balestrand.



I don't think I can find the words to describe that first sight of the fjord. As the ferry pulled away from the dock, we headed out into scenery that no picture can ever do justice. It's just as well that we were on an express ferry. We may have used up all of our camera batteries otherwise. The water in the fjords looks very different from any other water I've ever seen. This may seem like an odd thing to say, but it's true. Not only are the colors subtle and flowing, the water itself seems to be thicker, smoother. When the water is still, it looks like it would feel like liquid silk, somehow more substantial than normal.






We actually went by the small town of Aurland where some of Todd's family came from. We docked, but only very briefly. The express ferries are very good at rapidly getting people on and off the boat.


The rest of the ride was a blur of beauty. Even now, looking back at the pictures, it's hard to believe I was actually there. And it wasn't even that nice of a day. I can't even begin to imagine what it would look like on a crystal clear sunny day, or in the evening with the sun slanting along the water.







I know that's a lot of photos, but it's actually a very small fraction of the number we took.

We got to Balestrand in the mid afternoon. It's a decent sized town, right at the entry of several arms of the fjord. It has a resort feel to it, decent hotels and great access to the fjords. We ended up spending more for a hotel that we had planned, but I didn't feel like spending an hour hiking around town with 25 pounds on my back. It ended up working out pretty well, as we had a wonderful view out of our room.