Norway in a Nutshell
When we first started Norway in a Nutshell, a guided tour through the fjords in Norway, I was a bit overwhelmed. Two trains, a ferry, and a bus? All it took was one glance out the train window, and I knew I would enjoy every second.
For those of you who are reading my posts as I release them, you’ll notice that I haven’t been writing about travel recently because I’ve been a little distracted by other things, like the global pandemic. But now I have been looking back at some of my old travel adventures that I never got to post and I thought it would be fun to revisit some memories of travel the way it once was! So without further ado…
We started the morning early on the train platform with our bags and our lunches packed. The first day of travel would be composed of two trains and, of course, many picturesque sites! We bought our tickets through a travel company that organizes your trains and then the ferry. The tour can be spread out over two days or condensed into one long day. Even though buying tickets for the tour is what we did, I wouldn’t say that you need to use the company to get the tour. You could just find the trains and purchase tickets on your own, even though it would take more research. It’s only a bit more money for the tour. For us, it was better to stick with an experienced planning company because we were in a place that we didn’t know how to navigate. There’s not much to explain about the train except for the fact that the first train was assigned seating and the second was not. Out of the window, there were streams and lakes. There is no bad view from seats on the trains, so whichever side that you get, it doesn’t really matter. I enjoyed the ride and had to make sure that I was stocked up on audiobooks so that I could relax, listen to a good book, and take in the beautiful view of the fjords. Fjords are bodies of water nestled in between cliffs. The fjords are formed from glaciers cutting into the land and forming a valley or canyon. Then, the glacier melts within that space and creates a spot for water from an ocean or lake to flow in. Some of the fjords are over 2.5 million years old!
On the way to Flåm, a town nestled within the fjords, the train stopped and everyone got out to look at a waterfall. We 
thought it would just be a scenic outlook, but there was an unexpected performance! On one of the largest waterfalls in the fjords (the one where we stopped), there is a myth that sirens would lure men into their clutches. As we were told this story over a loudspeaker, suddenly music started, and we saw a dancer dancing all over the rocks around the waterfall, pretending to be a siren! Even though it’s just a myth, they put on quite a show of singing and dancing right on the edges of the waterfall! It’s touristy, but still super fun! The woman kept popping up in one place, disappearing, and popping up in the opposite spot. That part made me think that perhaps it was two dancers and not one, but it’s magical if you don’t try and figure out how they’re doing it. Also, there are ruins of a house next to the waterfall, so the performers were in the ultimate spot, as it is quite dramatic.
After the waterfall, we went back onto the train until we arrived at Flåm. Flåm is a quaint little town. It barely has anything in it except for the hotels and other accommodations for guests like restaurants and shops. We arrived there at about one in the afternoon. We stayed the night there at a hotel, which was simple and very homey, with a home-style dinner and board games in the common areas. We visited the town’s small train museum, which was boring, but we had to do it because it was free (yes, this can sometimes qualify as a reason to do something in my family). We then wandered around the paths near the water, which I found to be much more enjoyable. We even found a plaque that marked the spot of an old cave carving. We wandered around and skipped stones in the water from the rocky beach.
The next morning, we headed to the ferry, which you could have gotten onto straight off the train, but we wanted to break it up with the night in Flam so that we wouldn’t have to rush the trip. Doing it all in one day would have been really exhausting. The views from the ferry were breathtakingly beautiful, with soaring hills on either side and even 
some cliffs. We got piping hot chocolate and watched the clear water and soaring hills go by. There was a beautiful breeze and I really enjoyed standing out on the deck. The clouds were floating among the mountains and I wondered what it would be like to live up there. No civilization, no neighborhood, and -eek!- no public library.
After the ferry, we headed to a small bus stop. The bus soon arrived and, because it was raining, it was quite a rush to get on the bus with all of our bags dry. We made it on time, but I might recommend just bringing a small bag of essentials and sending the large suitcases off to your next hotel, which is a service they offer. I like to be prepared, but in this case, less is more! When we boarded the bus, we were soaked and looking forward to a calm, quiet ride to the train station. Instead, we got a stressful hour of hairpin turns! It was wet and slippery outside, and we were riding on a road with lots of curves, with the bus constantly on the edge of cliffs. In the end, the beautiful views looking into the fjord made the trip all worth it. Seeing the fjords from outside in the train, then inside on the boat, and then from above in the bus made me understand why it was important to take such a complicated journey, with three different vehicles. Our driver was quite talented because he got us through the treacherous road. I cannot imagine the stress of having to drive that every day! When we arrived at the train station, we headed onto our train to Bergen, saying goodbye to the adventures of the past few days.
GET READY FOR MY NEXT ADVENTURE – BERGEN!
I want to go there. Although reading this is the next best thing.