Fläm, Norway
This morning’s scene is even more incongruous than yesterday’s—we are docked alongside the tiny village of Fläm, whose sole purpose is to sell trinkets and serve as the lower end of the Fläm-Myrdal railway connection, the steepest non-rack train in the world. The line was built to connect the shipping routes of the Aurlandsfjord and the longer Sognefjord with the Oslo-Bergen rail line in Myrdal. The ride is only 50 minutes each way, but the views of farms, villages and waterfalls are spectacular, as are the tunnels drilled through the mountainside. The train loops around sharp climbing curves and as I look below I can see the tunnels and covered track protectors I passed through only a few moments before. The train stops for a 15-minute picture opportunity at a three-tier waterfall that cascades down below the tracks to the fjord; the year-round ice fields at the top of the mountains provide a constant source of torrential water.
There’s not much to do at the top, except admire the views (and the engineers who built the railway), and enjoy Norwegian waffles with jam and sour cream at the Vatnahalsen Hotel, just a few meters below the Myrdal station. The ride down to Fläm is equally exciting, especially given the opportunity to sit on the other side of the train. I share seats with a retired couple from Belgium, who are really excited about their first trip to New York.
On my first trip to Europe in 1968 I took an overnight train from Oslo to Bergen, saving some money by sleeping enroute. I hadn’t even planned to visit Norway at all during that 12-week trip, but Sweden was very expensive (I was a poor graduate student at the time), so after one day in Stockholm, I spent several nights on trains getting to and back from Bergen. Since I hadn’t researched this part of my trip, I was surprised when most everyone got off the train in Myrdal instead of heading directly west to Bergen. I soon learned that it was the spectacular train down from Myrdal to Fläm and then the trip by boat from Fläm to Bergen that everyone was opting for. Since I missed this trip back then I am happy to report that I have finally made that ride, albeit 44 years later.
After the train ride I have plenty of time to wander the few shops and local railway museum in Fläm before returning to the ship. The cruise director had informed everyone that the souvenir shop in Fläm is known as “the most expensive store in Norway.” And they sure have a captive audience, since there’s nothing else in town.
At six pm the Eurodam does another big U-turn as we prepare for a scenic sail down the Sognefjord. I visited several wonderful fjords on my Norway-Scotland cruise last summer, but the Sognefjord gives the best views for the money—and it’s the narrowest and deepest in Europe. Tour Guide Ian provides narration as the ship glides quietly (it’s amazing how quiet this big ship can be) down to the North Sea near Bergen. The bow of the ship is again open for passengers to feel as close as possible to the mountains that tower above.
Those of you who have followed my earlier cruises will note that I’m not saying much about food this time. I’ll just report that it is as varied and well-prepared as on other Holland America cruises and I am quite pleased with the servers at my table.
The Captain keeps us updated on the weather and hopes to outrun the storm by skipping our next port, Lerwick in the Shetland Islands, and heading straight for Reykjavik. I hope he’s right.
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