Turns out that Bergen has the highest rainfall in all of Scandinavia. And today proves that well and truly. But I will have any one day of rain to appreciate the brilliant clear sunshine that follows - especially if that is tomorrow when we get to go to Geiranger and the Trollstingen Pass to Molde where we look down along the length of the fjords.
Today began again with a bit of a scare. Got up to go to the bathroom early and in returning to bed, walked along the mirror that is the length of the room and gave myself a fright when I passed the magnified section for makeup or shaving. OMG I am NOT an early morning person. Note to self: avert your eyes when passing mirrors! 😂
Breakfast was included at the Best Western Hotell Hordaheimen, the first that has been so on this trip thus far. Breakfast was great - good selection of hot and cold, fruit and cheeses, meats and salads, cereals and yoghurts, eggs of all cooked varieties, bacon and sausages. We ate our fill before returning for our luggage which they held for us for the day.
Then we set out on foot to go around to Bryggen, 900m around the front of the port and through the local 'farmers' markets. What do you think they farm around here? Well, that would be fish, oysters, prawns, mussels, crabs; and berries - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries and cherries; and small-goods made from moose and deer and whale. That was the some total of the offerings at the markets, mind you there were many multiples of sellers in each category. And one lone soft serve ice cream vendor at the very end. As we (under our umbrellas) walked past each of the sellers, they would have one of their staff dedicated to touting for business mostly young girls. And they were very good at it! Marchiella caught our attention showing us the ENORMOUS Norwegian Oysters and the smaller and smoother Fjord oysters. And the trolls guarded the condiments!
Bergen was once the capital of Norway and it was ruled from the old part of the city - Byrggen. Bryggen has existed since just after the Viking Age of 1070 and as it stands now was constructed after the Great Fire of 1702. You cannot help but wonder at how it does burn to the ground far more often. The last fire was in 1955. We heard sirens and saw a fire truck coming screaming along the road and the crowd collectively took in a breath! Its ok, its none of the row of historic shop fronts that we duck in and out of to escape the rain. In fact Donna is sure that it is those wet days that is what is protecting the timber from burning again!
The front of the shops are wonky and nothing is really straight. While all lined up, they are very picturesque, up close you can see the strain reflected in different ways - a door that does not lineup with its lintel, a set of steps narrow and steep that go up on an angle, whole buildings that tiredly lean against each other as though to prop themselves up. A number of them are empty with historic displays in their windows and a few others are under renovation. The shops that front the quay in these shops are the big name tourist outlets and one or two woolen shops or adventure gear shops. We can only begin to guess what the rents must be like in a city that is very expensive. I did support the local commerce with the purchase of a Norway coastline cross-stitch kit. Don't ask, it doesn't matter, I like it!
We had read up on Bryggen before we arrived here and know that there are a number of timber floored alleys and arcades and that towards the back of these are local artisans - we found jewellers, woollen goods sellers, artists, leatherworkers, christmas decoration shops etc. I have been waiting to get here to buy a new cardigan to replace the one I left on the plane, accidently. We found ourselves in Susan Fosse's shop where I found just the thing. Again don't ask, I'm not telling!!
The boards are damp underfoot and I am terrified of slipping. After seeing two other people do just that, I am happy to leave these little timbered gems for the cobbled streets outside. The rain turns quite heavy for a while and we, along with a whole lot of other tourists, take shelter in doorways and under awnings. For a little while we even hanker down into a wall, protected from the worst by our umbrellas.
Finally the rain lets up enough for us to walk back to the taxi rank and get a cab back to the hotel where we stayed last night about 1:30 pm.
We can go down to the terminal - it opened at 13:00, but cannot book our luggage in until 15:30. The hotel is warm and dry, and we can get a glass of wine and some nuts to while away the time. Donna ventures out to see whether we can walk around to the Terminal with our luggage, but reports that it is located in the next port around the headland and up and over a large hill. Settles that, we will cab it.
The hotel concierge brings our luggage from the luggage room and orders us a taxi, telling us that the fare we should pay is 153 NOK. Glad he did that because when we got in to the taxi, the driver asked how we would be paying (I always pay card as there is a record and less likelihood of the meter not being turned on) at which point he tells us the fare will be 240 NOK. We disagree, and so he says well 160 NOK, but we stick to our guns and invite him to go and check with the hotel concierge. At this point he becomes rude and sullen but agrees to the fare. I can only think how many tourists he has ripped off. Will let the hotel know as we took the cab number.
And so finally we find ourselves at the Hurtigruten Ship Terminal. We only booked this in July, but it feel like a lifetime ago. Check in is done and we head upstairs to the cafe to wait boarding which is running an hour late. Console ourselves with a hot chocolate and a waffle while we watch the rain come and go. Come 5 pm when the crew open boarding, there is an almighty rush - as though to get the best seats! Hang on, we all have allocated cabins, so what is the rush.
Finally we are on board. Safety briefing done and dusted. Cabin located - quite spacious even if not a suite with a WINDOW that does not open on to a deck so we can have an uninterrupted view from here. We decide to wait a little while before heading up for dinner and let the panicked hordes go first. Just as well we did, there was still a line up at 8:30 pm. From here on in, we are allocated seatings, so it should be ok.
Dinner for all and sundry tonight is a buffet. Cold meats and fishes, hot dishes, salads, cheeses and crackers with fruit spreads, and desserts. We skip the hot dishes so we can have a little of the rest. The reindeer meat with lingonberries was 'interesting'. Beefy, but not, gamey, but not. Something in between the two. will be good to try it hot for a comparison!
We set sail right on 21:30 and pass out through the port areas, hugging the coast for a little while before we head out in to the open water of the Atlantic Ocean at the lighthouse. OMG the ship is rocking and rolling aghhhhhhhhh and the rain is slamming in to the window. Hopefully it will just rock us to sleep. Guess that I am about to find out. Time for bed - nite all.
Day one of the ' Oh my god's '
Sunday in Oslo is quiet. If we thought that the centre of town was quiet on other days/nights, this morning was dead. Literally. Until we got to the railway station about 5 blocks away, we saw the sum total of three people!
The day began with a little scare. Instead of adding a block to our (read my) walk, we chose to go down the back exit which meant that Donna had to carry the suitcases down a flight of stairs. So far, so good. Get to the bottom of the stairs and open the heavy exit door, Donna carries the cases out, she is now outside the building and then just before the door closes behind me, we realise that the heavy, huge iron gates - you know the massive ones that you see at the opening of many historic buildings in Europe, were closed and locked with a padlock. All of them. On both sides of the building. Its about 07:25 am and the train goes in an hour. So I jam my foot in the door while Donna checks out the exit. Little scare, not a big one - there is an exit release - phew!!! Disaster averted.
The road is damp underfoot - it must have rained during the night, but the morning is clear and cool. Lugging our (getting heavier) suitcases it takes us about 15 minutes to walk to the station and get our bearings. And, thanks to Murphy's Law, our carriage is the furthest one out. We finally make the door, lug the suitcases up the steps and find a spot to store them in the luggage vestibule. As we move in to the carriage, we find it filled with the passengers of an Indian tour group AND four of them are in our seats.
One of them wanted an argument, but man, that wasn't going to happen. We stayed firm and it was only a couple of moments before the tour guide came and insisted that the four of them return to their allotted seats. He took one of the last two and just as the train was due to depart, in rushed the last passenger - Kimberly, a nurse from Venice Beach in California. We hit it off straight away and have made a new friend!
Both Donna and I feel that today really starts the trip of adventure - even though we have now been travelling for a week and seen and experienced some wonderful things.
Today we are doing a self-guided tour called Norway in a Nutshell. It involves five legs:
- train Oslo to Myrdal
- scenic train Myrdal to Flam
- boat cruise Flam to Gudvangen
- tour bus Gudvangen to Voss
- train Voss to Bergen.
The train departs Oslo smack on time at 08:25 am. It is not long out of the City Sentrum before we begin to encounter the working day for some, with farmers harvesting cauliflowers in the morning dew. Its not long before we find ourselves in bucolic scenes from some European folksong. The streams and rivers are bubbling alongside us in every shade of glacial blue and the open meadows morph into valleys between towering mountains. And yes, we do mean mountains, not the hillmountains we have back home.
And still we have the reach the real Oh. My. God. Scenery.
We pass by the Geitanosi glacier, near Finse where the snow scenes from Star Wars was filmed - the things you never knew! Finse is the highest railway station on the entire Norwegian railway system at only 1222 m!
And pass through tunnels before reaching Myrdal and changing for the the Flåm Line is a 20.2 km long railway line between Myrdal and Flåm in Aurland, Norway. A branch line of the Bergen Line, it runs through the valley of Flåmsdalen and connects the mainline with Sognefjord. The line's elevation difference is 866 meters; it has ten stations, twenty tunnels and one bridge. The steepest incline is 1:18 - and without cogs!
Even though the journey to Myrdal takes 4 hours, the time flies. As we pass Finse we see little huts hunkered down hugging the earth as if to protect themselves from the cold winters. Many have moss and alpine plants including flowers growing on their roof, like a blanket keeping in the warmth. Kimberly is not travelling to Flåm today, but going direct to Bergen so before we leave the train, we exchange contact details and make loose plans to catch up tomorrow in Bergen.
Crossing the platform takes us to the departure point for the Flåm railway. The Flåm railway is considered to be the world's most beautiful train journey and provides a panorama of some of the wildest and most magnificent mountain scenery in Norway at any time of the year. There are rivers carving their way through deep gorges, waterfalls leaping off steep mountainsides with snow-covered mountain peaks, as well as mountain
farms clinging tenaciously to steep slopes. Down at the bottom, you can enjoy the scenic cultural landscape of the Flåm Valley and admire the beautiful Aurlandsfjord. On the way, the train makes a stop to allow everyone to get off the train to take photos at the Kjosfossen Falls where the Hulda sang to lure us into the waters of the waterfall. Thankfully no-one succumbed!
We continue our journey down the valleys into Flåm railway station. The scenery is jaw-breakingly beautiful and the camera and our two phones get a massive workout today. If you want to see more of the photos, then ask us to put on a slide show for you when we get back!
At the end of the line, we have arrived at Flåm harbour. We have a chance to catch a breather here and meet three American sisters travelling together for the first time to visit their grandfather's birthplace near Bergen. We grabbed a coffee and an amazing Pistachio biscuits with chocolate and raisins. Crisp on the outside and chewy inside. It was the size of a bread and butter plate! Mmmmm.
Here we catch a Fjord cruise on Nærøyfjord with Fjord Norway. You know those times when you say that you couldn't get the whole vista in one photo? Well, up close this is what the scenery is like. Mountains tower over you and dwarf elfin little hamlets and villages with perfectly manicured lawns right to the water's edge, surrounded by untamed brutality of the mountains and thundering waterfalls (nice description Donna). Everywhere you look is another view down another finger of a gorge or a fjord. It really is an oh. my. god. day.
The two hour trip is done all too soon and we dash for a bus that will take us up and over the mountain into Voss. We head out the only road into the Gudvangen harbour and then the coach pauses before the driver turns off the perfectly good double lane road on to the old highway that was the only access until 1981 for traffic in both directions. This is a very steep mountain pass road with 11 switchbacks immediately one after the other. The bus creeps down most of it in low gear doing about 10 kph. Which is good for anybody wanting photos of the stunning mountain peaks or waterfalls (if you can get a clear view while staying seated in a seatbelt, and vying for window space with your seat partner. Behind us are the other two buses that met the cruise boat. If one goes,it is likely that we will all go!
Soon enough, we reach the bottom and rejoin the new highway for the remainder of the trip in to Voss where we clamber over makeshift steel and planking walkways to the train for our last leg of the day. Old Murphy obviously thought he had tortured us enough for one day as on the final train trip down to Bergen we are in the second car. We are travelling through increasing urban areas, although still manage to go through two ski resorts, one complete with Ski Jump. We pass through a multitude of tunnels and by the way our ears are popping, we are dropping in altitude rapidly. In 90 minutes we reach Bergen arriving right on 9 pm, 13 hours after we left Oslo this morning. A distance of 463.9 km in the most direct route and 7 hours by car. And do you know, I would not have changed a thing.
The hotel doesn't have a restaurant but we passed the fish markets about a block and a half back so Donna heads out to get some fish and chips. The prawns are tiny, frozen and $65 AUD per kilo. Crab claws were $100 kg and the king crab,well there wasn't even a price on them and you know the saying that if you have to ask the price you can't afford it.
Lovely fresh white fish (but quite bland) and chips that the seagulls back home would refuse, but washed down with a bottle of Italian Chardonnay, worked a treat. Was definitely a better $60 spend on the wine than the same cost for the takeaway meal! Meanwhile, Bergen by night looks lovely and everything we have read of the old port area sounds intriguing. Some exploring early tomorrow, perhaps a catch up with Kimberley before we board the Kong Harald to sail north later in the day. How exciting!
Breakfast was included at the Best Western Hotell Hordaheimen, the first that has been so on this trip thus far. Breakfast was great - good selection of hot and cold, fruit and cheeses, meats and salads, cereals and yoghurts, eggs of all cooked varieties, bacon and sausages. We ate our fill before returning for our luggage which they held for us for the day. 
Then we set out on foot to go around to Bryggen, 900m around the front of the port and through the local 'farmers' markets. What do you think they farm around here? Well, that would be fish, oysters, prawns, mussels, crabs; and berries - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, boysenberries and cherries; and small-goods made from moose and deer and whale. That was the some total of the offerings at the markets, mind you there were many multiples of sellers in each category. And one lone soft serve ice cream vendor at the very end. As we (under our umbrellas) walked past each of the sellers, they would have one of their staff dedicated to touting for business mostly young girls. And they were very good at it! Marchiella caught our attention showing us the ENORMOUS Norwegian Oysters and the smaller and smoother Fjord oysters. And the trolls guarded the condiments!
Bergen was once the capital of Norway and it was ruled from the old part of the city - Byrggen. Bryggen has existed since just after the Viking Age of 1070 and as it stands now was constructed after the Great Fire of 1702. You cannot help but wonder at how it does burn to the ground far more often. The last fire was in 1955. We heard sirens and saw a fire truck coming screaming along the road and the crowd collectively took in a breath! Its ok, its none of the row of historic shop fronts that we duck in and out of to escape the rain. In fact Donna is sure that it is those wet days that is what is protecting the timber from burning again! 
The front of the shops are wonky and nothing is really straight. While all lined up, they are very picturesque, up close you can see the strain reflected in different ways - a door that does not lineup with its lintel, a set of steps narrow and steep that go up on an angle, whole buildings that tiredly lean against each other as though to prop themselves up. A number of them are empty with historic displays in their windows and a few others are under renovation. The shops that front the quay in these shops are the big name tourist outlets and one or two woolen shops or adventure gear shops. We can only begin to guess what the rents must be like in a city that is very expensive. I did support the local commerce with the purchase of a Norway coastline cross-stitch kit. Don't ask, it doesn't matter, I like it!
We can go down to the terminal - it opened at 13:00, but cannot book our luggage in until 15:30. The hotel is warm and dry, and we can get a glass of wine and some nuts to while away the time. Donna ventures out to see whether we can walk around to the Terminal with our luggage, but reports that it is located in the next port around the headland and up and over a large hill. Settles that, we will cab it.
And so finally we find ourselves at the Hurtigruten Ship Terminal. We only booked this in July, but it feel like a lifetime ago. Check in is done and we head upstairs to the cafe to wait boarding which is running an hour late. Console ourselves with a hot chocolate and a waffle while we watch the rain come and go. Come 5 pm when the crew open boarding, there is an almighty rush - as though to get the best seats! Hang on, we all have allocated cabins, so what is the rush.
