Wodensday 29/11/2017

Bergen to Flam

Sunrise 9.12.am  Sunset 2.31pm -12C

We woke far too early this morning due to a miscalculation of departure times. Never mind, we had the opportunity of carefully repacking our suitcases, and having a luxurious breakfast. No rush at all. Until we were half way down the street and I remembered that I’d forgotten my backpack!!! A minor panic ensued until the errant backpack was retrieved. We got to the railway station in plenty of time to board our train, for the first leg of today’s journey.

The train ride was interesting, although interspersed with frequent tunnels. No one in their right minds would build roads over the mountains left by millions of years of glacial activity. We zipped along the side of a magnificent fjord at one moment, then into a coal black tunnel, then back to scenery growing increasingly more snowy, then back into another tunnel, and finally to Voss.

A 45 minute bus ride from Voss to Gudvangen delivered us to the next section of today’s journey, a cruise by catamaran ferry through the Naeroy Fjord, where small snow bound farmsteads cling precariously to snowy ledges high above the water. We wonder what attracts these people to live such a life, a million miles from anywhere. The Fjord’s waters were millpond calm, with absolutely perfect mirror reflections of the mountains in the water. The sky was blue, and the sun, when it finally made it’s appearance, shon brightly. There were rafts of ice floating on the water, with temperature well into the minus figures.

Our accommodation in Flam, the Fretheim Hotel is very nice indeed. There aren’t too many guests at the moment due to the snow which is piled high against the edges of the roads and buildings. Our room is on the ground floor, and the lawn outside is a carpet of white. We’re expecting an overnight temperature of minus 12C. but the rooms are warm and the doonas thick, and we will be cosy and warm.

Take care and stay safe. Ilze and Pete xo