Day Tripper

Now for the grand finale!

On our last day in Bergen, we went on the Norway in a Nutshell tour. We took a train on the Bergen Railway from Bergen to Myrdal. At Myrdal, we got on the Flåm Railway which took us to the town of Flåm where we boarded a ship that cruised along Aurlandsfjord and Nærøyfjord which are both branches of Sognefjord. We left the ship at Gudvangen and took a bus to Voss where we then boarded a local train back to Bergen. The entire trip took about 10 hours. It was a long day with a lot of traveling, but it was well worth it!

Our route

View from the train from Bergen to Myrdal.

Waiting to board the Flåm Railway (Flåmsbana) at Myrdal Station.

The Flåmsbana runs from Myrdal at an altitude of 866 meters, to Flåm, which is just 2 meters above sea level. It is the steepest normal gauge railway in Northern Europe.

The Flåmsbana stopped at Kjosfossen waterfall.

The waterfall falls a total of 308 feet.

The water is used to produce electricity for the Flåm Railway (among other things).

We couldn't believe how blue some of the frozen waterfalls were!

View of Aurlandsfjord from the town of Flåm. As the cruise left, I spotted a harbor porpoise! Holy wildlife!

It was very cold on the boat, but my dad spent almost the entire time on deck snapping photos. I would say it was his favorite part of their entire trip to Norway.

Aurlandsfjord is is about 12.5 miles long and is one of many tributaries of the Sognefjord.

Like other fjords, the Sognefjord was carved by glaciers during the many ice ages in the last 2-3 million years.

Originally, the fjords were only small cracks in the mountain massif which ice and water have gradually gouged out, making them deep enough to come into contact with the sea outside.

Sognefjord is Norway's longest and deepest fjord.

Nærøyfjord is 12 miles long and only 820 feet wide.

UNESCO listed Nærøyfjord in its famous World Heritage List in 2005.

Norway has the highest concentration of fjords in the world.

This is one of Jake's photos, and though I didn't want to admit it when he was here, it is a pretty darn good picture!

Thank you, Mom, Dad, and Jake for coming to visit us. We enjoyed having you here, and in your words, Dad, "Thanks for coming and thanks for going!" I'll see you at home in no time.