Geilo – Myrdal – Flåm – Myrdal – Bergen – Busstasjon – Sandlivegen

I have to say, that the exceptional breakfast in Sweden yesterday had nothing on today’s feast. For all they had a range of interesting and unusual items (Norwegian porridge, anyone?) the complete standout, crazy as it sounds, was the best freshly baked bread I’ve eaten in years.

I really like this hotel, it’s quirky and fun, and I was a little sad to be leaving so soon.

There were flurries of snow in the air as I walked to the station, but it wasn’t particularly cold. The train was a bit late so I used the beautifully maintained waiting room for 20 minutes or so.

I have no idea why a van decided to drive onto the platform just before the train arrived, but no-one else seemed particularly surprised by it.

This was the first service of the day from Oslo to Bergen, having set off some 4 hours earlier. I definitely made the right choice in putting this part of the journey behind me yesterday.

As the train approached the summit of the line, the landscape around us became more snowy and some determined late season skiers got off at Finse.

Descending from here, the weather brightened and the views opened out as the train reached Myrdal, start of the world-famous Flåm Railway. I could see the line below us as we approached.

Along with a number of other passengers, I got off here. There was a short wait, before the Flåm service arrived. I’m not sure quite what I was expecting but was a little surprised when a quite modern and conventional-looking electric locomotive came into view.

I was also surprised, and glad, that seats were not reserved and also it wasn’t inordinately busy. There was space to move around and with slide-down windows on both sides most passengers were up and about taking photos.

The line is rightly famous; the views are incredible, not least where you look back and up at Myrdal after looping in all directions though the mountains, and can see the line at several different levels.

This line is absolutely about the tourist experience. There are video screens with information and a commentary in several languages telling travellers about the history of the line, and pointing out things to see.

Around the half-way point, the train pauses and travellers are encouraged to get off, where we are entertained by a performance by a woman with long hair and a red dress, who dances to to a Norwegian folk song. She is the Huldra, a forest spirit from Norse mythology. According to local folklore, she lures men into the woods to seduce them. We, however, got back on board to continue our journey.

A little further on, the line briefly changes to double track to allow services to cross. The train coming from Flåm was no busier than ours.

From here the line descended steadily to the terminus, picking up the valley of the river Flåmselvi, which flows into Aurlandsfjord.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the terminus is a tourist trap, with a range of cafes and gift shops. I headed instead for the railway museum, and particularly enjoyed the range of small crew carriers, though there were some terrible stories associated with accidents in these.

The steepness of the line meant that the first locomotive built for the line was equipped with five different braking systems. This is now also in the museum.

I was ready for lunch and took a deep breath and paid just under £10 for a cheese sandwich and a cup of tea.

With time before the return train I set off on foot down one side of the fjord. A very modern trip boat was about to leave Flåm Harbour. It is electrically powered, as there are rules restricting the use of internal combustion engines in this very special landscape.

After a mile or so I reached another small harbour. The views really are quite remarkable. I could happily have carried on but needed to return to the train.

This service was busier than one I had been on earlier, but people were very considerate allowing each other to take photos out of the still-open windows.

The connection time back at Myrdal was only 3 minutes, but the transfer is only across a platform, so there was sufficient time. As we pulled out, the service back to Flåm was also just getting going again.

The line descends slowly towards the coast. All hints of snow were soon left behind and on a sunny afternoon, it all looked rather attractive.

It took around 2 hours to get to Bergen, the terminus of the line. I thought that the single arch station was a rather impressive in its way. Happily it had locker storage for my bags, so I was able to leave them behind and go exploring. My hotel for tonight was well out of the city and I wanted to make the best use of my evening here. It was already 7pm but stays light very late at this time of year, so didn’t feel like it was the evening.

I’d not done any homework about Bergen and as usual followed my nose down a series of narrow streets towards the waterfront. This part of town was buzzing and on a warm evening was rather lovely, with busy bars all around, two of which had live music outside, one a singing guitarist who seemed to be great at audience participation and the other a Pink Floyd tribute, of all things!

There was a large seafood market just packing up for the day, along with a number of rather expensive looking restaurants, all of which had crabs and lobsters in tanks outside. Those who know me will be aware that I don’t eat any sort of fish or seafood as I have always been horrified by the cruelty involved so scenes like this turn my stomach somewhat.

I walked along the harbour, improbably finding a funfair in the middle of it all, as well as some lovely traditional buildings. It was no surprise to discover that this part of Bergen is a World Heritage Site.

As I turned back towards the town, having gone as far as I could, I got a really super view of the waterfront. I also noticed a funicular railway behind the traditional houses.

I do love a funicular. A quick look online confirmed that it was operating so I headed straight there. Despite the historic entrance, the railway itself was clearly well maintained. I had a bit of a wait for the service to arrive, but it was well worth it for the views when we got to the top.

Returning to street level I carried on exploring. I found a rather substantial memorial to the whaling industry that was so important to this city for many years. A nearby park had impressive municipal buildings around it.

It was now well after 9pm and I needed to find something to eat so walked back towards the station, as I didn’t fancy visiting the lively bars on my own. Surprisingly there was not a lot of choice, and I ended up in a small cafe, ordering what was described as a small pizza, but when it arrived was huge. I felt guilty eating less than half of it.

My hotel was quite near to the airport, several miles out of town, and reached by tram. I collected my bags from the station and walked to the nearby bus station where there was a tram stop.

By now it was getting dark so I didn’t really see much of the suburbs of Bergen, though I did notice that there were still people at the top of the funicular. I’d love to see that view at night. One for a future trip, I think. I’d been told by more than one person that Bergen was nothing special but I really like it and would happily come back.

It was a bit of a walk to the hotel, about 20 minutes, which was more than I would have preferred at this time of night, but this feels like a very safe place and when I found it, the hotel was modern, well equipped and I had a comfortable place to spend the night, so won’t complain. I’ve squeezed a lot into today and have an early start tomorrow.