The rain paused long enough for me to step briefly outside and take in the spectacle of the fjords. Before this trip I had to look up what a fjord is, and it’s a long narrow sea inlet with steep sides created by a glacier. And that’s what I saw about me – tall rocky mountains, gilded with silvery waterfalls, plummeting precariously into the water.
Apparently you can swim in the fjords, but must be cautious because the above-water slope continues and they get very deep very quickly.
In the distance behind me was Gudvangen, and far, far ahead I would find Flåm, where my next hotel would greet me.
I didn’t expect much more there than I had found at the hotel where I stayed at last night. That hotel was very old school, with tiny rooms and dated decor. The dining room at breakfast this morning looked like something lifted from the Catskills. But the hotel was clean, which is always most important to me.
At 1010 in the morning I had boarded my bus to Gudvangen, optimistic because the overnight rain had finally stopped. I don’t take a lot of buses when I travel but there was really no other cost-effective way of making this transfer. In preparation I had studied the timetable several times (and still the only accurate time was posted on a column at the bus station). While waiting for the bus I saw the term “Norway in a Nutshell” and looked it up.
Apparently that’s what I’m doing. I’m doing “Norway in a Nutshell.” When preparing for this trip and deciding on an itinerary, I read about a classic Norwegian itinerary connecting Oslo and Bergen, and decided that this would be perfect for my week. What I didn’t know is that it had a name, and everybody on this bus seems to be doing the same thing.
The ride to Gudvangen took about 50 minutes, and halfway in we stopped for ten minutes at Stalheim so we could take some photos. The viewing area stands atop a deep valley and the the floor of the valley was almost unnaturally green. The configuration of the entire thing was like a fjord without the water.
As pleasant as the morning had begun, by the time we reached the harbor at Gudvangen, heavy rains had returned, and there was little shelter for most of us as we stood in line waiting to board the ferry.
This trip would take us up Nærøyfjord and back down the next fjord (Sognefjord), which ends here at the small town of Flåm. Nærøyfjord earned its name by being a particularly narrow fjord, 500m wide at its slimmest.
Inside the ferry, I quickly deposited my luggage and hurried to the second deck where I procured a window seat. It may be cold and rainy outside, but I wanted to at least be able to see something during the two hour ferry ride.
The ferry was spotless and modern. We pulled away from the dock so smoothly that I didn’t even notice our departure. It was also full of passengers, leaving just a few open seats. I knew that I would lose my coveted seat if I ever moved, and of course that’s what happened when the rain stopped.
The rain didn’t pause for long, however, and after it returned I took shelter on the lower deck nursing a glass of cider from the snack bar. I wasn’t especially hungry, but was definitely tempted by the bacon wrapped hot dog (yes – this is a thing here).
This wasn’t the ferry ride I had planned, but even so the limited time I had outside was well worth it.
Flåm is tiny – I knew this before arriving because there are only 3 hotels. So I was less than pleased to see a giant cruise ship waiting in the harbor when we arrived. I’ve mentioned before that cruise ships overwhelm small towns – well this is the most extreme example I have personally seen of a small town being dominated by a massive ship that doesn’t belong there, so I was relieved to hear it would be leaving for the night.
After checking into my hotel I began exploring while the ship pulled away. As it left I knew this was a bit closer to how this town should be. It has little in the way of concessions or shopping (but still clearly some to cater to travelers). There are few attractions (but plenty of hiking).
With the ship gone, it felt like a place to breathe.
And a peaceful way to pass the evening.
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