Norway In A Nutshell Part II

Hurtigruten is often called the worlds most beautiful sea voyage, and we'd have to say it really was!

The route of our Norway in a Nutshell Tour

We boarded in Trondheim for an overnight voyage to Bergen on the 1000 passenger ship, Midnatsol, and were more impressed with the ship than we originally had thought.  We thought it was going to be more like a "cargo" ship with room and board for passengers.   It was a really nice cruise ship, minus our small claustrophobic inside cabin, as well as a working cargo ship.   It was only 9 floors, our cabin was on the 4th but we spent most our time during the 28 hour trip on the 8th and 9th decks or panorama lounges.   It was relaxing and beautiful.   I managed to read an entire novel from the ships library while on board. It was a mindless, chick book but a fun way to pass time taking breaks to admire the scenery.  We were far north, about the same latitude as Fairbanks, Alaska.   Needless to say there was a whole lot of light and beautiful scenery to look at as we made our way through the Fjords down the coast.   We finally tried to get some sleep around midnight when we were at the Ålesund port but the noise from the unloading cargo from the floor below and the rocking and rolling of the boat kept me up most the night, thank goodness CSI was on TV.  Dave was up around 6:00 for our stop in the Måloy Fjord.   We had to be out of our cabin by 10:00 and didn't disembark till 2:30 in Bergen so we had a few hours of more lovely scenery, reading and Internet surfing.   The boat was equipped with Wi-Fi so thank you to all who played WWF keeping me occupied!   It was a fast, expensive, way to see the Fjords, but well worth it.  The  pictures really don't do it any justice but have fun scrolling through them!

Once off the ship, we walked to our hotel which was located across the harbor from the famous Bryggen Wharf.  Bergen seemed to be going through quite a bit of construction, as did much of Norway.  We only had what was left of the afternoon and evening in Bergen so we grabbed a city map and did a bit of an on-foot tour of Norway's second largest city.  Our hotel was located centrally so we were able to walk easily around the city. 

The very first buildings in Bergen were alongside the harbor called Bryggen.  Bryggen has been the nerve center of the city for hundreds of years and the silhouette of its ancient gables is perhaps the most familiar image in all of Norway.  In 1360 the Hansas - a German guild of merchants - set up one of their import/export offices on Bryggen and dominated trade for the next 400 years and it is now on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

It was a really lovely harbor.  We walked through the smelly but famous fish market on the wharf.  We visited the Bergenhus Fortress which dates back to 1240 and is located in the entrance of the Bergen Harbor.  Ice cream shops were abundant along the harbor so of course we had to sample some.  We continued a big loop around the city, admiring the different architecture, churches and statues before going back to the hotel to figure out our dinner plans.  It wasn't going to be a late night since neither of us hardly slept on the boat and the beds were sooooo comfortable at the hotel that I'm surprised we actually made it back out but we did manage.  We found a nice quiet restaurant to sample some of the local beer and DH had a Rudolph Burger - well actually it was reindeer meat - but I liked to call it Rudolph.  I stuck with the safe Caesar salad :)  It was surely the right place to indulge in seafood or whale for that matter but after all our adventures I still haven't gotten any more brave at trying new foods!

Bergen was an "ok" city for us.  Granted we didn't give it much time but we didn't feel there was too much there that interested us.  It is conveniently located for a day trip from a Fjord cruise ship and quite beautifully nestled amongst the surrounding mountains and  Hardangerfjord and Sognefjord Fjords but definitely didn't warrant any additional time for us. 

Wednesday morning we took a taxi to the train station for a FULL day of travel back to Oslo.  It was rainy and messy but we didn't let that take away from the serene nature that surrounded us on the bus, train or boat! 

First we took the scenic Bergen Railway to Voss for only about an hour and 15 minutes.

On the Bergen Railway

Next, we (along with the 100's of other passengers) transferred to buses waiting at the Voss Station for approximately another hour ride which turned out to be extremely beautiful and waterfall filled!  One of the better journey's by bus that DH have traveled together :)

On the bus from Voss to Gudvangen

There was about a half hour wait for our ship in Gudvangen that took us on a two hour ride through the Fjords to Flåm.

The ship from Gudvangen to Flåm.

We traveled through the spectacular Nærøyfjord and Aurlandsfjord. The Nærøyfjord, a branch of the Sognefjord, has been included in Unesco’s World Heritage list and is considered to be among the most scenic fjord areas on the planet. Its outstanding natural beauty is derived from its narrow and steep-sided crystalline rock walls that rises up to 1400m straight from the fjord.



 

 

 

 

Dave chats with our new friends from Argentina

The name "Flåm" means "little place between steep mountains" and this beautiful small town is nestled deep in a tributary of the Sognefjord, the world's longest and deepest fjord, at 204 kilometers long and 1308 meter deep.  Once we docked in Flåm we found a quick bite to eat at Café Stationen.  There were many shops and restaurants in town, all catering to the cruise passengers.  Not only was our ship in town but a very large Cruise Ship was docked as well.  Maybe because it was raining but the town didn't feel too crowded.  Next to the café was a brewery, Ægir Brewery, which was awarded "Best Beer of the Year 2012" so we couldn't pass the opportunity to try that out :)  We had about 2 hours to kill before the 4:00 departure on the Flåm Railway for another hour ride of more beautiful scenery!

View from the Flåm Railway

 

The Kjossfossen Waterfall along the Flåm Railway

The Flåm Railway stops in Myrdal and from there we had a 5 hour train ride back to Oslo.  We were really tuckered out but were hesitant to sleep on the train because we didn't want to miss anything!  We watched the scenery though the rain, read, played on the iPad and snacked on FIRKLØVER  - a tasty chocolate from the Nordic made by Nestlé.  It was after 11:00 when we got into Oslo's Central Station and luckily we stayed at the super convenient Comfort Hotel Grand Central which was directly connected to the station.  We had to catch an early train to the airport the next morning and this couldn't have been easier.

Norway in a Nutshell is a great way to explore Norway and the Fjord's.  I would suggest taking longer than the 4 days we used to zip through it because it really is no fun moving your luggage from place to place every single night.  But, we wanted to see it during our time in Europe and since that is coming to an end we got it done!   It is sort of sad to think that this might very well have been our last "big" trip while we live on this side of the Atlantic but for all that we've done and seen I really have no reason to be sad!  It has been one whirlwind of an adventure after another and I like to think that we just live waiting for the next one to start!

I hope this blog has been fun and resourceful for all those that read it.  I'm looking forward to looking back over my posts, down the road. 

Until our next adventure, Tschüss!