Flåm’s name literally translates into “little place with steep mountains” and it is a fitting description. It’s on Aurlandsfjord, the innermost arm of Songefjord, Norway’s biggest and deepest fjord. The area is still reeling from massive flooding last year that destroyed homes and caused major damage to buildings, bridges, road and the railway. Their latest misfortune was a fire in the tunnel on their main road last week, closing the road to traffic for the immediate future. In spite of the flooding and the chilly, wet weather, Flåm proved a delightful place to visit.
Flåm has a famous train, the Flåmsbana, whose slogan is “one of the world’s most beautiful train rides”, and I chose this cruise itinerary because Flåm was included. So once again we found ourselves back on a train ride – albeit a short ride this time. About 45 minutes up to Vatnahalsen (just under 2,500’), where we stopped for a break and a snack of homemade waffles, sour cream and jam (small, thin waffles and the taste reminded me of a blintz). Then back down the same route.
More significantly, was our stop at the thundering Kjosfossen Falls, with a free fall of 305 feet. While off the train, some eerily haunting music seemed to come from the mountains around the falls and a “water spirit” appeared and begin to dance and leap. Odd as it sounds, with the light rain and mist from the falls, it was really a nice effect.
There were many other impressive falls along the way, as well as beautiful mountains, tiny villages and snow-covered peaks all around. No one would’ve been surprised to see one of Norway’s famous trolls around the next bend.
Simply lovely.
View from Mt. Floyen.
Bryggen.
Today we are in beautiful Bergen and are so lucky to have a bright sunny day in one of Europe’s wettest cities.
We had a pretty exhausting day Saturday, leaving Zürich and travelling to London to connect with our cruise leaving out of Southampton. I had wanted to fly into Southampton, but that was not an option, so it was Heathrow and its hour-long passport line . . . it took us twice as long as it should have to get to our ship due to really awful weekend traffic in the UK. But we made it, and once on the Celebrity Eclipse, the stress melted away. We had a wonderful afternoon and evening exploring the ship and a quiet, pretty sea day on Sunday to rest and re-group.
Bergen is our first stop on this cruise to the Norwegian Fjords.
We had our own agenda and had purchased one-way tickets on the funicular railway up Mount Fløyen, one of the seven peaks surrounding Bergen. They claim it’s an 8-minute ride, but it was really about 4 minutes to arrive 1,000’ above sea level and see post card views of Bergen.
We bought the tickets on-line before we left home and avoided the incredible line that looked hours long.
Then, we walked down. They have a lot of trails from the top and the trail back to the city center took us a leisurely hour (with stops for some pictures and to leave a small rock offering to the local spirits). The trail was well-groomed and wide, wandering through the forest. When we got back to civilization, we had a nice bonus of walking through a really charming residential area.
We made our way to the Fish Market for some typical smørbrød (Scandinavian open-faced sandwich) of salmon and crayfish. We skipped the whale. It’s legal to hunt and eat whale here – but I don’t see how their arguments in favor of tradition and necessity, extends to feeding tourists.
We then headed over to the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bryggen, a street along the harbor lined with colorful, wooden Hanseatic buildings. The buildings still standing are the few that survived the many fires that destroyed the area, and are now filled with shops and cafes. Along the way, we sampled the famous local cinnamon roll, Skillingsbolle, a tradition here since the 1890s.
We enjoyed the nice, clean, modern downtown area with its beautiful central lake and grassy park, surrounded with museums and vibrant flowers. On one side is the city’s Festplassen, the Bergen festival square with its gorgeous music pavilion, surrounded by, and covered in, colorful flowers. It was such a gorgeous day, and everyone seemed to be out: lying on the grass in the parks, biking, hiking, jogging or sitting in cafes.
Now, I need a rest and a cocktail.
Annoying Fact:
While most places here do take euros and US dollars as well as the Norwegian krone, it’s one of those countries you have to pay (10 NOK) to use a public restroom. Private ones in restaurants generally require codes to access. So having money is not enough, you need change!
Coming into Bergen Harbour.
Leaving Southampton, UK.
On the rails between Chur and Zürich.
We started the day exploring the lovely Altstadt (Old Town) of Chur. They were setting up for what looked like a very impressive city-wide festival, too bad we can’t stay.
Then back on the train for a short, hour and a half, trip to Zürich. The scenery was exactly what you would expect to see in the Swiss countryside, pastoral green hills, cows, small quaint villages, clear lakes and the occasional castle. In fact, this is Heidi territory.
Once at the Hauptbahnhof in Zürich, we made a quick transfer to an airport train and checked into our hotel to drop off our bags. We are leaving for England at dawn tomorrow so we wanted to be on-site to make things as easy as possible at that inhuman time of the day. Then back into central Zürich.
There was no real agenda today, just walking around and taking it easy after the last few hectic days. We enjoy the Old Towns in European cities, and this one was no exception. Larger than many such districts, we found its sister cobbled-street neighborhood of Niederdorf across the River Limmat even more charming and definitely more upscale. Being ever-minded of equal opportunity, we visited cafes on both sides.
It was fun to walk along the beautiful high-end shops on the Bahnhofstrasse, and to hang out in the park at Bürkliplatz and watch the people, boats and swans on the sparkling glacial lake Zürichsee.
Prost!
Kirche St. Martin in Old Town, Chur.
The Rhine River in Chur, Switzerland’s oldest city, was inhabited since the Neolithic era in 2500 BC and settled by the Romans in the 1st century BC.
Along the Zurichsee.
The Fraumunster Church, one of the four major churches in Zürich.
It’s no secret my husband loves trains; while I may not share his passion for Lionel trains, model train displays, or being in the engineer’s cab, I do love riding trains; especially in Europe.
So, riding the Swiss Glacier Express was naturally at the top of our list. This morning we left Zermatt before 7AM and headed east to St. Moritz. We went back along the route from the day prior, to Visp, bypassing it for a quick stop in Brig. Other scheduled stops included Andermatt, Disentis, Chur and Filisur.
At times, I felt like I had been miniaturized and dropped into the magnificent Swiss model train display at Hamburg’s Miniatur Wunderland; I expected at any minute to see a naked couple in a field of sunflowers, or a team of detectives investigating a body in a river.
The “slowest express train in the world” (at an average 22 mph), covers 291 kilometers (181 miles) in about eight hours and every minute is riveting.
The scenery is nothing less than spectacular and I will try to let the few pictures here tell the story. Unlike the Rocky Mountaineer, these cars have no option to stand at an open window for photos, so you cope with windows getting progressively dustier, awful reflection, lots of electrical wires and the fact you are in a moving train, to try to get any shots at all. Mostly, you just have to sit back and enjoy the experience.
From snow-covered peaks, glaciers, bright green pastures, cows collared with giant bells, expansive evergreen forests, workers building new spiral tunnels, a helicopter flying buckets of cement to a mountain top, sheer limestone cliffs, deep gorges, raging rivers and towering waterfalls, we crossed 291 bridges and viaducts and travelled through 91 tunnels. At our highest point, at the Oberalppass near Andermatt, we were 6,670’ high. The segment between Chur and St. Moritz is also part of the Bernina Express; one area, known as the Rhaetian Railway in the Albula/Bernina Landscapes, has been a World Heritage Site since 2008.
Once in St. Moritz, we jumped right back on another train and headed back to Chur, Switzerland’s oldest city, for the night. My lesson for the day – you pronounce Chur, “Kor”.
My new friend, Valanga (Italian for avalanche) . We shared a first class car heading back to Chur.
Tips for anyone thinking of going:
There are 3 trains a day, just before 8, 9 and 10 am, from each direction. Reservations are required (there is first and second class) and all food and beverages are additional, and served at your seat (the dining car was discontinued years ago). Commentary is skimpy and by headphone, and the guy reading the English script could put sheep to sleep. Thankfully, we read a good description in a book prior to going. Most of the souvenirs available on the train are not much to brag about and better off skipped. If you have room in your suitcase, the angle-bottom wine glass they formerly used in the dining car (to keep liquid even), is a conversation piece.
The Swiss Rail/Travel Pass, www.sbb.ch, is a good way to go, but keep in mind, you still need to pay a bit more for a reservation on any Swiss scenic route like the Glacier Express. www.glacierexpress.ch
