The day after my arrival in Flam, I boarded a small cruise ship which took us on a three hour journey through two branches of the massive Sognefjord. We were never in the widest portion of the fjord (fjooey!) but the scenery was spectacular nonetheless!
Heavier and later than usual snowfall in the mountains created dozens of falls like this:
Does this valley remind you of another place? It sure does me!
My Ansel Adams shot.
Lots of these little farms along the fjord. Imagine February.
Reflection-o-Rama!
Back on dry land, I went into a little Esso station in the village and saw this ad. This guy works out at my gym! I had fun telling him about seeing his print ad the next time I saw him at Crunch.
Sorry for the crappy quality of this phone picture. But this handsome guy works out at my gym!
Up next: Bergen, the final port of call for ScandiRAYvia!
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At the end of my long rail journey on July 5, I ended up in the beautiful little village of Flåm. It sits at the foot of a branch of the Songefjord.
Now, technically, I’d been on a fjord for days. The Norwegian capital of Oslo is at the foot of a large, wide fjord:
And while it’s beautiful, it’s not really what you think of when you think fjord.
But THIS IS:
No more pining necessary.
This is the view looking north from Flåm.
As I stood there, I reflected on my ScandiRAYvia adventure, and how I’d been seeing places I’d dreamed of seeing for most of my life. At that moment, the majesty of this spot and my awareness of my great good fortune to have the opportunity to see it simply overwhelmed me. I stood there and cried, like…. like someone standing there crying.
Travel is so important to me, and it’s such a privilege. It’s a privilege of health. It’s a privilege of money. It’s a privilege of time. It’s a privilege of luck. And I have all four of those in spades.
Health? Yeah, I have Type-2 Diabetes. But I’m beating it back! Yeah, I had a double bypass thirteen years ago. But it saved my life! Yeah, I have severe sleep apnea. But it’s 100% successfully treated with the C-PAP. Etc. Despite these realities, I’m healthy enough to traipse around Scandinavia. I’m 56 and I have carried my own (heavy!) bags the whole trip. Hiked probably an average of ten miles a day. Climbed things like this:
And this:
My health and strength have not abandoned me, damn it. Who knows how long I’ll have it? Need to use it while I can!
My financial future is a complete mess: I have virtually no retirement, no nest egg. I basically cannot afford to get old. BUT right now I’m working and was able to pay for this magical journey.
So yeah, I’m lucky. Lucky to have been able to make this dream of mine come true.
And so yeah, I cried.
Here’s my hotel in Flam.
These sweet cottages are vacation rentals.
Next: Cruising the Sognefjord!
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On July 7, I took the train ride I’d been so looking forward to. The train ride that was one of the main reasons I created my ScandiRAYvia adventure.
The first the segment of the journey took me out of the urban bustle of Oslo and into the Norwegian countryside. The scenery was gorgeous northern farm with endless postcard-ready red barns.
Then we began climbing.
And climbing!
Eventually we made our way to the town of Myrdal, where we changed trains and began our steep descent on the legendary Flamsbana.
The Flamsbana is one of the steepest train journeys in the world that runs on normal tracks. It was gorgeous and a bit hair-raising.
Unfortunately, it was a terrible day for taking photos. Try taking good pictures from a moving train. Every now and then they’d stop at a particularly nice view to let us take photos, but the crush of the crowd really kept that from being a viable option.
So what was arguably the most beautiful day of my trip is the one I have no good visual recording of. Sorry about that.
But trust me, it was FABulous.
However, at the end of the day, we arrived in beautiful Flåm, the tiny village at the bottom of the mountains and at the foot of a large branch of the Sognefjord, the largest fjord in Norway.
To compensate for the lack of photos for this beautiful rail journey, here’s two more shots from Oslo:
Groovy condo on the waterfront in Oslo.Where they decide who gets the Nobel Peace Prize. I think I’m nominated this year.
Next: The Fjords, for realz!!
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I really enjoyed Oslo. I could picture myself spending lots of time here. It was easy to be comfortable in such a well-put-together city.
Of course, I’d have to be rich to spend much time here.
I realize I haven’t shown you the Oslo City Hall yet. I love how severe it is:
The Oslo City Hall does NOT want to hear about any of your nonsense.
Getting around the city was a snap, with the subways, buses, and trolleys.
I Do have to give a thumbs down to the TGI Fridays in the city center. Despite having a charming hostess from San Diego, the service was ridiculously slow. I was there on a Monday afternoon, hardly a rush time, and after waiting for a cheese quesadilla for an hour I gave up and left.
Straight Outta San Diego
On my last day in the city I took everyone’s advice and did a quick tour of the remarkable Vigeland Sculpture Park. This is a huge park dedicated to the unusual work of a single artist: Gustav Vigeland. I got lots of pictures on my visit, which was briefer than I wished because it was really starting to rain.
In a perfect world I’d spend hours in this park with the camera, preferably RIGHT after it opens, so I wouldn’t have so many other gawkers to contend with.
But check out the strange and beautiful work of Gustav Vigeland!
Next: ON TO THE FJORDS!
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