Where to fly to see fjords in norway
Oslo to Bergen, Norway by Train through the mountains and Boat through the fjords
we're heading to the far western shores
of Norway to visit the charming seaside
town of Bergen which is located on a
picturesque harbour lined with historic
buildings and surrounded by seven
mountains we're showing you a quick
preview of the city here with the
historic waterfront and lively outdoor
market scenes including a trip up the
mountain top by funicular for a
spectacular view over the city to get
there we're going to take a boat ride
and scenic train journey from Oslo
across the country over the mountains to
Bergen there are several different ways
to travel to Bergen of course there's an
International Airport so you can fly
here in just a few hours from anywhere
in Europe but the train and boat ride
from Oslo is an excellent option that
many savvy travelers choose because
taking that ride can be just as
enjoyable as being at the destination
coming right up will show you fine
details of that trip across Norway by
train and boat the map shows the route
will be taking starting out in Oslo the
capital of Norway and then across the
mountains on a beautiful ride to flam
where we catch the boat and travel
through the song of yard to Bergen on
the west coast most travelers to Bergen
are also visiting Oslo the capital of
Norway as we've been doing in that case
you can take one of the most spectacular
train rides in all of Europe it's easy
to board the train you just get on with
your carry-on luggage in this case and
find your seat
settle in kick back and let the journey
begin heading cross-country through some
fascinating mountain terrain passing
lakes and rivers and waterfalls this
special trip is called Norway in a
nutshell because it shows you a big
cross-section of the country in just one
day it's always a pleasure to travel by
train especially with this kind of
scenery gliding by you don't have to
worry about driving or getting stuck in
traffic
you're not crammed in like on a tour bus
you can walk around in the tree
mean kick back and read a book or take a
nap have a conversation visit the snack
bar
the scenery keeps getting more
spectacular as you climb through the
central regions of Norway seeming a
little bit like Switzerland with tall
mountains in the distance and glaciers
with lakes where the water is clear blue
color this visual feast is like a
natural painting with trees and bushes
along the edge of the water
lovely grasses and shrubs and just
wonderful colorful elements of nature
outside our windows you'll see a few
mountain cabins lots of snow and people
riding their bicycles on the mountain
road most of the other travelers on
board the train are tourists from all
different parts of the world so it's
kind of a nice opportunity to have a
little conversation or at least attempt
some conversation
despite language barriers you can always
communicate I've taken about 500 train
trips in my travels through Europe
including quite a bit in the Swiss Alps
which are really spectacular but nothing
somehow quite compares with this scenery
out the window these alpine meadows with
glaciers and raging rivers what a
combination the entire route from Oslo
to Bergen covers a distance of about 300
miles
it's the highest standard gauge railway
in northern Europe crossing the plateau
at 4,000 feet above sea level
we are travelling in July and there's
still plenty of snow the first short
section of rail opened on the bergen end
in 1883 as narrow gauge and by 1909 the
route extended all the way to Oslo
typical of the European long-distance
trains there's a dining car on board so
you can just queue up wait your turn get
a coffee have a drink or a complete meal
it's like a coffee shop on wheels the
train can be a friendly setting for
meeting Scandinavians and you'll find
that most of them speak some English
nobody's in a rush at this point so it's
an opportune place to
meet the locals and have a chat you'll
change trains Midway at the junction of
with Myrtle and board the flam railway
which is one of the most scenic rides in
Europe the mere doll Junction is a busy
place but there's no real town here to
see you're just on the platform to wait
for your next train there is also local
trains from here down into Bergen but
we're going down down down down the
mountain down to flam that's a
waterfront village where we catch our
boat it's a busy train so you do need to
make reservations during the high season
from May through September and everybody
gets a good view the flam railway
fortunately stops now and then to let
passengers get off the train to enjoy
the view the most spectacular sight is a
rolling gushing waterfall a terrific
photo opportunity but wipe the water off
your lens it's like being out in the
Maid of the Mist at Niagara Falls or in
a heavy rainstorm with a big spray
coming at you you've got about ten
minutes to take in the sight snap your
pictures the only reason the train stops
here is to show you the view so take
advantage
some people just sit in the train but
it's a lot better to get out and
experience it yes you might get a little
wet but no harm it's all part of the fun
and you'll soon dry off no doubt there's
something special about waterfalls and
this one is very convenient because
we're halfway through the journey 30
minutes down hop out take a break jump
back on 30 more minutes to the bottom at
this point we've reached 2,000 foot
elevation and it's very comfortable
platform you could walk around on it
very safe with the railing and then you
try and figure out what car you were on
and get back in your seat and then we
continue the second half of the journey
down which gets even more spectacular
with beautiful mountain scenery many
hairpin turns flam railway is the
steepest standard gauge train in Europe
where almost 80% of the journey has a
gradient of over five percent because of
the sharp angle and picturesque nature
the flam line is now almost exclusively
tourist service and has become the third
most visited tourist attraction in
Norway carrying about 600,000 passengers
annually the train journey runs through
fantastic nature pass deep mountains
breathtaking waterfalls with twenty
tunnels in one bridge and offers so many
of you points that many people feel like
traveling at multiple times National
Geographic Traveler magazine has named
the flam railway as one of the top ten
train journeys in Europe and Lonely
Planet named it as the best train
journey in the world in 2014
toward the bottom the line passes a
spectacular waterfall with a 460 foot
drop one of the most exciting
attractions of the trip maximum speed
downhill is the leisurely 19 miles an
hour and uphill it's 25 miles an hour
this train ride downhill takes one hour
but the sights are so spellbinding it
seems like ten minutes it's the only
branch line heading out from that main
Oslo Bergen route towards the bottom of
the journey the valley widens and
changes character becoming flatter and
with more vegetation and some houses the
little hamlet of flam is located on the
Arlen's fjord a branch of the Sanya
fjord with 400 permanent residents it's
almost entirely a tourist area featuring
among other things a little hotel and a
cruise ship port and you can have lunch
while waiting for the boat it's a very
pleasant little village it's been called
heaven on earth
and of course there's a gift shop
there's an information counter and
there's a ticket office where you can
buy train tickets or boat tickets after
about one hour the boat starts boarding
to begin the ride to Bergen you'll see
lots of great scenery during the boat
ride with the mountains towering high
above on both sides of this chasm the
best views are during the first two
hours when the mountains are steepest
and the few
it is narrows so be sure to spend time
by a window or even better out on a deck
initially the Sonia fjord is the largest
and best-known fjord in Norway and one
of the longest in the world it stretches
127 miles inland from the ocean to the
small village of scull Djem in the
municipality of lynnster sonia fjord is
more than 3000 feet deep for about half
of its length reaching a maximum depth
of 4,300 feet the captain pulls right up
to the big waterfall so we all get a
good look cliffs surrounding the fjord
rise almost cheer from the water up to
heights of over 3,000 feet making this
most dramatic landscape the average
width is nearly three miles there's more
than a dozen side fjords that branch off
from the main body and we see several of
them while cruising along beyond the
inner end of Sanja fjord liza mountain
range that rises over six thousand feet
high and is covered by europe's largest
glacier we also get a nice view of
several picturesque villages along the
shore always with the dramatic mountain
backdrop there is a casual snack bar on
the ship for a light meal like a
hamburger and soda but not much else
the viewers were dug out by giant
glaciers that shaped the landscape
through several ice ages this created a
deep narrow and elongated body of water
with steep land on three sides and all
along Norway's west coast these inlets
are often surrounded by dramatic
mountain scenery as we see here frankly
at five and a half hours this ride is
pretty long so you might want to
consider alternatives such as a shorter
boat ride then take a bus to the main
train line and continue on to Bergen by
rail more quickly there is a very nice
reward towards the end of the boat ride
as you approach the city of Bergen
travel through a vast archipelago of
islands and channels linked together by
bridges you'll see a lot of colorful
houses of law
the shore some boats tied up at docks
probably some second homes that are
vacation places for the locals as well
as very large mansions up on the cliffs
it's really quite a sight after several
hours in the boat you'll get the first
breathtaking glimpse of the town of
Bergen located in the head of a long
natural inlet enhanced by a picturesque
harbour lined with historic buildings
and many boats and surrounded by seven
mountains you surely want to be out on
deck in these closing dramatic moments
of the long boat ride soaking up the
view and getting your pictures the city
wraps around the harbor with the
especially exciting Bergen the old
historic district on the north end in
buildings that have been warehouses for
fish but are now shops and restaurants
it's a very easy exit from the boat
because it's a pretty small vehicle and
it docks right in the heart of downtown
that gives us real easy access to walk
to our hotel it's just a few blocks away
be sure to look for the other movies
we've made about Bergen and the rest of
Scandinavia in our collection
