January 04 2019

Another 2 trains and we were at Gatwick Airport, ready to leave the UK. Norwegian Airlines had us stuck on the tarmac for 30 minutes but I passed the time with music through the headphones while Ruthie read her ebook. It was only a 2 hour flight and we’re excited for our next destination.

As the plane approached Oslo airport, we could see the snow and ice on the ground. The lakes were frozen. I was thinking that maybe the UK was just a little teaser for what awaited us in Norway.

We were told Norway was expensive and they’re not wrong. That night we ate at one of the eateries attached to the hotel. Nachos, 1 baked potato and 2 beers. Sixty nine Australian bucks thank you very much.

When breakfast is included in our accommodation, we normally give it a good go but then we don’t eat lunch and have dinner only. In Oslo, when I had returned to the breakfast table, Ruthie had suddenly grown to a double D bra size. Two apples well hidden! So I had to stuff a banana up both my sleeves. That’ll get us through.

It was still nice and early when we began our sightseeing around Oslo. This was the coldest place so far but it was a very bearable cold. It was icy but we were well rugged up and there was no wind. The Kings palace was bathed in sunlight. We made our way around the waterfront which was something spectacular. The opera house stood out and it was a climb to the top. The kids were actually sliding on their bums down to the bottom! As previously stated, it’s very expensive over here, so we shared one slice of pizza and half a sandwich with a beer back in our room. The beer went down so well, I headed out for another but as it was after 6pm (6:09), the market store wouldn’t sell me any 😞

It was Sunday and we boarded the train from Oslo to Bergen for what is said to be one of the great train journeys of the world, The Flam Railway. It was a winter wonderland. Small little towns nestled between expansive forests, secluded lakes and frozen waterfalls. I wondered what these people did for a living as it looked too cold to go anywhere. There were glassy fjords to one side and snow covered fields on the other and a panorama of rivers cutting through deep ravines. The railway is an engineering marvel as we travel through tunnels in the mountains. There looked to be some small farms with silos and wrapped hay bales. No sign of any animals. I wondered if they were all inside watching The Morning Show. Ruthie got quite excited when she spotted Bambi outside the train window. Our train passed through Finse which at 1222 metres is the highest station above sea level in Northern Europe. Flam is surrounded by steep mountainsides at the head of Aurland Fjord.

Our overnight stop was in the quaint little town of Flam. Set deep at the bottom of the valley and surrounded by high snow capped peaks. We met some other Aussies here and did a beer tasting session and ended up having a pleasant dinner with them.

Our next stage was catching an electric powered catamaran (environmentally friendly) down the fjords out of Flam to our bus stop to connect to our train to Bergen. Phew!

No wonder this area is Unesco World Heritage listed. It’s really hard to describe and I don’t know if the photos do it justice. Once finished on the boat, we boarded the bus and it snowed all the way to Voss. We travelled past frozen lakes. Ruthie was scared and kept asking how safe it was and why didn’t the bus need chains! Then a short wait and back on to a train to Bergen. It rains in Bergen 277 days a year and it was true to form when we arrived. Lucky our hotel was opposite the railway station and even luckier we were upgraded to a Junior Suite and the heated bathroom floor was perfect for drying washing. Burger King at $36 for dinner at a shopping centre reached via the station without needing to go outside.