Fjord Cruise and trip to Bergen
5th September 2023
Early this morning, at around 6.30 am , we could hear some activity on the fjord. As we suspected it was the arrival of yet another cruise ship, this time a bit larger than the one we saw yesterday.
No need to rush this morning as we don't need to check out until 11 am. Agreed breakfast time is 8.30 am, and after enjoying a good Norwegian breakfast, there is time to go for a morning walk before checkout. We decided to go for a walk around the shoreline away from town to see what was there.
We came across a small marina with with some pretty ordinary boats in it and a couple more cabins along the shoreline.
Looking back towards the village we could see a waterfall behind the village that was not visible from where we stayed. Apparently there is a hiking track to it which is severe.
Waterfall behind Flam
We only needed to go about 1 km along the shoreline before we could see a major road that obviously runs along the shoreline of the fjord servicing the small villages along the shore.
The main highway runs above the side road we walked along and carries heavy traffic
The side road we walked along linked up with the main highway, so we turned around and headed back to our guesthouse.
The cruise ship is very modern, comfortable and ideal for this type of exploration.
Fjord Cruise Ship arriving to pick us up for our cruise
Sharon and Carole settling in for the fjord cruise
Looking back towards our guesthouse as head off
Another small cruise ship has entered the fjord and sailed down to Flam, mooring a far distance from the town.
Our final view of Flam
Claiming to be the World's Most Beautiful Boat trip, it is not a claim to be taken lightly.
The scenery on this cruise is incredible, far exceeding any preconceptions we may have had. Not long out of Flam, we begin to see lush green pastures, ideal for farming.
Not far out of Flam, we approach a largish village to pick up another 2 passengers.
Yet another floating sauna in the foreground at the wharf
We then head off down the main fjord channel before later turning left into a branch that will take us to our final destination, Gudvangen.
There are some quite narrow passages which must be thrilling in a big cruise ship
There are many small farming villages along the way that have managed to find a flat area or valley in which to establish their farming community. They are mostly connected by a road that runs along the side of the fjord (with many tunnels).
Waterfalls are a common sight
A few kayakers are keen to get a closer look
A cruise boat like ours passes on the way back to Flam
Another small village
The cruise boat had a good little cafe on board that provided enough choice for most people to get something to eat for lunch,as the cruise takes 2 hours, arriving at our destination at 1.30pm.
Some old boatsheds
A lone cow grazing on the slope
And finally, after an overload of stunning scenery, we reach our destination, Gudvangen. A small settlement at the end of this branch of the fjord which has enough facilities to feed and occupy people whilst they await their transport link either back to Flam, or in our case off to Voss to rejoin the rail line from Oslo to Bergen.
Now disembarked from the cruise boat we need to work out where the bus leaves from to take us to the railway station at Voss, where we will reconnect with the train that will take us to Bergen. We have a wait of a bit over an hour for the bus, so have a chance to have a bit of a look around.
There is a waterfall high up above the town getting blown around by the wind which has increased a bit in the last hour or so.
Looking back down the fjord from the town.
There is not much of interest in Gudvangen, other than some food outlets and a few touristy things. We ended up having a cup of coffee in a nice cafe quite close to where our bus will depart from.
The bus was on time, very new and comfortable, and soon we were on our way, with only a few others for the one hour bus trip to Voss.
As you would expect, the scenery continued to be stunning, but now it is more fast running rivers and rapids feeding the fjord through some pretty rugged country with high sheer walls each side of the valley we travelled along. Getting photos from a moving bus was a bit challenging, but here are a few.
We can see the wind blowing misty spray from a waterfall near the road ahead
There a lots of little farming communities along the way
Finally we arrive in Voss, a good sized town with not a lot happening. We are surprised how quiet the streets are for a weekday afternoon. Voss, it seems, is a ski resort town, with a couple of hotels built right next to the railway station and a very new looking gondola running up the mountain to the ski resort area.
A very modern cultural centre can be seen from the rail platform
Gondola going up to the Ski Resort
After roughly another hours wait for the train connection, which was also running late, we eventually boarded the train for Bergen. The trip takes about 1 hour with around 6 stops along the way. Once again it was very scenic, but the sun is now getting a bit low and reflection of the train windows made getting any decent photos difficult.
Here are a couple.
We arrived at Bergen station at around 6.30 pm and only have a short walk to our hotel, where hopefully the baggage we forwarded on a day ago is there waiting for us.
Bergen Station
Soon at our hotel, we were pleased to find our baggage was there, we settled into our rooms and then went down to the hotel restaurant for dinner.
Overall it was a fantastic day of sightseeing, the beauty of which was impossible to fully capture on a camera.
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