Features
Fjord and Mountain Line
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Fjord and Mountain Line
Most visitors to Norway go to the western fjords at some time during their stay. Even if your time is limited you can still
make the famous “Norway in a nutshell” journey by train, bus and boat (May through Sep.). The trip takes you from Oslo to
the Sognefjord via the well-known Flåmsbana (Flåm Railway). Some people make the round trip from Oslo in a day, but an alternative
is to take an early train from Oslo to Bergen, from where you can catch the fast coastal ferry into the Sognefjord.
Try to stay in the delightful city of Bergen. The ferry from Bergen races under high bridges, skims past scores of islands
and rugged peninsulas, and slows only at narrow channels with feet to spare. You travel deep into the mighty Sognefjord to
Balestrand. Here fruit trees flourish in the fjordland summer, yet glaciers are only a few miles away in the mountains. It
is possible to stay overnight here.
From Balestrand, a final boat trip takes you to the very end of Sognefjord. Flåm (pronounced Flum) is not a traditional fjord
village, but it caters to bus and car parking, and the many traveling tourists. The famous Flåm to Myrdal railroad is the
reason for it all. The stylish train, with its comfortable quarters, takes 50 minutes to travel 121/2 miles along the valley
floor behind Flåm. It climbs steadily through spectacular scenery to the head of the valley, where the track rises through
a series of S-bends, protected in places by snow shelters. Finally, the train reaches the plateau and the Myrdal railroad
station, where you connect with the Oslo train for the last leg (5 hours) of one of the world's great round trips.
You can arrange this tour yourself through Norwegian State Railways, NSB (Phone:81 50 08 88, then dial 4 for an English-speaking
operator; www.nsb.no), or in the U.S. through Rail Europe (Phone:800 438-7245), or contact Fjord Tours as (Phone:81 56 82
22; www.fjordtours.no) for details about organized tours.
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