Flåm!

So on Monday morning, my dad and I woke up nice and early, had one last amazing breakfast at our hotel in Bergen, and then made our way to the train station. One great thing about Bergen is how walkable everything is. It was a nice little five minute stroll from our hotel to the train station. So sweat. Once we got there, we joined the crowd waiting to the board the train bound for Oslo. Leaving only 30 seconds late (take note all you trains in the US. Become more efficient!), we said goodbye to Bergen and were on our way!

Our train!

Though the train ride Bergen to Oslo takes about six hours (which is roughly sixe times longer than flying), we had heard this is one of the most beautiful train rides in the world. However we were splitting it up over two days. Today our destination was the little town of Flåm at the tip of one of Norway's many fjords. But more about that later. Now for the train ride, part one.

Holy smokes, people weren't lying when they described the beauty of Norway! We past so many picturesque scenes on the ride from Bergen to Flåm. Not that my dad would know since he snoozed through half the ride. We were fortunate to have a beautiful day for traveling. Blue sky, no clouds, and lots of lakes/rivers/fjords!

Here's a typical scene on the train ride to Flåm. Amazing!

Forest right next to the river. And mountains in the background. Does it get any better than this?

After about two hours, we arrived at our stop -- the Myrdal station. I think my dad and I were both assuming this was going to be a little town that we could explore as we waited for our next train to take us down into the valley. NOPE! Other than a bed a breakfast, Myrdal is only a lonely train station in the middle of Norway. Luckily our wait wasn't too long and soon we were boarding our next train for a ride on the Flåm Railroad! Now this train was different from the main one that runs throughout the country because the Flåm Railroad is purely a tourist ride. It runs up and down the mountain multiple times a day bringing hundreds of people with each trip. Apparently this is also the steepest railway in the world. It's only 20 kilometers long but drops 800 meters! Sounds impressive, but I personally never felt like it was all that steep. We did go through about twenty tunnels, which was fun. However the grade of the track and the tunnels aren't the important part -- it's all about the views! 

My dad and I knew we wanted to be on the side of the train that looked out into the valley and since there were no assigned seats, it was my job to push ahead of everyone and grab us two seats. I think I did a pretty good jobs because we both got window seats. Then it was time to pull out the cameras and begin the ride down to Flåm! This was a beautiful trip. We saw winding bike paths, snow capped mountains, rivers, tiny towns, and plenty of forests!

A lucky shot I got through an opening in one of the many tunnels. The Flåm valley!

We also passed an impressive waterfall. The train did a quick stop here for people to get out and take photos. The water was gushing and the wind must have been blowing some because water and mist was going everywhere! My dad and I (and the camera!) got a little wet, but it was worth it.

After the hour train ride and a short walk, we made it to our hostel for the night. It was a cute little farm house, complete with sheep and goats! And bunkbeds. I got the top bunk for the night. Just like being back on an Indian Princesses trip to Camp Rockmont or Cafe Seafarer!

Sheep right out our back door!

Our hostel! Red is a very popular house color in Norway.

After dinner at a cafe in the main part of town (which pretty much consists of a couple of restaurants and souvenir shops, a hotel, and a grocery store), my dad and I headed back to the hostel. We had great timing because as soon as we made it back, it began POURING. Luckily the rain didn't last long and once it stopped, we decided to explore the area a bit. We knew there was a path to a waterfall near our hostel, so we set out to find our second waterfall of the day. The path was pretty steep (and rather muddy), but we eventually made it to the top and were rewarded with a beautiful sight! The spray from this waterfall was all over the place, so once again we got a tad soggy. But we got plenty of great photos and it was the perfect way to end our day in Flam.

Us and the waterfall. My dad is a champion at taking photos of the two of us!

The next morning we hopped back on the Flåm Railroad and headed  up to the Myrdal station so we could continue our journey to Oslo. But I'll say more about that next time.