We had originally planned to spend four nights in Bergen, but after getting a taste of the fjords in Stavanger we decided to spend more time in the smaller towns on the water. We had to rearrange things a bit as we had already booked travel from Bergen to Oslo using “Norway in a Nutshell” for a train/bus/ferry and then train again. By the way, this is an excellent way to see a lot of the country and I do recommend using this service. Anyway we took the high speed ferry to the town of Balestrand to stay a couple nights, then back to Bergen to catch our other scheduled transport.

The ferry to/from Balestrand was excellent. Traveling through small islands north from Bergen and some very narrow passageways - you would not see this happening at these high speeds in Washington State - this was a great way to see some of the fjords.

The Sognefjorden is the longest and deepest “ice free” fjord in the world (I guess there’s a larger one in Greenland but it ices up). Over 120 miles long and 4,300 feet deep. It starts out wide and open, but the further up you go, the mountains seem to get closer (and higher) and they dive straight into the sea.

We made several stops on the way to Balestrand which gave us a chance to just glimpse some of the other small towns. Balestrand is about mid-way up the fjord and is a good location for exploring. There is a boat that will take you to the Glacier Museum, and you could take other ferries to various towns. We were here for just a short time and took an RIB excursion into the Finnafjorden, about 30 minutes away. A beautiful day for sure.

We also spent some time in the sauna below our hotel - fabulous! The sauna has a big window overlooking the fjord, and about every 15 minutes or so, we would cool off in the sea. Certainly one of the highlights here.

Next we visited the Cider House. A pretty orchard that grows something like 80 varieties of apples. The food and drink was great.

Time to head back to Bergen for another one night stay before heading to the town of Flam. Knowing what we know know, we could have just gotten back on the ferry at Balestrand and gone to the end of the line, which is in Flam. But we had already booked the train/bus/ferry. This s route was beautiful as well, taking us to the town of Voss by train and then bus to Gudvangen. The views were incredible along the way.

The Naeroyfjorden and the Aurlandsfjorden form a Y coming of the main Sognefjorden. It was an incredible ferry ride around the Y from Gudvangen to Flam with this fjord listed as a UNESCO Heritage Site.

Flam was beautiful as well and we stayed here three nights before continuing on the train to Oslo. We had a great room at the Flam Marina hotel looking out the fjord, and could just watch everything from our deck.

We found the floating sauna a few steps away, and were able to book it for a couple hours (it’s a very popular thing). The water here seemed much colder than in Balestrand, but with a trap door inside the sauna you could just enjoy a dip from inside - without the drama of jumping off the roof (who would do that?)…

Flam was a great place to visit. Unfortunately the cruise ships have found it as well. A great chance for many to see this place as a day visit, but the mass of people just overwhelmed the small town. We did have one full day without ships though and that was fantastic!

Time to head on to Oslo. A beautiful train ride from Flam up to Myrdal - the train even stops for a photo op!

Oslo was great as well, but we did not venture far from the hotel as they were experiencing torrential rains here. Found some good food and a great little bar to try a few more Aquavits!

We did have a day to visit a few of the local museums. We bought an Oslo Pass which provided entrance to nearly every museum and public transportation to get you there. This is a great value if you are ever in Oslo for a few days.

The first stop was the Norsk Folkemuseum. Several museums are within walking distance of each other in the Bygdoy area, which can be accessed by bus or ferry from downtown. Founded around 1898, this cultural village includes over 150 historic buildings - many donated and moved here. There is a traditional village to give an idea of life in the 1600’s and an Old Town representing life in the 1950’s as well. We spent a couple hours but worth a good 4-6 hours if you have the time.

Next we visited the Kon Tiki museum - or the Thor Heyerdahl museum. The original Kon Tiki is housed here along with many artifacts from the voyage made across the Pacific in 1947.

Finally we visited the Fram Museum, again housing the original vessel Fram - used on Antarctic expeditions and Polar expeditions from the late 1800’s to around 1915. It is incredible to see the vessel and how the museum was actually built around this beautiful ship.

We had a wonderful time in Norway, but now it’s time to head on to Stockholm!

All the best,

Tim & Eileen