5/27 -- Trains to Bergen, Start Exploring

We started out on the Flam Railway today, possibly the most scenic railroad in Norway. We traveled from the head of the fjord that cruise ships visit, but paralleled a river to Myrdal, where we boarded a train to Bergen. We had lunch, unpacked, and took a funicular to the top of Mt Floyen and walked back down.

The Flam Railway is very popular, but leaving on the first train (and without a cruise ship in the harbor for competition) meant that we had a whole car to ourselves, not just half. There are so many waterfalls and rapids and summer cabins, and steep mountains -- really impressive. The most impressive waterfall is Kjosfossen, where the train stopped between 2 tunnels (there are 20 of them) for us to see the waterfall and a summer time presentation by Norwegian Ballet students of a Huldra dancing to  Norwegian folk music. The Huldra is a mystical woman who can lure in men. She danced on top of and next to what looked like a ruined stone building. Based on her rapid transitions from place to place, this time, she was apparently two students.

The mass of people getting off to see the falls.

The Huldra is on the left here

And suddenly on the right here.

 

Myrdal Station

At Myrdal, we changed trains for a more modern and smoother ride the rest of the way to Bergen.

After lunch, we got to the hotel and unpacked. The hotel rooms here are fairly and compact, but this one challenges the idea of storage -- there are two hanging rods flat against the wall and 5 hangers, only 1 night stand, and not one drawer for stashing clothes for a day or two. There is a desk with 2 USB slots and a plug plus a tv and a very  nice bed, but I am living out of my suitcase more than usual. After a little time to catch up with the PC, we headed to a nearby funicular to ride up 900 feet up from the hotel. The top boasts spectacular views of the surroundings and a matching spectacular wind. I neglected to bring my warm hat, so my rain coat  hood had to suffice.

Inside the funicular -- we were at the top. Try to look past
the reflections to the track. It seemed steeper.

Bergen became an important trading point because it is at
the intersection of 2 fjords and is hard to access from land.
It was also the capitol of Norway before Olso was rebuilt.

 Veera offered us an opportunity to walk back down, so we jumped at it. With the bus and train rides the last few days, we have walked a LOT less than in the previous week. It was like a California fire road -- gravel with a reasonably gentle slope mostly, and took us through some interesting residential areas. We grabbed some lettuce, shrimp, chips, and taco sauce at a local grocery store for a $10 dinner.

Above and below: Trolls along the way.

The path down was probably about 1.5 miles and usually quite scenic.