Sam says they do not go with ham.
You should not plant a palm in Flåm.
It will not grow there, have no qualms.
But if you want to call Flåm home,
Then do recall my little poem.
Flåm lies at the end of the Aurlandsfjord which branches off from the Sognefjord. At around 120 miles in length, the Sognefjord is Norway's longest fjord.
Flåm, population 450, reminds me a lot of Skagway, in size, appearance, and touristiness. In other words, Flåm is very small, it is surrounded by mountains, it has good connections to other places, and there is a lot to do here for such a small town.
Our first adventure of the day was a trip on the Flåmsbana train to the town of Myrdal and back. The trip is about 12 miles each way and the elevation goes from sea-level at Flåm to 2800 feet at Myrdal. It takes an hour each way. With the exception of cog railways, the Flåmsbana is the steepest railway in the world. The train passes through 20 tunnels and the scenery is spectacular for the entire trip. The Flåmsbana is #6 in NatGeo's Top Ten European Train Trips.
Let's not go down that road . . .
One of the highlights of the trip was a stop at Kjosfossen, an impressive waterfall. There is no village there, just a viewing platform for taking pictures of the waterfall while trying to avoid getting drenched by the spray. Before stopping at Kjosfossen we are told the legend of the Huldra, a siren-like creature who lives at the waterfall and tempts men with her singing. Wouldn't you know it - we saw her. She sang and danced seductively during our 5-minute stop at the waterfall.
Above the snow line
Myrdal - the end of the line. You can change here for a train to Bergen.
This was a wonderful trip. It's a must-do for visitors to Flåm.
In the afternoon we went on a tour to Nærøyfjord (Narrow Fjord) with Heritage FjordSafaris. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Our tour was going to be in a fast Zodiac, but first we had to suit up in some kind of survival suit, life vest, hat, gloves and goggles.
Our guide, John, captained the boat and told us about the area. In addition to the usual waterfalls, we passed many small villages and farms. We saw a few sheep and goats grazing here and there and we saw one seal in the water. According to John there are lots of other animals in the fjords, including lemmings, which, John says, really do fall off cliffs.
A Viking graveyard
We saw the small town of Undredal where gjetost (brown goat cheese - I love it) is made, and where a small stave church is still in use. We passed a village of 14 people and an isolated farm where a couple in their 80's lives alone. We also passed B&B which can only be reached by hiking for one hour plus up a steep path and which has a 3-year waiting list.
There were a number of kayakers out in the fjords, and various other types of boats, including ferries and fishing boats.
We returned with all yellow-suiters accounted for after a fun 2-hour trip. Another must-do.
This is what we looked like, but this is not our group.
Afterwards we hunted in gift shops for that elusive gift that the recipient will really like and that will cost less than 200% of a reasonable price.
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