Journey Southward
NORWAY & DENMARK diary : Day 10 & 11 - 09 & 10th April 2019
Our 18 hour journey, southward of Norway began at 9:15 pm from Bodo (pronounced BOO DA). The plan was to get to Alesund, on the high south western part of the country. This Journey was broken down into four parts - A) BODO to TRONDHEIM B) TRONDHEIM to DOMBAS C) DOMBAS to ANDALSNES. D) ANDALSNES o ALESUND (pronounced AW LEH SUND). Read under BODO for earlier story.
BODO to TRONDHEIM:
The Airbnb host in Bodo had dropped us off at the railway station. Our train was at 9:15 pm and we were excited to travel by a night train for the first time ever in Europe. The tickets were booked online from India for leg of the journey. Extra amount had to be paid for reservation of sleepers too. Then train was ready on the platform, making it easy for us to board. We were fascinated by the interiors. The compartment was split into cabins for two people. We had five such consecutive cabins booked, to accommodate our group. Each cabin came with a bunker style birth and soft, clean white bedding. There was also a wash basin and mirror with enough space for toiletries. A foldable table and dustbin were also provided. The cabin doors were secured with a swipe card. The key cards were to be collected at the cafe located in the centre compartment of the train. We were, however, disappointed by the luggage space. We were on a 23 day journey, lugging along our whole world. The disappointment was more so because we were used to the large space below the seats in Indian trains. The cabin did have a high risen side loft, above the upper birth, but it was not worthwhile lifting our heavy luggage to reach that height. We decided to compromise on the floor space and finally managed to squeeze them in.
This part of the train journey is supposed to be one of the best scenic route ever. Sadly, it was night and we were also on the move, fast asleep, so we missed the scenic splendour outside. Nevertheless we managed to get a few pictures early next morning. Making sandwiches for breakfast on the tables outside each of our cabins was fun. had a good night's sleep before we got off at Trondheim Station the next morning.
We reached Trondheim by 7:45 am. Our train to Dombas was scheduled for 8:20 am. We had enough and more time to switch trains.
TRONDHEIM TO DOMBAS :
One of the most sophisticated journeys we've ever had, this train was comfort re-defined. The tickets for this leg had been booked online too, well in advance. Large windows and seats greeted us. The pantry car of was like a mini restaurant with big windows and lots of benches, chairs and tables. We were free to hang around and have a bite of our choice from the many goodies available there. We didn't miss any scenery all along.
The pastries and snacks were yummy. The hostess was extraordinarily smiling and kind. The steaming hot coffee kept us warm. The seating was comfortable too. The upcoming gallery holds all our pictures of this leg of the tour. After the refreshments in the pantry, we returned to our seats. Beautiful scenes still flew past our windows. Half way through the journey, the train rocked us all to sound sleep, till we reached the outskirts of DOMBAS. We were woken up by a speaker announcement. We got our luggages out, all ready to detrain . Fast approaching was the remote & quaint station of DOMBAS.
We reached there sharp by 10:15 am. The Dombas station was not only scenic but also almost deserted. Dombas lies in the up south part of the country and is one of the main railway transit points . The scenery had gotten all snowy. We had good photo opportunities here. We had one and half hour time before our next train, scheduled for departure at 11:40 am. We sat on the platform and sometimes on our suitcases. The tracks on either sides were soon clear.
Our next train was due to arrive at the next platform, to the one we had arrived. We walked up and down the platform area, utilised a vending machine for a few drinks and snacks. The idea of getting to the Dombas town for a short time, did arise. The walk from the railway station would easily take us around 15 minutes, to get to the nearest part of the Dombas town. The question arose as to where our luggages should be secured till our return. Hiring lockers for just half and hour seemed useless. Also, few adults and the kids were least interested in stepping out. It was therefore decided that we spend time inside the railway station. By around 11:15 am. our train arrived. We were not surprised by its punctuality. We boarded our luggage and seated ourselves comfortably.
DOMBAS TO ANDALSNES : We were soon on our way to Andalsnes. As usual, the advance, online tickets, saved us time and money. We had a small separate compartment to ourselves. There were plenty of empty seats. The train seemed empty too. We were scheduled to reach Andalsnes by 1:15 pm. The journey wasn't a very long one, only lasted for 2 hours, but as we had risen early that morning and had been on the move since the previous night, we were fast asleep, yet again, for an hour or so. We woke up to the snowy scenery, which kept us silent mode but ensured we were enjoying. We pulled out our writing pads and pens and played a few games. We had carried packed sandwiches and other dry food from Bodo, the previous night. That served as lunch.
Sadly we could neither stay put in Trondheim, Dombas or Andalsnes
ANDALSNES TO ALESUND:
On reaching Andalsnes station we found that the famous FRAMEXPRESS bus station, was just 50 meters away from the track. We were going to ride a bus next. The tickets for this leg of the journey was booked online on the FRAMEXPRESS website. We quickly boarded the bus, flashed our printed tickets and were comfortably seated. The bus left promptly at 1:35pm and we saw some striking scenery all along the way. It had beautifully turned summery and bright. At each and every turn, there was something in offer. It was truly Exotic ! We reached the Alesund town centre by 3:30 pm. For further story read ALESUND.
