FLAM
The astonishing village of Flam by the Aurlandsfjord
Set amidst a dramatic, mountainous terrain, somewhere in the central part of Southern Norway, is the scenic village of FLAM (pronounced as Flawwm). It lies at a distance of 4-5 hours from Bergen city, deep below the snowy valley of Mrydal. The surrounding high mountains, stupendous waterfalls, jaw dropping hillslopes, green meadows, serene farms are what makes this a widely visited place throughout the year. The village prides of untouched nature with a measly residential population recorded in just a few hundreds as against its annual visitors running to a few lakhs. Most of these visitors land there via cruise ships. The village evidently thrives on tourism. The Aurslandfjord curves itself into the village. This fjord is an extended arm of the world's deepest -" Sonjefjord". Tourists are rewarded scenically all along the innumerable walking trails and bike trails that flank this area.
Day 16 Norway & Denmark Diary : 15th April 2019 :
The journey of six hours began with the NSB train to MRYDAL leaving at 12:57 pm sharp from Bergen Central station. The only problem was to find enough space to stack our luggage. The process literally extracted half our energies (a common feature in most of our train journeys). We were finally able to occupy our seats in the rather empty train. A new adventure began.
Mrydal
An exciting element was the gradual change in scenery from the blue waters, brown-mountains, green valleys & meadows to stark white, snowy landscapes. MRYDAL is at a higher altitude. The valley views between Bergen and Mrydal were just as awe inspiring as any other scenery that we had experienced in snow until now. We could spot roadways snaking upward and vanishing into wilderness. The scene was like a painting of an artist who had just swished his paint brush holding white paint, from top to bottom making curves, against a brown backdrop. We also spotted a vertical roadway above this curvy road, that cut across a mountain and was fenced with iron railings. These constructions are indeed technological wonders. The train led us upward through winding tracks, rushed through a few tunnels sending a chill down our spines. The inside of the train kept us warm. It was also a treat to watch skiers settle down with their kits, while some others were already in action, swooping down slopes in the valley area. The route seemed to be flooded with ski resorts. We watched in amazement as, apart from adults, loads of young colourfully dressed children got into the skiing act at a certain junction. It was highly inspiring. The entire leg of the journey was smooth. We reached MYRDAL station in 4 hours time. The journey consisted of short stop here, where it was necessary to change trains.
A delay in our next train provided an ideal break. We walked up and down the railway platform enjoying the cold weather while sipping hot coffee. The famous FLAMSBANA train approached the station 40 minutes after schedule. The train was fancy with bigger & wider wooden seats, slidable windows promising to offer stunning views. It was relatively easier to load our luggage onto this train.
An audio commentary commenced inside the FLAMSBANA, providing insights of the corresponding places it slowly passed by. Passengers shunted from window to window, changing sides, in hunt for precious views & pictures while listening keenly to the recorded narration. The train soon screeched to a halt inside a tunnel, leading to the KJOSFOSSEN waterfall.
KJOSFOSSEN WATERFALLS
It was a sight to view a completely frozen waterfall, so unique & pretty ! Its otherwise summer look, was left to the imagination of its onlookers, by which time the melting fjord waters would create a cascading splendour from a height of nearly 200 odd metres. The famous tourist attraction here is the dance of HULDRA (a legendary creature of the forest), wherein a lady dressed in red dances to a pre-recorded music, down the slopes that embrace the waterfall. Few of our group members were fortunate to witness the event, while the rest had no clue. Passengers were left with just 3 minutes to climb in and out of train. Being photograph enthusiasts, we didn’t spare the opportunity. The punctual guard blew his whistle, nudging passengers to get back to their seats in 3 minutes.
The wonderful journey continued and we reached FLAM by 5:30 pm.
FIRST VIEWS OF FLAM VALLEY
As the train neared the Flam Station, it glided by the valley at a slightly higher altitude where we caught glimpses of the Flam church, a stream of freshly melted ice and pretty houses sitting tight in the lap of the valley. The destination looked promising, far far away from everything , stationed in the middle of the mountains, surrounded by peace and quiet. It was a dream come true !
We reached FLAM station by 4:30 pm. Alighting our train we found ourselves amidst the 'toy' like village, extracted right out of a movie land. Flam is small and easily explorable by foot. The FLAMSBANA train stood still after the one and half hour journey from MRYDAL, while we posed against it making a fresh chapter in our memories.
POSING AGAINST THE FLAMSBANA
Apart from the visitors who landed up there with us in the same train, the village looked serene and deserted. Wow ! There was ample space run around and play. After a few pictures in front of the FLAMSBANA, we tugged our luggage slowly towards our accommodation that was booked in advance. At the foot of the hillock, along side the fjord was a pathway at ground level as well as another one slanting upward. As we were unsure of the lower path, we took the other one and unfortunately found ourselves dragging our luggage uphill. However, we managed it quite well, a 5-6 min walk on this path that rubbed against the sides of a hillock & curved its way upward, but bang on ! we found our abode- the exotic FLAM MARINA AND APARTMENTS.
FLAM MARINA APTS.
Trust me, the views were to die for. The white little building installed at the mouth of the fjord, housed a dozen individual apartments, each having its own kitchen and huge balcony. We were alloted 2 two-bedroom apartments and a single double room for the 10 of us. Each of our balconies was blessed with unmatchable fjord & mountain views. We were dumbfounded at the sight. The rooms were clean but small. It was more than sufficient for a 2 day stay. The view just wiped out any shortcomings. Red, imaginary hearts and flowers spurted from my eyes at the sight of the harmonious blend of the surrounding hills with bluish-green fjord waters, all standing still like a picture postcard. It was love at first sight !
The rest of the evening was well spent. We walked around the village trying to get an idea of what little was there. Life is bliss here. Fjord waters, pure air, abundant vegetation, beautiful small wooden houses, mildly trickling waterfalls falls from the sturdy mountains, the residents are surely lucky. With just two evenings in the village, we wanted to leave no stone unturned. We tried our hand at the French fries in the restaurant attached our accommodation. Spending time by the fjord side and shopping in a local supermarket was the schedule.
We made sumptuous dinner in our little apartments while gazing at the scene outside our balcony. The evening views were to die for. We couldn't stop talking of what a wise choice this place was. After dinner, we called it a day.
Day 17 Norway & Denmark Diary : 16th April 2019 :
The Twizzy Mania with E-MOBILITY
The day began at a leisurely pace with a lazy breakfast by the fjord side. The only planned itinerary for the day was exploring the STEGASTEIN view point with self-driven TWIZZY cars, to be hired from E-MOBILITY.
A short walk from the FLAM MARINA APARTMENTS brought us to the TWIZZY CAR HIRE station. It was nothing but a small shed like office, outside which rows of eco-friendly, electric, TWIZZY cars were stationed. The tickets were booked in advance on their website. All we had to do was provide our booking confirmation and pick up cars of our choice. Ours was a two hour slot - 11 am to 1 pm. The instructor directed us on its usage & do’s & dont’s. The cars were smaller than the Indian REVA and seated just two people, one driver and one on the rear seat. The space was enough just to fit two bodies comfortably inside. The doors opened up like butterfly wings and the steering was placed in the center. The GPS lady, who played our guide, directed us to our destination. We hired two such cars fitting 4 people. For the other 4 members we hired a Volkswagen Golf. This was done for the simple reason there were only 3 drivers amongst us.
While 8 of us were busy with the Twizzy, two others were happy to explore another track using the RED tourist road train. Their route was completely different from ours and the ride, they said, lasted for an hour, crossing the highs and lows of FLAM village alone.
The "drivers" in our group felt unsettled till they got a hang of the little car. Before long, the group zoomed away enjoying the surroundings thoroughly. Wind blew on our faces through the windows. The pathway meandered upward along side the fjords. Bollywood songs on our mobile enhanced the experience. The eco-friendly, green electric car is a simple & easy drive once you learn the tactics. In about 15 minutes time we raced through a tunnel and reached the village of AURLAND.
AURLAND VILLAGE
GLIDING THROUGH AURLAND
Basking lazily over the bluish fjord waters, carpeting the piedmont, lies the village of AURLAND. It is an absolute paradise to ride through this village. A sparsely inhabited village, no different from the regular feature of NORWAY, we observed. The e-mobility car played a perfect match to its narrow roads. The nature around was definitely distracting, but we rode comfortably & safely. Mountains that ran infinitely alongside seemed to come alive. It reminded me of a song from an old English Classic movie- " THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH THE SOUND OF MUSIC". We envied the residents who were blessed with luxurious nature.
We drove upward swerving through hair pin bends . At one such turning, we stopped to catch the perfect, aerial glimpse of the Fjord & the AURLAND village. A beautiful Spanish couple offered to click our pictures there.
The Stegastein view point
STEGASTEIN
At a driving distance of less than 25 minutes from Flam central, hidden somewhere above the hills surrounding the Aurland Village is the STEGASTEIN VIEW POINT. The jaw dropping point is just a wooden ramp jutting out of a hilltop, with its L shaped tail curving down the mountain side. It is a must visit for tourists getting to Flam. There is more than one route to get here. One can take a ride from Flam central, or just hire a vehicle to self-drive, or get to Aurlandsvangen ( Aurland Village) by bus and further take a car from there, or simply hire the self-driven TWIZZY car from Flam like we did !
Continuing on our way up the mountain above Aurlandsvangen, we reached THE STEGASTEIN VIEW POINT. After parking our cars in an allotted area, we walked towards the viewing ramp. The floor and sides of the ramp is made of wood, except for its viewing edge, which is covered with glass. Unhindered views of the snow peaked mountains and the entire AURLAND village below were highly rewarding. We spent about 15 minutes up here and requested a tourist to take our pictures. It wasn't quite easy to get the picture minus the crowd but we finally managed that !
Two hours flew past. The drive upward had taken nearly 45 minutes. We spent 15-20 minutes at the view point before we began our race down hill. The TWIZZY wizards that we had turned into, helped us zoom by comfortably, though the views on our right hand side did occasionally give us the jitters. Had these steep mountain edges gone unnoticed on our way upward ?? One slip could take us directly down through the valley into the fjords. An adventure of that level is something we were not ready to take on. We held our heart in our palms as our "drivers” carefully waded their way downward. It was nerve-racking. However, the roads, hills, snow peaks, waters, greenery, village of AURLAND that we flew past yet again, put us on seventh heaven. From a distance, we could spot the cruise ship that was anchored in front of our apartment accommodation. That was the view of FLAM from Aurland for us. We soon reached the borders of FLAM and kept following the instructions of our GPS lady. Somehow, we missed a turn and went straight ahead, away from the village center completely. We found ourselves near the FLAM church and realised that we were off track. We turned around and soon found our way. No one could get lost here !! could they? except in the lap of mother nature. We got back at the expected time and returned the cars to the office. A slow walk, back to our apartment, relishing the surroundings as much as we could, lead to some superb photographs. We rested after lunch and decided to have our dinner that night in the village restaurant.
An evening - Knocking at the soul of Flam
A leisurely walk showcased the best of FLAM. It was utterly beautiful and a killer. I am sure my eyes would never get sore even if I were to remain staring at it my entire life.
Past the railway station was the e-MOBILITY shop and right behind that was the FERTHEIM hotel, the best and most expensive in the whole of FLAM. A little ahead was the railway station, where we had arrived the previous day. Next to the railway station in the same line was the Flam Museum, shops, souvenir stores including a big super market. We bought a few things from the market including some little eats for the evening, which we decided to munch in the open. It was also decided that we have our dinner in a restaurant cum pub which was just around the corner.
There were other eateries, one built into an abandoned train engine, but we found this the most impressive. The STAVE church like building attracted us not only because of its external looks but also the internal vibes and the vegetarian menu they offered. We were requested to be there by 7:30, by which time dinner would be served.
In the meantime, we wandered around the farthest point of the village, crossed a bridge and found ourselves at the mouth of the fjord. It was a beach like set up. There were plenty of colourful banana boats lined up on the banks of the fjord. This was the spot where the canoeing & boating for tourists was hosted in summers. We were captivated by the strange magnetic pull of this place. Given a chance we would never leave it or get away. The mountains and water offered strange pleasure and comfort. We then walked towards the settlements. There were very pretty houses lined up and we wished we could own at least one of them. A huge garden kind of green space with park benches and a little play area awaited us at the left side of the settlement. We perched on those benches and binged on our evening snacks with some juice. Our children, smitten by the swing in the play area, swung themselves as high as possible and once they were done to their heart's content they ran around the ground. It was delightful.
We then strolled down to our very special pub. As we were a little early, we were required to wait a while, before they accommodated us. We were glad to witness the spotless nature outside. It rained a bit, but that was fine. What fascinated us was the viking heads etched on the trees nearby. We adopted a few benches. Few of us tried our hand at mild exercises, while others sipped away their bottle of juice and chatted merrily. The the wait ended soon and we entered the restaurant!
This lone tree, as I mentioned before, found outside the pub astonished us. The foot of the tree was like that of an animal with lot of toes standing firmly put on ground (click picture for full size). On the ankle portion of this foot, was a carved serpent which might have be was a sign of it being guarded by the vikings. The viking heads, carved out on each branch displayed different emotions. As you can see, together the branches look like human fingers reaching for the sky. Wonder what the story behind this is. We didn't ask around much, instead sipped the treasures of nature along with our juice, waiting for our dinner call.
Aegir Bryggeripub
Our waiter in the pub claimed to be an ex-employee of NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, so he offered to capture our special moments. His service was unparalleled, he understood our vegetarian needs and suggested yummy food, which we will always remember. We also received suggestions to order a certain portion of food, which consisted of free wine tasting of 5 different kinds. The Veg burgers and salads were amazing. The cheese cake with raspberry and the chocolate desserts melted into our senses. We had a wonderful time & a great meal. It was the best decision we had ever made. Would we get another chance to visit this village and have grub here ?? We can only keep our hopes alive.
Stepping out of the PUB, well fed and with lasting taste of deliciousness in our mouth, the view in front of our eyes stunned us. The night had fallen. The moon was up and smiling. The path ways were as deserted as ever . Walking down the lane it felt as if we were in some studio , shooting and enacting in our own movie.
We had an unfortunate episode with one of the group members suddenly developing an indigestion and puking on the way back. She was fine and felt much better after that, thankfully, up and smiling again for our night shoot. The cool breeze blew on our faces and we savored every moment till we reached our apartment.
With a heavy heart, we were to leave this dear village on 17th (the next day) via train, to reach OSLO. Yes ,the journey was definitely not over, but parting ways with this rare beauty was going to be difficult. It was a very short stay but the views hold a strong place in our emotions forever. Of course, this is true of any place we visited in NORWAY.
NIGHT VIEWS OF FLAM
Day 18 Norway & Denmark Diary : 17th April 2019 :
FLAM - MYRDAL - OSLO
We were up early that morning. Yet another scintillating journey in the FLAMSBANA TRAIN to cover the Flam to Mrydal leg and get to OSLO. This time we were ready to capture the KJOSFOSSEN waterfall in its frozen form, from as close as possible. The train stood engulfed by a tunnel and the wide viewing gallery was flooded by the passengers. We managed to get what we wanted. Soon moving further, we got off at Mrydal station and sat in the lounge waiting for a delayed train to Oslo. It was cold outside the lounge, but the scenery was colorful.
When the train finally arrived, we juggled around with our luggages before we settled down. The greatest concession was having reserved tickets before hand. The Train moved away from the beautiful MRYDAL , from the Rock Solid Snowy mountains to melting waters, to Oslo City. The changing scenery was a clear indication that Oslo would be different in surroundings, most likely a vibrant one. We were eager to reach there and experience it. The Journey took us six hours in all. For further story read OSLO