The cruise ended in Bergen. Many people, including Christine and Sherry, were heading home. Others had post-cruise extensions. I had booked an extension that included a scenic train ride from Bergen to Oslo and then a day in Oslo.
The following day, everybody had to be out of their staterooms by 8am at the latest. Then we waited around in the ship’s atrium to have our group called to journey to the train station. Just had my carry-on with me as well as the shoulder bag I used when going on the excursions. That held my camera, my cap, and my jacket.
The route included the following locations where we stopped for passengers to get on or off the train:
- Bergen to Voss – scenery of high mountains, deep valleys and narrow fjords.
- Arna
- Dale
- Voss – a place for skiing and high adrenaline extreme sports.
- Arna
- Voss to Geilo – includes a 35 km long, distinctive mountain ridge (Hallingskarvet) and Norway’s sixth largest glacier (Hardangerjøkulen).
- Myrdal – from which the train to Flåm could be taken. The Flåm Railway is one of the steepest railway lines in the world and passes through some of the wildest and most spectacular scenery in Norway’s fjord country.
- Hallingskeid
- Finse – the railway’s highest point.
- Haugastol – considered to have Norway’s most scenic bike path (Rallarvegen).
- Ustaoset
- Geilo – one of Norway’s leading ski resorts.
- Geilo to Oslo
- Ål – the train starts coming down from the mountains.
- Gol – has a replica of a stave church from 1200. The original was moved to the Norsk Folkemuseum in Oslo in 1884.
- Nesbyn
- Flå – has a bear park that can be visited. This is an ancient bear habitat.
- Hønefoss
- Vikersund – has the world’s largest ski jump.
- Hokksund
- Drammen – has an excellent salmon river that can be viewed from the tracks.
- Asker
- Lysaker – spotted a group of seals hanging out here.
The trip was about six and a half hours with 182 tunnels and the highest point 1,237 meters above sea level (roughly 4,058 feet). There was a café on the train, although lunch was included for those of us who were sightseers. A bag with a sandwich, some crisps, a brownie, and a bottle of water were delivered at lunchtime.
I didn’t really venture from my seat other than to visit the loo a couple of times. Our carry-ons were on a rack above our heads.
I had been expecting one of those domed cars that I have experienced with other scenic train rides and was disappointed that, although the scenery was quite lovely, the train’s car was just a standard car. Since I was in the aisle seat, I found it difficult to see out of the windows that well, much less take photos. I tried and deleted several photos as I mostly had pictures of reflections of the train’s interior. I also felt tired and like I was fighting a cold (likely from being chilled in Shetland), so I was getting grumpy about the time we arrived at Finse.
In addition to being the railway’s highest point. This was also where some of the scenes in the film Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back were filmed. Polar explorers Nansen, Amundsen and Shackleton used the area around Finse as training grounds due to the area’s extreme conditions. This was also where I decided to take a photo of my seatmate’s foot. It was, after all, the only clear photo I could get. He gallantly offered to switch places with me. Although I still got some reflections, the level of my photography improved immediately. We did switch back later after we began to come down from the mountains. By that time, I had some good shots that I could keep and share.
Once we arrived in Oslo, we just had a short walk from the railway station to our hotel, which was the Radisson Blu. Then we needed to get our rooms. By the time I got into my room and got settled in, I was feeling like I was starting to go downhill health wise. I took some cold meds, had some dinner, and went to bed.
Next time – Post Cruise extension – A Day in Oslo
