After Bergen we needed to make our way to Flam, where our reservation was for the night. We needed to make the trains that the previous day we were told were booked out.

Arriving at the train station early, a Bergen-Oslo train was leaving in a few hours, and it was a train that didn’t require a booking. We booked our onward tickets, strapped on our bags and began the next leg of our journey.

The journey is the most scenic I have ever taken. Waterfalls around every corner and the flora in multiple shades of green around the still lakes, lined with fishing cottages. Avalanche shelters shield the winding tracks from the steep mountainsides which in winter become slick with snow.

It snowed in the western highlands.

From Myrdal we ran onto the Flam railway which was leaving a few minutes later. Tip: when booking tickets, leave some time between connections. The Flam railway is very popular and fills up quick, so arriving early for a window seat is recommended.

The Flam railway runs from Myrdal to Flam, and boasts being the steepest railway in the world with a 1 to 18 slope along the side of the mountains, into a valley, ending at the beginning of the Fjord. Flam, the small town at the end of the line, is a tourist destination that caters for fjord cruises, and the railway. If you want to get out of town, the Brekke Guard Hostel is a quite series of cottages about a half a kilometre out of town. The cottages provide shared or private rooms with a communal kitchen. If on a budget you can get groceries at the local store in the town, or if you feel like treating yourself, the local restaurant and brewery is made to look like a viking lodge.

Switchback and waterfall in Flam

The old town of Flam as seen by the Flam railway.

For the adventurers out there, I highly recommend taking a Kayaking tour on the fjord. Before arriving, I had my heart set on getting out paddling around the fjord. The smaller trip (3 hours) was already sold out, and the longer (4 hour) tour included a hike, which was even more appealing to me. The morning started clear, but some rain moved in, and thinking ‘well, were going to be in Kayaks on the water’, rain didn’t change our decision to go on an epic adventure. And Epic it was. Our guide, Marta, was full of wonderful local tales and knowledge about the area. We Kayaked to a small beach and began the hike to a waterfall, the trail lined with wild raspberries and edible mushrooms. Just above the beach along the cliff face are small rock mounds amongst the bright green moss. The boulder on the side of the trail hosted a small sign that points out that these mounds are part of a UNESCO world heritage site. The mounds are the remnants of burials of prominent vikings of the time. The seven mounds ran along the ridge, with the boulder separating 2 from the other 5. Automatically the archaeologist in me asks if the boulder may have always been there, or if it was a recent addition, and if there may have been a grave under it. Its unsure if there is another grave, but if there was, it would be squished by the 4mX4mx4m boulder.

Viking burial mound and the waterfall we hiked to.

Mum all geared up for our adventure!

Even with the rain, the small group we were in had an amazing time. we ate a snack by the Viking graves, swapping stories of our travels, and looking out at the scenery of the surrounding fjord. On the way back into the town, a seal made an appearance bobbing around the harbour.