Shamrock Report #15
The weather was glorious in Flam yesterday--bright, sunny, cloudless skies greeted us when we opened the curtains in the morning as we were cruising to the end of the Aurlandsfjord,, which is an arm of the Sognefjord--the largest fjord in Norway and the second largest in the world. The fjord stretches 127 miles inland and reaches 4,291 feet below sea level. The cliffs surrounding the fjord rise almost straight up from the water to heights of 3,300 feet. The inner end of the Sognefjord is southeast of a mountain range rising to double that height and covered by the Jostedalsbreen--continental Europe's largest glacier.
The name Flam is derived from the Old Norse word fla meaning "plain, flat pier of land," referring to the surrounding land around the Flam River. The spectacular scenery of mountains, fjords and waterfalls have made it a popular tourist destination and it now receives 450,000 visitors a year.
Our excursion was taking the 12-mile Flambana railway to Vathnahalsen, which is the second stop from the last. The railway has one of the steepest railway tracks in the world. It climbs one meter for every 18 meters it travels horizontally, climbing over 2,800 feet. It opened in 1909, making Flam a crossroads for passengers, mail, and freight to and from Oslo and Bergen. The route traverses the steep valley, crossing back and forth across rivers and through 20 tunnels. There are numerous deep ravines, waterfalls, mountain farms, and snow-capped mountains.
At Vatnahalsen, which took just under an hour to reach, we disembarked and enjoyed tea or coffee at the Vatnahalsen Mountain Hotel. Along with the beverages, they served little waffles that one spreads with jam (it was raspberry) and a delicious type of sour cream (much better than our store-bought), which you then fold and eat. Really tasty! After the refreshments, there was time to walk around some footpaths and view the Flam Valley. Of course there was a souvenir shop, too.
Then we climbed back on the train for the trip back down to Flam, which was somewhat faster. We made sure we sat by a window that opened this time so we could take repeat photos that were not hampered by the glass. It was so beautiful and relatively warm back in Flam, that we decided to avoid the crowds waiting for the tender and had a delightful lunch in the outdoor area of a hotel's cafe. Again, there were shops in which to wander around after lunch. We broke up after lunch: Ken Simpson went on a hike, Gail and Sheila wandered the shops, and I went back to the ship with Bert and Mitch to work on my photos. When we saw Ken yesterday evening, it had been apparent that he got quite a lot of sun. We met up for Trivia, and it was very difficult. I think that we received our lowest score of the trip. I think the several winners received 10 points and there was a tie-breaker to pick a winner.
The sail along the fjord out of Flam was beautiful with sunny skies. We had dinner with Mitch, Bert, Cheron, and Mark. Most of us had an eggplant involtini for an appetizer that was delicious and duck a l'orange for a main course. Then even after dinner, it was still so beautiful and sunny that we went up to the Observation Lounge to spend some more time. Unfortunately, we had an early morning excursion in Bergen, so we finally retired to our cabin.
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Eugene and Gail
