Norway Travelogue

Day 1

London Stanstead airport to Bergen. Stayed in the Radison SAS. Quick look around the city centre and funicular railway to look over the city. Had coffee in the restaurant whilst it rained. Visit the tourist information. Good displays, plenty of leaflets and helpful staff. Ate in Italian restaurant.

Day 2

Walked around the fish market. Also stalls selling fruit, vegetables and flowers. Also a few stalls selling jumpers, furs hats and other tourist goods. Took Bergen tour on bus and the cable car to the top. Cold and windy so take something warm. Walked around the old town.

Went on the funicular railway, this time in good weather. Visited the fish market again. Tried whale. Bought some prawns to eat back at the hotel. Made use of the hotel pool, Jacuzzi and sauna.

Day 3

Left Bergen. Bus picked us up from the hotel at 7.15am. Get to the ferry early so as to get the window seats at the front of the ferry. We left at time. The ferry even turned around a few minutes after leaving to pick up a couple who turned up late. Efficient and fast. Lovely views. If the weather is good stand outside, but dress warmly as the weather was cool and the ferry speed is fast. the ferry stops every so often at small villages to pick up and drop of passengers. Changed to another ferry. Arrived at Balestrand.

The Kvikne's Hotel is five minutes walk from the harbour. The man that took our bags to the hotel by van was the same person that checked us in at reception. Dolphins surfaced several times a 150m in front of the hotel.

Explored the area around the harbour. Only handful of shops. Supermarket, gift shop, cafe and tourist information.

Day 4

Hired bikes from Tourist Information (50nkr) for half day (9.30 - 4). Explored the village and cycled along the road that follows the fjord. In the afternoon cycled, passing through a few groups of houses and a couple of villages.

Day 5

Lazy morning. Took Flam tour at 11.55. The bridge of the boat was open for passengers to wander in and look around.

The pilots job seemed easy - just flicking a stick now and then to make adjustments to the autopilot. Another pilot had his feet up and read a newspaper. Another crew member was telling a passenger how the engines that pushed the water out the back could fill a swimming pool in two minutes.

We took a detour down a small fjord to stop and watch some seals. Arriving at Flam we had about hour to pass whilst we waited for the connecting train to Myrdal. In Flam there are a few tourists shops and restaurants and a small museum about the train line.

Myrdal to Voss. The train along this busy Oslo to Bergen line busy. Not having reserved seats meant we were moved a few times until we found a vacant seat. The views were lovely and reminded me of the hills and forests we saw on the Trans-Siberian railway.

Voss to Vik. The 54 seater bus left promptly and only had a few passengers on board. Narrow roads winded and climbed during the 150 minute journey. At one point it climbed a seven stage hairpin bend taking us along a single-track road at snow level before descending to Vik. It was early evening and not much to do whilst we waited 90 minutes for the ferry.

Vik to Balestrand. The ferry was on time and only took 15 minutes to get to Balestrand. The evening buffet included muscles and road reindeer. One of better buffets.

Day 6

The regular ferries to Fjaerland finished early September and we wanted to go to the glacier. We had heard about the helicopter and seaplane but they were very expensive for the 20 minute flight. We opted for the receptionists friend who charted a private boat. Ten of us set off at 10am for the 90 minute journey.

A short taxi ride took us to the award winning glacier museum where we saw a short film and had a look at the excellent exhibits. Another taxi ride took us to a small lake at the edge of the glacier. A small cafe served refreshments before we headed back to the boat. On the way back we spotted some whales surfacing to breath.

Day 7

Rained all day. Not a hard rain but a continuous trickle. Stayed in the hotel lounge over looking the fjord and read books. During a break in the rain walked down to shops but they were all closed. Went back to reading. Saw the word "bitter" on the drinks menu and tried one with my lunchtine pan fried trout. The drink turned out to be one of the strongest spirits.

Day 8

Still raining Packed up and read some more before catching the 11.55 ferry. This was the last ferry on the Bergen to Flam route of the season (17th Sept). The next one is in May. This was the second time we had done this trip and we saw more seals this time. The captain of the ferry seemed in a good mood and was saying jokes and making funny comments on the tannoy. The autumn colours were now showing on the trees. A few days ago they were green.

Travelling up the Flam railway in the rain we could see the effect a few days rain had had on the waterfalls and rivers. They were flowing a lot faster and wilder. We did not stop at the main waterfall as it was still raining hard.

The Oslo train was busy. More spectacular views with snow capped hill and fast flowing rivers. Time went quickly mainly due to reading and sleeping. We arrived at Oslo at 10.30pm. We used our taxi voucher to the hotel but the journey only lasted less than one minute

Day 9

The hotel swimming pool on the 34th floor was closed for repair ll week. A shame as I was looking forward to this. Took a sauna instead. The bus tour of Oslo was worth it. In the afternoon we took a ferry to visit the outdoor folk museum. Most of the exhibits were closed as the tourist season had finished.

Day 10

Last full day in Norway. Wandered around te shopping malls. Walked around the royal palace and watched the guards guarding.

Also watched a film crew busy filming a scene about a taxi stand with the backing music of Ballroom Blitz by Sweet bought a sandwich and drink from 7-11 and went back to the hotel around 3pm.

Day 11

Flew back to London Stanstead via Bergen.

Norway Menu

	Home
	Travelogue
	Photo's page 1
	Photo's page 2
	Photo's page 3
	Photo's page 4
	Photo's page 5
	Photo's page 6
	Photo's page 7
	Photo's page 8
	Useful Sites