Sognefjord and Flåm Railway

On Monday, July 31st we had breakfast at the hotel and checked out, walking the few blocks to the harbor, where we boarded the Vingtor ferry catamaran and at 8 a.m. set off north through a myriad islands, then, after nearly two hours, made a right turn into the Sognefjord, the largest and deepest fjord in Norway, about 130 miles long.  As we went, the mountains alongside got higher and wilder until, after about five hours, we made a short visit to part of the UNESCO World Heritage Nærøyfjord, before going on to land at Flåm.

Ashore in Flåm, we bought our train tickets and grabbed a quick lunch (ham and cheese sandwiches from Furukroa Cafe), then boarded the Flåmsbana train, for what many consider to be one of the most scenic train trips in the world.  We would go to Vatnahalsen, the second-to-last stop before the junction with the Bergen-Oslo line at Myrdal.  We had a two-night reservation at the Vatnahalsen Hotel, which has no road access--you can only get there by train, bike or foot.  It was, indeed, a scenic route, with a ten-minute stop at the Kjosfossen waterfall, where we were serenaded (in a short, sharp rainstorm) by a red-dressed mountain nymph named Huldra, for the first of the four times that we would ride the Flåmsbana.  We accidentally almost got off at a stop that someone had called at Reinunga.

Our hotel room was up some stairs (no elevator) but very pleasant, with a view out the back toward the top of the Kjosfossen falls and the Reinungavatnet Lake.  The common areas were very nice.  We made ourselves tea in the main sitting room.

We went for a short walk, toward the lake, before dinner, not getting very far and getting a little rain (with a little rainbow).  It was substantially cooler (in the low 50s Fahrenheit) at Vatnahalsen, at 2600 feet altitude, than at Flåm, which is at sea level.

We had reserved the buffet dinner, which was good (cod, pork neck, buttered potatoes), though we preferred the next night's menu.