Norway - part 2

Norway is a big country. 14 times more people than Iceland, more than 3 times the land area. It is a much bigger country than Iceland, but not as big as Australia with a population of 5.5 million compared to Australia's 26 million, but they are squeezed into a smaller area. As are the tourists.

Day 5

We hopped on a train from Bergen for a bit over an hour and were soon travelling through very green, pretty country.

Then we changed to a bus. There were too many people. We were told to take the next bus. That was ok, as it turned out there was a convoy of six large buses doing the tourist run together to the little town of Gudvanger.

The buses stopped half-way for a photo op at a hotel up on a very steep hillside. This is the view.

Half an hour later, about 350 people were spewed out of the buses to line up for a two hour cruise along one of the most famous fjords. 

It was truly spectacular. Zoom in on the boat. It is the same as the one we were on. Electric ships, designed to carry 400 passengers along the fjord. It was quiet and smooth and new.

The three decks were accessed by outside ramps along the sides on the boat. No climbing of steep stairs required. And all the black on the sides are well designed tinted windows that gave very good views from inside. 

The top deck was the roof. And there was a cafe inside. The hot chocolate and apple pie was delicious.

I took lots of photos from outside and inside through the windows.

This is our destination, Flam. There is a huge cruise ship there, dwarfed by the landscape, but dominating the small wharf area and the village.

With the right camera angle, I avoided showing the cruise ship.

Most of the approximately 350 people on board must have left on one of the many buses as Flam does not look big enough to house them all. And the boat must bring over a thousand visitors each day.

We did stay overnight in this grand old hotel.

We had a balcony room, with a view toward the water, cruise ship behind the trees.

After checking in and browsing the small museum, we hopped onto a small bus with twenty others. Would you believe there is a road to Flam along the base of those cliffs. It does involve some long tunnels. Then we drove a narrow single lane road of hair pin bends and two way traffic to the Stegastrin Viewpoint. 659 metres above the water. Incredible views again. 

The sunlight broke through the clouds at just the right moment.

Pretty sure our bus driver was swearing in Russian at the stupidity of other drivers on the single lane road. He probably needs a few vodkas after dodging tourist drivers all day.

Dinner in our hotel. Gourmet burgetrs of local pulled goat meat followed by pavlova (exotic Australian dessert?) All very delicious in luxurious surroundings.

What is up the spiral stairs?

A viewing platform, looking over Flam and down the fjord.

And so ended a wonderful day of awe inspring scenery, even though we shared it with a couple of thousand people. It was not too hectic. We felt very relaxed at the end of the day.