The 11th day of our Scandinavian trip had us waking up in quaint Bergen.  We selected Bergen as a home base for the ease of a spectacular day trip to explore Norway’s famous fjords – in particular the Nærøyfjord and Aurlandsfjord arms of the Sognefjord.

Despite ominous weather forecasts, as we leave Bergen on a train en route for Voss, the weather is holding and looking positive.  Here’s a view out of the train window about 20 minutes outside Bergen:

We’re taking what is called the “Norway in a Nutshell” tour which involves a train from Bergen to Voss, followed by a bus ride on to Gudvangen where the highlight is a two hour ferry ride on the fjords.  As we get closer to Gudvangen, our bus has to navigate a series of severe hairpin turns which offers this spectacular view:

The early morning train and bus rides foreshadowed what would be a day of jaw-dropping scenery.  After just under an hour on the bus we arrive at Gudvangen.  Here we wait for our ferry as it approaches the dock:

On board I have that feeling like this is going to be a special day.  The skies aren’t threatening any rain, and all around us are mountains.  As the ferry pulls away to start the voyage, this is the view looking back toward Gudvangen:

I’ve got a smile on my face that I wouldn’t be able to wipe off for the duration of the trip.  Over the last year I’ve been fortunate to visit some stunningly beautiful places (Swiss Alps, Canadian Rockies) and this is as beautiful as anything I’ve seen.  The narrow passages of clear blue water surrounded by hills and snow-capped mountains set up postcard views in every direction:

This natural beauty is what brought us to Norway (it certainly wasn’t the $5 domestic beer in a can or the $30 medium pizzas!).  Around each bend in the fjord comes another spectacular scene:

I have a few hundred pictures from the two hour voyage where the most common thing heard on board the boat was “wow!”.   Here I am on the top deck of the ferry about half way into the trip:

All good things must come to an end.  Our ferry docks in picturesque Flåm where the next leg of our journey will see us travel on the Flåm Railway via cog train up in the mountains to Myrdal.  Here is the train arriving at the station:

Along this leg of the trip, our luck with the weather runs out as the clouds close in.  As we circle up the 867 metre high mountain by train, the rain starts to pelt down, but nothing would stop us from getting off the train at its mid-point stop at the Rjoandefossen waterfall:

Here we are for a slightly soggy picture in front of the Rjoandefossen waterfall:

We get back on the train as it completes its journey to Myrdal station.  On the platform at Myrdal, we get drenched as the long promised downpour finally arrives.  Huddling under an awning, we’re cheek to cheek with international visitors trying to stay out of the rain.  This doesn’t even start to dampen our spirits as we await our train back to Bergen (which, when we arrive, is bathed in sunlight with no hint of this rain).  This was definitely a day trip to remember.

This entry was included in the October edition of the Carnival of Europe hosted by DJ Yabis at Dream Euro Trip