At Myrdal Station (867m), a train was waiting on a branch line, one of the steepest railway lines on the planet. From Myrdal to Flåm, down the banks of the Aurlandsfjord, the inland part of the Sognefjord, the course winds through 20 tunnels and plunges, losing 866m in just 20km and dropping with a gradient of 1:18. It seemed that there was no place where Norwegian trains could not travel.
If the ascent to Hardangervidda seemed gradual, the descent to the town of Vos was far too quick. The snow is thin. The earth has become green. And the rivers, lakes, and fjords were blue and clear. Here he was, another Norway, trucks hugging fjord after fjord. The truck conquered difficult terrain and surrendered, as it had since left Oslo a few hours earlier. The whole trip couldn’t have been more enjoyable than this final fjord-side winding road.
and Bergen. Trains traveled between his seven hills and his seven fjords in this graceful city. The city was tinged with gold, from whitewashed wooden buildings towering on the hillsides overlooking the city center to the train station with its imposing murals. It was a fitting end to a wonderful trip, and in the excitement of my arrival, I felt as if I had seen Norway for the first time.
train journey is a BBC Travel series that presents some of the world’s most interesting train rides and inspires readers to travel overland.
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