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Keukenhof Gardens
We have had an afternoon stopover at Ijmuiden, the port for Amsterdam. I think the stop here has something to do with getting the arrival time into London right after the three sea days coming down the Norwegian coast from Tromso, well over 1200 km. We are due at Tilbury Docks about 6 am to disembark.
Although, it is the very start of Spring we took the option of doing an excursion to the Keukenhof Gardens, about an hours bus trip from the port. We were in Amsterdam a few years ago, but it was in Autumn and the Gardens were not open.
The Gardens showcase the Netherlands love affair with the tulip. There were numerous indoor displays to appreciate.
The grounds were just starting to bloom and many of the beds were just about to burst into colourful displays. The weather was kind, some sun and pale blue sky at times. At least the snow and sleet had gone!
The bus got us back to the ship in time for the sail away across the English Channel to London.
We are disembarking at Tilbury Docks, up the Thames River and about an hour training into the City.
Oslo to Bergen
We are now starting the overland trip from Oslo to Bergen. Along the way we are stopping for two nights at Flam to break the trip up. Many do it all in a day as the ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ journey. Generally, you might do that in the summer months when the days are longer. But everyone does it then and there are a lot of people looking for seats on trains, ferries and buses. Bit of a mad rush too we think.
Of course one of the advantages of ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ is that someone buys all the train, bus and ferry tickets for you! But at a very big premium price. Allthego is a bit stubborn when it comes to price. So he hit the internet before leaving Aus and mapped out the itinerary and bought the tickets. Got the dates and times all lined up ok as well. Big saving, can recommend it. Of course we are at the end of winter and it was all pretty easy with availability. Maybe different in summer.
At the appointed hour of 6.25am our train from Oslo departed the station. As planned we were aboard!Fortunately, it was only a 10 min stroll from the hotel to the platform with our overnight bags. The main bags had been taken direct to Bergen by a porter service. Saved a lot of bag hassles. A bit of sun and blue sky to start but it all clouded up as we headed higher into the mountains.
This section of the trip takes us to Myrdal and arrives at 11.15am, a four and three quarter hour trip through the countryside. Myrdal is 866 metres above sea level (Oslo) so it is a steady upward journey, some great scenery and snowy landscapes.
The highest point on the line is at Finse which is 1,222 metres above sea level. Finse is actually the highest railway station in northern Europe, it is really a ski resort. So the line rises and falls along the way.
Myrdal is where we got off the train, it would continue along the main line to Bergen. We had a two hour stop over here awaiting the train to Flam on a different line. The train is called the ‘Flamsbana’. The train journey from Myrdal down to Flam on the Auriandsfjorden (I’ll call it ‘A’ next time) and has been included in a list of the ten great train journeys in the world. ‘A’ is a branch of Norway’s longest Fjord, the Sognefjord.
This is where we had to get out our tickets for the Flam train trip and show them to the conductress who strolled through the cabin calling out ‘tickets’. Just prior to this Allthego had checked the tickets and found out that the Brown home computer had put the wrong date on them! Sunday 16th February, not Thursday 6th March. This was a potential problem. A bit of talking got us through ok, no drama, might have been different if the train had been full of bodies. It was only about a third full for the trip. Just got to triple check dates in future not just the times!
It takes 45 minutes for the train to descend 866 metres over approximately 20 km.
We passed through upwards of 20 tunnels, some corkscrew ones, that were built in the 1920s. A great scenic trip with waterfalls through the Flam Valley, beside the river.
Arrived at the little township of Flam at 4pm and booked into the Fretheim Hotel for our 2 night stay and from where the story will pick up next time.
Oslo on the go
We had three days in Oslo ahead of moving over to Bergen to catch the cruise up the Norwegian coast. The weather forecast for Oslo was not great, rainy, cloudy periods with not much sun. Typical early Spring weather, despite a less than average snowfall through Winter there was still icy snow laying around the streets and parks.
Our room in the hotel was quite small, but comfortable. Not much space for luggage! Breakfast was included so we started the day with a healthy alternative. Allthego occasionally lapsed and finished off with bacon and eggs.
We were surprised when we woke to sunny, blue skies with some high cloud. The chap at the Visitors Centre advised us to take advantage of it and head up the mountain to the Holmenkollen Ski Fields. Take the train to the end of the line and walk back down the hill to the Centre. So we did. Some great views of ski runs in the back woods.
The main objective here was to look at the Ski Museum. Holmenkollen was the location of the 1952 Olympics and also held a number of World Championships. An interesting centre with plenty of old gear. Also some historical bits from the Norwegian polar explorers Nantzen and Amundson. Allthego, thought he saw an old pair of his 1970s Blizzard brand skis on display. Blizzards are not hard to forget, but maybe they weren’t! We both had a go on a cross country race simulator, the two other AI contestants beat us easily.
We then caught the lift to the top of the Ski Jump. Quite a height, Slobro hid in the back pack and Homealone wished she was! There were some great views from the top and looking down the ski jump was a little nerve wrecking. Must be quite an experience descending the run and jumping into thin air about half way down before landing on the run at the bottom!
We made our way further down from Holmenkollen to the railway station to catch the train back to the city. Along the way we stopped off at the Vigeland Sculpture Park. Vigeland was a famous sculptor from the early to mid 20 century. The City Council have put a lot of his sculptures up in this park. He seemed to have a strong focus on the human body and its various appendages. Enough said. All quite interesting but we needed to head off to get back to the hotel before dark.
The next couple of days we aimed to stay in the city for the local sights.
Allthegobro 