26.05.19 - Bergen to Flåm

These last two days were mostly transit days. Yesterday we flew from Copenhagen to Bergen - which has a very nice and surprisingly quiet airport. Our one-night layover was at Opus XVI, very conveniently located to the bus station (and city center), yet tucked away just enough off the main road to be quiet.

Today saw us continuing our journey via two trains from Bergen to Flåm. The first leg of the route is Bergen to Myrdal which took two hours. Then a 50-minute transfer at Myrdal, which luckily has an indoor cafe because otherwise we would've frozen our butts off. Myrdal Station sits just under 3,000 feet in elevation, which means no trees, plenty of snow and cold temperatures.

Then the tricky part. The Flåmsbana railway runs between Myrdal and Flåm, and this is a very popular route. And, to top it off, there's no assigned seating. So if you're a family? Definitely want to get on the train as soon as you can. Now, this gets tricky when you're faced with a crowd of tour groups full of people who have no consideration for waiting in line or respecting personal space. We manage to muscle our way into the train, albeit with a lot of side eye and irritation on our part, and find seats. What we didn't realize until after we'd boarded is that the larger tour groups actually have entire carriages reserved specially for them - which makes sense in a short train with limited space. However, it's a problem when the tour guides don't seem to know this and their people just go any which way.

The last leg from Myrdal to Flåm is an hour of descending back down to sea level. I can see why people call this the most scenic train ride because the views never end.

Flåm is, of course, amazing. To be nestled in the back of a fjord in a quiet town, is a pretty spectacular experience. Minus the cruise ship of course. The downside of being such a nice place is everyone wants to visit!

Breakfast

~ Opus XVI

Vågsallmenningen 16, 5014 Bergen, Norway

• Buffet

Amazing spread! So many options from smoked salmon to homemade pickles and jams.

Lunch

~ Sabi Sushi

Finnegården 6a, 5003 Bergen, Norway

• Mixed sushi

The salmon maki was a winner. Like butter. I think the other was ahi, and that was good too, but the salmon was the bomb.

Dinner

~ Ægir BrewPub

A-Feltvegen 23, 5743 Flåm, Norway

• Salmon

• Lamb sausage

• Beet hummus bowl

I had low expectations since you're a trapped audience in this area, but the food was actually very tasty and I enjoyed this a lot!