Flam <--> Myrdal by train and by foot

The resort in Flam was comfortable and nicely maintained. It had a great restaurant that served only local Norwegian fare. We had a great dinner of Norwegian halibut and lamb from a farm up the valley. Excellent - but we did have to have a bottle of French wine.

Our next morning was a beautiful summer day. The sun had been shining on the hillsides for a few hours already when we made our trek to the train station to take the famous Flambama train. This 20 km stetch of track that stretches from Flam at sea level to Myrdal at over 1,000m elevation is ranked as one of the most beautiful stretches of rail in the world. We agreed as we passed along the river, the numerous waterfalls, and the open countryside. Spectacular.

In the picture below, notice the lovely trail besid the waterfall.... one with which we would become quite familiar.....

I had been telling Penny that we needed some exercise on this trip.... hiking, kayaking, rafting. It turned out to be hiking. We decided to hike half way back to Flam and headed downhill. It was a most beautiful hike.... but steep - and longer than we thought. We hiked about 13km or 8 miles and the back of our calves hurt for 2 days after but was still worth it. Goats and all.

That evening, we drove to the next town, Aurdal. Not so "touristy". After dinner we decided to take a drive up the hill to get a view from an "overlook" - quite an experience. The US would have closed this road years ago... no guard rails and single lane in many spots but it was just incredible. The views over the Fjords were fabulous.

All in all, just a great day. The next day we headed to Bergen. More in the next....

As you probably figured out by now, the travel planner and historian is on "holiday". She is back in the US catching up with the family and grandkids. I'm still here in Paris getting in a last few days of work before I head home on Wed. Penny just did a fantastic job in planning this trip too. We saw and did so much and we had so much fun. A life long memory for sure. There are a couple more adventures to record on this one... and then I can't wait to venture out on the next one.