The Flamsbana August 28, 2006
Our flawlessly executed plan today was to leave the Vandrerhjem Hostel at 8:30, walk to the RR station and catch the 9:08 east bound, get off at Myrdal (a forty minute ride) and the Flamsbana’s upper terminus. We then took the Flamsbana to Flam which is on the Aurlandsfjorden.
The Flamsbana is a 20km long railway that runs from Myrdal (866 meters or approx 2850’ above sea level) to Flam (2 meters or 6.5’ above seal level). Nowhere in the world is there an adhesion-type railway on standard tracks with a steeper climb. (If my understanding of the term “adhesion-type railway” is correct this would mean a standard railroad using flanged wheels on a track and is held on by gravity.) The other feature that makes this an engineering marvel is the rugged terrain. There are twenty tunnels along the 20 km of rail with several not only having significant altitude difference from one end to the other but also major bends. To us simple minded folks the scenery is what we come for. The waterfall at Kjosfossen is thundering and runs under the track and even now when the river is not at its highest provides a spectacular show. The train stops there for five minutes to allow for pictures. There was a young lady that was dressed in traditional garb and dancing in front of the falls as music was being played, a little strange but it made an impression. The remainder of the trip was made up of stunning views of the river valley and mountains even on this rainy foggy day.
We reached Flam and stepped into a world that reminded me of a theme park with no real theme. Lots and lots of people milling around this very small town (pop 600) and a full sized cruise boat from the PO line at the dock a hundred meters or so from the end of the train. The boat towered above the train and the town but was dwarfed by the mountains that rose almost vertically from the fjord. Add to this one ultra expensive hotel, a SMALL marina / hotel, our pensionat (cheap hotel), a couple of restaurants and numerous souvenir shops and you have Flam. There are quite a few small fjord sight seeing ferry boats that come and go all day that also add to the general confusion of the place. As the shadows lengthen and the cruise ship pulled out things started to settle down and peace once again returned. Not many people spend the night in Flam with most putting the Flamsbana notch in their guns and moving on.
We are settled in to our room which has a great view of the Aurlandsfjorden and are going to take it easy tonight as there is no internet access here at the pensionat or much of anything else in way of diversion. Tomorrow we will ride the Flamsbana back to the top and catch the train for Oslo and back to the “normal world”. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that the sky will clear and we will get the full views that the Flamsbana is famous for.
The Flamsbana is a 20km long railway that runs from Myrdal (866 meters or approx 2850’ above sea level) to Flam (2 meters or 6.5’ above seal level). Nowhere in the world is there an adhesion-type railway on standard tracks with a steeper climb. (If my understanding of the term “adhesion-type railway” is correct this would mean a standard railroad using flanged wheels on a track and is held on by gravity.) The other feature that makes this an engineering marvel is the rugged terrain. There are twenty tunnels along the 20 km of rail with several not only having significant altitude difference from one end to the other but also major bends. To us simple minded folks the scenery is what we come for. The waterfall at Kjosfossen is thundering and runs under the track and even now when the river is not at its highest provides a spectacular show. The train stops there for five minutes to allow for pictures. There was a young lady that was dressed in traditional garb and dancing in front of the falls as music was being played, a little strange but it made an impression. The remainder of the trip was made up of stunning views of the river valley and mountains even on this rainy foggy day.
We reached Flam and stepped into a world that reminded me of a theme park with no real theme. Lots and lots of people milling around this very small town (pop 600) and a full sized cruise boat from the PO line at the dock a hundred meters or so from the end of the train. The boat towered above the train and the town but was dwarfed by the mountains that rose almost vertically from the fjord. Add to this one ultra expensive hotel, a SMALL marina / hotel, our pensionat (cheap hotel), a couple of restaurants and numerous souvenir shops and you have Flam. There are quite a few small fjord sight seeing ferry boats that come and go all day that also add to the general confusion of the place. As the shadows lengthen and the cruise ship pulled out things started to settle down and peace once again returned. Not many people spend the night in Flam with most putting the Flamsbana notch in their guns and moving on.
We are settled in to our room which has a great view of the Aurlandsfjorden and are going to take it easy tonight as there is no internet access here at the pensionat or much of anything else in way of diversion. Tomorrow we will ride the Flamsbana back to the top and catch the train for Oslo and back to the “normal world”. We’ll keep our fingers crossed that the sky will clear and we will get the full views that the Flamsbana is famous for.
posted by Gary and Holly Davis @ 2:02 PM
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