Norway in a Nutshell from Oslo

The real reason for being in Oslo, Norway is that we are booked on the "Norway in a Nutshell" tour. This train tour starts in Oslo, and we ride to Myrdal, Norway where we switch to a train that will take us to Flam, Norway.
This train route covers 340 kilometers in approximately five hours, and the route is through some very spectacular portions of Norway.
A Norwegian friend of ours told us that this train ride would be an excellent way to get a more in depth look at Norway's geography and he was absolutely correct. We chose to take the route from Oslo, however, Bergen could be your origination point if so desired.

Some Videos of the Train Ride to Flam

Click the "Play Button" on any video & then once the video has started, you can make it "full screen" by clicking the square in the lower right corner of any video.

Myrdal Train Station
Train on the left is the one we rode in from Oslo and the right-side tracks are where the Flam Train will arrive. We only had to wait perhaps 10 minutes for the Flam Train.

Waiting for the Flam train
We are excited about going down the hill to the fjord below. There were hikers who had ridden with us to Myrdal, and they started off hiking down the hill to Flam.

Flam Train is Ready
OK, the Flam train is here and ready to board. The route might only be 20 kilometers, but due to the sea level height of Flam together with Myrdal being 863 meters above sea level, this results in a maximum gradient descent of 5.5%.

Kjosfossen Waterfall
Kjosfossen is a 93 meter tall hourglass-shaped waterfall that was sourced by the Reinunga Lake (Reinungavatnet) near the highland station at Myrdal.

As the Flam train descended into the fjord valley, it went past some spectacular scenery. As you can see in these images, this water fall (Kjosfossen Waterfall) is absolutely blasting down that hill, spraying everyone on the viewing platform, as it descends down the mountain!

The train route to Flam is only 20 kilometers long, but the majority of the descent is very steep with some grades of 12 to 15 percent! The train stops at this particular water fall, to allow everyone to exit the train and take pics or videos. (there is a video of this waterfall at the bottom of this page)

 Quick Facts 

Kjosfossen is a waterfall located in Aurland municipality in Sogn og Fjordane county, Norway. The waterfall is one of the most visited tourist attractions in Norway. Its total fall is around 225 metres (738 feet). There is a small power station on the waterfall which is used to power the Flåm Train Line railway.

The Flåm Train Line passes directly in front of and over the upper part of the waterfall (the falls continue much longer down to the right (East) of the Line as you head down into the gorge), which is one of the main attractions for tourists who take the Flåm Line. (Some of the Flam tourist maps are orientated with South at the top.)

The waterfall is located about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) northeast of Myrdal Station. During the main tourist season in the summer an actress dressed as a legendary Huldra (a seductive forest creature in Scandinavian folklore) dances and sings in front of the waterfall as the trains enter the station for the amusement of the tourists. The Huldra actresses are all students from the Norwegian ballet school.

The above information was extracted from Wikipedia.

Kjosfossen Waterfall

This is a short video we took of the waterfall described above. I cannot begin to describe how powerful that spray was as it bounced off the rocks towards us on the viewing platform. Did fail to mention how loud it was too?

Flam Harbor
Flam Harbor has direct Ocean access, even though the Ocean is over 400 kilometers distant. The Sognefjord (called the King of the fjords), is the largest and deepest fjord in Norway.

Cruise Ship in Flam Harbor
Upon arrival in Flam, we were surprised to see that there was a Cruise Ship in the harbor. But after doing some research, we found that Flam is accessible to the North Atlantic via the Sognefjorden Fjord, which is not only very wide, but also quite deep (4,291 feet at the deepest point).
Flam Harbor receives around 160 cruise ships per year. In recent years, the cruise port's constant growth made it an year-round destination. In 2018, the port had scheduled 157 ship calls with an estimated 255,000 passengers.

Flam Harbor is 300 kilometers from the Ocean

This cruise ship had come into the Aurlandsfjord from the North Atlantic on the Sognefjord. Aurlandsfjord is a 29-kilometre (18 mi) long fjord branch off of the main Sognefjorden, Norway's longest fjord. The Aurlandsfjord is deep and narrow, reaching a depth of about 962 metres (3,156 ft), and its width is generally less than 2 kilometres (1.2 miles) wide.
There are a number of Cruise Companies that offer cruises that stop in Flam, including; Royal Caribbean, Viking, Cruise Norway, Princess Cruises, etc. This is not a complete list, but you get the idea use Google to read further - or click here to view the 2019 list.

The Aurlandsfjord

We have departed Flam, and are now motoring along the Sognefjord to Gudvangen. The catamaran sails up along the Aurlandsfjord and then turns left into the Nærøyfjord to Guidvangen.

The Nærøyfjord

We were actually scheduled to depart on a later boat, but there was room on this boat and we wanted to get to Bergen before midnight!

Catamaran Ferry Starboard Side

This is the catamaran ferry that we used to travel from Flam to Gudvangen. Comfortable ride due to the twin hulls, and the interior was equipped with comfortable seats.

Catamaran Ferry Port Side

When we arrived Gudvangen, we then got a tour bus that would take us to the train station in Voss, Norway.
The ferry boat is still in the Sognefjord which eventually connects to the North Atlantic. Our ferry will take a left turn into the Nærøyfjord to reach Gudvangen. The Nærøyfjorden is one of the narrowest fjords in Europe and is included on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Gudvangen Arrival

The village in the distance in Gudvangen, and this is what the view looks like as the ferry pulls in coming from Flam. The mountains the ferry boat passed as we motored through the Nærøyfjord are beautiful aren't they?
NOTE: This image is the property of mcxurxo via Wikivoyage

Some Videos of the Fjord Departure

Click the "Play Button" on any video & then once the video has started, you can make it "full screen" by clicking the square in the lower right corner of any video.

Steepest Road in Northern Europe

Our bus journey took us down the steep and spectacular hairpin bends of Stalheimskleiva (the steepest road in Northern Europe). The road has 13 steep (up to 20%) turns. During the bus trip we enjoyed the wonderful views of the Stalheimsfossen and Sivlefossen waterfalls before the journey continued to Voss, where got onboard a train to Bergen.
NOTE: This picture is the property of TommyG via Wikimedia Commons

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