Next morning we left for our abbreviated version of NIN. Thon Opera is conveniently located a 5 min walk from the train station. It was a very comfortable 5 hour trip to Myrdal…the last hour of which was incredible scenery. 20 minutes later, the Flamsbana arrived, and it was all that was promised. Scenery was great and it didn’t matter which side you sat on. Kjosfossen waterfall was so powerful! Had I known, I would have had my raincoat at the ready, but I went out and got soaking wet and it was worth it. We arrived in Flåm, and had an apartment for the night right in the center of town, just a short walk from the train. We provisioned ourselves with some bread and sweets from the bakery and food from the coop. We had a balcony that looked out over the fjord so we ate dinner al fresco. High marks to the Ægir brewery next door…my husband is the beer aficionado and that was the best beer he drank in Norway. Finally, we booked a slot at the floating sauna in Flåm, relaxing way to enjoy the fjord in the evening. We had the next morning to relax, go for a little hike, visit the free Railway museum, and do a little shopping before boarding the “express” ferry to Bergen at 3:30 pm. Its a long Ferry ride, but I will say this..its a very comfortable ferry. My advice…get on board early and grab seats with a table by the aft sundeck. It will be just a few steps to get outside when the scenery gets incredible, which it did just after leaving the port of Flåm. Also, pack a nice picnic. There is food available, but only if you like hot dogs and factory made sandwiches.
We had 3 nights in Bergen at an air bnb. Our highlights in Bergen included a “free” walking tour with Sammy which was awesome. We got some great tips including the following: Pre buy your Mt Fløyen funicular tickets at the tourist info office to avoid long lines at the station and make sure that you position yourself for the last car going up…that will give you a great seat and view. Pack a picnic lunch to enjoy Mt Floyen and the fabulous views and if you have time, choose a clear day. Two inexpensive places to eat in Bergen: Søstrene Hagelin for old fashioned fish platters: fish soup, fish balls, fish cakes, salmon wrap, potatoes…we split this between 2 of us; And the Daily Pot a tiny restaurant that does bowls, and soups. My husband had the vegan bowl, and I had the vegetarian bowl (with cheese). We could have easily split one. And we kind of needed some crunchy veg on this trip. We also had the BEST donut of our lives at a little place called Donut Bakeren. Our only regret was we found it on our last day in Bergen.
Our next stop was Ålesund and we decided to take the Hurtigruten port to port…got on 7pm in Bergen to arrive the next morning at 10:00am in Ålesund. Best decision of the trip was to book the Ålesund food walk upon arrival at 11:30 with Rigmor as our guide. Food tours are usually walks with little tastes, but this was a relaxing walk between venues…we sat down and ate a generous portion at each place … which was comfortable, promoting a relaxing atmosphere and pleasant conversation. Some of the restaurants were really nice, so it was a great value. And some we would never have found on our own. Ålesund was a perfect 2 night stopover..easy to walk around, with a charming harbor