May 18, 2026
Today was our Norway in a Nutshell Tour (The tour is a popular travel route that combines trains, buses and a fjord cruise to take travelers through some of Norway’s most spectacular scenery in a single day. You're basically traveling from one side of Norway to the other- in our case, from West to East)
We left our luggage at the front desk at 6am because there was a courier coming to pick it up for us. We walked to the train station and went into the grocer- We got yogurt, bananas and croissants for the train. It was a 5.5 hour ride from Oslo to Voss. The train was very comfortable and the route was incredibly scenic with waterfalls, mountains, rolling green hills and snow along the way! The route took us through some of Norway's dramatic mountain landscape and across the Hardangervidda, Northern Europe's largest mountain plateau. The Bergen Railway is considered one of Norway's most spectacular rail journeys, crossing nearly 500 kilometers between Oslo and Bergen and moving through some pretty incredible changes in landscape along the way.
Eventually we arrived in Voss, a mountain town known as something of an adventure capital in Norway. From the train station we took the Voss Gondol about ten minutes up Mount Hanguren, climbing to around 820 meters above sea level. The gondol ride was beautiful and REALLY HIGH.
We enjoyed the beautiful views of the town and when we headed down we had enough time to walk to the town church and take a photo before waiting for the bus that would take us to Gudvangen.
Unfortunately we waited, and waited, and waited until 40 minutes later when we were eventually picked up. Our driver told us there was lots of construction along the route and he was not wrong. It took us 1 hour to go a few miles. At multiple points we were at a complete standstill so the driver put the bus in park and was walking around talking to the passengers. For the next leg of our journey, we were supposed to board a boat in Gudvangen and take a 2 hour cruise through the fjords.
Gudvangen sits at the end of the Nærøyfjord, one of the narrowest fjords in Europe and part of the UNESCO-listed West Norwegian Fjords.
Unfortunately we weren't going to make it because of the bad traffic.
In fact, we ended up being so late that our driver dropped us at another bus station where we were picked up by a driver who took us the rest of the way to Gudvangen and then ushered us onto another bus that took us to Flam.
The little village sits at the end of the Aurlandsfjord, surrounded by steep mountains, waterfalls and fjord scenery. It's also the terminus of the famous Flåm Railway, so despite its tiny size, it gets quite a bit of attention from travelers.
We had exactly 1 hour in Flam which was such a bummer because the town was SO CUTE. We both agreed we would love to go back and that it is highly worth a visit. There are tons of vendors (food and trinkets) and this really cool brewery that's themed like Gaston's beer hall in Beauty and the Beast. It's so cozy and has the perfect vibes for a cold winter day. The food was 10/10 and they were quick because at this point we only had 40 minutes before we had to get on our train. Evan had sausages with lingonberries and I had tomato soup with salmon chunks and homemade crusty bread. We shared a beet, cauliflower and microgreens spread that was so hearty and delicious and because it was a brewery we each tried a hefeweizen. I ate in record time- less than 20 minutes- which is a feat for me.
We snapped a few pics, marveled at the landscape and hopped on the old fashioned Flam railway.
The Flåm Railway is only about 20 kilometers long, but it climbs dramatically between Flåm and Myrdal, passing waterfalls, steep mountainsides and 20 tunnels along the way. It's also one of the steepest standard-gauge railway lines in the world, with much of the route running at a 5.5% gradient.
It was like something straight out of the 70s with orange fabric covered wooden seats that looked out the windows. The railway was very scenic and had informative clips throughout the hour long ride.
At one point, the train stopped and we were allowed to get out for a photo opportunity at Kjosfossen waterfall, a massive 93-meter waterfall that is one of the highlights of the route.
And then something very mysterious happened. The woman of the mountain appeared. According to the legend, the huldra is a seductive forest spirit from Scandinavian folklore who can lure men into the wilderness. She danced for us as we all looked on in wonder. Then, just as mysteriously, she vanished.
We continued on our journey and eventually arrived at Myrdal, a tiny mountain station with no road access. Myrdal is essentially a railway junction in the mountains where the Flåm Railway connects with the Bergen Railway. At one time Myrdal had 110 inhabitants but now has none. We waited in the tiny station for our final train of the day.
This final 2.5 hour train will deliver us to Bergen at 915pm, about 15 hours after our journey began this morning. Cross your fingers our luggage is waiting for us when we arrive.
The train ride to Bergen was beautiful, too. We traveled through mountains and tunnels, with much of the route following the water. It was one of those rides where we kept looking out the window even though we'd already been traveling for hours because the scenery was just too good to ignore.
When we arrived we were a quick 10 minute walk to our hotel. Check in was quick and our bags were waiting for us- score!
After almost 16 hours of travel (how is the sun still shining at 10pm?!) we were ready to find a bite to eat. We found a kebab place right down the street, and it was exactly what we needed: quick, filling and delicious.
On our walk back from dinner the sun was finally setting (at 1045pm!) so we crawled into bed to sleep after our long day of travel.
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