Click on any of the pics to open up a bigger version in a lightbox thingy.
After negotiating a fair few of the road-tunnels on the rush from Bergen, we arrived at Flåm in the evening. At the campsite we were welcomed warmly by our hosts who gave us a choice of places to pitch. We chose a place with a view over the village, got the tents set up just as the light began fail and were soon sound asleep after a trying day.
The next morning we took a few pics of the view over to the harbour:
and of the cliffs overlooking the campsite:
then we went exploring on foot, making our way down to the edge of the fjord:
We found that Flåm is a great place, a jewel of a harbour village built around the southern tip of Aurlandsfjord. There is a quaint mix of the historic and the modern:
and the kids enjoyed the place:
The relaxing Scandinavian atmosphere was enhanced by the Latin American influence (and live Samba music) of the crew of the Cisne Branco, a Tall Ship moored in the harbour for a few days:
We were welcomed on board by the Captain to have a look around and to take photos of his rigging:
Here's a pic of the pointy end:
and a pic from the far side of the harbour:
where we got a better view down the fjord:
and found another of the racing Tall Ships, the Christian Radich:
Back at camp after nightfall, the view was worth another picture:
The next day we went for a walk up the valley, passing through pastureland:
playing Poohsticks (you're never too old for this):
and gaining sufficient height to get a good view over the valley-bottom:
We were on the way up to the Brekkefossen waterfall:
when the trees thinned out to allow a better view of the valley below:
One more pic of the waterfall:
and then we had to start back down the valley alongside the Flåm River:
to the harbour, where yet another of the racing Tall Ships, the Lord Nelson, had moored up:
The next morning we were treated to a bit of luxury - the QE2 backed into port while we were having breakfast:
Later we learned that this was the last voyage for her before she becomes a floating hotel, so we went off to the harbour to see her. On the way there, we found this coach parked up. No further comment necessary:
After some negotiation with the security gate staff, I was allowed to take this pic unhampered by the security barriers:
but I had to squeeze the lens through a gap in the wire grid fence (and get a telling off from a different security officer for doing so) to get this shot:
Soon it was time to queue for our seats on the Flåmsbana for a 20km train-journey high into the mountains to Myrdal, a gain in altitude of 864m. Here's a sample of the scenery along the route:
and here's another:
and here are some purple-tinted people:
After passing this:
and this:
the train stopped at the Kjosfossen waterfall for a while:
so that we could take pics:
We disembarked at Myrdal and watched the train return to Flåm:
before leaving the station:
to spend the next hour exploring our surroundings:
which involved negotiating this dodgy flight of steps:
and throwing the kids into the river:
We walked down the valley:
past this magnificent view of the route back to Flåm:
to the next station (Vatnahalsen) to catch the next train back. From there we could see Reinungavatnet:
and lower down we passed these cliffs, which looked good for climbing:
That was our last day at Flåm. We had an early night in preparation for the mad 207-mile dash across Norway to Oslo the next morning, to catch the ferry to Copenhagen.
To be continued...
