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| Nærøyfjord |
“…the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is
his Name.” - Luke 1:49
The Magnificat is one of the most beautiful
hymns of praise in the bible. As I felt favored by this day’s adventure, I echoed
it as my praise for the God who has done great things for me.
The year before our Nordic trip, I was
blessed to spend my birthday in Petra, a world heritage site. Now, I get to
visit another world heritage site, this time in Norway – the Nærøyfjord,
one of the narrowest
fjords in Europe. This 17 km. fjord is in Aurland Municipality in Vestland county
and was featured in the Norway in a
Nutshell tour that we booked.
After an
early breakfast in our hotel, the Zander K,
Zander K Dining hall with fur-draped seats
we made our
way to the Bergen Railway Station, one of the grandest in Norway.
Bergen Railway Station
The tour
started with a train ride from Bergen to Voss. In Voss, we took the bus
to Gudvangen. The bus ride gave us a clearer glimpse of the icy world we
were passing through, close enough to see the icicles hanging from rocky
slopes.
We went
through the Gudvanga Tunnel, Norway’s third longest road tunnel and emerged on the other side of the mountain in Gudvangen.
Gudvangen
We took some
time to look around an old Viking village
and posed
with a Viking in the Viking Diner.
Then we
boarded the Future of the Fjords,
a cruise boat that took us through the
majestic fjord.
Nærøyfjord is a branch of the large
Sognefjord. It is surrounded by steep mountains dotted with picturesque tiny
hamlets.
Aurland Municipality
Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it has also been rated by the National Geographic Society as the world's number one natural heritage site along with the Geirangerfjord. So imagine how blessed I felt to be in the midst of this wonder.
I had to brave the freezing cold just to
photograph the beautiful sights along the way. I followed this Avoid Turning
Into A Popsicle While On A Fjord Cruise routine:
1. Stay cozy in the heated glassed-in cabin and watch the
spectacular view outside.
2. Jump up when you spot an Instagram-worthy view.
3. Take shots of the view and some selfies until you feel
icicles forming on your nose hairs.
4. Return to the cabin to thaw out.
5. Watch the travel documentary that shows the interesting
places along the way.
6. Rush outside again when the documentary highlights another
Instagram-worthy spot.
7. Repeat steps 3 & 4
The boat brought us to Flam
Docking in Flam
where we visited the Flåm Railway Museum housed in a former rail station building. We were given insights into the history and challenges of building Flåmsbana.
Flåm Railway Museum
Later we boarded a Hogswarts Express-ish train.
Flåmsbana
The Flamsbana took us from sea level up 867 meters to the Myrdal mountain station. The scenery that featured historical, cultural landscape and extreme engineering skills was stunning! (I’m almost running out of superlatives because the things we’ve seen are that great.) We passed through 10 stations, 20 tunnels and 1 bridge.
The most fun part for me was photographing a
troll in ice. I just had to brave another cold outing when the train took a
photo op stop at the Kjosfossen Waterfall Station just to do
that.
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| Kjosfossen Waterfall Station ice cube Troll |
At the
Myrdal station, we were treated to our first snowfall experience. We didn’t
feel the snowfall in Oslo too much. Another train ride to Bergen gave my still
jet lagged body a much needed 2-hour nap. I ended the day with a grateful
heart.
“My soul
proclaims the greatness of the Lord.” - Luke 1:46
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