Our day today was a thrilling adventure we had eagerly anticipated. A short 15-minute drive from our hotel, we found ourselves in the charming town of Flåm, ready to embark on an hour-long train ride that would take us up a steep mountain to Myrdal. The Flåm Railway, renowned as one of the world’s most breathtaking rail journeys, is a true gem among Norway’s tourist attractions. Constructed between 1923 and 1940 for transportation between Oslo and Bergen, it boasts 20 tunnels, each painstakingly excavated by hand, adding to the sense of awe and adventure.

Once on the train, we settled into some stunning scenery with winding rivers far below, waterfalls in the distance and farmhouses dotting the green hills everywhere. I was getting bored of it all as we had already seen much better scenery, and I began to think, “Maybe this is just another tourist trap.” An announcement came over the PA system, saying we would stop just ahead in a few minutes to look at a waterfall. Five minutes didn’t seem like a lot of time to get off a train, take pictures of yet another waterfall and then get back on—yup, another tourist trap. The train stopped, and we moved to the doors. Jason got off and turned to me; he smiled ear to ear, and I could tell he was excited. I got off and experienced something I never had before. The Kjosfossen Waterfall was so close that we were instantly soaked, my hair plastered against my head. We walked toward it, Jason taking a video of me as we walked, and it was incredible! It was right there, and we could hear and feel its power. It didn’t matter how cold and wet we got; it was an incredible 5 minutes we won’t soon forget. Jason asked me to take the same video of him walking toward it, and I messed it up, which was disappointing. I got lucky, though, as the train stopped there again on our way back down the mountain, and I got a second chance to make a video and got it right. People who take this trip in the summer would never experience the power of this incredible waterfall at this time of year. The snowy mountains would have melted for a long time by then—another reason to come in the spring.

We wandered around Flåm for a bit and then hit the road again, making a few stops. Once again, we saw yet another site just around another bend that we quickly pulled off the road to marvel at. The Tvindefossen Waterfalls cascaded down the mountain, and we could walk very close to it. It was the widest waterfall we had seen, roaring down in spots and flowing gently in others.  The day was a bit windy, so we could feel water droplets again hitting us. It’s been amazing how, almost every day, we have planned what to do and see, and every day, we are surprised by something that makes the day go from lovely to fabulous. We have been fortunate.

We finally arrived in Bergen, checked in at our hotel, and figured out how to take the train down to the docks—an almost hour-long trip- and we were again overwhelmed by the beauty. While we were on the train, it became packed with hundreds of people wearing red jerseys and scarves, and soon, we realized they were all headed to a soccer game at the Brann Stadium, which holds almost 18,000 people. Being a Sunday and the evening, there weren’t a lot of tourists around the harbour, so we walked through the old part of town called Bryggen before taking the funicular up to the mountain top, where we had a 180-degree view of the city far below. We could see cruise ships docked in the different ports, beautiful bridges, sailboats and all the buildings that climb the mountains. The evening was a bit grey with the clouds, but it didn’t detract from the beauty. Before heading back down, we found a little park with whimsical animals and creatures carved and painted from tree trunks and logs. We will have to send pictures to our girls. Another hour-long ride, and we were home again.

It was another spectacular day to be in Norway, and I look forward to another in Bergen tomorrow.