Roaming through Scandinavia
I spent 2 weeks traveling through Norway, Sweden, and Denmark by train and it was an amazing experience.
My adventure starts off in the city of Oslo, Norway.
Walking through the christmas market And even trying food from a Michelin Star restaurant called Lofeten.
The next day I took a train to Bergen, Norway. It was my first time being around so much slow so throughout the whole-train ride, I was in awe. While there are several ways to travel from the capital, Oslo, to the west coast fjord region there’s only really one way to do it in style. The Oslo-Bergen railway is often cited as one of the worlds most beautiful train journeys. After passing through the forests of southern Norway the train climbs up onto the horizonless beauty of the Hardangervidda Plateau (watch for reindeer) and then descends to Bergen and the edge of fjord country.
Tip: change at Myrdal to take the incredibly steep branch line into the fjord country that fans out from Flåm.
At one point we had to get off the train and get onto another one.
Being winter, there was only 4-6 hours of sunligh each day which was a bummer but i pressed on seeing as much as I could before the sun sets.
After a few hours,I arrived in the small town named Bergen, where I would spend two days before going through the fjords.
Bergen, Norway
My first day I spent my time walking around this small town and checking out the restaurants and fish markets.
The next day, I took a boat tour to go see the Northern Lights. Being from California, I was super excited to see this phenomenon.
Northern lights above the artic sea
Once night has fallen, the next step is to find a location where the sky is as clear as possible. Long story short, the Aurora happens much higher up the sky than the clouds so the heavens have to be open in order for a land-based seeker to behold the grace of the Northern Lights. Depending on one’s location, the Lights appear in different part of the skies but here, In Arctic Norway, the Aurora happens mostly in its northern half.
The Aurora may happen anywhere in the starry sky. It often starts quite weak, as a slight streak of light, quite low on the horizon. The higher the light appears, the closest it is from the seeker’s abode. If the Aurora appears just above the horizon, it is about a thousand kilometers away, but if it appears at a 45 degrees angle up the sky, it is lies only a hundred kilometers from the seeker.
Few hours into my boat ride, and the lights where on full display. Those moments are what every Northern Lights seeker hopes to see when leaving the city-lights behind to gaze at the Aurora. In these moments, the Lights can take marvelous colors, mostly various shades of green but also yellow or red/purple. The arch splits and sends one of its arms straight up, creating the magnificent Corona (crown) with its marvelous draperies dancing.
northern lights above the mountains
After my boat ride, i came straight back to Bergen, I spend my nights in hostels because they are very cheap, I just need a place to sleep and shower, my hostel cost me about $14.
The very next morning I got up at 5am and I headed to the train station where my train departed at 5:45am to my next adventure!
Frozen waterfall
Before I flew to Norway, I booked a tour, Norway in a nutshell, which was basically the beauty of Norway. On the tour you will travel through some of Norway's most beautiful fjord scenery. You will experience the scenic Bergen Railway and the breathtaking Flåm Railway. Traveling on the different railway lines during winter is a special and memorable experience. On the Flåm and Bergen Railway you can sit back and enjoy spectacular panoramic views of the white, wild and wonderful winter landscape.
So from the train station, I went from Bergen to another small town, which I can’t remember the name of, got off the train and took a bus to a lake.
Once I got off the bus, I had to take a boat through the amazing lake to get to the other side. And when you do travel here make sure you come by boat. With only 250m of water separating one cliff face from the other and waterfalls plummeting from the heights, you won’t quickly forget this waterborne approach.
The Fjords of Norway
Let me tell you, not only was this amazing but it was freezing cold, with the wind, temperature got low as -35° F.
Trying to keep still and the cold wind froze my face.
You will also get to experience the Aurlandsfjord and the narrow and dramatic UNESCO-protected Nærøyfjord. The Aurlandsfjord is a picturesque fjord that offers stunning winter views, while the Nærøyfjord is a dramatic fjord surrounded by snow-capped mountains.
Standing tall
After my boat ride, I took another train back to Oslo. Spent the night and the very next morning took another train to Stockholm, Sweden!
To be continued in my next story....