Day 27, 9 July 2014, Oslo to Myrdal on the Bergensbana (The Bergen Line) - then onto the Flamsbana line down to Flam (like the "flom" in flambé!)

Most definitely travel day - and one of the scenic highlights of the trip so far (which is saying something). I was at Oslo's Central Station with only 45 minutes to spare (I'm aiming to cut down to 30!) and settled myself into air-conditioned comfort as soon as the train arrived. Oslo itself is melting - 30 degrees and 95% humidity. Very unseasonal according to locals. The Bergen Line is said to be one of the most scenic train rides in the world - and the first couple of hours were nice enough, but as the outside temperature dropped from 31 to 15 and we climbed to 1200 metres, suddenly there was a lot of the white stuff about - took me completely by surprise - went from me melting in Oslo to the snow melting from the peaks in the blink of an eye. Today's picture is in the final reaches just before arriving into Myrdal. The train was slightly delayed along the way, and I knew from the whiz bang onboard wifi that I had to get from Platform 1 at Myrdal all the way to Platform 11 (and I'd thought Myrdal was a blip on the map... tiny... nothing more than the terminus for the Flamsbana)... hoped 10 minutes was going to be enough for the transfer... As it turns out, Roman numerals I and II would have been more appropriate as Myrdal has only two platforms after all - left and right. Loads of time! Flam Railway is not cheap - say $55 for the one hour/20 km/20 tunnel trip. But it's BRILLIANT. The danger of too much research is no surprises in life and the waterfall stop after 10 minutes travel was a huge surprise (and a welcome cooling shower). The benefits of a waterproof camera can never be overestimated. It was a tiny (tiny!) bit touristy, but while standing in the roaring spray they have ethereal Viking type music playing with a woman in long scarlet robes swaying around up near the waterfall. More atmospheric than it sounds. The waterfalls, the rivers, the turf-roofed houses and the eventual arrival into Flam nestled beneath lush green hills was superb. Thankfully the rustic hostel (think pinewood sauna with 2 bunks) was only a few minutes walk - so I could leave my bag and stroll back to town. I had meant to return for reindeer on a stick - but ended up getting suckered into fish & chips overlooking the fjord. (To put the Flam rail price into perspective, dinner and an icecream was $27... makes the scenic narrow gauge rail look cheap!) Because the mountains surround the village it actually seemed to get dark "early" tonight... 9.30 pm or so. Utter luxury to snuggle down and finally get to sleep. Big(ger) day tomorrow... Express boat through the fjords from Flam in the middle of Norway to Bergen on the West Coast. By express I mean over 5 hours - the ultimate mini-cruise.