I STILL have a three or four posts to go to finish off our trip to Scandinavia last summer. Yeah, I know that's not relevant to most of you, but since I have stopped scrapbooking, this is the only record I have.
At the end of our cruise we booked an extension that included a trip to the Norwegian fjords. It began with a train trip, which provided a smooth, relaxing ride through some incredible scenery that I think can pretty much speak for itself:
We started leaving the farmland and pleasant mountain villages behind and gaining what seemed like quite a bit of elevation, although at it's highest point, the railway is only about 3,000 feet above sea level. However, even though it was June, there was plenty of snow and ice. I guess that's what living "in the North" means.
These people were all part of our group. (Can you see Bob in the back?) This was a pretty typical scene as we rushed from side to side in the car, trying to capture the gorgeous scenery on our cameras:
We changed trains at the Myrdal Station and boarded the famous Flam Railway, but not before we spent some time outside oohing and aahing at the pristine beauty all around us. I was intrigued by the thought of renting one of these bicycles and pedaling up and down mountain roads.
The very THOUGHT of it seems to have exhausted Bob:
That's a lovely swimming hole behind us, don't you think?
To get me to put one toe into this liquid ice lake, there would would have to be a sauna one step away from the water.
All of these wooden snowbreaks indicate that winters up here must involve a LOT of the white stuff, but I wonder how well the wood holds up with tons of snow bearing down on it?
The Flam Railway, one of the world's steepest rail lines, took us on a 20-km long journey through some of Norway's most beautiful scenery. One of the most spectacular sites was the Kjosfossen Waterfall, 738 feet tall:
At the end of our cruise we booked an extension that included a trip to the Norwegian fjords. It began with a train trip, which provided a smooth, relaxing ride through some incredible scenery that I think can pretty much speak for itself:
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| Train station. Yeah, they look just like this in California, too. (Not.) |
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| The suburbs--also like California, right? |
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| These houses gave me a different way of thinking about a rooftop garden. |
We changed trains at the Myrdal Station and boarded the famous Flam Railway, but not before we spent some time outside oohing and aahing at the pristine beauty all around us. I was intrigued by the thought of renting one of these bicycles and pedaling up and down mountain roads.
That's a lovely swimming hole behind us, don't you think?
All of these wooden snowbreaks indicate that winters up here must involve a LOT of the white stuff, but I wonder how well the wood holds up with tons of snow bearing down on it?
The train stopped here for a Kodak Moment (Does the younger generation even know what that is?), and we were also treated to a "show" performed by an actress dressed as a seductive forest creature from Scandinavian folklore, trying to lure all the tourists into the water.
She almost convinced us to go for a swim.
These pictures are absolutely breathtaking! I can't wait for more!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous. I don't know how you come home and deal with our terrain after seeing all the waterfalls, the fjords, the pristine lakes and (all together now) picturesque scenery everywhere. Do they even HAVE trashcans? Or garbage dumps? Or car-clogged freeways?
ReplyDeleteSo beautiful. Thanks! (But now I'm freezing and have to go and climb underneath a quilt or something.)