Norway’s Flåm Railway is without doubt one of the nation’s largest vacationer points of interest, and is full of folks through the summer season. However what’s it like within the winter? Let’s discover out.
Have you ever ever been to the Norwegian fjords? In the event you’ve been by practice or on a cruise ship, there’s an inexpensive likelihood you’ll have visited Flåm. And you probably have, you’ll most likely have taken a journey on one among Europe’s most well-known railways.
The Flåm Railway (Flåmsbana) was initially constructed to attach folks and items between the distant fjords and the Oslo to Bergen railway. However at this time, it is largely a vacationer attraction.
I’ve taken the journey a number of occasions earlier than, however I actually wished to see what it will be like through the winter. Will not you come alongside for the journey?
Watch a Winter Flåm Railway Journey
In the event you desire watching relatively than studying, you’ll be able to watch this text in video kind under. I extremely advocate watching the video to completely respect the surroundings. Simply hit the play button to get began:
In the event you loved that video, learn on for extra info and plenty of pictures of this winter wonderland.
From Bergen to Myrdal
Except you’re arriving into Flåm by cruise ship, most individuals will take the Flåm Railway from Myrdal right down to Flåm. To do that, you’ll must take a Bergen Line practice from both Bergen or Oslo to Myrdal.
And so it was that my day started in Bergen. I took the 8am departure in the direction of Oslo and the practice was busy as all the time with a mixture of locals and vacationers.
Flåm Railway Sources: E book a sensational day journey from Bergen together with the Flåm Railway, Bergen Railway, and a fjord cruise. This self-guided tour takes care of all of the ticketing.
In the event you’re beginning your journey in Bergen, ebook your lodging right here and take a look at another unbelievable issues to do in Bergen. And naturally, don’t overlook journey insurance coverage.
Probably the greatest issues about doing the Flåm Railway is you get to couple it up with a journey on the Bergen Line, which has no scarcity of unbelievable surroundings itself.
I used to be a bit nervous about reserving this journey in mid-December as I didn’t know a lot snow there can be within the fjord area, which is notoriously moist. However inside minutes of leaving Bergen my thoughts was put at relaxation because the winter landscapes unfolded.
In reality, as we approached Myrdal, the surroundings grew to become snowier and snowier, even approaching a whiteout at one level.
Arrival at Myrdal
In lower than two hours we arrived at Myrdal, from the place the Flåm Railway begins. Solely a handful of individuals left the practice, with the bulk persevering with on to Oslo. That’s an enormous distinction from the summer season, when many extra folks make this connection.
Myrdal station is tiny and with simply two platforms it’s quite simple to seek out the Flåm Railway practice. With lower than quarter-hour earlier than departure, I headed straight over.
Boarding the Flåm Railway
The railway is effectively often known as one of many world’s most lovely practice journeys, and I used to be tremendous curious to learn how it will be within the winter.
However it appeared not many different folks had been, as I had the practice nearly completely to myself, with simply 10 passengers unfold throughout all of the carriages.
That meant I might get my most well-liked seat and settle in for the 50 minute journey. And with that, we had been off.
I all the time love taking this practice however to take it with so few folks onboard was simply fabulous. I might benefit from the surroundings on each side of the practice with out bothering anybody else.
Shortly after departure, info is given in each Norwegian and English concerning the journey, one thing which occurs once in a while all through the journey.
After only a few minutes, the practice makes its first cease at Vatnahalsen. In the summertime, it’s regular to see a number of folks selecting up the practice right here due to the favored resort. However at this time within the winter, there was no one to be seen.
It doesn’t take lengthy to get your first spectacular view of the valley under, via this type of cutout tunnel with home windows, one among many tunnel sections alongside the route. It’s arduous to imagine there’s a railway winding its approach down right here.
Kjosfossen Waterfall in Winter
Quickly, it was time to get off the practice for a quick cease at Kjosfossen, the well-known waterfall. Or a minimum of, it’s normally a waterfall, one which tumbles down 225 metres. Within the winter, Kjosfossen is one huge ice sculpture!
However the photographs you allow with are not any much less spectacular, and the guard had simply as a lot bother herding everybody again on the practice as they do in the summertime.
In case you have taken this journey in excessive season, you’ll know that there’s usually a “shock” look right here for the vacationers. Unsurprisingly, that doesn’t occur within the winter!
Fantastic Valley Views
As we continued on our journey, it began to rain just a little, however relatively than spoil the view, this simply served so as to add to the ambiance.
Because the practice descended farther down into the valley, we started to see indicators of civilisation. These are a mixture of everlasting houses and vacation cottages. Then the river got here into view, and stayed with us for the remainder of the journey.
It was solely simply now that I realised the view was now over on the opposite facet of the carriage! You’re by no means fairly certain which strategy to look on this railway journey.
Simply as you assume you’re nearly on the backside of the valley, it opens up as soon as once more for one more unbelievable view.
With about 10 minutes to go, we approached the previous village of Flåm. Having walked there from the port only a few months in the past, I saved a watch out for the previous church. It was straightforward to identify, as soon as I found out the place we had been.
I promise you these footage should not black and white! I do know it’s arduous to understand the views from these photographs, so I encourage you to observe the video above to get a greater perspective on the fantastic surroundings.
We had been now down at fjord degree and quickly approaching our last station. The journey took almost one hour, nevertheless it had passed by in a flash.
Arrival in Flåm
My first thought upon arrival was merely, wow. I’ve all the time thought the mountains round Flåm look imposing, however within the winter, much more so. Whereas the handful of different passengers wandered off, I simply stood on the platform and took all of it in.
My ideas then turned to 2 questions. Why was this railway constructed, and within the days lengthy earlier than computing, how was it constructed? Having taken the journey earlier than, I knew among the solutions, however I couldn’t recall the entire element.
Flåm Railway Museum
The operators of the Flåm Railway should know these questions are entrance and centre in guests minds, as there’s a small museum close to the station. In contrast to many issues in Norway, it’s free to go to.
I’ve been earlier than, nevertheless it’s all the time good to get a refresher of this fascinating story. Building of the road began in 1924, with the road opening in 1940. Sure, which means building took 16 years.
That will sound shocking, however maybe not a lot after having simply taken the journey through the winter!
Horses had been closely utilised within the early years, whereas the development of the tunnels was probably the most time-consuming activity. Tunnelling prompted deadly accidents, whereas quite a few landslides additionally prompted issues.
Electrical locomotives had been quickly launched, and after the Second World Battle the road attracted as much as 100,000 passengers per yr, a lot of whom had been vacationers. Freight transport was vital within the early years, however as roads improved, this grew to become much less related.
Nonetheless, vacationer curiosity has exploded, with nearly 1 million folks now taking the journey yearly. Many of those are cruise ship passengers, however there’s loads of day-trippers from Oslo and Bergen too.
Flåm and the Aurlandsfjord within the Winter
I had an hour to spend in Flåm earlier than my return journey, so I headed straight for the port so I might check out the fjord in its winter coat.
After strolling about within the chilly I used to be beginning to really feel the coolness, so I headed in the direction of the village centre to see what was open.
The native bakery was open and surprisingly busy. A sandwich and a really massive espresso did the job for me and I used to be quickly on my approach again out into the chilly.
The Return Journey to Myrdal
It was quickly time for the return journey. This time, it was just a little busier for the journey again as much as Myrdal, however there was nonetheless loads of room onboard. I shared a carriage with simply 4 others.
The perfect factor about doing the return journey so quickly is precisely what to look out for. It additionally gave me the chance to essentially take every part in, as I’d already taken a ton of photographs and movies on the way in which down.
Within the blink of a watch, though it really took nearly an hour, we had been again at Myrdal. It started to snow closely, and with an hour to attend till the practice to Bergen, I headed inside.
Though there’s a cafe and small store at Myrdal station, every part is closed exterior of the excessive season. So it was only a case of sitting and ready. Actually, that was no unhealthy factor after the visible feast of the previous couple of hours.
Again to Bergen
After a brief delay, the practice from Oslo arrived to take me and a handful of different passengers again to Bergen.
It stunned me how many individuals bought off at Myrdal, able to take the Flåm Railway through the afternoon. They had been seemingly doing the favored day journey often known as Norway in a Nutshell.
Flåm Railway Sources: E book a sensational day journey from Bergen together with the Flåm Railway, Bergen Railway, and a fjord cruise. This self-guided tour takes care of all of the ticketing.
In the event you’re beginning your journey in Bergen, ebook your lodging right here and take a look at another unbelievable issues to do in Bergen. And naturally, don’t overlook journey insurance coverage.
The practice remained busy, so relatively than looking down my assigned seat, I did as I usually do on Norway’s lengthy distance trains, and headed to the eating automotive. I purchased a beer, and gazed out of the window at but extra unbelievable surroundings on the way in which again to Bergen.
I do know that a lot of you studying this will probably be planning to go to Flåm by cruise ship. Take a look at this video to see what a fjords cruise to Flåm seems to be like with out the snow.
Have you ever been on Norway’s Flåm Railway? I might love to listen to what you thought within the feedback under.
