Flam

 

Here is the picture of Flam as we headed for our dock after I had been awake since 4am watching the beautiful scenery pass by my window!

 

 

 

 

 

While Alan and I were on the Flam/Myrdal rail line, we saw darling villages and farms, plus spectacular waterfalls!

 

There was also a road with 21 hairpin curves on it.  This was originally built for the construction workers to get up to the area of building all the necessary tunnels for the rail line.  They would have been using horse and carts though, not cars.  And this road is no longer used, thank goodness!  Well, yes it is, but only for hikers and cyclists!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had a 5 minute stop, both going up and coming down, at this huge waterfall.  While we were stopped, music starts and there is a Huldra singing to us.  (look closely, she is in an orange dress close to the ruined building.) 

Like I said in the previous blog – we heard her even as far as Flam and ran to buy our train ticket!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leaving Flam was even more spectacular than our arrival.  Captain Stein decided to take us on one of his favourite detours.  I had heard of this trip, but it was not meant to happen on this itinerary.  We were so lucky!  I do wish I had caught the name of the fjord he took us down, apparently it is quite famous because it is so narrow.   Captain Stein calls it the Narrow Fjord, but I don’t think that is its real name! 

Whether the ship is able to go on this or not is strictly dependent upon the weather.  He explained that there can be no wind for them to take the ship on this narrow fjord.

I really tried to get a photo that would catch the perspective of how close the ship was to the sides. Quite an undertaking since my camera battery died in the middle of this adventure. Then I just used my Ipad!  Nothing was quite good enough though.  Alan has given me some of his photos.  But they don’t really catch it either.

We would turn a bend and it would look like we could not go any further, but there would be a tiny channel in the distance. This went on for about an hour, until we really did have to turn around!  How on earth we did that is way beyond me.  This manoeuvre was more like being on a train turntable.  I would never have thought what Captain Stein did was possible in such a long ship.  At the point where the ship was perpendicular to each shore it appeared to us that the bow and the stern were only 30 feet away from the shore, each side.  In other words, he did a full 360 degree turn.  We actually missed our dinner seating to enjoy this experience!

I mentioned Captain Stein in passing before, but he is such fun as a Captain.  And he especially enjoyed himself on this detour.  The first time he sounded the ship’s horn, there were campers just minding their own business and not noticing this giant approaching.  We were on the deck above him when he told us to watch them!  He also sounded the horn to a lady on the other side waving a big sheet. He told us she is in her mid-80’s and never misses this event! 

If you look closely you can see the white sheet she uses. She is standing in front of the white building, between the small red and large brown buildings.  I also have a picture of Captain Stein waving to her, but thought this one is at least a bit clearer.  Other people came out and took their photos on shore with the Boudicca behind them.  So they must see the ship passing them as quite an event too!

 

Captain Stein is the living proof that, as Mark Twain said, if you find a job you like, you will never work again!