Oslo has its own fjord – Oslofjord.

Ferry boats line up on the dock near our apartment to transport Oslo residents off and away, especially on weekends.  Tonight we got to see where all those people are going.

We boarded the Helena, a retired fishing vessel from the 1940s.

Since we are early in the season, it wasn’t that crowded so everyone spread out – cocktails in hand – to take in the views.

We spent 3 hours making a big circle around the inner fjord, which goes on for 100 kilometers to the open sea.

Soon the captain told us dinner was served. On the menu?  Bread, butter, and shrimp!  How can you go wrong with that?

We peeled our way through a couple of plates – with sea gulls looking on hungrily.

Many Oslo residents have summer homes on these islands, which can be elaborate compounds with guesthouses and docks – I like the one below with the diving board to the sea.

Or simple bathhouses – to swim and soak up the sun.

And there are more sailboats here than even in Annapolis!

Our kind of town.

We reluctantly left our little cottage by the fjord and took the train to the big city!

We are in Oslo for the next week.

We have an apartment (via Airbnb) in the ultra hip Tjuvholmen neighborhood – we didn’t realize our digs were so trendy until we got here!

Tjuvholmen means Thief’s Island – it is where Oslo hung their thieves in the 17^th century and was the most dangerous spot in the city until a few years ago, when developers reclaimed the area, bulked it up with artificial islands, and linked with footbridges to the mainland.

Now the area is filled with galleries, restaurants, shops, offices, and condos.

No cars allowed – but lots of boats – perfect for us!

Our apartment is fabulous – with king-size bed-

living room/kitchen-

& bathroom (with washer AND dryer – a rarity in Europe).

And best of all – a balcony overlooking all the action.

Who knew Frank and I were so cool?!  : )

One of our favorite spots in town is the local pub – Norwegian style!

You walk in an immediately know you are in Norway – fireplace, reindeer skins, and all.

They serve a 5-course “Viking Plank” with samples based on Viking fare from back in the day – reindeer, fish, pork, and lingonberry cream for dessert. Delicious!

Plus a flight of local beers paired just for each course!

I am not usually a beer drinker, but even I got into the spirit – it was good! (Although I think I still prefer wine.)

Skol!

Us

Today we went off the beaten path to a tiny Norwegian village of just 100 people (and 400 goats!). It was hard to find anything in the guidebooks about Undredal – even in Lonely Planet.  But the local ferry stopped there, so we decided to get off and explore.

Our other ferry passengers (day-trippers just aboard for a fjord ride) looked a little shocked when we disembarked in this little town – and admittedly, the crew did, too! They explained that the ferry does not stop automatically at Undredal because it is so small.  We have to flip a switch on the side of the building to call them back.

We puzzled on this for a few minutes – and wondered as the ferry pulled away if this was a good idea.

But what a charming place!

The town only had a couple of streets going up into the mountain, but was so picturesque.

They had a little school (“skule”) with a playground.

And a store featuring local goat cheese, for which they are famous.

But the highlight was a tiny stave church at the top of the town.

The Undredal church (“kirke”) is the oldest continuing church in Norway, built in 1147. It seats just 40 congregants.  For 50 kroner ($6), we could go in.

My great-grandfather’s family was from Norway, and I could just picture them worshipping somewhere just like this.

We ended the day back on the dock at the local café with the best salmon we’ve had so far – followed by crepes filled with local goat cheese.

And then we saw the ferry rounding the bend.

I ran over and switched on the yellow flashing light.

Sure enough, the ferry stopped (and I turned off the light before I jumped onboard).

We left Undredal behind and settled in for a beautiful sunny ride back up the fjord.

We will miss this place.

No blog yesterday – it was a work day in the Volpe Household!

Frank helped with laundry.

I set up shop with my HIPAA regulations – with a view.

But eventually had to move myself to the upper bedroom for conference calls – and to concentrate. : )

And take-out pizza for supper.

Real life on the fjord!

We decided it was time to pull ourselves off the sofas with our picture-window view and check out the fjord for ourselves.

We had a big excursion planned for lunch at a famous hotel up in the mountains.  Being the intrepid travelers that we are, we decided to forego the big tour buses and strike out on our own.

Gudvagen

First, we took the bus to Gudvagen, a town down the fjord.

It was adorable – we couldn’t resist stopping for waffles (a Norwegian specialty).

We also liked the sod-topped buildings – done for warmth in winter. Notice that they are watering the roof!

Next, we called the Gudvagen taxi to take us to the mountain hotel.  But oh no – when I called the number the Tourist Information desk gave me, I got a clipped pre-recorded message in Norwegian.  Hmmm . . .  I approached a souvenir vendor and asked them to listen – bad news – the number was disconnected.  So – you guessed it – we had to call our old taxi back in Flam to come get us (a lot more expensive since he had to drive all the way from Flam – the route we had JUST taken by bus!).

When the taxi arrived and we explained that we had called the Gudvagen taxi, he simply said, “Disappeared.”

I raised an eyebrow at Frank.  It turns out the taxi driver and his wife (“a local girl”) had a falling out, and the driver ran off in the taxi.  Our Flam driver sort of whispered this – obviously the word had not gotten out yet.

But with that problem solved (and a little poorer), the Flam taxi dropped us up way high in the mountains at our lunch destination.

Stalheim Hotel

What a site!  My parents had been here on their trip 20 years ago and told us not to miss the historic Stalheim Hotel, which dates from 1885 (although there has been an inn here on the old mail route since 1700s – where the royal mailmen would swap out for fresh horses).   The inside is filled with heirlooms of the old days.

The Stalheim has been called one of Norway’s most scenic hotels and was featured in Conde Naste’s “Room With A View.”

We made a bee-line to the lawn, where we had had a delicious picnic of smoked salmon bagel sandwiches overlooking the valley below.

Voyage Home

We caught the bus back (much cheaper than taxi) down the the old mail road – one way and with corkscrew turns down the mountain – the steepest road in Norway.

Once back in Gudvagen, we hopped a ferry back to Flam. We timed it all just right, so only a dozen passengers sailed with us – we had the whole first floor to ourselves!

We traveled down what is called Naerofjord (because it is so narrow).

I kept jumping up to take pictures. It is hard to capture the expansiveness of the mountains.

Magnificent Norway!

We love our little cottage by the fjord.  It is perfect for us.

Flam is a town that is sort of a crossroads. Travelers who want to ride the “most beautiful train in the world” or take a quick ferry jaunt to see the fjords flood into this little village of 450 inhabitants each day and head right back out.   But I’m so glad we took the time to linger.

I fell in love with this listing when scouring VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) over a year ago.  I basically built our trip around us staying in this little red cottage.

We have big picture windows overlooking Aurlandsfjord (the name of our little bay) and spend most of the day – and night (the sun does not set until nearly midnight!) on these sofas just starting at the scenery.

Our cottage has a little kitchen.

Bathroom/Laundry (with 2nd small bath upstairs)

A king-sized bed with a view to the fjord.  We love these individual duvets – no stealing covers and super easy to make up (you just fold in half and go).

A 2nd bedroom (queen bed), which we use as our luggage/dressing room, and a twin room with a view of the pastures – we can hear the cows moo from our house!

AND it comes with our own rowboat!

There is excitement, too. On our first night, we settled in for a peaceful evening on the fjord –

And then imagine our surprise when we woke up to this view!

We have downloaded the ship schedule and keep up with who comes each day. Sometimes small expedition cruises, sometimes mega-ships.  Our favorite Queen Mary 2 will be here a few days after we leave.

We feel like we’ve discovered a secret gem. While most folks immediately jump on a train or ferry to their next destination, we have come to love the ebb and flow of this peaceful little village by the side of the fjord.

So not all of our travels are glamorous.  Here’s the rest of the story.  : )

We arrived on the stunning Flamsbana railway – with all our luggage and wine in hand. We had rented a little red cottage that was supposed to be 5 minutes from the station and right on the water.   We were super excited.

All of the other train passengers were part of different tours or cruises. They had buses or guides with placards waiting to meet them and whisk them away (with no luggage in sight).  Frank and I waited for them to disembark so we didn’t get run over and then struggled off of the train.

We realized that we had no idea where to go and didn’t see any “little red cottages” at all – and I realized (much to my chagrin as champion travel planner) that I hadn’t even asked the address – I had assumed it would be right there.

We finally spied our cottage WAY across the fjord. Oh no!

Frank, wondering what I had gotten him into, decided to take matters into his own hands and approached the lone taxi.  Unfortunately he was already booked AND the only taxi in town.  So we settled in to wait for him to return to pick us up.

What had been a beehive of tourists just 10 minutes before was a ghost town.  Just me, Frank, and our wine.

Finally, Jostein (whom we have gotten to know fairly well by now) returned and loaded us in.  Since we had a car, we decided to take advantage of it and hit the market on the way to the cottage.

We frantically zipped through throwing things in the buggy in case our new home was in the middle of nowhere.  Frank said he didn’t care what we had for dinner – he just needed a beer.

Jostein waited patiently and drove us round and round until we stopped by a row of lovely red cottages. He even helped carry our suitcases down the stone path and get us all unloaded.  Thank goodness for Jostein!

Exhausted and sore, we cracked open one of those bottles of wine and savored the views – spectacular. Sometimes being a traveler is hard work!

P.S. We have since learned that there is a walkway along the water straight to our cottage – although admittedly, would have been a challenge with luggage. But easy to get to town.  Whew!

We have hopped off the big train at the tip-top of the mountain range in Myrdal and await the boarding of the Flamsbana – the small train that will take us down to the fjord. My parents took this very train about 20 years ago when they visited Norway and have told me how beautiful it was.

My mom sent a picture of her scrapbook – the original “Two Fools In Love” blog!!

We are super excited as the train arrives. But first – we have to get our luggage onboard.  We did pretty well with the Amtrak-style train, but this old-fashioned train is WAY off the ground.

Oh no! Frank can’t help much due to his hip, so I grunt, grimace, and push as hard as I can to get everything in – maybe we overdid it on the wine!

But finally we are set and grab seats on this charming train that was built in 1920s.

It will plummet us into the valley on the steepest track in the world, through hand-dug tunnels and hairpin turns.  They have 5 sets of brakes – just in case.

If we thought the big train had good views, we literally oohed and aahed our way down the mountain on the little Flamsbana train.

Everyone – even hardened tourists – jumped up with cameras in hand to catch at least a dozen waterfalls and huge views.

Norway is truly a breathtaking place.

My favorite was the Kjosfossen waterfall. It was so dramatic that they even stopped the train to let us out to take pictures.

Just like Mom & Dad!

Finally, we descended into the little village of Flam, right on the fjord. Picturesque and peaceful with 360 degree mountain views.  Wow – the most beautiful train ride I the world indeed.

Lonely Planet called it “the most beautiful train journey in the world.” Rick Steves calls it “simply the most spectacular train ride in northern Europe.”

It is part of what is called “Norway in a Nutshell” that travels across the mountains from Oslo to Bergen. We are taking a detour mid-way down to the fjords (Part II), where we have a little cottage waiting for us.

We have been to lots of places, so while I was sure it would be lovely, I wasn’t sure it would be “the most beautiful train in the world.” That’s a lot to live up to!  But I have to say – we were blown away.

Part I was on the Norwegian version of Amtrak – the regular commuter train from Oslo to Bergen. It was nice and clean with assigned seating and a café car and space to store luggage (of which we had a lot –remember all that wine?).

The scenery started off fairly routine with pretty towns along the way.

But then the fun began. We started climbing and soon were seeing snow-capped mountains and lakes.

Then climbing higher and getting above the treeline.

Then even higher into the snow. Breathtaking.

The train climbs to a an altitude of 4,266 feet, travels under 18 miles of snow sheds, and through 200 tunnels through the mountains. It is the longest high-mountain stretch of train in Europe.

Soon, we were at Myrdal – our stop at the top of the mountain. The big train would head on to Bergen.

We will board the small Flamsbana train to dip down into the valley to our cottage by the fjord – a ride that is equally as breathtaking.

Stay tuned for Part II!