Traversing the Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) is a real treat. The scenery is breathtaking. Tall mountains line both sides, and picturesque waterfalls draw white ribbons along steep cliffs as they cascade toward the Flåmselvi river. Rather than give a blow-by-blow description of the sights, I’m going to caption the photos below with their time stamps to give you an idea of the timeline for this journey.
Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:20 a.m.
Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:23 a.m.
Flåmselvi river 10:24 a.m.
Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:27 a.m.
Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:30 a.m.
Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:30 a.m.
Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:43 a.m.
Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:34 a.m.
Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:36 a.m.
Flåmsdalen (Flåm Valley) 10:40 a.m.
A quick photo snapped at one of the eleven stations along the way to Myrdal Station:
Jewel of the Seas arrives to Flåm, Norway — 28 June 2022
This long, long trip began with a transatlantic voyage on 7 May aboard Vision of the Seas. And I’ve been blogging about this trip since 1 August 2022, shortly after our return. Now, five voyages and two side trips later, we’re slowly coming to an end on this extensive travel series. Today I begin a four-part look at our visit to Flåm, Norway. After that there are only two destinations left to cover, and both of those are in Norway.
Flåm, Norway, as seen from the top deck of Jewel of the Seas
If Flåm appears small, that’s because it is. The full-time population was 350 back in 2013, and I doubt that it’s much more than that today. As such, Ursula and I decided to walk through Flåm quickly so as to make for another destination. More on that in a moment, but first some views of Flåm and the surrounding terrain as seen from Jewel of the Seas:
Stepping down the gangway and onto dry land, here’s Jewel in Flåm:
Jewel of the Seas in Flåm
Our immediate destination is the rail station:
Flåm Rail Station
It is from here that we will board a train for one of the great European rail adventures — the Flåmsbana (Flåm Line) connecting Flåm with the Myrdal Station on a 20.2-kilometer/12.6-mile journey on which we will ascend 866 meters/2,841 feet through the spectacular Flåmsdalen valley.
“Mina Morska” — Norwegian “sea mine” from World War I
Today’s Fun Photo Friday concludes our look at Ålesund, Norway. Next week I’ll show you another Norwegian destination from 27 June 2022, the city of Flåm and a scenic journey aboard the Flåmsbana (the Flåm Railway). The Flåmsbana is rated by National Geographic as one of Europe’s best train journeys, and beginning next week I’ll show you why. Until then, here’s our final look at Ålesund from 26 June 2022: