They say the journey is more important than the destination. When the journey is an eight hour round trip, then that rule certainly applies. On paper, yesterday’s trip sounded like it was going to be amazing – a bus trip through the valleys, a two hour ferry trip through the fjords, a winding railway up the mountain and then another train back to Voss. Sadly the reality was not quite what we’d been expecting.
At first it appeared there would only be a handful of us doing the trip, when suddenly a train emptied and the bus was inundated with more tourists. Of the obsessive photo taking kind. Now sure, I admit, I take a lot of photos when travelling (and not travelling). But I like to think I’m not the sort who runs from one side of the bus to the other at the appearance of every single new valley or mountain so I can take a photo through the window, which in the end will probably show the reflection of the bus interior better than the exterior. Anyway the bus trip only lasted for an hour, so it wasn’t too unbearable.
We were dropped off at the ferry wharf with 45 minutes to kill, with a suspiciously well placed souvenir shop and restaurant the only building around. It was also the first time we’d really felt the cold, so we had nothing to do but take shelter amongst the fur hats and trolls.
An aside on souvenir trolls – I’m not sure exactly why, but they are everywhere. And not your cute Troll Doll style, but freaky “eat-your-soul” (to use Holly’s description) type. If you’ve seen the alternate timelines episode of Community you’ll know the sort I’m referring to.
By the time the ferry arrived, so had a few other tour buses, and it became clear that it was going to be rather cosy on the boat, and that most of the space for passengers was out in the open; not something that appealed given the weather. Also clear was that with no obvious directions on where or how to board, mob mentality set in, and everyone just swarmed as soon as the gate opened. Holly and I grabbed the first available seats in the small indoor area, before being told that unless we’d booked for lunch we couldn’t sit there. Regrettably we headed out to the cold where it seemed some version of musical chairs was being played as everyone jostled for prime viewing positions. This jostling proceeded to carry on for the next two hours, along with constant smoking and throwing cigarette butts and empty coffee cups into the now-less-than-pristine water. So, in summary, tourists are jerks. Sognefjord (one of the longest and deepest fjords in the world) was still impressive, and we saw porpoises (who can be unhappy when there are marine mammals?), but try and get a less obnoxious crowd to experience it with if you ever visit.
The train journey up the mountain was mercifully far less packed, though we were sharing a carriage with the photographers from the bus (back and forth, side to side, non-stop). I guess it’s Norway’s version of the Zig Zag railway – an engineering feat, and more great views, even within the numerous tunnels, as holes have been cut for this purpose; presumably not at the expense of structural integrity.
There was a 90 minute wait for our connecting train back to Voss, in which I thought we’d be able to get a late lunch. Problem being we were stuck in a little village station, with no shops open (not even a troll to be bought anywhere!) and nothing to do but wait. It seemed like the perfect spot for a horror story – a group of strangers, dropped in a remote location, waiting for a train that may never come. Just don’t leave the station once night falls, or else… Luckily our train arrived before that particular scenario played out, and it was back to the warmth, quiet (ignoring the guy playing grand piano to midi backing tracks) and food of our hotel.
We’re now on the train heading to Oslo. Over the last few days it’s become clear that every single direction you look the view is breathtaking – snow capped mountains, crystal clear lakes, windswept plains, autumnal forests, wooden cottages dotting the landscape. But since everything is beautiful all the time, scenery fatigue has start to set in – we need some grit to continue appreciating these amazing surrounds. Lonely Planet calls this particular leg “Norway’s most spectacular rail trip”, so I suspect it won’t be until we arrive in our destination that there will be a chance of a counterpoint, but even then I don’t like our chances.
One thought on “Fjord and back”