Mia enjoyed lounging in these life-sized letters displayed in front of a stunning landscape in Voss, Norway.
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Norway in a Nutshell: (Pt. 1-Oslo, Fjord Cruise, & The Flåm Railway)
9Norway ranks at the top of my list of places to see in Scandinavia. The peacefulness you feel while in Norway is something you will never forget. I try to show what my family and I experience through my words and photos on this blog, but sometimes I feel that it is hard to do a very special place the justice it truly deserves. Norway is certainly one of those places. You really need to go there in person to experience the calmness, fresh air, and the true majestic beauty of it all. No wonder it was ranked at the top of the list for most happiest countries in the world*(see link below)!
Maybe it is not our recent move that is taking me a long time to show our full Norway adventure (we have been staying in a hotel the past two weeks until we find a new place), but I believe I was really having a hard time deciding how to show such a magnificent place the way I thought it needed to be seen. I think the best I can do at this point, is to forget about what to say in words and just show the photos and hope my two posts on Norway will inspire others to add Norway to their list of places to see! So, here we go…. our Norway in a Nutshell experience in photos:
Our Norway in a Nutshell experience began in the city of Oslo. This is the Royal House of Norway, the official residence of the current monarch.
This is Mia and I next to (well as close as we were allowed to get to his circle on the ground) one of the guards in front of the Royal House.
Mia with the Lego Mascot in the streets of Oslo, Norway. Mia loves her legos!!
It was time for a nice break and dessert at the Hard Rock in Oslo!
After one night in Oslo, we took the Bergen Railway to a stop in Myrdal and jumped on the Flåm Railway. One of the steepest and most beautiful railways in the world!
A shot of inside the train before we left the Myrdal stop.
The view from inside the Flåm Railway as we were leaving Myrdal.
Another shot at the beginning of the train ride.
Mia was enjoying the view from inside the amazing Flåm Railway!
I spotted these cross-country skiers while on the train. It looks like a nice relaxing place to enjoy an afternoon of skiing!
At a quick stop on the route (Kjosfossen) to see one of the beautiful waterfalls. The entire scenic route runs 12 miles long and has a descent of 2838 feet with a gradient of one in 18!
A beautiful waterfall at one of the stops high above one of the 20 tunnels on the route.
Mia getting ready to hop off the train at one of the stops.
The cool Zig Zag Road up the cliff (Flåmsdal – Myrdal).
A shot of one of the beautiful valleys on the route.
A view of the front of the train from the window of our train car on one of the many curves.
Ahhhhh…. the picturesque Flåm Valley!
The lovely Flåm Valley! So beautiful and peaceful….
I thought this was an interesting shot from the valley with the tractor and what I thought at first was a cemetery, but I believe the stakes are part of their farm to grow something with vines!
We made it to the end of the route at the stop in Flåm! Next, we spent a little time eating lunch and shopped in the enormous gift shop during our break after the train ride! About an hour and a half later, we boarded the amazing Fjord1 cruise to Gudvangen (Aurland, Undredal, Nærøyfjord, and the majestic Sognefjord- the longest and deepest fjord in the world)!
Danny and Mia getting ready to board the ship for our fjord cruise!
These seagulls followed us for a long time on the cruise!
Me at the beginning of the cruise. I was so excited to have the chance to see the magnificent fjords in Norway!
The amazing view as we were leaving Flåm!
Danny enjoying seeing the fjords from the boat!
This was the sight before we made the first turn on the cruise.
This was as we were making the first turn.
One of the many beautiful waterfalls on the tour!
The first view of some cute homes in the charming Village of Undredal!
Some more of the cute homes in the Undredal Village. Another example of the simplistic beauty you will see in Norway!
Charming Undredal Village. Anyone else want to move here? 🙂
This view of Undredal Village really shows the stunning sight! The Village looks so tiny!
Leaving the Village of Undredal….
Absolutely stunning!! The magnificence of Norway!
Mia having fun on the cruise…. and one of the funniest moments of our trip. After about 45 minutes into the cruise Mia shouts out, “When are we going to see the Fjords!?!?!” Danny and I were completely stunned! She thought when we explained to her what we were going to see on the cruise that the fjords were actually glaciers!! Oh boy, I guess we should have explained it a little better!! Love our funny little girl! Now one of our inside jokes as we are traveling is “When are we going to see the Fjords!?!?!” I now need to add glaciers to our list of things to see!! 😉
Toward the end of the amazing cruise!
Me enjoying the amazing views at the end of our cruise! I would love to do it again one day!
Towards the end of our cruise. Spring on the bottom and winter at the top of this scene! Truly an amazing sight to see!
At the end… The view as we entered into Gudvangen. We truly enjoyed our experience on the Fjord1 cruise!
For more information on the Flåm Railway experience, please visit: Flåm Railway
For more information about The Bergen Railway, please visit: NSB
For more information about the Royal House, please visit: The Royal House of Norway
For more information on the Norway in a Nutshell tour, please visit: Norway in a Nutshell
To read the article from Forbes about the Happiest (and saddest) countries in the world in 2013, please visit: Happiest Countries
To read Part 2 of our Norway in a Nutshell adventure, please visit: Norway: Part 2
We can now mark another Red Pin Adventure off our Travel Bucket List: Oslo-Bergen, Norway (See the Fjords and Ride on the Flåm Railway).
My upcoming posts will feature a Blog Hop, Sweden (Stockholm), and Russia (St. Petersburg)!
Norway in a Nutshell: (Pt. 2-Voss & Bergen)
7Norway has to be one of the most breathtaking places I have been so far in my travels! If you only had time to visit one place in Scandinavia, I would certainly put Norway at the top of your list. This post will include the last part of our Norway in a Nutshell tour (Voss & Bergen). I will post the 1st half of the adventure in my next post (Oslo, Flåm Railway & Nœrøyfjord). I’m posting them backwards so that it will show up on the blog in the correct order on the home page. Here are some highlights from the second part of our Norway in a Nutshell adventure:
Mia and I in front of the Fleischer’s Hotel (built in 1864) where we stayed for one evening after our fjord cruise. Lots of history here (royal guests) as well as an amazing view of Lake Vangsvatnet.
Mia and I with this huge troll in Voss, Norway.
Mia had fun playing on this cool Voss sign!
Mia and I in front of the breathtaking Vangsvatnet Lake.
The tranquil view of Lake Vangsvatnet! Ahhhhh… I sat for a long time on a rock and really soaked up the view and the fresh air!
Mia playing in front of the Lake. She has always been our “water baby”. She is the happiest when she is in the water or close to it!
One last shot of Mia with the beautiful lake! I think she could have easily spent all day here!
Vangsvatnet Lake in Voss, Norway. I will always remember this as one of the most serene moments of my life!
On to the next stop! Mia and I right before we boarded the train to Bergen!
The following photos are from our last stop on the Norway in a Nutshell adventure – Bergen, Norway (Mt. Floyen, Fløibanen Funicular):
Street scene in beautiful Bergen, Norway!
Mia on a cool fish wood carving in Bergen.
This is the entrance to the Fløibanen Funicular.
Tracks and tunnel on the Fløibanen Funicular ride.
The Norway flag and the Fløien Folkerestaurant at the top of Mt. Floyen.
The stunning view at the top of Mt. Floyen.
Mia went into this pose when we made it to the top of Mount Floyen in Bergen, Norway.
Mia on our hike around Mt. Floyen.
Mia and Danny found this cool swing on our hike around Mt. Floyen.
Getting ready to head back down the mountain!
The beautiful view from the clock tower where we stayed in Bergen.
Another view right after sunset from the top of the clock tower.
A beautiful ship at night in Bergen.
Getting ready to fly back to Helsinki… An amazing Mastiff dog we found at the Bergen airport wanted to play with Mia’s stuffed whale!
A great way to say goodbye to Norway… Seeing an amazing Mastiff dog drooling and happy as can be at the Bergen airport! 🙂
For more information about Voss, please visit: Voss, Norway
For more information about Bergen, please visit: Bergen, Norway
For more information about the Fløibanen funicular, please visit: Fløibanen (Bergen)
My next post will be Part 1 of our Norway in a Nutshell adventure. We can now mark another Red Pin Adventure off our Travel/Life Bucket List: Oslo – Bergen, Norway (See the Fjords & Ride on the Flåm Railway)
Red Pin Adventures 