The Bergen Railway

I am taking over for Sarah for today's post.....she slept a bit late and is hurrying to finish her breakfast before we set out for our day in Bergen, Norway.

Before leaving Oslo yesterday, Sarah and I did some errands that took us around the city on a scavenger hunt. We bought some snacks for the 7 hour train ride to Bergen, got a second electrical adapter to cut down the fighting over the one we had, and got some Norwegian Krone.

I think the train ride to Bergen was one of the most amazing experiences on this trip. All the tour books had described it as the the best train ride in Europe, but skeptical me couldn't believe that scenery could hold my attention for 7 hours. We started out going along fjords with snow covered mountains in the background, and it was all very beautiful. Eventually, we stopped in a small town where it was snowing.  

I figured that it was pretty rare at this time of the year for Norway but then realized that the train was going up and up and up and up and up to 3,500 feet where it looked like mid-January.  We traveled through mountaintop villages where the snow never melts.

Is this Maj?????

Winter was bearable from the inside of the train, but I was happy to reach Bergen where it was 50 degrees and only raining.

After finding our hotel, we had a great dinner at a pub... (Steveo and I were the only ones over 30) the beer, smoked salmon, smoked sausages, and meatballs were all delicious.  

We are off to the art museum as soon as Steveo finishes his 5 herring breakfast.