Flam, Norway
Fri 24 Jan 2020
Flam
It's the Chinese New Year long holiday, so we took the opportunity for a 10 day getaway to Norway, covering south of Norway i.e. Oslo, Flam and Bergen; and Northern Norway - covering the Lofoten islands with the aim to capture the aurora as it was still in season.
For our trip to Norway, we took Qatar airways, transiting at Doha to Oslo. Our return flight ticket KUL-OSL-KUL cost RM 2531 per person, bought during the Matta fair in November 2019. It was also the start of COVID-19 (Corona virus 2019) outbreak, so we took the precaution to wear face masks at the airport and in the flight (in enclosed areas).
Our flight to Doha was on Thursday night at 8pm. Since the school holidays have already started, the were throngs of people at KLIA that evening. Thankfully we have done our online check in the day before.
As usual, Qatar airways did not disappoint with their in flight entertainment and meals. There was a new in flight safety video which featured footballers. Perhaps they were competing with British airways which featured British actors and actresses.
Since I wasn't sure if our flight would land in Oslo on time at 6.30am, I did not buy the Mini Pris (discounted) train ticket from Oslo airport to Flam. It was the winter season, and there were possibilities our flight could be delayed. Our flight to Rovaniemi the previous year during winter season (Feb 2019) was delayed by 50 minutes.
It turned out that our flight arrived on time at Oslo. We bought the train ticket to Flam from the machine at Oslo airport, taking the train at 7.43 am from Oslo airport, connecting at Oslo Central station at 8.25 am to Myrdal, and taking the Flamsbana at 1.05pm to Flam, arriving at Flam at 1.55pm. The integrated train ticket from Oslo airport to Flam was bought at the ticket machine at the airport for NOK 1260.
You could also buy the Norway in a Nutshell package, covering transportation from Oslo to Flam (includes Flamsbana), fjord ferry from Flam to Gudvangen, bus from Gudvangen to Voss and train from Voss to Bergen for NOK 2205. However, the train, bus and ferry schedules are fixed also with this package, so we didn't want to take the risk in case our flight got delayed. You could opt for this option if you are travelling the day after your flight arrival. We didn't want to spend too much time at Oslo (our preference is nature and smaller towns / village), which we would be doing only on the last day, a day before our scheduled flight back to KUL.
The local train (different from the Flytoget Express train) did not have assigned seats, it was first come first serve basis. But it did have free wifi. There is not much difference in travel time between the Express train (19 minutes, NOK 160) and the local train (23 minutes, NOK 109). However, the frequency of the train may be the deciding factor on which option you would choose. The Flytoget Express train frequency is every 10 minutes while the local train differs depending on the time of day, the least frequency is 1 hour for the next available train. You can check the schedule or buy the ticket from Vy
The regional train from Oslo Central to Myrdal was comfortable with free wifi and cafe available for drinks and meals. We got our auto assigned seats when buying the ticket at the ticket machine at Oslo airport. The view from Oslo Central to Myrdal were beautiful, passing by fjords such as Inner Oslofjord, Drammensfjorden and Tyrifjorden.
The next part of the journey consist of a classic train (the line was built in 1940)-Flamsbana which was short - only 20km long and took only 50 minutes. Although short, it passes through 20 tunnels and is elevated at 866 meters above mean sea level. At Kjosfossen station, we were allowed to alight from the train for 5 minutes to get a closer view of the Kjosfossen waterfall. From the elevated part of the line, the train then move downwards to the Flam valley at only 2m above mean sea level. The 50 minute journey was indeed beautiful, but we couldn't really capture good pictures from inside the train due to the window reflection (windows were closed).
We arrived at beautiful Flam village at 2pm. It was cloudy that day and snowing lightly. From the Flam train station, it was a 10 minute walk to our accomodation at Flam Marina (NOK 1350). We booked an apartment with kitchen, so we cooked a simple dinner for the night (instant noodles). It didn't include breakfast, so we bought a loaf of bread from the only grocery store in Flam (Coop). Flam is a really tiny village - there are only a few accommodations there, a Flamsbana train museum (free entry) where you can also buy some souvenirs and a visitor centre. Due to the winter season, it was nearing dark when we arrived. Dusk was at 4.20 pm, so our activity was only limited to picture taking around the Flam marina and a visit to the train museum.
We opted to break the journey to Bergen and stayed one night in Flam. We wanted to rest after a long journey from KUL (25 hours since our flight departure). We would take the fjord cruise from Flam to Gudvangen via the Aurlandsfjord and Naeroyfjord (a Unesco Heritage Site) the next morning at 9am. You could opt to continue the journey onwards to Bergen by taking the ferry at 3pm, but it would be dark already in the middle of the ferry journey.
Flam
It's the Chinese New Year long holiday, so we took the opportunity for a 10 day getaway to Norway, covering south of Norway i.e. Oslo, Flam and Bergen; and Northern Norway - covering the Lofoten islands with the aim to capture the aurora as it was still in season.
For our trip to Norway, we took Qatar airways, transiting at Doha to Oslo. Our return flight ticket KUL-OSL-KUL cost RM 2531 per person, bought during the Matta fair in November 2019. It was also the start of COVID-19 (Corona virus 2019) outbreak, so we took the precaution to wear face masks at the airport and in the flight (in enclosed areas).
Our flight to Doha was on Thursday night at 8pm. Since the school holidays have already started, the were throngs of people at KLIA that evening. Thankfully we have done our online check in the day before.
As usual, Qatar airways did not disappoint with their in flight entertainment and meals. There was a new in flight safety video which featured footballers. Perhaps they were competing with British airways which featured British actors and actresses.
 |
| Menu KUL-DOH |
 |
| Dinner KUL-DOH |
 |
| Menu DOH-OSL |
 |
| Breakfast DOH-OSL |
Since I wasn't sure if our flight would land in Oslo on time at 6.30am, I did not buy the Mini Pris (discounted) train ticket from Oslo airport to Flam. It was the winter season, and there were possibilities our flight could be delayed. Our flight to Rovaniemi the previous year during winter season (Feb 2019) was delayed by 50 minutes.
It turned out that our flight arrived on time at Oslo. We bought the train ticket to Flam from the machine at Oslo airport, taking the train at 7.43 am from Oslo airport, connecting at Oslo Central station at 8.25 am to Myrdal, and taking the Flamsbana at 1.05pm to Flam, arriving at Flam at 1.55pm. The integrated train ticket from Oslo airport to Flam was bought at the ticket machine at the airport for NOK 1260.
 |
| Oslo airport - Myrdal train ticket bought at airport ticket machine |
You could also buy the Norway in a Nutshell package, covering transportation from Oslo to Flam (includes Flamsbana), fjord ferry from Flam to Gudvangen, bus from Gudvangen to Voss and train from Voss to Bergen for NOK 2205. However, the train, bus and ferry schedules are fixed also with this package, so we didn't want to take the risk in case our flight got delayed. You could opt for this option if you are travelling the day after your flight arrival. We didn't want to spend too much time at Oslo (our preference is nature and smaller towns / village), which we would be doing only on the last day, a day before our scheduled flight back to KUL.
The local train (different from the Flytoget Express train) did not have assigned seats, it was first come first serve basis. But it did have free wifi. There is not much difference in travel time between the Express train (19 minutes, NOK 160) and the local train (23 minutes, NOK 109). However, the frequency of the train may be the deciding factor on which option you would choose. The Flytoget Express train frequency is every 10 minutes while the local train differs depending on the time of day, the least frequency is 1 hour for the next available train. You can check the schedule or buy the ticket from Vy
The regional train from Oslo Central to Myrdal was comfortable with free wifi and cafe available for drinks and meals. We got our auto assigned seats when buying the ticket at the ticket machine at Oslo airport. The view from Oslo Central to Myrdal were beautiful, passing by fjords such as Inner Oslofjord, Drammensfjorden and Tyrifjorden.
 |
| train seats |
 |
| we put our backpacks on top of our seats. bigger luggage at designated area only |
 |
| Hot chocolate bought from the cafe. No Mocha though |
 |
| Should have brought more Gardenia bread from back home. Breads are expensive here |
 |
| river view from the train |
 |
| frozen |
 |
| snow covered |
 |
| frozen |
The next part of the journey consist of a classic train (the line was built in 1940)-Flamsbana which was short - only 20km long and took only 50 minutes. Although short, it passes through 20 tunnels and is elevated at 866 meters above mean sea level. At Kjosfossen station, we were allowed to alight from the train for 5 minutes to get a closer view of the Kjosfossen waterfall. From the elevated part of the line, the train then move downwards to the Flam valley at only 2m above mean sea level. The 50 minute journey was indeed beautiful, but we couldn't really capture good pictures from inside the train due to the window reflection (windows were closed).
 |
| Flamsbana train |
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| inside the Flamsbana |
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| Flamsbana going into tunnel |
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| tunnel view from the other side |
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| Kjosfossen |
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| Kjosfossen |
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| Flam valley |
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| Flamsbana going down to Flam valley |
We arrived at beautiful Flam village at 2pm. It was cloudy that day and snowing lightly. From the Flam train station, it was a 10 minute walk to our accomodation at Flam Marina (NOK 1350). We booked an apartment with kitchen, so we cooked a simple dinner for the night (instant noodles). It didn't include breakfast, so we bought a loaf of bread from the only grocery store in Flam (Coop). Flam is a really tiny village - there are only a few accommodations there, a Flamsbana train museum (free entry) where you can also buy some souvenirs and a visitor centre. Due to the winter season, it was nearing dark when we arrived. Dusk was at 4.20 pm, so our activity was only limited to picture taking around the Flam marina and a visit to the train museum.
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| Flam train station surrounded by mountains |
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| Flam train museum & souvenir |
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| mountains surrounding Flam village |
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| Coop groceries store |
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| kitchen at Flam Marina apartment |
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| living hall at Flam Marina apartment |
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| bedroom at Flam Marina apartment |
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| our verandah overlooking the Aurlandsfjord |
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| Flam Marina accomodation overlooking the Aurlandsfjord |
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| Aurlandsfjord view from our apartment |
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| our self made sandwich breakfast |
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| self made breakfast |
We opted to break the journey to Bergen and stayed one night in Flam. We wanted to rest after a long journey from KUL (25 hours since our flight departure). We would take the fjord cruise from Flam to Gudvangen via the Aurlandsfjord and Naeroyfjord (a Unesco Heritage Site) the next morning at 9am. You could opt to continue the journey onwards to Bergen by taking the ferry at 3pm, but it would be dark already in the middle of the ferry journey.
Labels: Travelogue
posted by aiyda at 4:35 PM
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