Norway II

I spent the day in Oslo yesterday, but since it was pouring rain the entire day I kinda kept it low key. I needed a chance to get my bearings anyway, so it was nice to just relax a little in the hostel. I took a little walking tour of the city when the rain calmed down a little, and I saw most of the “outside stuff” there was to see: pretty much a big city park which was very beautiful and a really sweet opera house with a view of the city. Most of the Norwegians I talked to at the hostel said that Oslo was not a terribly interesting city, and they were right. Of course, my experience was hampered a bit by the rain and I might have enjoyed it more had the weather been a little better; nonetheless, with prices for food and everything else so high and with not much to see, the city seemed a less appealing place to spend my second day than, say, the Norwegian countryside or the fjords. So I heeded the advice of a British couple I met on the plane coming here and decided to take a day trip yesterday to the fjord town Flam.

This was my first day using my Eurail pass, so I got to the station nice and early to make sure I could get everything figured out with plenty of time to spare. Unfortunately, the first thing I learned was that there had been a fire between Oslo and Flam that had severed the power lines on the railroad. I would have to take a bus the second half of the way. The result was that the total traveling time for the day ended up being about 12 hours (with 4 hours in Flam) which was fine because I had just bought Michael Crichton’s Prey as an e-book for my iPod and would have plenty to keep me occupied.

When I boarded the train, the conductor told me it was fully booked but that I was welcome to take a seat anyway and “see what happens.” I figured, what the hell. So I took the first window seat I found and then spent the next hour or so worrying every time the train stopped that someone would come along with a reservation for my seat and force me up. At each stop, dozens of people got on the train and I watched as people around me were forced to get up. Amazingly, every seat was reserved in my compartment except for mine and the one next to me so I was able to stretch out for the entire ride.

Once I got to my transfer station, I grabbed my stuff and began the 3 hour bus ride, which was unbelievable. The whole countryside is covered in trees that are either bright yellow or deep green, all mixed up together along the cliffsides. The fjords are incredible, and no description I could give them would do the experience justice. Suffice it to say, when we arrived in Flam, I was overwhelmed.

Flam is a tiny agricultural town nestled in a fjord a mile or two downstream from Myrdal, a similar town. The standard route is to take a train into Myrdal, then change to the Flam Rail, which takes you along a scenic route between Myrdal and Flam and then back again to catch your returning train. Since the railway between Myrdal and Flam was partially broken, the Flam Rail was offering a discounted ticket for a ride about halfway along the route and then back again. I bought a ticket and then found myself with about 3 hours to kill.

First, I ate my first real meal in two days. The food is so outrageously expensive in Oslo that I had been living off of cereal, bananas, and the chicken the Spanish people made for me the other night. Now, I figured, was as good a time as any to treat myself to some real sustenance.
After eating and internetting a bit, I decided to go for a walk. I checked out a trail map, found a route that looked nice and short, and started walking. The path took my up the hillside and through a bunch of farmland. All along the way, the cliffsides towered all around and the little town of Flam got smaller below me.

At a certain point, I ended up right between two large pastures, one with sheep and the other with cows, all grazing. As I got closer to the cows, I could see a large bull looking intently at me. I got a little closer and he still had his eyes right on me. I followed my instinct and went for my camera, but as soon as I snapped a picture the bull started moving toward me, his head bowed dangerously. It didn’t occur to me that I should be worried so I just kept walking closer.

Suddenly, he let out a bellowing “moo.” The other bulls immediately looked up at him. “MOO!” he yelled. It sounded unmistakably like a rallying cry. As the other bulls closed in at his sides, they began to moo too. Before long, there was a whole line of them looking menacingly at me and mooing so loudly it echoed through the entire canyon. I was certain that it could be heard in both of the nearby towns and by the farmers. And I was also convinced I was about to be charged by a bunch of angry bulls. So I backed slowly away and then made my way back to the town so I could catch the train.

…which ended up being futile because I’m an idiot and mixed up the train times. So the train was gone and I now had an hour and a half to kill before the bus would show up to take me back to Oslo. I decided I should face my fears and go visit the cows again because I didn’t think I could live with the idea of being a person who’s afraid of cows. So I took a roundabout way back to the farm, walking along the river and taking tons of pictures. When I got to the cows again, they did their synchronized mooing thing again, but this time I just kept walking and they seemed to appreciate it.

On the way back to Oslo, the various trains and buses I had to take were delayed one after the other, so I ended up getting back to my hostel after midnight, the time when the reception/internet area closes. This was very unfortunate for me because I needed to make a phone call, which required the internet, and I needed to book another night at the hostel or else book another hostel somewhere else. Since I couldn't do either one of these things, I resolved to go to bed and get up early enough to book another night before my checkout time. (To be continued...)