Flam, Norway cruise - May 2025
Participants: Tam, Kev and India
Our next stop was Flam. This is pronounced Flom. there is supposed to be a little 'o' above the 'a' in Flam, but I'm too lazy to work out how to do it. Character map doesn't work in the ancient free software I use to create the website.
It's an early start if you want to watch the sail up the fjord. I think we got up around 5.30 am.
A nice touch by Celebrity is that they have someone walking around outside decks distributing hot chocolate to those hardy enough to be up at stupid o'clock.
And this is Flam (or Flom). And I thought Nordfjordeid was small!
We had breakfast on the outside area at the buffet. Tam insisted we wear these jumpers as she knitted them herself. There were certainly very warm even if we do look a little like Norwegian arctic explorers.
The main attraction here is the Flam railway. It's reputed to be one of the most scenic railway journeys in the world. It goes to Bergen, but you can also go to Myrdal and back just to see the sights. When we started to look for things to do in Flam I came across a trip that allowed you to get the train to Myrdal, walk 3.5 km down and then pick up a bike for the 17 km ride into Flam. We very much wanted to do this, but they were not offering it in May there's usually snow blocking the biking route. The day before we arrived in Flam I noticed on the website that they suddenly had this option open, so we changed our booking. This shows how lucky we were with the weather on this cruise.
If
you ever go to Flam and want to do the railway you have to book
very early - as soon as the they become available. We used this
website: https://www.norwaysbest.com/en
Definitely do not use the cruise lines own tours, they cost at
least twice as much. Don't get too discouraged if they sell out
as it seems that they release more tickets closer to the time,
just keep checking.
There is no doubt that as the train slowly ascends the mountains the scenery is nothing short of spectacular.
The train stops briefly here at the Kjosfossen waterfall. You get off to take photos etc.
A lady comes out by the old ruined building to dance while a backing track plays ethereal music. She is supposed to portray the Huldra, an elusive forest spirit from Norse mythology. It might not be a big thing, but it's a nice touch. The waterfall may not look like this in the summer as it obviously dries up somewhat. There is a small power station to harness the power of the water and this helps drive the Flam railway.
In Myrdal we left the trian to start our journey down.
The waggly path is the route you take down to the bike pick up point and it runs alongside a waterfall and gives mutiple points to view from different heights and perspectives.
There is another alternative to walking down to the bike pick up, you can zip line if you're the intrepid type.
The track is gravel for the majority of the way before it turns into a tarmac road closer to Flam. Obviously it is also mainly downhill, but there are a couple of small uphill sections where the ladies had to get off and walk with their bikes.
I was trying to work out how the hell that large flat rock got into that upright position.
Towards the bottom there were one or two more cyclists, but it was very quiet otherwise.
You lose count of all the waterfalls, By the way, they are not all waterfalls. We learned that it is only a waterfall if it is permanent. If it only appears after rain or snow melt it's called a cascade.
As we cycled down the weather got better and better to the point that it was glorious sunshine.
If you ever get to visit Flam there is no doubt that the railway trip is very worthwhile, but you see the same things on the way up as the way down. If you are physically able and the weather allows you really must do the walking and biking tour. You see so much more close up and at a leisurely pace.
We decided to get back on the ship a couple of hours before sailaway to get a spot at the Sunset Bar and enjoy the views.
Definitely one of those really pleasant times enjoying a beer sat looking out at the amazing Norwegian scenery.
There can't be many other places in the world where sailing away from the port offers hours of beautiful scenery to keep you entertained. Flam has certainly not disappointed.