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An Epic Train Ride Across Norway
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jis
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I have traveled from Bodo to Trondheim in the summer and then took a side trip to Andalsnese,
The other side trip was at the Bodo end where we took a coastal steamer, which operates almost like a bus service. We took the trip at the spur of the moment. We saw the ship at the harbor and walked on board. There was a little ticket window where we asked about possibilities of a trip and were told that we could go to Stamsund, and the return steamer would be passing by there about two hours after we got there. So we went off on a 9:30pm departure to Stamsund on the Lofoten Islands, had a late dinner in Stamsund and then headed back to Bodo on the 1:30am coastal steamer. All of this of course in bright sunlight in the summer, since Bodo is north of the Arctic Circle.
Incidentally Bodo is not the north most railroad in Norway. That distinction goes to the line from Naarvik to Sweden which is used mainly to carry Iron Ore.
An interesting side fact about Bodo - the Newark to Delhi eastbound flight almost always crosses into Europe over Bodo! So I get to see it from 37,000' every time I go to India!
The other side trip was at the Bodo end where we took a coastal steamer, which operates almost like a bus service. We took the trip at the spur of the moment. We saw the ship at the harbor and walked on board. There was a little ticket window where we asked about possibilities of a trip and were told that we could go to Stamsund, and the return steamer would be passing by there about two hours after we got there. So we went off on a 9:30pm departure to Stamsund on the Lofoten Islands, had a late dinner in Stamsund and then headed back to Bodo on the 1:30am coastal steamer. All of this of course in bright sunlight in the summer, since Bodo is north of the Arctic Circle.
Incidentally Bodo is not the north most railroad in Norway. That distinction goes to the line from Naarvik to Sweden which is used mainly to carry Iron Ore.
An interesting side fact about Bodo - the Newark to Delhi eastbound flight almost always crosses into Europe over Bodo! So I get to see it from 37,000' every time I go to India!
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The day before NRK shot the summer version of their documentary, I rode the same train - quite a nice ride, even though the weather wasn't too good. Unfortunately, I don't have pictures to show for it, as I didn't want to annoy the other travelers with the incessant clicking of my DSLR.
There's actually a railway father to the north in Norway, between Narvik and the Swedish border: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ofoten_Line . This line, which isn't connected to the rest of the Norwegian railway network, is only 27 miles long before it joins the Swedish Iron Ore Line. If I remember correctly, only Swedish trains operate on the joint line, with a few daily passenger trains between Narvik and Swedish destinations, and many daily iron ore freight trains (hence the name of the Swedish line). Especially the Norwegian part of that train ride offers some great views.
When in Europe in the summer of 1984, I took a train up through Sweden (not the main line along the Baltic -- this was a little 2-car train, with a driver compartment in each end, that rocketed along a line through the piney woods of the interior). Our train screeched to a halt once in the middle of nowhere, and the men all got out and dragged off the reindeer we had hit, then they got back on and off we went again. When I got to the Abisko National Park, north of the Arctic Circle, I took a hike through the stunted almost-tundra woods along a river (saw a herd of reindeer). I stayed for the midsummer-night dancing around the maypole (in folk costume), then got on the train to Narvik. Lots of mountains, still lots of snow on the summer solstice night. From Narvik, you take a bus southward to the line that is in this video. There are too many fjords to cross, and they are too deep, for them to have put a train line through between Narvik and Bodø.
Swadian Hardcore
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Norway definately has some great scenery, but it's expensive to visit. I would like to do the ride to Bodo someday.
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Even before you go to Bodø, the "Norway in a Nutshell" trip from Oslo to Bergen is a must, and is way way more scenic than the Trondheim - Bodø trip. The Trondheim - Andalsnese side trip is much more scenic.
The Norway in a nutshell trip involves a train ride from Oslo to Myrdal across the Hardingerveda plateau. Then a bus ride down to Gundvagen on the fjord, followed by a steamer ride on the fjord to Flam. And then the piece de resistance is the train ride up from Flam on the fjord back to Myrdal. Then you can choose to either go back to Oslo or go on to Bergen.
One possibility I would consider is going to Bergen and taking the coastal steamer from there to Bodø, and then take the train back from Bodø to Oslo via Trondheim.
The Norway in a nutshell trip involves a train ride from Oslo to Myrdal across the Hardingerveda plateau. Then a bus ride down to Gundvagen on the fjord, followed by a steamer ride on the fjord to Flam. And then the piece de resistance is the train ride up from Flam on the fjord back to Myrdal. Then you can choose to either go back to Oslo or go on to Bergen.
One possibility I would consider is going to Bergen and taking the coastal steamer from there to Bodø, and then take the train back from Bodø to Oslo via Trondheim.
Swadian Hardcore
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I don't wanna shell out the money to go anyway, so it's not time to think about it. It could get me carried away about something that is hard to achieve.
To get the essence of Norway, you need to combine train, bus and boat. The trains are all dead ends, due to the terrain (fjords and mountains). If you're up for it, and depending on season, walking and skiing really add to the experience (see the Norske Turistforening), and can be the least expensive way to do it. Norwegian friends in Seattle turned me on to this, and I've done it: skied to the top of Norway in late winter, and walked across from west west to east in summer! A real cultural experience!
As a side note, and even the trolleys in Oslo, are equipped to carry lots of outdoor gear, as they are sports crazy there. When I first arrived in Oslo, there were huge racks of skis in the train station, all tagged with their owners' spring vacation destinations. They were sent on ahead, and were waiting in racks at the destination stations a week later when I went on my ski tour. I saw people looking through the racks for their skis, and never heard of anyone taking skis that did not belong to them.
It was fun to watch people walk up to the Oslo trolleys, slap their cross-country skis into the rack on the side, and carry their poles on the trolley car with them. I hope they still do that. Also, it's dark very early in winter, so they have lighted ski tracks all around town, and take the city trolleys up to ski after work.
As a side note, and even the trolleys in Oslo, are equipped to carry lots of outdoor gear, as they are sports crazy there. When I first arrived in Oslo, there were huge racks of skis in the train station, all tagged with their owners' spring vacation destinations. They were sent on ahead, and were waiting in racks at the destination stations a week later when I went on my ski tour. I saw people looking through the racks for their skis, and never heard of anyone taking skis that did not belong to them.
It was fun to watch people walk up to the Oslo trolleys, slap their cross-country skis into the rack on the side, and carry their poles on the trolley car with them. I hope they still do that. Also, it's dark very early in winter, so they have lighted ski tracks all around town, and take the city trolleys up to ski after work.
