greatcats
Engineer
Some of you are familiar with three previous missives in the past few weeks as part of my six week trip to Europe. Here is the final installment. I left off having taken a day train from Oslo, the capital and Norway's largest city, to #2, Bergen, which is indeed a scenic delight. ( Sorry, JIS, I did not take the more scenic tourist railway. ) I had a good time in Bergen, visitng Edvard Grieg's home, Troldhaugen( twice, with two piano recitals there ) the home of the hero Norwegian violinist Ole Bull, and a soprano and piano concert in an ancient church, Korskirke, downtown. The first trip to Grieg's I took a dedicated bus, but the second time coming back I did not want to be rushed in absorbing the museum exhibits, so I hung around for another hour and proceeded to get a bit directionally confused trying to find the Light Rail station about a mile away on foot.. The trip to Ole Bull's, infinitely worth it, was the most involved: a 30 minute Light Rail trip to the current end of the line, Lagunen ( which will be extended to the airport ) and then a carefully planned connection to a local bus which runs only every few hours, then a short ferry ride to Lysoen Island. Unusual home out there with music hall. Ole Bull died in 1880, but his relatives made use of for several decades afterwards. I also enjoyed the beautiful walking trails around the island.
After three nights I departed on the Hurtigruten Lines " Midnatsol " ( Midnight Sun ) a 2003 ferry/quasi cruise ship. Their service carries freight and vehicles, but is sort of like a cruise ship, minus entertainment and casinos. The entertainment is the splendid scenry. The facilities are quite nice, although not exactly upscale elegant, and the food is quite good indeed. It is something like a 12 or 13 day roundtrip to the top of Norway at Kirkenes. I had booked three nights, Bergen to Bodo. After six weeks of travelling, I am ready to go home. The three nights was a really fine conclusion to all this, but the whole cruise would have been overkill for me at this point. After three nights, I disembarked at Bodo in order to return to Oslo by train. Consulting Tripadvisor, I decided to have a final first class dinner at a highly rated establishment, Restaurant Smak. It was quite wonderful and Eva-Linda and her husband, the chef, and I had an animated discussion about travel in the US. They will be taking a cruise from Baltimore in a few weeks that is going to Bermuda and the Bahamas and asked for suggestions about Baltimore. I haven't spent much time in that city, but told them the harbor area is indeed historic, and suggested the Baltimore and Ohio Museum. They will also be in DC, which I am better equipped to give advice.
To readers of this post considering a visit to Norway: Be warned! It is a splendidly beautiful country and the people have been fine and the food delicious. However, it has the reputation as the world's most expensive country. Hotels and rail fares aren't so bad, but dining out - be prepared for sticker shock. The bills for even simple meals are hard to believe. Having said that, get used to it and enjoy Norway. I was told it is due to all the offshore oil.
After this wonderful dinner, I made my way to Bodo train station, built in 1961, a large brick structure with a clock tower, the northernmost point of Norwegian Rail. ( NSB ) It was very quiet, with no ticket agent on weekends. A diesel locomotive and seven cars sat in the station on this unusually warm evening, with a family coach ( with playroom for kiddies ), cafe car ( MENY, as it is known ) three more coaches, and two sleepers. I sat out reading on the platform and eventually the train crew opened up the train. There were no sleeping car attendants. (SCA) One has to walk up several cars to the cafe to see the conductor for a keycard to one's room, a little cumbersome. There are fifteen compartments, with the bedding already made up, a lower and upper bunk, which are crossways across the car. Against the window is a sink and bottled water was provided, not recommending the tap water to drink. Opposite the beds are hangers and a ladder which pulls out from the wall to reach the upper bed, a novel arrangement - it does not hang off the bed, but off the opposite wall. There is a toilet at the end of each car,not in the rooms, and I was expecting a shower, which did not exist. Actually a rather spacious room but the window is rather small. Along the hallway, which is on one side of the car only, are bench seats which fold down from the wall with a small table. I have seen something like this on Chinese trains, but it can be difficult if there is heavy traffic in the car. I was not thrilled with the cafe car, but it was perhaps better than the German train of a few weeks ago. ( I will say I slept quite well on the City Night Line train. )
Now, for the ride. OK, AU folks, listen up! If you should go to Norway you want to ride this line to or from Bodo. I felt bad going to bed at 11:15 pm, as there was still plenty of light to see the spectacular landscapes of fjords, deep valleys, and luxuriant forests. To me it was like travelling the Alaska Highway through northern British Columbia and the Yukon, but by train instead of by car. I did not sleep well, and was peering out the window at 2 am and it was still light out. The train stopped at small towns throughout the night and there seemed to be a respectable load on it by morning. Very little in Norway is shabby looking, with neat houses and trimmed landscaping. This train had left Bodo at 9:10 pm and was scheduled to terminate in Trondheim at 7:47 - we were 12 minutes early. If I was to ride this route again, I would take the day train.
At Trondheim a transfer was made to another train pulled by an electric locomotive, which was quite busy. I rode the Komfort Class car, which has somewhat nicer seats and complimentary coffee. The day was overcast and rainy, and not sunny like the day before, but I still enjoyed the ride. You really need to see this for yourself. I disembarked at Oslo Airport station, and am now at an airport hotel, where I will board United tomorrow morning for home.
After three nights I departed on the Hurtigruten Lines " Midnatsol " ( Midnight Sun ) a 2003 ferry/quasi cruise ship. Their service carries freight and vehicles, but is sort of like a cruise ship, minus entertainment and casinos. The entertainment is the splendid scenry. The facilities are quite nice, although not exactly upscale elegant, and the food is quite good indeed. It is something like a 12 or 13 day roundtrip to the top of Norway at Kirkenes. I had booked three nights, Bergen to Bodo. After six weeks of travelling, I am ready to go home. The three nights was a really fine conclusion to all this, but the whole cruise would have been overkill for me at this point. After three nights, I disembarked at Bodo in order to return to Oslo by train. Consulting Tripadvisor, I decided to have a final first class dinner at a highly rated establishment, Restaurant Smak. It was quite wonderful and Eva-Linda and her husband, the chef, and I had an animated discussion about travel in the US. They will be taking a cruise from Baltimore in a few weeks that is going to Bermuda and the Bahamas and asked for suggestions about Baltimore. I haven't spent much time in that city, but told them the harbor area is indeed historic, and suggested the Baltimore and Ohio Museum. They will also be in DC, which I am better equipped to give advice.
To readers of this post considering a visit to Norway: Be warned! It is a splendidly beautiful country and the people have been fine and the food delicious. However, it has the reputation as the world's most expensive country. Hotels and rail fares aren't so bad, but dining out - be prepared for sticker shock. The bills for even simple meals are hard to believe. Having said that, get used to it and enjoy Norway. I was told it is due to all the offshore oil.
After this wonderful dinner, I made my way to Bodo train station, built in 1961, a large brick structure with a clock tower, the northernmost point of Norwegian Rail. ( NSB ) It was very quiet, with no ticket agent on weekends. A diesel locomotive and seven cars sat in the station on this unusually warm evening, with a family coach ( with playroom for kiddies ), cafe car ( MENY, as it is known ) three more coaches, and two sleepers. I sat out reading on the platform and eventually the train crew opened up the train. There were no sleeping car attendants. (SCA) One has to walk up several cars to the cafe to see the conductor for a keycard to one's room, a little cumbersome. There are fifteen compartments, with the bedding already made up, a lower and upper bunk, which are crossways across the car. Against the window is a sink and bottled water was provided, not recommending the tap water to drink. Opposite the beds are hangers and a ladder which pulls out from the wall to reach the upper bed, a novel arrangement - it does not hang off the bed, but off the opposite wall. There is a toilet at the end of each car,not in the rooms, and I was expecting a shower, which did not exist. Actually a rather spacious room but the window is rather small. Along the hallway, which is on one side of the car only, are bench seats which fold down from the wall with a small table. I have seen something like this on Chinese trains, but it can be difficult if there is heavy traffic in the car. I was not thrilled with the cafe car, but it was perhaps better than the German train of a few weeks ago. ( I will say I slept quite well on the City Night Line train. )
Now, for the ride. OK, AU folks, listen up! If you should go to Norway you want to ride this line to or from Bodo. I felt bad going to bed at 11:15 pm, as there was still plenty of light to see the spectacular landscapes of fjords, deep valleys, and luxuriant forests. To me it was like travelling the Alaska Highway through northern British Columbia and the Yukon, but by train instead of by car. I did not sleep well, and was peering out the window at 2 am and it was still light out. The train stopped at small towns throughout the night and there seemed to be a respectable load on it by morning. Very little in Norway is shabby looking, with neat houses and trimmed landscaping. This train had left Bodo at 9:10 pm and was scheduled to terminate in Trondheim at 7:47 - we were 12 minutes early. If I was to ride this route again, I would take the day train.
At Trondheim a transfer was made to another train pulled by an electric locomotive, which was quite busy. I rode the Komfort Class car, which has somewhat nicer seats and complimentary coffee. The day was overcast and rainy, and not sunny like the day before, but I still enjoyed the ride. You really need to see this for yourself. I disembarked at Oslo Airport station, and am now at an airport hotel, where I will board United tomorrow morning for home.
