Norwegian Trains and their Tunnels & Norway In A Nutshell

Norwegian trains are different than most other trains because they spend a lot of their time underground, in tunnels – long tunnels, short tunnels, straight tunnels, curved tunnels, even S-shaped tunnels. In just this week alone, we have ridden trains through more kilometers of tunnels than in our entire previous lives. Norwegian trains spend so much time in tunnels ‘cause Norwegians don’t like to go around mountains, so they make long, more or less round holes in them, big worm holes that go right through mountains to the other side. And then they put railroad tracks in some and roads in others. No more letting mere mountains determine your path!!

Here is a picture of a red Norwegian train – they are all red, at least the state-owned ones – about to transit through a tunnel. Yes, this is a VERY short tunnel – you can see right through this one. Normally, here is what passengers see when a train is going through a mountain, instead of around it.

We much prefer the view OUTSIDE the tunnels, such as seen in these pictures on the way up to Hardanger Vidda and up on the vidda.

Frustratingly, long stretches of the inside-the-tunnel view are separated by tantalizing glimpses of the following, usually without time to get your camera ready.

And then nearly everyone got off the train at Myrdal …… where we were waiting for the green train from Flåm to come so we could all jam ourselves and our baggage into it for a short and scenic ride down the steepest standard-gauge railroad in the world.  Some parts of it are a 55% grade, and one of its tunnels makes a 180-degree turn!  It kind of spirals down through the mountain.

After the train winds down the mountain it ends up in the fjord-side town of Flåm.

We are actually on a sort of tour, or rather a package deal, called “Norway in a Nutshell”.  There are various routes you can take…we are using it to get from Oslo to Bergen.  First there was the regular train, from Oslo to Myrdal.  Then, as detailed above, we got off that train and got on the special one down to Flåm.  We had about a half-kilometer walk (with luggage) to the Heimly Pensionat, where we are staying tonight.  Tomorrow afternoon, we will get on a boat:

But not THIS boat (which annoyed us by covering up a lot of our view):

…and the boat will take us through two fjords for a couple of hours, whereupon we take a bus to Voss, and then the train to Bergen.