We did our best to get up early and get down to breakfast, but the kids simply cannot move that fast even under pressure, so we were a bit rushed at breakfast -- a pity, as we no longer had conference lunches. We met the other participants in the lobby at 8:20 and walked across the street to the train station, where we had a reserved car in the excursion train.
We rode up past the nearby Sorfjorden and Bolstadtfjorden, looking like long, still lakes, before going through a long tunnel and coming out near Voss. At Voss we disembarked and boarded buses for the trip down to the fjord; this was complicated, as the buses had different labels on them, and there were other train passengers not with our group getting on them. Eventually we got it sorted out, and rode along to a hotel overlooking the narrow cleft of a valley down which we would travel. The buses parked, and we had a short stop at the hotel, which had a nice observation terrace (to get to which we had to pass through the usual gift shop stuffed with sweaters and trolls). We reboarded after ten minutes or so, and started down a series of very tight switchbacks (barely enough space for the buses to make the corners) with periodic waterfalls visible at the corners, torrents with vertical drops of about a hundred metres.
When we reached the valley floor we rode along a level road by a small stream, which ended abruptly at the mouth of the valley where the Gudvangen ferry terminal was. Our ferry did not take cars (though other ones clearly did) but had seats for perhaps three hundred people, plastic movable ones on several decks as well as ones at tables inside a lower lounge area and upper restaurant. Most people headed up to the topmost deck; we settled on the less crowded back deck.
The boat proceeded down the Naeroyfjorden, which was more or less what its name implies. The mountains on either side rose abruptly, sometimes sheer rock faces, sometimes with terraces to which some grass clung. Periodically in small side valleys we would see tiny settlements of a few houses, and glimpses of snow-covered mountains beyond. While the sun was out it was at times pleasant enough to strip to short sleeves, but when clouds rommed in we had to layer up with sweatshirts and Gore-Tex jackets (though it never rained, incredibly enough).
At the halfway point of the boat trip we met the larger Aurlandfjorden (itself a side arm of the Sognefjorden, the largest and deepest) and the vista widened somewhat. There were more boats plying this stretch, more settlements, and even, at one point seemingly inaccessible and far from human habitation, a flock of mountain goats or sheep perched just above the water.
The kids enjoyed the scenery, but were not awed by it; they had as much fun exploring the boat, which was large enough to be interesting but small enough that we weren't worried about their getting lost or getting into trouble. We had brought some snacks with us (from Canada) and these seemed to keep them going.
At about 1:30 we pulled into Flam, the rather touristy junction between the boat and scenic train. We had a couple of hours here; there were some cafeteria-style restaurants, and we stood in line for quite a while for two plates of chopped elk patties and one of Norwegian meatballs (more like small cakes), both served with potatoes, carrots, thin gravy, sauerkraut, and lingonberries. For such a captive-audience place, the prices were not horrible (about NOK 80-90). There was even a selection of cakes at about NOK 20 a slice; we tried an apple torte, an almond cake, something with coconut in it, and a regular jam-and-whipped-cream concoction (which was the kids' favourite).
We had some time to kill, and didn't fancy spending it in souvenir shops, so we hiked a bit out of town along the stream to the first of the waterfalls; it wasn't a particularly exciting walk, being along the sidewalk between the road and the train tracks.
Returning to the town, we boarded the scenic train in a great rush of people (fortunately we once again had a reserved car) for the trip up the Flam valley. The train went through many tunnels and crossed from one side to the other of the narrow valley, giving us views of waterfalls, hikers, and cyclists, all of whom seemed to be training video cameras on the train. It was not a cog railway, but a regular one, and the grade was about 1:18. There were periodic descriptions over the loudspeakers, in Norwegian, English, and German (as opposed to Japanese on the boat).
At one particularly torrential waterfall, the train stopped for a few minutes, and everyone got out to take pictures. Suddenly on the rocks a raven-haired woman appeared, beckoning mysteriously. A water spirit, trying to steal the souls of tourists? No, the piped-in music gave it away: a cheesy stunt for the masses. Fortunately, the rest of the trip was not quite as stagey.
We reached the junction of Myrdal by a figure-8 tunnel, but unlike the one we had seen in use in the Canadian Rockies, the train here was not long enough to be able to spot one end disappearing in while the other emerged. From this point on we were in familiar territory again: we continued on to the resort town of Voss, where we had a forty-five minute break. We hiked down into the town to try to find the kids something to eat, but realized that it was just after six on Saturday, so the food stores were closed (and would be in Oslo as well).
The train ride back into Oslo was uneventful. Back at the hotel, we spotted Jan Arne in the lobby (his conference duties had now definitely ended), and asked him for a recommendation for a quick, informal meal nearby. He was taking a group over to Pasta Sentralen, an inexpensive place on the other side of the bus station. We walked through the tunnels connecting the train station and bus station, then through the adjoining parking garage, and emerged in the industrial side of Bergen.
I was worried about going to a popular place on a Saturday night, but there were so many of us that they opened up the second floor for us. We ordered and paid at a counter, and the food was brought to us. Pizza and pasta were each around NOK 60, and I even had a half-litre of beer for only NOK 35. We had spaghetti alla cozze, three bowls, but it wasn't enough, and we ordered a pizza with ham and shrimp to share.