Norwegian Panoramas

Oslo may be a small capital, but its setting is second to none. Located at the edge of the long and narrow Oslo Fjord, and nestled against steep hills, the city is an all-year outdoor destination. In summer, locals relax on the waterfront promenade or take a swim at one of the city centre’s artificial beaches. In winter, they take the tram up the hills and go skiing.

A few years ago, the centre of Oslo was unequivocally the elegant Karl Johans Gaten boulevard leading all the way to the royal palace, but recently city planners have spent a good chunk of their oil money on rejuvenating the waterfront. This includes a spectacular opera house shaped like an iceberg and with trails leading to its roof. Next to it, the new Munch Museum is where you can confront his slightly disturbing Scream.

Norway has three railways that are routinely rated as some of the most spectacular in the world, and Flåm Railway is the jewel in the crown. The most interesting statistic about the Flåm Railway is not its diminutive length of just 20 km, but the dramatic 800 altitude meters it plunges down from the high plateau to the shore of the Aurland Fjord.

You arrive at the Flåm Railway’s starting point at Myrdal, a stop on the Bergen Railway. For the past few hours you have already been suitably impressed (this journey was, after all, also on Norway’s three-best list), but the main event lies ahead of you. Along the way from Myrdal to Flåm, your nose will remain constantly pressed against the window as the train passes waterfalls, deep gorges, ferocious rivers, and small farm desperately clinging to the steep hillsides.

In tiny Flåm, a transfer would be ridiculous. Simply make your way the few steps to your hotel.

Flåm is a paradise for those who seek unique and spectacular experiences in nature. Wonderful as hiking around Flåm is, the high point of your visit will be a fjord cruise on one of the most beautiful fjords in Norway. Included in your itinerary, this cruise through the narrow and dramatic Nærøy fjord offers non-stop stunning views of waterfalls, snow-capped peaks and charming villages.

Norway has three railways that are routinely rated as some of the most spectacular in the world, and Flåm Railway is the jewel in the crown.

Departing from Flåm at the edge of the fjord, your train will ascend 800 dramatic altitude meters over the next just 20 km. Along the way, your nose will remain constantly pressed against the window as the train passes waterfalls, deep gorges, ferocious rivers, and small farm desperately clinging to the steep hillsides.

The train terminates at the small Myrdal train station where you will change to the Intercity train to Bergen. Here you will be met by your private guide who will escort you to your waiting chauffeured car and join you for the ride to your four-star hotel. Then, she will invite you on a privately guided two-hour city walk.

Charming and picturesque Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway but seems much smaller. Maybe that’s because Bergen is dwarfed by the grand scenery all around her. In just a few minutes, a funicular can whisk you from the city centre to the top of one of the local mountains, where you can rent a mountain bike and explore the trails. From the highest of the local peaks – reachable by cable car – you can see not only the city, but also the Atlantic Ocean, the fjord, and the surrounding mountains.

Let us hasten to add that Bergen itself also has much to admire. Narrow cobblestoned alleys and the old wooden buildings on the waterfront promenade all invite for a stroll. Afterwards, visit the city’s famed fish market, in operation since the 13^th century, and still a great place to sample the fine local cuisine in one of the many seafood restaurants that are crowded around it.

In Bergen, you board the Hurtigruten cruise ferry for a one-night leg of the world’s most famous coastal route. Founded over 125 years ago, this used to be the fastest route between southern and northern Norway (thus the name – ‘the express route’). Indeed, until the 1940s the northernmost part of the country was not even reachable by car from Oslo. Even today, Hurtigruten is much more than a pleasure cruise, but also a vital link to isolated communities on Norway’s Atlantic coastline, transporting both locals and cargo between the towns.

Your one-night journey to Geiranger is one of the highlights of the entire route. This is because the final stretch takes you deep into fjord country, with imposing mountains and plenty of waterfalls, climaxing with the ship’s entry into Geiranger fjord, arguably the most stunning sight of any Norwegian fjord. The ships will pass very close to the Seven Sisters waterfall, several powerful streams thundering down the vertical rockface in sisterly unison.

Norway’s fjords are generally mightily impressive, but Geiranger is the jewel in the crown. This is a fairy-tale scenery of vertical rockfaces rising out of the narrow fjord, with huge waterfalls cascading hundreds of feet from high above into the deep water.

You stay at one of the most spectacularly positioned hotels in Norway, perched on a small hill offering great views not only of the fjord, but also the thundering waterfall right below the building. A small and dramatic trail alongside the waterfall leads quickly leads you the short distance down to Geiranger town.

Savouring this view from the comfort of the hotel spa or pool is not the worst way to spend your time here. But if you have the energy for a hike, truly stunning vista await. Our favourite is the trail to the abandoned Skageflå cottage, placed on a small balcony high up on a mountainside, directly across from the Seven Sisters waterfall.

The 85 km journey from Geiranger to Åndalsnes is by bus. We usually do not care much for busses, and this is the only such journey in our entire network. But we must admit that this three-hour trip rivals most rail journeys in terms of scenery. You travel on one of the most spectacular roads in all of Norway, a journey that will constantly provide you with vistas of mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and even one beautiful ferry ride across a fjord.

The highlight of the journey is unquestionably Trollstigen – ‘the troll’s ladder’ – where your bus driver will carefully negotiate a seemingly endless series of tight hairpin turns as the road snakes its way up a forbidding mountainside. At the top, the driver will allow you 25 minutes to take in the scenery from an architecturally stunning viewing point.

Ånsdalsnes reminds us of Moab in Utah: An unmissable destination – not because of the ho-hum city itself, but because of the stunning scenery all around it, and the smorgasbord of adventure activities that awaits you.

One adventure we recommend to everyone is to rent an electric ride bicycle for a day, and then ride alongside the local river to one of Europe’s most awe-inspiring mountain scenes: Trollveggen, the highest vertical rockface on the continent towering ominously above you. Another easy but unforgettable outing is riding the same electric bicycle through the never-ending hairpin-turns to the top of the Trollstigen Pass. Enjoy what is arguably one of the finest panorama viewpoints in Norway, and then glide serenely all the way down the winding road.

If you are really up for an adventure, have lots of stamina and absolutely no fear of heights, the emperor of all Norwegian hikes begins a short bus-ride out of town. Romdalseggen entails hiking on a narrow mountain ridge high above the valley, until you finally descend back into Ånsdalsnes.

While filming the Harry Potter series, only once in all those years did the crew travel outside the UK to film a scene. That was to give a climactic scene in the movie a spectacular backdrop that could only be found in the north of Norway. Here, the highest vertical rockface in all of Europe – ‘the Troll Wall’ – towers above a narrow valley and its raging river and thundering waterfalls.  A railway runs through this valley. The Rauma Railway is renowned as one of the three finest railway journeys in all of Norway, and some aficionados believe that it is even finer than the Flåm Railway.

The 80-minute journey terminates at Rauma where you will change trains. This final leg to Trondheim would qualify as having great scenery in most other countries, but here it is hopelessly outclassed by what you have just witnessed.

In Trondheim, you will be met at the train by your private Silver Tray guide and escorted to your four-star hotel. Then, your guide will invite you on a two-hour city walk and introduce you to her beautiful city.