By Corey Sandler
Silver Wind’s first call in Norway began when we came in from the open sea and sailed inland along one of Norway’s most spectacular fjords to visit Flåm.
If you call it Flam as in ham, they’ll know what you mean. But the Norwegian and Danish letter Å, with the little diacritical overring at it top, is not “a” but more similar to “o” in most other languages.
So, FLOME, or something like that.
The village of Flåm is at the end of the Aurlandsfjord, a small arm of the spectacular Sognefjord which extends in from the Norwegian Sea.
The 204-kilometer or 125-mile-long Sognefjord is said to be the longest and deepest fjord in the world.
The sail-in in the early morning is always spectacular; so, too, the sail-out in the still-bright evening.
Not far from the open sea is the statue of Fridtjof at Vangsnes on the Sognefjorden.
Fridtjof was the hero of an Icelandic Viking saga. The original version dates from the 8th century, updated and continued about the year 1300.
German Kaiser Wilhelm II was a regular visitor to this part of Norway, and in 1913 he gave the statue as a gift to the Norwegian people.
Flam has been a tourist attraction since the late 19th century.
Truth be told, though: few people come to see the port.
It’s basically a train station and a few gift shops. The 20-kilometer (12-mile) Flåmsbana railway rises from the town at sea level to the high village of Myrdal on the steepest standard gauge railway in Europe. The trip takes about an hour in each direction.
UP THE TRACK
The old town, just above the train station
At Kjossfossen, a maid of the most emerges a few dozen times a day to entice tourists. Looking for a job? This might not top your wish list.
All photos and text Copyright 2017 by Corey Sandler, all rights reserved.
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