Flam, Norway - 1 of 4 The Town

Flam may have only 350 full time residents, but it gets 450,000 visitors a year to explore the area, visit the cute picturesque town that looks like a Hollywood set but mostly to ride the RAILWAY!!!

The Flåm Railway is the steepest standard track in Northern Europe with a 12.6 mile gradient of 55% through winding valleys and tight curves going from 6 feet above sea level to 2,600 feet. It goes through beautiful mountains and fjords from Flam along the river to Lunden and climbs up the valley and through the Furuberg tunnel to the fun Rjoandefossen waterfall where we were entertained to music and dancing. We then passed the Geisme and Vidme farms on the mountainside and the only place that two trains can pass as we continue to Myrdal. Here the Flam and Bergen Railways meet for connections to Oslo.

From 1871-1923 plans were made for a branch of the Bergen railway so that freight, mail and passengers would not have to come by sea or horse. Construction was from 1923 -1929 where they overcame the issue of the incline by digging a “turnaround tunnel” with 180-degree bends to give the train more distance to climb the slopes and then the valleys and river. It took 500 men continuously working at the peak. In 1940 parts of the track were opened to steam engines but were totally electrified by 1944. Until 1969 the passenger train ran 115,000 runs a year increasing steadily until the1980s. A new station in Flam was built in 1992 and more comfortable cars were added. By 2000 Flam became a popular travel destination.

One of the best highlights was when the train pulled over for a couple of minutes to see the waterfall and we were treated by a “mythological” woman in red (the Hulder people) who sang and danced from an adjoining perch. We captured some of this in a couple of videos before departing.

A very scenic hour up and hour back, although some people opted to ride bikes back down!Read more