Day 7 - Tues. June 17th

We “sailed” through the night and docked in Flam anchoring around 8am.  (Odd term to use, sail, as a cruise ship does not have sails.)  We passed part of the way through beautiful Aurlnadsfjord that is 126 miles in total length and 4,290 ft. deep.   Our ship docked while two other cruise ships had to anchor out away from the dock and then use tenders or small-enclosed boats that seat about 25 people to get passengers to the dock.  After the hordes again departed the ship for their early shore excursions, we got off and walked into Flam from the pier.      (Hint:  If you click on a picture, it enlarges.)

 
This picture is from the dock with me pointing to our stateroom on the “ship” which was located on the bottom level of passengers and the last one in the rear.  (The one with the circle around it.)  We had a nice big window.  There was a deck behind us but not accessible from the rear of the boat near our room.

Flam is a very small Norwegian tourist town, population 450, very beautiful and has a train that goes up the mountain.   Instead of waiting to buy tickets in the port at the train station, we bought this excursions in advance from Holland America cruise line to ensure a seat and ride.  It is good thing we did and not wait to get tickets in town.  With 3 cruise ships in port, everyone wanted to ride the train and unfortunately, it sold out quickly for those who tried to buy in town.  Our train tour is later in the afternoon so we, Robert and Mike, decided that we wanted to hike up the hill to see the town and port from the overlooks but Michael and Chuck returned to the ship.  It was a short hike and the views of the port and small town were breath taking.   We found a bench to rest upon and chatted with two other couples from the other cruise ships.  

After a short rest, we walked down back to town via a different trail, we saw in the distance what looked like an RV park.  Sure enough, it was including park models or cottages.   We were amazed.  The RV's mostly were class C & D types and small travel trailers being pulled by a vehicle and no large class A motor homes.  Look closely; the cottages are on the left hidden in the trees.

Mountain View from hiking trail.

After lunch, we went ashore again and took a train ride on the Flamsbana, a railroad that is 12 miles long and travels uphill with grades up to 18% and 2,815 feet to top of the mountain to Mydral.  The trip takes about an hour each way with wonderful scenery, mountain farms,  villages and many waterfalls along the way.   Did I say many?  Maybe numerous is a better word for all the waterfalls .

But the main attraction was a huge waterfall very close to the train.  The train stopped to let us out onto a platform to take pictures and get wet with spray from the falls.

According to our train conductor, he said the waterfall was haunted by water fairies. While getting wet in the crowd of people, a water fairy came out on one of the rock ledges and danced while music played across the landscape. It was quite entertaining!  Everyone was scampering to try to get pictures and video.  She had a Norwegian name but I cannot remember and could not pronounce it even if I remembered.  

She actually made two appearances.  The second was lower down from the rocks in the greenery.  From here I was able to capture a couple short vids.   Here is the link to one of them on You Tube if you care to check them out:   Flamsbana Train Stop at Waterfall and Water Fairy

We were back on the “boat” by 3pm for cocktails and then dinner.  It was formal night dinner so we borrowed the pants again and ties from Michael and Chuck.  Upon entrance, we were given formal dress coats to wear in the Rotterdam Dining Room.  Michael ordered a bottle of champagne to celebrate Chuck's 74th birthday.

Along with a birthday cake, our dining staff sang happy birthday in Indonesian, a different tune from ours and not sure, it was “happy birthday” as one couple said it was sung for their anniversary as well.  We would hear this song several times over the coming days, as it was the custom on Holland America ships for birthdays, anniversaries, and so on.  

It was a fantastic day and the weather continued to cooperate!  It was a beautiful sail away from Flam back through the fjord. Vid on You Tube:  Sail away from Flam - Aurlnadsfjord