A quota photo from Norway last year. This was taken lying between the rails of the Flåmsbana, just outside the village of Flåm.
The lengths I go to and the risks I take just to get interesting shots, ne? Not that I even needed to get interesting shots that day. The rest of the scenery was by far enough to ensure the day’s photographic mission was a complete success. Fjords are great in that way.
I was wandering through Instagram yesterday evening, waiting for the rest of my family to return from a rest of my family outing. It didn’t take long before I found this breathtaking image on the VisitBergen timeline:
What a view.
I was transported back to May and those halcyon few days that we spent exploring that little bit of the west coast of Norway.
Sadly, this was merely bittersweet, pseudo-escapism though, as I was brought firmly back to the dark reality of the Cape Town evening by the beagle farting as it wandered past me and into the kitchen in search of food.
The trouble is, as I remarked beneath this vaguely similar (i.e. of some fjords near Bergen) photo:
I desperately want to go back, but equally, I desperately don’t: there’s simply no way that a return visit could ever be so perfect.
But the need to see more of Scandinavia is real.
I’m even beginning to consider adding an Iceland2017 category to the blog…
On an unexpectedly wet day in Cape Town, when I’d rather be doing most anything rather than writing up reports on experiments, it seems like a good time to relive the fjords twixt Flåm and Bergen. Amazing to think that this was only two months ago.
As I was remarking just yesterday: I’ve been lucky enough to have done Norway, the UK and Mauritius in the last few weeks, but suddenly find myself without any future travel plans. That would never have been a problem before, but suddenly, I feel the need to get out of here.
That may be down to the rain and the experiment reports though.
I’m flying back to the UK today.
I hope it’s been an amazing trip.
(I’m writing this in Cape Town last week.)
At this point, a quote from The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy seems appropriate:
“Pity,” said Slartibartfast, “that was one of mine. Won an award you know. Lovely crinkly edges. I was most upset to hear about its destruction.”
Destruction? I promise to leave Norway in exactly the state I found it.
Expect some photos coming when I am safely ensconced at my next destination.
Oh, and (the final) tenuous a-ha link: I’m “left without a reason to stay”, as per their 2010 hit Butterfly, Butterfly.
Despite being the second city of Norway, Bergen is actually pretty small. But it seems like there are still loads of things to do there. The thing is, you might not have ever so much time. We don’t, so I was delighted to find a blog post entitled:
Explore Bergen In 1 Day – The Complete Guide
Thing is, I’m now just a bit unsure exactly how long 1 Bergen day is. Because the blogger in question managed to fit: 1 funicular ride to a scenic viewpoint, 1 historical UNESCO heritage site, a market, an aquarium, a castle, 4 museums and 2 hours of shopping into his one day in Bergen.
Blimey.
I can’t imagine that Parichay Mehta (for it is he) saw any of these places in great detail. Allowing for a reasonable amount of travel time between them, we’re looking at about half an hour per visit. Still, it has at least given us a bit of a heads up as to what’s on offer, given that we have… wait for it… a whole 1 AND A HALF days in Bergen.
Which of course means 45 minutes per attraction. And given that tourism is very much our secondary reason for visiting, that seems more than reasonable.
Oh, and we’re going to do one of these as well, because you don’t go to Bergen and not do The Sognefjord (apparently). Cannot wait.
(Obviously, when we go, I’ll do a more sensible ‘Bergen in a limited amount of time’ post.)