Rambling Chronicles: Norway in a Nutshell

When we got off the boat in Gudvangen, we walked to the shuttle bus area. Our bus journey promised to “take us through the mountainous Naeroydalen valley before arriving at the spectacular Stalheimskleiva road, which twists and turns down the 13 steep and spectacular hairpin bends offering wonderful views of the Stalheimsfossen and Sivlefossen waterfalls.”

There was no bus waiting for us when we arrived, but one soon pulled in, and most of the passengers from the ship got on. I wasn’t sure if this was the right bus, but I showed our ticket to the driver, and he let us on. I had a nagging feeling that something wasn’t right but couldn’t put my finger on it.

As we left the parking area and turned onto the highway, I saw another bus pulling in. Its destination sign read, “Norway in a Nutshell.” Uh, oh. It was then I was sure we had boarded the wrong bus. I don’t know why I didn’t immediately get up and notify the driver, but I stayed put and started to try and figure a way out of this mess.

When I realized that the bus was headed back to Flåm, I thought we might be able to take the Flåm Railway back to Myrdal, where we could catch the Bergen Railway back to the ship. Luckily, I wasn’t worried about missing the ship, since it was going to be docked in Bergen overnight.

I reluctantly let Tim know about my big mistake, and he was surprisingly calm. As soon as the bus stopped in Flåm, I ran to the railway ticket counter only to find it was closed. That meant there were no more trains to Myrdal today. Now what, I asked myself.

I ran back to the shuttle bus and tried to explain our situation to the driver. He wasn’t much help, but several passengers already on the bus tried to offer solutions. One man said that he was driving to Bergen, but not until tomorrow. Not our best option, but a possibility. In the meantime, Tim had been trying to find a rental car, a great idea, but he had no luck.

A young woman on the bus started asking us questions about where we were supposed to be and when. When I told her that we were scheduled to be on the bus to Voss, she started looking for the train schedule. After a long conversation with her companion, she offered to drive us to Voss in time to catch our train. What??? Who would do such a generous thing for people you don’t even know?

Her car was parked in Gudvangen, so we rode the shuttle bus back to our starting point. We got in her car and began the 45-minute drive to Voss Station.

We learned that our rescuer was a photographer and the woman with her was her client. Although she agreed to the plan, I’m sure the client wasn’t happy since she would not have time to stop for photographs at any of the iconic places on the way to Voss. I felt incredibly guilty, but so appreciative. I offered to pay for gas and for the client’s time, but both adamantly refused.

Voss Station - Was I Glad to See You!

When we pulled into Voss Station with time to spare, I was so relieved. I’m not sure how we would have handled the situation otherwise, but it all turned out in the end. We really did rely on the kindness and generosity of strangers.

Through all of this ordeal, Tim remained mostly silent and let me handle everything. Even afterwards, he never got angry, yelled at me, or made me feel like an idiot. He proved again what a wonderful husband he is. I’m not sure I would have behaved so well had the roles been reversed.

While we were on the train platform, waiting for our final journey back to Bergen, I made sure to ask several times if the incoming train was, in fact, going to Bergen. I didn’t quite trust myself this time.

Which Direction Is the Train Headed?

Yes, That's Our Train

The train ride back to Bergen was lovely in the early evening light, but I only took a few photos. I had taken no photographs on the ride to Voss despite the beautiful scenery – I just didn’t dare to be that presumptuous.

One of the Lovely Lakes along the Way

And, One of the Rivers

Nice Setting

We've Almost Lost Our Light in the Mountains

We arrived in Bergen at 9:00 pm and took a taxi back to our ship. It had been a very long, and very eventful, day.

Below are two maps that tell the story of our day. The first shows the original Norway in a Nutshell route, and the second shows our modified route. You can see that we did a bit of backtracking. I’m really sorry to have missed the spectacular mountain bus ride, but the rest of the journey more than made up for it, especially the happy ending.