Flåm

Flåm is sort of the tourist hub of this part of Norway. It's a crossroads - boat, road, railroad - and an important stop for people doing the so-called nutshell tour of Norway. One of its attractions is that folks taking the train from Oslo to Bergen can easily take the scenic side trip down the Flam Railway (next post) to the fjord, hop on a boat, take a short cruise, then return up the hill to the mainline and head on their way.

Given our extended road trip, Flåm was just one of many excursions - and given the weather, I'm glad we didn't have all our eggs in this basket. And even if the weather had been good, I would not have wanted our visit to be restricted to this limited glimpse. Speaking of glimpses, if you drive E16, Flåm might just be a glimpse anyway. It's near the middle of 32 miles of highway, of which 27 is in tunnels. The photo was taken in the 11km Gudvanga Tunnel.

What we saw of Flåm was scenic, but pretty touristy. A pier for tour boats. A train station. A big parking lot. Souvenir shops. Food booths selling paella, ice cream, and reindeer meatball crepes.