Iconic fjords, massive waterfalls, canyon valleys and impressive railway - West Norwegian Fjords – Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord 1195; Craft techniques and customary practices of cathedral workshops, or Bauhütten, in Europe, know-how, transmission, development of knowledge and innovation 01558; Nordic clinker boat traditions 01686
What and Why
The scenic and narrow Nærøyfjord, a branch of the large Sognefjord, is 18-km fjord is often cited as one of the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world. It has actually rated by the National Geographic Society as the world's number one natural WHS.
A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by ice segregation and abrasion of the surrounding bedrock. In this particular case Nærøyfjord goes around the nearby almost U-shaped river canyons. At its narrowest the fjord is only 500 m wide.
As movie-goers, this beautiful landscape is the main inspiration for the famed movie Frozen.
Toponymy
The name 'Flåm' is derived from the plural dative form of the Old Norse word 'flá' meaning 'a flat piece of land'.
'Nærøyfjord' comes from the Old Norse name 'Njarðøy'. The first element stems from the Norse god Njörðr. The stem '-øy' means 'island'.
See
Nærøyfjord
Honestly there is no need for further description, other than to show the beautiful sceneries, but I would like to use this blog describe the journey through the fjord.
We took the bus from Myrdal to Gudvangen, where one embarks on the boat to sail through Nærøyfjord. The bus journey passes through some of the steep canyons and is a genuine test of driving skills.
The main terminus at Gudvangen. We will return to why we are here in a bit later.
This area marks the narrowest Nærøyfjord, which is just about 1/2 km, side to side.
Along the boat journey, one passed by and was shown some talc quarries. Apparently Norwegian talc is the whitest of all talcs and is used especially for cosmetic purposes.
The Nærøyfjord is a U-shaped canyon that tips near Laegdafossen waterfall, which is one of the tallest around.
The turn towards Aurslandfjord.
During the journey, a lot of seagulls and albatrosses flew with us and that was how the title picture was made. These fowls seem reasonably friendly in spite of the large amount of food they get from tourists.
More sceneries along the boat journey.
More pictures of the journey, it is like the perfect screen background. The entire ferry journey took just about two hours and was frankly the ride of a life-time.
Flåm
While Flåm is just the main town of Nærøyfjord with a normal small-town flair, it is actually quite uninteresting. The town is so small that walking is actually the best way to explore the town.
One advantage of travelling in Norway (Norwegian: Norge) during summer is that the sun never sets. I spent one day (or night) hiking up the hill to reach the Brekkefossen waterfall, without realising that it was almost midnight! You can have as much time to explore nature as you want and I went there during the summer solstice. Of course the reverse is true for winter...
Lærdal Tunnel (Lærdalstunnelen)
I took a side-trip to to Lærdal, which is a not-very-interesting town famous for it salmon industry. The highlight however was that the bus trip goes through the world's longest tunnel, the Lærdal Tunnel (Lærdalstunnelen), as above. The tunnel is almost 25 km long and is commissioned to construct to facilitate connexion between Bergen and Oslo.
The tunnel interior design is very interesting, with lights of various colours, as above. This is to take into consideration the mental strain on drivers and so the lighting changes colour to break the driving routine, instead of using the usual boring white or yellow lights along the way. The caverns are also dug with many parking areas to allow drivers to take a rest, enjoy the scene and avoid claustrophobia during the 20-minute journey.
Flåm Line (Flåmsbana)
The Flåm Line (Flåmsbana) is definitely a tourist destination of its own. Technically it is a spur line of the Bergen Line (Bergensbanen), it runs through the valleys of Flåmsdalen and connects to the mainline with Sognefjord. The line's elevation difference is 866 m and goes through twenty tunnels and one bridge. The gradient is very steep at 1:18, making it one of the steepest in the world. It goes through some of the most picturesque spots of Norway, the Flåm Line is now almost exclusively a tourist service.
As the line is about to pass through the last tunnel, it stopped at the spectacular waterfall Kjosfossen, where one of the craziest things happened: there was an amazing dance performance at the waterfall for all passengers. The performance depicts a huldra from Scandinavian folklore, which is a beautiful but seductive female creature, usuallly with an animal's tail with a tree-like back. Huldras are, however, kind to charcoal burners and hence train operators as they watch their charcoals while they take a rest after a long journey, in exchange she would be given provisions. The performance is conducted by students of the Norwegian National Ballet School (Den Norske Ballettskole) and I have to say the experience is every bit as magical as the myth.
The view from Kjosfossen with all passengers.
The last tunnel, called Furuberget Tunnel was another vista not to be missed.
The main station at Flåm.
Buy and Do
Clinker (Klinker)
Flåm is obviously the main seaport to see the fjords. Around the piers one will notice that there are lots of special boats called clinker (klinker), which looks like the tradition Viking vessels, mainly serving as a tourist-to-do thing.
Clinker is a special shipbuilding technique where the hull planks overlap each other like fish-scales instead of tessellating over the ship hull seam-to-seam. The boat is the traditional shipbuilding method used by the Vikings since the 10th century CE, which allows the boat to flex against the strong waves. The cons of this method clearly is that the boat is less smooth compared to the usual carvel method, making it prone to wave-drag.
Nowadays, clinker boats in most areas are only rarely used in coastal fishing, they are continued being built for traditional festivities or for recreational reason. These new types of boat usage has become a new socio-cultural practices in the region to enjoy their Nordic heritage. The shipbuilding method still employs traditional methods and materials although the ship forms have been adjusted for modern sea-worthiness. However if one compares the clinker boats now to that in the museum that came a thousand years ago, they still look fairly identical in size and shape.
This method of shipbuilding is now enlisted as an ICH.
Eat and Drink
Brown cheese (Brunost)
The local delicacy is brown cheese (brunost) which is the Norwegian version of goat whey cheese (gjetost), although technically most Norwegian cheeses is a mixture of cow and goat's milk. Honestly when I first saw it I thought it was chocolate until I was overwhelmed by the cheesy smell. The brown colour is achieved as the milk is boiled until it is slightly caramelised to give its distinctive colour and taste. Brown cheese is regarded as one of the country's most iconic foodstuffs, and is considered an important part of Norwegian identity and heritage.
Stay
I stayed in the hostel Flåm Ferdaminne sharing rooms with a couple of solo travellers like myself. One of the good things about staying in a hostel is that you will meet lots of people of diverse backgrounds and most of the time you will strike a very interesting conversation with them. Most travellers staying in hostels are also genuine explorers and are very open and I had made good friends in many hostel-stays.
The other advantage is that you are often given free meals. Most family travellers in Europe will cook by themselves, and often sharing with hostellers like us.
The hostel is just a stone's throw from the train station and the ferry pier. However for this particular hostel, one has to pay extra for the pillow and the bed sheet.
Getting There and Around
I went to Norway solo through the Norway in a Nutshell trips. These are official trips which is organised a bit like a treasure hunt game: you are given a map, and you have to pick up your transportation tickets by reaching the various checkpoints en route in a bit of sequence. The trips are well designed and is extremely good for free travellers. This trip cost me NOK 1300 kr, to and from Bergen.
I spent three or four days around this trip and that really gives me a nutshell only.
UNESCO Inscriptions
Situated in south-western Norway, north-east of Bergen, Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord, set 120 km from one another, are part of the west Norwegian fjord landscape, which stretches from Stavanger in the south to Andalsnes, 500 km to the north-east. The two fjords, among the world’s longest and deepest, are considered as archetypical fjord landscapes and among the most scenically outstanding anywhere. Their exceptional natural beauty is derived from their narrow and steep-sided crystalline rock walls that rise up to 1,400 m from the Norwegian Sea and extend 500 m below sea level. The sheer walls of the fjords have numerous waterfalls while free-flowing rivers cross their deciduous and coniferous forests to glacial lakes, glaciers and rugged mountains. The landscape features a range of supporting natural phenomena, both terrestrial and marine, such as submarine moraines and marine mammals.
The workshop organization, or Bauhüttenwesen, appeared in the Middle Ages on the construction sites of European cathedrals. Now, as then, these workshops are home to various trades working in close collaboration. The term Bauhüttenwesen in German refers both to the organization of a workshop network dealing with the construction or restoration of a building and to the workshop itself, as a place of work. Since the end of the Middle Ages, these workshops have formed a supra-regional network extending beyond national borders. The workshops safeguard the traditional customs and rituals of their professions, as well as a wealth of knowledge transmitted across the generations, both orally and in writing. Faced with the progressive shortage of technical skills and in an age of increasing mechanization and cost optimization, the workshops created or re-established in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have become institutions that preserve, transmit and develop traditional techniques and know-how. Their commitment to safeguarding and promoting living heritage, through targeted awareness raising, information and communication measures and close cooperation with shareholders in the field of politics, the church, monument conservation, business and research, can be considered as an example to be adapted and implemented in other contexts worldwide. Through their organization and training system for on-site practice, the workshops could be considered as a model for all types of buildings that need to be built and maintained.
Nordic clinker boats are small, open, wooden boats between five and ten metres long. For almost two millennia, the people of the Nordic region (including the indigenous Sami peoples in Finland, Norway and Sweden and minority groups such as the Kvens in Norway, the Tornedalians in Sweden and the Swedish-speaking population in Finland) have been building clinker boats using the same basic techniques: thin planks are fastened to a backbone of the keel and stems, and the overlapping planks are fastened together with metal rivets, treenails or rope. The shell of the boat is strengthened with frames. Clinker boat builders emphasize the long time it takes to acquire the knowledge and skills for building traditional boats. In the past, it was common to start training with a master from a young age, and it would take up to ten years to learn the trade. A symbol of common Nordic coastal heritage, clinker boats were traditionally used for fishing and to transport materials and people. Today, they are primarily used in traditional festivities, regattas and sporting events, even though about a thousand persons make a full or partial living through the production, maintenance or use of clinker boats. Clinker boat traditions include social practices. For instance, once finished, boats may be ceremonially carried to the water where they are then given a name and wished good fortune; traditional songs may be sung during sailing and rowing.
References
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