NE of those few train rides to earn the adjective "great" is that between
Bergen and Oslo,
ERGEN. 
HE
RUN.
There are four or five
departures for Oslo daily from Bergen. One is a night train, offering sleeper service on
the 8-hour overnight run to the capital—ideal for businessmen, but absent of some of
Scandinavia’s best mountain scenery. During the long days of summer, all of the
daytime trains traverse the route in daylight. In high winter, none of the trains makes
the crossing without experiencing some portion of the line in darkness.
“Bergensbanen” – NRK
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=========BERGEN—OSLO, NORWAY========= |
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| Ultimately, the six-or-seven-hour coast-to-coast |
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crossing of
Norway
ends in darkness, as
the final approach into Oslo Central Station is underneath the city in a
long subway tunnel.
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Oslo the appearance of a young, thoroughly |
| modern city.
Properly, as a Scandinavian capital, Oslo looks south toward Denmark and
Sweden. It is tied as easily with its sister capitals, Stockholm and
Copenhagen, as with any other Norwegian city of size, and with greater
ease to Denmark and Norway than to the distant Norwegian interior and
the far north above the Arctic Circle. |
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returning from a pole. Bergen looks west, away from |
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Norwegian interior that isolates
from the rest of Scandinavia. Bergen has one importance — seaport on the
North Sea. Forest products go out. Fish come in. Coastal steamers by the
dozens take on and discharge here. It’s likely the Vikings knew Bergen
harbor well. Certainly the associated medieval traders called the
Hanseatic League did. Scotland seems as close as Scandinavia at
dockside. Indeed, the Bergen train station is the closest railhead to
Scotland’s Shetland Islands. And Bergen has great trains. |
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receive complimentary coffee/tea and newspapers. Extra- |
| fare first class passengers ride in the spacious | |
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lounge with 2-and-1 seating, some swivel captain’s chairs, glass picture
windows, complimentary fruit, lap-top work tables and power, plus a free
meal (without beverage) in the diner. |
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| blacking out the image. |
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On a recent trip, we opted for the extra-fare opulence of the first-class lounge, and had the half-car all to ourselves. The crossing was made all the more spectacular because we had the freedom to dash from window to window to soak in the scenery. Along the way we watched as skiers boarded and departed the train at tiny outposts on the treeless, snow covered plateau. In this land of no roads and few habitations, the train is for many the only way in or out. The |
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few stations along this highest rail |
| line in
Scandinavia serve as trading posts and communications centers for the
hardy souls who come to this paradise for cross country skiing in winter
and for hiking in summer. Despite the desolate beauty of the region,
there was rarely a moment when someone’s family hideaway—usually not
more than a tin-roofed shack set among the boulders—was not in sight.
This country captures the imagination of the Norwegian folk, probably
the most dedicated outdoors adventurers to be found in the
West. Life—rudimentary and rugged—in such surroundings is for many
Norwegians an idealized state, combining freedom and athleticism in ways
that are both innocent and isolationist. A two-hour hike in snowshoes
from the nearest rail station might bring you to your family cabin.
Fours hours later you might have it dug out of the drift you found it
in. Two more four-hour round-trips on snowshoes will bring in enough
supplies to support life subsistently in this wild place. No electricity. No hot water. No
automatic heat. But then, no bosses, no traffic, no pollution, no TV. Paradise! |
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Using the punch card security keys we were issued, we locked our belongings in the lounge
and walked forward three cars to the diner for lunch on the eastern slope of the
Hardangervidda. We plummeted through the forest while dining on beef stroganoff and pork
and red cabbage. The endless blur of snow-heavy Norwegian firs was as entertaining as the
Aussie Shiraz we drank with lunch. After a very jovial 90 minutes in the diner, we
retired to a very civilized naptime in the lounge. |
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| Emergence
underground at Oslo Central. Escalators, crowds, noise, stairs, smells, luggage, traffic. The Anti-paradise! |
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More information about travel to Norway and throughout Scandinavia. |
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