On the way to Flåm
Photojournalism and street photography were never really my thing. While I’m getting settled in, I find it very hard to be inspired. Uncertainty is a real creativity killer for me. So it took me a day in Norway before I managed to snap a worthwhile picture. Strangely, when the train stopped in Finse (the highest station on the Bergen Railway, apparently) I hopped out of my seat and went outside to snap a few pictures. I guess I was starting to feel at home.
I’m pretty sure Wildlings live here. And that’s a glacier in the upper right. Being a true-to-form fourth generation Floridian, I’ve never seen one before.
The Flåmsbana
The Bergen Railway, or Bergensbanen, stops in Myrdal where the only remaining branch line, the Flåmsbana, takes you along and essentially through a mountain down to the little touristy village of Flåm.
It looks like people actually live here in addition to the tourists.
Fjord!
On the way out of Flåm on the ferry to Gudvangen. For a Florida boy like myself, this is really a ridiculous amount of scenery to take in, so bear with me.
The vistas change from bright and hazy to dark and brooding as you turn corners and find yourself in the cold shade.
Back to sunny again, with little villages on the flat areas deposited by streams as they cut through the mountains and run into the fjord.
Borgund Stavkyrkje
The bus stop in front of the Borgund stavkyrkje, or stave church, is not used this time of year, so we had to walk from the main road. The walk turned out well, as you can see.
This thing is nearly 1,000 years old!
There is also a little path through the forest behind the church where you can imagine pilgrims walked nearly a millennium ago.
Back in Oslo
I’ve read that Oslo was a “provincial town” just twenty years ago. That seems a little hard to believe, considering that it is a European capital city. It is a fact, though, that Norway is growing fast and has managed to stay above water all through the recent recession. In fact, the country has just 3.3% unemployment as of this writing, which is ridiculously low—certainly below what is typically considered “full employment.”
These pictures don’t have anything to do with that, but I like them anyway.
Also on Exposure.