As promised in my last article, today I’m going to present you the «Oslo-Bergen train” but also some other alternatives.
If you decide to cross from West to East of the country, the essential question is « By train or by plane?”. Crossing the country at least once by this railway line is the custom in Norway. Yes…Norwegians are proud of this line, considered it is one of the most beautiful in Europe. And it’s not very surprising! You can admire a variety of landscapes which are spectacular.
However, you would have to be willing to stay 7 hours in a train… (Between exhausted and exhausting children!)
For the risk-takers, of course, the car is also a possibility. But don’t be rushed… It’s difficult to go for a drive in a country like this one, between winding roads and fjords (not to mention the changeable weather which necessitates to reduce speed…). By the bye, the road authorities have selected some recommended national tourist roads for their landscape and their accessibilities. Tunnels and car ferries are also an integral part of the road system. Indeed, there are now around 100 ferries crossings connecting public roads in Norway.
Still, you are assured to share the road with drivers pretty quiet and disciplined.
Despite being wonderful, some small villages in Norway don’t have any gas station and the next gas station might be more than 100 km away. So don’t forget your full jerry can…
I will finish by a very short story to illustrate the difficulties to get around in Norway:
At the beginning of the September, we went hiking three hours away. At the time to return (No time to lose, as we had to return the rented car!), a man explained us that the road was blocked for the next two hours. He specified that there was no other alternative and asked us to park the car. Oh yes, it was probably indicated…in Norwegian! Trying to understand how it was possible to close a road without making a diversion, the guy answered us in cracking a smile: “Welcome in Norway!”.
Finally, after having an argument with the rental cars company managers, they did not take into account our delay and understood that we weren’t used to have this kind of surprise…
