Page 229 - WDT MAGAZINE PORTUGAL

I've dragged Sharon along with me to experience
any number of unique train rides, including the Indian
Pacific on its three-day journey across the harsh
Australian Outback, or a poetry slam aboard Canada's
Rocky Mountaineer at treetop level, and even on
Amtrak, where every ride can be an adventure. That's
not to mention assorted steam-train excursions
throughout the United Kingdom and the fast-
disappearing overnight sleeper trains in Europe.
But those adventures were just warm-ups for a
bracing travel marathon that in one long day brought
together a hair-raising bus ride, a cruise gliding past
carved mountains rising above two fjords--and the main
event, for me, a railway so bold in its creation that it's
celebrated as a global engineering feat.
Others will tell you that we were in Norway to
board a September cruise across the Atlantic to
Montreal, leaving from Bergen on the country's west
coast.
But the real reason, told to no one, is that our cruise
plans finally gave me the opportunity to embark upon
the popular Norway in a Nutshell tour, a self-guided
day-long trip taken each year by thousands. Up to now,
this had been an impossible dream.
In a nutshell, then -- there's no hand-holding here,
no tour director on a microphone saying "On your left...”
Instead, you're given a booklet and tickets for a
coordinated train, bus, boat journey that can start either
in Oslo, the capital, or Bergen, where we were based.
Variations of this trip, including overnight stays also can
be booked, but our journey -- the basic version -- cost us
$200 each. (Eurail passengers get a discount).
That may sound like a lot of money, but as one
TripAdvisor contributor wrote: "The trip is a must if you
are in Norway. It's a long day but well worth the trip."
And travel guru Rick Steves rates this as one of his top
experiences. But why wouldn't he? He claims a
Norwegian-American heritage.
The excursion is available all year, with July and
August being the most popular months. The morning
departure was full of tourists like us, so we decided for
the afternoon departure that left Bergen at 12:57, with
considerably fewer travelers.
Our spectacular journey would last about 10 hours,
starting from Bergen's convenient train station on a
local train to Voss. One important tip is to pack snacks,
sandwiches and drinks before you board the train
because the prices will skyrocket and there often isn't
time to stock up along the way.
The 80-minute train ride took us up from sea level
into rugged mountain country. Finding other
"nutshellers" aboard, at the Voss station we trooped

228 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE 2019