Category: Small Group Discoveries

When a railroad was built to connect the major Norwegian cities of Bergen and Oslo, advocates and residents of the more rural region of Sogn saw an opportunity: Why not also construct an additional line that would lead visitors to the gorgeous Sognefjord and allow those who live in the countryside easier access to the rest of Norway? The result – the astonishing Flam Railway – is a man-made wonder where nature steals the show.

The distance between the railway’s starting point of Myrdal and its scenic terminus of Flåm, which gracefully rests on the edge of a fjord, was a mere 12 miles. But the incline to connect the two points was so steep—rising to almost 3,000 feet—it seemed beyond what a train could handle. Norway’s best engineers decided that the only way to pull it off would be to create a route that twisted and turned, not just hugging mountainsides but burrowing through them. After years of debate, a plan was finalized to carve 20 tunnels out of the rocky mountainside—18 of them by hand.

Construction started in the 1920s, eventually employing 280 builders at once. Local farms got an unexpected bonus: Suddenly, their horses and wagons were in high demand for hauling materials, filling the bank accounts of rural families more than their fields alone ever had. Tourists also came to watch the construction itself, pouring more income into the local economy. It was quite a show: Workers drilled into the rock walls, stuffed dynamite into the holes and blasted away. Each foot of progress required roughly 40-50 hours of backbreaking work. All this was not without danger; twice, construction was briefly halted when workers were killed in accidents.

Once the rail line’s ten stations were built and tracks were laid, the pace picked up. By the end of the 1930s, the first freight train was rolling along the route three times a week. World War II actually hastened construction as the occupying German forces wanted the route for steam locomotives, too. After the war, the Flam Line was a commercial hit as trains ran in both directions twice daily. It was the fastest way for people, goods and mail to travel between the region of Sogn and Oslo and Bergen.

Now, the tracks are maintained by the Norwegian rail authorities. In a route that takes you from sea level to 2,847 feet in the span of a single hour, you are treated to an endless array of vistas. Waterfalls plunge down steep slopes to wide verdant valleys. Peak after snowcapped peak etch out the horizon, while bucolic farms overlook flower-filled pastures. At one point, there is a thrill ride element, as the train emerges from a 2,000-foot tunnel onto a clifftop shelf with a staggeringly sheer vertical drop. It is easily one of the world most breathtaking train journeys.

Showered with accolades by National Geographic, Lonely Planet, and others, the Flam Line is now one of Norway’s top three most visited sites, no longer a route toward a destination, but the destination in itself.

It’s all aboard the Flam Railway when you join us in on our Scandinavia, Naturally Charming small group trip. Click here to learn more!

For a creature just over four feet tall, the Icelandic horse looms large in its country’s folklore. The breed arrived with the Vikings a thousand years ago and was featured in the Norse mythologies that came with them. With the passage of time, the tall tales of Norse gods were replaced by majestic Icelandic Sagas, but the hardy little horses remained.

Typically, a horse this short would be considered a pony, but Iceland has never agreed with the classification, noting the strength and spirited temperament of the breed. First used for sheepherding and other farm work, the breed was developed in seemingly endless permutations for showing and racing. There are now so many colors and patterns that there are 100 Icelandic words to distinguish them.

For all their visual variety, Iceland is keen on keeping its beloved species genetically pure. No Icelandic horse may be bred with any other species, and no other breeds are allowed to be imported. If an Icelandic horse is exported it may never return. The 19 nations lucky enough to have an exported herd must still refer to them as Icelandic.

Aside from their stout beauty, the horses are beloved for their friendly temperament. They are cheerful beasts, known for their enthusiastic personalities and enjoyment of human company. Without any natural predators, they aren’t easily spooked, which makes them easy to handle. Some of their behaviors, too, are distinct. They walk, trot, and canter like other horses, but have two extra gaits: an “ambling pace” (tölt) and a “flying pace” (skeið). The term “flying” references a brief moment when the tiny creature is suspended in the air, all four hoofs off the ground, lending a hint of the magic that earned them roles in the Icelandic Sagas.

In the best known legend, a mighty chieftain vowed that if anyone dared to ride his prized horse Freyfaxi, the interloper would be put to death. When the chief followed through on the threat, he was beaten and chased out of town by locals, who then threw Freyfaxi off a cliff and told the animal to fly to the gods. That act took things too far and the deities were displeased; they restored the chieftain to his fortune, and impoverished the horse’s tormentors. Alas, the gods did not bring Freyfaxi back to life but no one again dared show such disrespect to the value of an Icelandic horse. By the medieval era, such horses were without question the greatest treasure of a household, and warriors were often buried not next to their wives but to their horses.

At Fákasel Horse Park in the northern reaches of Iceland, you can see skilled exhibitions by the four-legged stars of the sagas. But you’ll see plenty of them outside this special equestrian facility, too: They remain highly popular. One census estimates there is roughly one horse for every four humans in Iceland. After a thousand years, this land is truly theirs.

From Norway’s Fjords to Iceland’s Watery Wonders

Where on earth could you find a deep-water coral reef teeming with life and a glacier bigger than the city of New Orleans? How about a volcano with slopes hot enough to cook eggs on and icy peaks gilded in permafrost? Only in Scandinavia. Norway and its North Sea cousin Iceland boast landscapes that linger long in memory, together composing one of Earth’s most dramatically diverse corners.

There’s Nowhere Like Norway 

The Vikings made the waters of Norway famous and exploring by boat is still the thrill of a lifetime. Nowhere is that more true than among the magnificent fjords that have long defined this astonishing part of the world. Sognefjord is Norway’s biggest and best known, rising higher than the tallest skyscraper on earth and plunging a whopping 4,291 feet. At 127 miles long, it’s not only the longest in Norway, but the second longest on earth, and at its widest point, the span is nearly three miles across.

Humbler in scope but concentrated in its beauty, Norddalsfjorden (which you can cruise through on your way to the village of Eidsdal) is only 9 miles long but has been praised for its beauty since it was first mentioned in writing during the Middle Ages. Lined now by quaint villages and webbed with limpid rivers, Norddalsfjorden is idyllic in the extreme, a model of pastoral beauty.

If one had to pick a favorite Norwegian fjord, surely Geirangerfjord would be in the running. This UNESCO World Heritage Site is lined alternately with vertical rock walls rising from the pristine water and emerald green slopes lush with vegetation. Just when you think the vista couldn’t get more impressive here, you witness how (in the words of the mother-in-law of Henrik Ibsen, the famed Norwegian writer), “Foaming waterfalls plunge into the fjord from jagged peaks.” Local legend has a more romantic interpretation of the showers that plunge down the cliffs: The “Seven Sisters” cascades face the singular waterfall known as “The Suitor” across the fjord, and folklore says the spirit of The Suitor keeps trying to woo one of the Sisters to be his bride. If he succeeds, they don’t have to go far to prepare for their nuptials: Geirangerfjord is also home to a lacy waterfall known as The Bridal Veil.

For an entirely different perspective on Norway’s natural splendor, go high along some of the most memorable driving routes on Earth. From the Dalsnibba Lookout, you can see not only Geirangerfjord, but a dozen more fjords and snow-capped mountain peaks beyond. The highest vantage point in the region, this route was the handiwork of 300 men. The breathtaking Trollstigen Mountain Road, which was completed next, was built by 11 teams, one for each of its 11 hairpin bends. As you zigzag past waterfalls, you’ll be rewarded with views stretching miles from mountains to fjord.

Iceland: Wild at Heart 

From the imaginary kingdom of Westeros in Game of Thrones to Ridley Scott’s alien landscape in Prometheus, Hollywood directors looking for the most eye-popping and otherworldly terrain head to Iceland.  And no wonder: it’s striking at every turn.

A trio of unforgettable settings comprises what is famously known as the Golden Circle, a wealth of fantastic vistas that harken back to the world’s primeval origins. Thingvellir is the site of Iceland’s first parliament, which was called to order back in 930 AD. On the flat of a rift valley, lawmakers assembled in the open air to discuss clan business. It’s a wonder anyone could focus on the work at hand: the setting itself is a showstopper. Between tumults of rock, the verdant green plains are riven with gleaming pools that reflect the blue of the vast sky. Mountains overlook the scene and Iceland’s largest lake forms the far border.  It’s a truly inspiring setting for Iceland’s National Shrine, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Just a forty-minute drive away waits Haukadalur, a geothermal hotspot where the hissing earth vents its emotions, continually letting off steam. This is home to the original geyser—or at least to the first place ever called “Geysir,” the jettisoning plume after which all others have been named. Geysir, first mentioned in 13th-century accounts, has lately been dormant, but its  showoff sister Strokkur still regularly delivers scalding jets of water as high as 100 feet into the sky every ten or fifteen minutes.

At Iceland’s famous Gullfoss waterfall, the water cascades downward rather than spurting upward. These raucous waters plunge 100 feet into a ravine, a spectacular foaming curtain that seems to disappear into the earth.  It’s a feast for the senses: the roar of the falls, the transient spectacle of rainbows in sunlight, the spray of the mist cooling your skin.  According to locals, it’s so beautiful that when it was almost sold to foreign investors as a potential energy source, the landowner’s daughter threatened to throw herself into the crevice. Happily, she didn’t need to; Iceland bought the falls outright to protect them for eternity.

Few places on Earth match Norway and Iceland for their magnificent beauty and pristine wilderness shaped by glacial and volcanic forces. We invite you to join a Discovery Tours small group to experience them to their awe-inspiring fullness.