Norway in a Nutshell
A packaged Bergen Railway journey across Norway in a single day. The Ungdommene (the Youngsters) ride train, bus, fjord-cruise, and train again — Oslo to Bergen by way of three real places.
- Day 3
Norway in a Nutshell
Across the country in a single day, Oslo → Bergen
- Bergen Railway: Oslo S → Myrdal
- Flåm Railway: Myrdal → Flåm
- Electric bus up to the Stegastein viewpoint
- Nærøyfjord cruise: Flåm → Gudvangen
- Bus through the valley: Gudvangen → Voss
- Voss Railway: Voss → Bergen
- Sleep at the Bergen hotel near the wharf
What this is
Norway in a Nutshell is the country’s most famous travel package — a curated sequence of trains, a bus, a fjord cruise, and another train that connects Oslo to Bergen across a single day. It is a journey, designed to compress the whole of western Norway into one continuous experience.
The whole journey runs on Day 3 — leaving Oslo early in the morning and arriving in Bergen late that night.
Three stops between the capital and the coast
- Flåm — the fjord village at the bottom of the Flåm Railway descent
- Stegastein — the famous viewpoint platform suspended over the Aurlandsfjord
- Nærøyfjord — the UNESCO World Heritage fjord crossed by boat
The arc, in real time
The exact hour-by-hour timing and seat details are shown in Nitty-Gritty mode. In order, the day runs: Oslo → Myrdal → Flåm → Stegastein → the Nærøyfjord cruise → Voss → Bergen.
Background
The Flåm Railway opened in 1940 after twenty years of construction; the Bergen Railway opened in 1909 and cut a four-day overland trip to one. Both were considered impossible at the time. The Nærøyfjord became UNESCO World Heritage in 2005.
For the geographic and technical detail of each leg — the fjord itself, the platform, the village — see the sub-pages.
Places along this excursion
Each of these has its own page with the detail of what happens there.
- Vestland
Flåm
A fjord village at the bottom of one of the world's steepest railways, walled in by green vertical rock at the head of the Aurlandsfjord.
- Vestland
Stegastein
A 30-meter wooden platform that arcs out over the Aurlandsfjord 650 meters below — one of the most photographed pieces of architecture in the country.
- Vestland
Nærøyfjord
A UNESCO World Heritage fjord — at points only 250 meters wide, walled by sheer rock 1,700 meters high. Crossed by boat between Flåm and Gudvangen.
Learn more
Journals from Norway in a Nutshell
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