Norwegian "liquid sunshine" & a triumph for Claire!

Had a very good night’s sleep – it is certainly quiet in this hotel – but were rudely awakened by the TV set’s morning alarm going off at 5.30 – which we didn’t set! It was starting to get light even at that time and some of the clouds were a pink colour! Around eight we went for a dip in the swimming pool (or pools – they have two) and tried out the Jacuzzi and steam room. The spa area is really beautiful; the only problem is that the tiles on the changing room floor are NOT non-slip – they are OK when they are dry but turn into a skating rink when wet. Willie came close to a bad fall with possible breaking of his aging hip (does a lot of falling – doesn’t he?). After an excellent breakfast we walked around the hotel noticing the numerous eating areas, bars, ancient skiing equipment, art works, old photographs (including ones of Dr Holm) and stuffed animals and birds – somewhat reminiscent of the Bates motel in “Psycho”! After that we set off in the car to Flåm railway staion – quite a long journey but the scenery along the way was beautiful – we were obviously travelling along routes cut out by ancient glaciers leaving enormous peaks and roadside fjords. Needless to say we also went through many long and dark tunnels - one has to admire the Norwegian resourcefulness in cutting them out. One was actually a downward spiral through the rock! We eventually arrived at Aurlandsfiord which leads into Sognefjord – the longest fjord in Norway. From Flåm we caught the train known as the Flåmsbana which took us up into the mountains, exposing us to wonderful scenery along the way (and lots of tunnels!). After an hour we arrived at Myrdal – over 2000 feet above sea level. One very memorable sight was the 300 foot Kjosfossen waterfall. Passengers were allowed to leave the train to take photographs but thanks to the rain and wind no one stayed outside for long! We spent an hour at Myrdal translating French in a book as it was too wet to do anything else. When we returned to Flåm we went to see the old wooden church – really quite tiny - before returning to the Dr Holms Hotel. In the evening we played ten pin bowling and tied after three games on 279 – Claire got two strikes. She then won on a quick decider as there wasn’t time to play another full game. It was the first time that Claire had ever beaten Willie!


Weather:
A very wet day but largely dried up the evening. Quite cold with temperatures down at times to 5 °C.