flåm was my favourite spot that we visited in our two weeks in norway. we just had the most magical day there. it was everything i dreamed up in my wish to visit the fjords, and more.

the weather we experienced in flåm, like a lot of the time we were in norway, was drizzly. when i first saw the forecast, i was pretty bummed. but … rain in the coastal north atlantic means so many waterfalls and mistiness that makes the whole world feel so enchanting.

at five a.m. on the morning we were set to put down anchor in flåm, ian nudged me away and whispered, “you’ve got to come see this.” i rolled out of bed, put in my contacts and slipped on a robe, and met him on our balcony. and gasped! i couldn’t believe the beauty we had woken up to! everything was so quiet around us, with the exception of the occasional sound of rushing water, as our huge boat cut through the greenish water towards the tiny town of flåm, nestled into the dramatic cliffs. it’s a morning i hope to never forget! (these pictures really don’t do it justice!)
 

 
we disembarked and headed straight for the flåm railway station. riding a train from flåm up the mountains to myrdal is the thing to do in this little spot of the world … and for good reason! we rode up and back just for the views (didn’t even get out at the top as the train was coming right back down!) and, despite the chaos of wrangling two toddlers on a small train, ha!, it was a truly spectacular ride.

it was so hard to capture the views with a camera and with the kids. we whizzed past sooo many waterfalls and the most gorgeous green valleys. with a bunch of tourist friends from all over the world.

mo was more interested in the snacks than the views 😉
 
we did get out of the train at the half-way point to see this powerful waterfall. they had some mystical music playing over a loud speaker, and randomly a dancer in a red costume up on the cliff, ha. it was crowded with tourists but still so beautiful!

coming back down into flåm:
we got off the train a stop further up than we had gotten on and walked the rest of the way back to the fjord. this was one of the most beautiful walks of my life, for sure. there were hardly any other people in the little village of flåm itself, and the secenery – towering mountains and majestic mist – just thrilled us!
 
  

we got back on the boat to eat lunch, as we did each port day on our cruise. we couldn’t pass up the free (included) all-you-can-eat food 😉

brothers eating on our balcony:
 
 
in the afternoon, we rode this cool boat down the narrowest fjord in norway. that journey was jaw-droppingly, soul-soaringly beautiful. again, pictures don’t do it justice! (sorry there’s a lot – i couldn’t narrow them down any further!)

moses and gabriel make any travel experience unique and exciting 😉 we couldn’t exactly just sit back and enjoy the scenery, but we had a great time as a family.
 
 

 
after the boat ride, we had enough time to stop at a playground right on the water in flåm before getting back on our cruise boat. it’s funny how finding a playground has become such a focus of our travels 🙂 we hung out on the balcony and said bye to flam as our floating temporary home made its way out of aurlandsfjord and further up north.
 
we loved you, flåm, aurlandsfjord and nærøyfjord!
…cruising norway to be continued…!