River Begna, Hønefoss,
Buskerud, Norway

River Begna, Hønefoss, Buskerud, Norway

The railway journey between Oslo and Bergen comes with a reputation for passing through appealing scenery so that was how I spent most of the second day of my August 2016 trip to Norway. Engineering works meant that my train was diverted and could have contributed to its delayed arrival in Bergen. It was while waiting in Hønefoss that I captured the scene that you see here.

As we journeyed west, we sadly left sunshine after us to meet with wetter conditions. Still, there was plenty to see through train windows before that happened. Some bored teenagers on the train had to be occupied with movies playing on MacBooks, iPads and the like, which showed that parents needed to do more to interest them in the outdoors. If one of them had headphones to go with their choice of viewing, my journey would have been even more blissful. A trip to the café sorted that though.

Saying all that, the journey is a long one and the planned seven-hour duration became eight after various delays. It did not help that there was a locomotive malfunction around the highest point of the route. If that was bereft of avalanche shelters, there would have been more to see too. Returning to Oslo by air may have compensated for what I missed in some small way for there is some dramatic countryside to be savoured. In the train journey's later stages, western fjords were there to be enjoyed too. It had been worth making.

See more photos from this album (Norway)