10 June 2018, Sunday

After spending nine fabulous days in Norway (excluding today), the time had come to say goodbye to this amazing country and move on to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden. It was going to be a long day of travelling as I would have to first take a train from Bergen to Oslo, and then catch a second train from Oslo to Stockholm.

During my planning, I had considered staying one night in Oslo to break up the journey. However, I ultimately decided against it because I had already spent two nights in Oslo at the beginning of my stay in Norway. I didn’t want to waste another night in Oslo and then waste another half a day in Stockholm the following day. So I decided to brace myself for a long day of train travel today, and make up for it by staying three nights in Stockholm, with two full days to explore the city.

At 7:15am, I checked out of my Marken Gjestehus hostel and walked to Bergen railway station, just three minutes away. At 7:57am, my NSB train departed Bergen for Oslo. The standard ticket cost 659 Kr, but because the journey would take almost seven hours, I paid an additional 100 Kr to upgrade to Komfort class so that I could have a more comfortable ride. Thus, I paid 759 Kr (S$131.40) in total for the Bergen-Oslo trip.

This Komfort class seat was better than the one I paid for during the train ride from Oslo to Stavanger. It came with a fixed tray table (which was more solid and stable) and there was way more legroom. The wi-fi was also very fast. This was good because I wanted to make use of the time to work on my blog posts during the journey. Komfort class also came with free flow of hot coffee, tea or hot chocolate. I ended up drinking four cups of beverages during the ride.

The reason why the train ticket is so expensive is because the distance from Bergen to Oslo is long (496km) and because the train passes through more than 180 tunnels (a lot of money was spent on tunnelling works). The Bergen Line is also the highest railway line in Northern Europe, climbing to 1,237m at the Hardangervidda plateau. It has been touted as one of the most amazing train journeys in the world by Lonely Planet and Telegraph. I would soon find out for myself that it was indeed true.

During the seven-hour journey, we passed by dramatic fjords, serene lakes, lush forests, meandering rivers, snow-capped mountains and white water rapids – the best of Norway’s spectacular nature was on full display here. I tried working on my blog posts but I found myself frequently distracted by the scenery outside the window that I gave up. The best thing to do was just to sit back and take it all in.

At about 10am, we passed by the highest point of the ride at the Hardangervidda plateau. At 10:12am, we arrived at Finse, the highest station on the line at 1,222m. Some people hopped off the train to snap some quick photos because the view here was amazing. I stayed on the train because I wanted to watch over my belongings, but I kinda regretted not hopping off. You’ll have to be really quick because the train moves off again in less than five minutes.

At 2:45pm, I arrived at Oslo Sentralstasjon, right on schedule. I had two hours to kill before my next train to Stockholm. However, as I had already explored Oslo quite thoroughly earlier in the trip, I didn’t have any urge to step out of the railway station this time.

I went to the bookstore and bought three books for 338 Kr (S$57.76) because there was a 3 for 2 promo. I bought Crazy Rich Asians and the sequel China Rich Girlfriend. They didn’t have the third title in the series, Rich People Problems, so I picked Call Me By Your Name for the third book.

I wanted to find out what the hype for Crazy Rich Asians was all about, as a few other travellers had previously asked me about it. They had of course, read the book, and me being Singaporean, they wanted to find out if the crazy rich Singaporeans described in the book are for real. Sorry to disappoint, but using myself as an example, I can only say that I am definitely Asian, and maybe sometimes Crazy, but definitely not Rich, so it is only half-true at best. The movie adaptation was also going to be released later in 2018, so I thought it best to keep myself informed.

After that, in a bid to use up the last of my Norwegian Krones currency, I bought two burgers from Burger King and a small can of Pringles potato chips. I was left with 1 Kr as souvenir. I then spent the rest of the time reading before boarding the train.

At 4:56pm, my SJ high-speed train 666 departed Oslo S station. I had paid SEK385 (S$62.14) for a reserved seat. It wasn’t as plush as the Bergen train and there was no more free flow of drinks. The journey would take over five hours so I settled down and made myself as comfortable as possible.

Throughout the ride, no one came on board to check my ticket or my passport. Finally, at 10:33pm, I arrived at Stockholm Centralstation. It was half an hour over schedule, which was unusual as the trains in Scandinavia are usually quite punctual.

I was quite exhausted by this time, having spent the past 12 hours travelling. It took me another 15 minutes to walk to my accommodation, Generator Stockholm hostel. After checking in, I took a shower and went straight to bed. It was a long day but the scenic train ride from Bergen to Oslo was definitely a highlight and made it bearable. Ok, a more productive day awaits tomorrow!