The purpose of Day Five was to get us from Oslo to Bergen. Most Norwegians fly. We found out why. One reason is that flying takes two hours, while the train takes eight.
At the tiny whistlestop of Haugastol, about four hours into our journey, our train came to a halt and we learned that a power failure up ahead on the line meant that buses must be sent to find us and take us the rest of the way to Bergen.
Less than five minutes into our bus trip we approached what looked like a railroad crossing with flashing lights – as if our train continuing to sit at the little station had blocked our road forward, or so we thought at first. But, the reality was more sobering. The road was closed, except for convoys of vehicles headed by snow plows.
At least our bus had WiFi, so we could follow our progress.
We spotted a few cross country skiers as well as a skier using a kite like we see on the bay at home.
Most resorts seemed to be closed for the season.
We made our way through the mountain passes.
Through an incredible number of tunnels, many quite long, some multi-level, and one with a traffic circle in it.
Until we began to see more and more water.
More evidence of human presence.
And a bit more of the majestic scenery before arriving behind schedule in Bergen, but in sufficient time to catch the ship that will take us to the top of the world.