Journey to Flam

6/30: We got up and out of our Oslo apartment by 0700 and caught the city bus (very easy because Bob researched it) and tough to find an Uber that can fit our 4 roller duffels! We're excited to take such an iconic train ride!

After about 4 hours we transferred trains in Myrdal. Then it was a 1 hr ride into Flam, significant because it is a 1000 meter decrease in elevation (from tree line to sea level - the steepest in Europe).

The waterfall en route to Flam. There was a dancing lady with music playing.

We made it into Flam!

Now for the short walk to our Airbnb for the next 2 nights. Bob prepped the group that this accommodation would not be our favorite, but options were limited in this small town. It was a 2 bedroom garden level (basement) apartment and the older couple that owned it lived upstairs. It was fortunately very clean, and it had everything we needed, included a washing machine, but we definitely did not love it. It had creaky floors (ours and we heard every step of the couple upstairs), and weird lighting including a motion sensor light outside the bedrooms that activated anytime someone went to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

The view from behind our place

Walking into town

We had read some great reviews of this Viking restaurant in town that had a menu option of beer pairings with small plates, so we headed there to check it out. It was SO perfect for us! We all loved our food, drink, and the atmosphere. Before I sat down I made a quick stop at the grocery store to pick up breakfast and lunch items for the next day as we’ve realized grocery stores tend to close early (this one closed at 1800).

Our Viking faces

A little exploration of the port - beautiful for sure! It's a busy port - from April to October about 600K people visit Flam via cruise ships. We heard there are only 400 permanent residents in Flam - they must have seasonal workers!

We headed back to our place (about 1 mile from the port) and Quinn's ankle was starting to bother him (he had rolled it a few times at Grona Lund). Quinn's allergies were also challenging him (I was giving him eye drops for itchy eyes for the past few weeks in Aland and Stockholm) and the symptoms seemed to get worse at bedtime, so he hadn't been sleeping well. So...I decided to give him a Benadryl for the first time at bedtime. I knew kids could have paradoxical reactions to Benadryl, so I was cautious and only gave him 1 tablet. He was still miserable and not sleeping 1.5 hrs later, so I gave him a second Benadryl at midnight. I woke up 4 hours later to a mildly panicked scene in the room Quinn and Bob were sleeping in. Quinn could not stay still in bed, and was having a tough time even listening to Bob's voice. I came in and tried to assist, and realized that Quinn was indeed having the opposite reaction to the Benadryl that I knew could happen. Fortunately, the Benadryl effects should be subsiding soon, and he managed to settle down after a little while. Thankfully Simone slept through the whole incident (despite the motion sensor light that stayed lit. Argh!). No more benadryl for Quinn!