Travel Reference
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coastal mountains, a good source of moisture, and a climate cold enough
for glaciers to form and advance. Due to the earth's rotation, the prevail-
ing winds in higher latitudes blow from west to east, so chances of gla-
ciation are ideal where there is an ocean to the west of land with coastal
mountains. When the winds blow east over the water, they pick up a lot
of moisture, then bump up against the coastal mountain range, and dump
their moisture in the form of snow—which feeds the glaciers that carve
valleys down to the sea.
You can find fjords along the northwest coast of Europe—including
western Norway and Sweden, Denmark's Faroe Islands, Scotland's Shet-
land Islands, Iceland, and Greenland; the northwest coast of North Amer-
ica (from Puget Sound in Washington state north to Alaska); the southwest
coast of South America (Chile); the west coast of New Zealand's South
Island; and on the continent of Antarctica.
As you travel through Scandinavia, bear in mind that, while we
English-speakers use the word “fjord” to mean only glacier-cut inlets,
Scandinavians often use it in a more general sense to include bays, lakes,
and lagoons that weren't formed by glacial action.
Schedule: This train runs three to five times per day (overnight possible
daily except Sat). The segment from Oslo to Myrdal takes 4.75-5.5 hours; go-
ing all the way to Bergen takes 7-7.5 hours.
Reservations: In peak season, get reservations for this train at least a week
in advance (see here ) .
▲▲Myrdal-Flåm Train (Flåmsbana)
Thelittle12-milespurlineleavestheOslo-BergenlineatMyrdal(2,800feet),
which is nothing but a scenic high-altitude train junction with a decent cafet-
eria. From Myrdal, the train winds down to Flåm (sea level) through 20 tun-
nels (more than three miles' worth) in 55 thrilling minutes. It's party time on
board, and the engineer even stops the train for photos at the best waterfall,
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