Norway has no shortage of fjords, but the longest and deepest of them is the Sognefjord. It stretches over 200km inland from the ocean, and the tiny town of Flåm lies at the end of one of its most scenic stretches. The best way to see the fjords is by boat, but before we got to that there was time for a taster with a walk along the waterside in Flåm. In one direction, steep cliffs rose out of the water, with trees clinging perilously to sheer rock faces. Just inland and away from the tides, a huge pool of perfectly flat water reflected the mountains and sky like a mirror. Then in the other direction a boardwalk led along the shoreline, past a wooden pier jutting out into the water and a line of red cottages, each with a boat tied out front. It was like walking into a brochure from the Norwegian tourist board, and this was just the preview.
44 Comments
Rob Weir
June 19, 2014 at 12:08 pmVery nice scenery that is well captured.
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:33 pmThanks, it was such a beautiful place it’s hard to do it justice!
Shikha (whywasteannualleave)
June 19, 2014 at 1:38 pmStunning! Just stunning! Especially that first photo, which looks like something straight out of a fairytale!
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:35 pmThanks, I didn’t think I was going to get any good reflection shots as the fjord itself was a bit choppier so was very pleased to come across this pool next to it!
Sarah Allen
June 19, 2014 at 1:41 pmLooks so beautiful! I’m hoping to travel to Norway in the near future. I’ll have to find this place.
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:34 pmDefinitely do – it’s easy to get to from Bergen or even Oslo, I’ll be doing a guide post covering what to do/see/useful info about Flåm soon.
Ben
June 19, 2014 at 2:00 pmWow, 200km is one long fjord! Great photos Lucy, the reflections look fantastic. I’d love to visit Norway some day, the natural landscape looks phenomenal. Was this part of your Euro train trip?
Also a slightly random tangent – did you manage to type those Norwegian characters with your keyboard or are they pasted from the web? 🙂
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:37 pmIt certainly is! Norway is amazing, I took so many photos I’ve barely started going through them all. The Euro rail trip is coming up next month so this was an extra bonus train journey.
The Norwegian characters I did using Edit > Special Characters in Firefox, you can find pretty much every obscure symbol and letter in there!
Life On My Plate
June 19, 2014 at 3:32 pmWow! Just wow! 🙂
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:37 pmThanks so much, it really is a wow sort of place!
Madison Eubanks
June 19, 2014 at 3:43 pmAmazing. I love the black and white, really gives a surreal feel to the image.
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:40 pmThanks, there was a lot of green in Norway so I thought it’d be nice to try it out in black and white too!
unfinishedtravel
June 19, 2014 at 6:37 pmBeautiful reflections!
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:40 pmThanks, I do love reflection shots so was so pleased to find that pool on the edge of the fjord!
RareBirdsFly
June 19, 2014 at 6:39 pmLooks amazing! Would love to go one day 🙂
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:39 pmI would definitely recommend it – Norway’s a bit of a pricey place but so worth it.
Viaggiando con Bea
June 19, 2014 at 9:29 pmfantastic pictures and place
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:40 pmThanks Bea, it was a stunning place to visit.
Emma Brown
June 19, 2014 at 11:11 pmReally gorgeous photos what a stunning part if the world you’ve captured.
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:39 pmIt really was like walking into a postcard!
Jen
June 20, 2014 at 1:03 amthe picture with the red houses = love love love.
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:38 pmI loved those houses, I must have taken about 20 photos of them from different angles. You can actually rent them as holiday rentals too!
Jen
June 22, 2014 at 12:46 pmI am figuring that it might be out of my price range, but maybe one day – ahaha.
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:49 pmHaha, mine too I suspect! Looks fab though: http://www.fretheimhytter.com/visartikkel.asp?art=234
Jen
June 22, 2014 at 1:05 pmYikes. One night is more than a fourth of my monthly salary here in Hungary. I suppose I will just admire it from afar forever.
Darlene
June 20, 2014 at 3:16 amAmazing photos! Make me want to g there right now.
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:43 pmThanks Darlene, I was just blown away by the scenery in Norway, the fjords were so beautiful!
Laura
June 20, 2014 at 5:05 amThese pictures are so gorgeous – I love all the reflections in the water!
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:43 pmThanks Laura, I have a bit of a thing about reflection shots so had to see if I could do one here!
clairellewellyn
June 20, 2014 at 6:46 ambeautiful! I just got back from traveling the Fiords of New Zealand myself. It is really exciting to see people building their lives around such natural beauty!
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:41 pmI visited the fjords in Norway about five years ago and this really reminded me of them, the same huge scale and stunning views!
Vlad
June 20, 2014 at 12:52 pmWonderful pictures, Norway is such a beautiful country!
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:42 pmIt really is, probably one of the most photogenic places I’ve visited!
brittbeerbavaria1
June 20, 2014 at 6:53 pmThat looks amazing! What type of camera are you using? About to take my big trip and need a good camera!
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:42 pmThanks, I use a Nikon D5000 (now replaced by their D5200) – it’s a DSLR but fairly small and light and not too pricey!
Bridget Pigott
June 20, 2014 at 9:37 pmFantastic pictures. Love the red houses against the blue and green with a bit of snow.
The water really does look like glass. Your black and white photos work really well.
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:45 pmThanks Bridget, the colours were lovely, and the whole place was incredibly photogenic – if it was a bit cheaper I’d be back there for a few months like a shot!
Maddie
June 20, 2014 at 9:48 pmOh my word, between you and a friend of mine who is currently in Norway, I am completely sold! Absolutely stunning photos.
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:45 pmIt is a beauty isn’t it! Definitely started me off on a new thing for Scandinavia (this might get pricey!)
Lucy Dodsworth
June 22, 2014 at 12:33 pmThanks so much, Norway is just a photographer’s dream!
restlessjo
June 24, 2014 at 7:20 pmThat first shot is a real gem, Lucy! I was told that the walking around Flam was as amazing as the train ride. 🙂
Lucy Dodsworth
June 24, 2014 at 9:09 pmThanks Jo, I do love a good reflection shot so couldn’t resist! You’re really spolit for choice for great views and landscapes around Flåm.
jpilkington09
June 26, 2014 at 3:09 pmThat last photo is stunning – what a shot!
Lucy Dodsworth
June 27, 2014 at 4:26 pmThanks – it reminded me of a similar shot I’d seen of New Zealand so I thought I’d copy the idea!