...its the journey.

 

On the route heading north from Oslo to Trondheim, Norway’s third largest city, there is a road less travelled that seems worthy of an overnight stop. Actually, not a road but the Rauma Line, promoted as the most beautiful train journey in Europe.

 

Travelling on the Trondheim bound train from Oslo our task is simple. Leave the train at Dombas and change for the train to Andalsnes. Dombas Station is just two barren platforms and a small waiting room with little to reassure us that this adventure is going to be worthwhile. The promised train is simply the twice daily commuter service. As only a few locals join the train we are not reassured that this long detour will prove anything more than a waste of time. Timetable changes mean our return in the morning is going to be tricky so doubt grows.

 

On the train however the reward for our divergance becomes immediately obvious. From Dombas the train passes fast melting snow-capped mountains, huge thundering waterfalls, gushing rivers and stunning fjords. Clear skies and sunshine reveal the clearest view of Trollergen, Europe’s tallest vertical rock face at 1000 metres. Scandinavian Rock climbing began
in this area known as the Romsdal Mountains and in the 1980s base jumping became the latest pursuit.

 

Romsdalshorn Peak towering at 1555 metres is awesome. At Verma the train passes the Kylling Bridge where a huge waterfall thunders to our left and then passes underneath the train track and emerges to the right. The track includes 32 bridges and 6 tunnels the most dramatic of which allows the train to do a 180 degree turn so we can descend through a picturesque glacial valley to its destination beside Romsdalfjord. The breathtaking 90 minute, 115 kms journey ends at the popular holiday town of Andalsnes.

 

The town itself is quiet, rather unloved and somewhat underwhelming. The weather remains unseasonably and uncomfortably warm. The famed cable car does not run on Mondays. Dinner is difficult, expensive and forgettable.

 

In the morning our pre-booked midday train is cancelled and we have to beg our way onto the 9.30am train to meet our northbound connection at Dombas. The train is packed with cruise ship passengers who had arrived overnight and we are forced to sit on a couple of fold out seats. Fortunately, forty minutes into our return journey the cruise ship passengers alight at the first stop to catch a bus back to their ship, and for the remainder of our return journey the train, apart from the guard, is ours to enjoy alone. Perfect!

 

 

The famous American philosopher Ralph Walter Emerson’s words seem apt.

 

It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.