Flaam Fling 6

Different views today.  I'm on a cruise to the fjords in Norway and stopping at the end of this one at Flaam, managed to hire a bike for an hour and get out for a ride round.  A good selection were available, in good condition and, because the lady taking the money made a bit of a faux pas, the hire for an hour cost £6 instead of £12. Bargain.

Queen Elizabeth

Not a bad terrain to get round as there is a road along the edge of the fjord.  This picture of the Queen Elizabeth was taken from the opposite side of the water.  A quite magnificent ship, built in 2005, it is one of the three Cunard 'Queens'. Flaam is at the head of one of the longest fjords in the world and although we missed most of the journey undertaken at night, the few miles we did see was beautiful. Hats off to the crew as well who navigated these narrow waters. 

Sognefjord

Flaam stands at the head of the Sognefjord, which at 127 miles, is the world's longest permanently open fjord. There two others longer, but they do get icebound in winter. Inland, the water is 4291 feet deep at its maximum and the mountains rise up 3,300 feet. Pretty impressive.  It was a real treat to be able to cycle along just a short stretch of its length.

Flaam

Only 350 people live in Flaam; and then 2000 cruise ship passengers turn up! It was very busy in the town especially as there is a railway that climbs up into the mountain. One of the steepest in the world, couldn't resist riding on it. The ship was able to get right up to the dock so we could walk straight off the ship into the little town.

Scary Clown Seat!

These seats in a children's park are weird.  There were three of them spaced around the play area and to my way of thinking would scare the living daylights of any toddler seeing them. Somebody, somewhere must have designed or authorised these for a children's facility. What were they thinking of!

Little Bear

Not sure what this little brown bear sculpture is all about. A lot of people like him judging by his shiny, well rubbed ears. Could not resist getting the Queen Elizabeth into the shot!

Bike returned safe

Time to return the bike. They were quite busy with bikes being hired and returned all the time. Not a bad bike, a bit heavy with the hub gears and the addition of a rear peddling brake was a bit odd. Tremendous value though (at half price) and gave me the opportunity to do a little bit of Norwegian cycling in cracking scenery.

A modest 6 miles covered, but in stunning scenery.