Stockholm

Copenhagen - Bergen - Voss - Flåm - Sognefjorden - Oslo - Stockholm

The land of Victoria Silvestedt - that is how I used to relate Sweden with. How correct I was. Stockholm, the capital city, boasts of blondes in such a huge number that it is difficult to keep up with admiration. Where hazel green eyes, golden flowing hair and voluptuous body are a commodity the city is truly a land of fantasies. We started our three days with the trip to one of the archipelago that comprises Stockholm.

Having a sumptuous lunch with some of the hottest exchange students and a stroll at the island, we came back for a night at Stureplan - the centre of friday night parties at Stockholm. We spend a couple of hours observing people before coming back to our abode.

The next day we planned for Vasa Museum and an elaborate stroll to Gamla Stan which is the oldest of the 13 islands that Stockholm is made of. We started with the Change of Guards and missed it by a whisker of a second.

Vasa Museum was huge and elegant. The story of a ship recovered after 300 years in the sea was elaborately displayed.

Gamla Stan was awesome with narrow streets and curious cosmopolitan crowd. We did not buy anything but the walk through the cobbled paths was enough to occupy us all.

The next day we had to go back to Copenhagen  We covered a building which is claimed to be the biggest spherical building in the world.

We were back to Copenhagen and faced a little hurdle when a train accident changed our train routes and we reached our destination one hour later.

Voss

Copenhagen - Bergen - Voss - Flåm - Sognefjorden - Oslo - Stockholm

It was a short and lonely stay at Voss - for seven hours to be exact. I wanted to cover the entire stretch from Bergen - Oslo in daylight. The problem is there are limited trains from Oslo at night for Stockholm / Copenhagen  Hence Voss came into picture and how beautiful it turned out to be ! The first two hours I invested in walking uphill as much as possible. From up the view of Voss was amazingly simple. Seated comfortably by the side of an elegant lake the city couldn't be more peaceful.

One of the best thing about Europe is the pleasant weather which combines with less pollution to provide you enough oxygen and zeal to stay upbeat. Without much sleep the earlier night I was still fresh and still striving up the mountains that surrounded the town.

While coming down I managed to take quite a few pictures of the lake under the changing intensity of the sun. It was like a slow movie at play by the nature.

My train was late at midnight. The town entertained me till then. In these parts of the world in the middle of September it does not get dark before 9. The last couple of hours were spent finishing a novel which a friend had gifted a couple of months back.

Bergen

Copenhagen - Bergen - Voss - Flåm - Sognefjorden - Oslo - Stockholm

The overnight train from Oslo to Bergen was half empty. We were able to stretch our legs as night approached. However the first couple of morning hours were crucial and so we set our mobile alarm for 5 AM. The morning was unforgettable. We were passing through fjords. Sky high mountains rose from nowhere and the train would have to tunnel through or meander as per the wishes of nature. We reached Bergen at around 7.

We refreshed ourselves at the station and went straight for the Information Office for a trip to fjords. The two famous fjords were more than 200 miles away and would take atleast two nights to visit. We were disappointed. Seeking instant redemption we went for Mount Floen through a elevator train. 

The view from top was worth more than other days because it was sunny with pleasant breeze at the top. I realized that I am at the edge of Europe.

We decided to walk down to the town as it was much more fun given the warm weather and multiple viewpoints.

Later we settled at Brygge which is a world heritage site thanks to its old port history. The fish market nearby was also enticing with fresh offerings.

At 3, I parted from my friend as I had plans for Stockholm the next evening with Sumeet and Rohit. But before that I had to travel to Voss which would serve two purposes. One I would be able to see the famous Oslo-Bergen rail link in daylight. Secondly Voss is simply beautiful from what I have heard.