Do You Want to Build a Snowman?

Day 5; 10/01/2019

After eating many meals in Stockholm during the past few days, my expectation of food was very high for the remainder of the trip.  Yet, my breakfast at the Flåmsbrygga hotel still seemed to go above and beyond.  While we hadn’t been able to get our hands on Swedish meatballs while in Sweden, the ones provided at the hotel buffet melted in your mouth.  I have to say I am not usually a fan of meatballs yet these I could eat for the rest of my life.  To go along with the meatballs were the most divine waffles, fruit, eggs (most likely from a bag and the most disappointing), toast, jam, lingonberry yogurt, and coffee.  Little did we know as we were filling ourselves with delicious food what awaited us outside.  Since we were further North, even less daylight was available than we had been used to in Sweden.  As the sun appeared, mountains covered in snow began to take shape.  Huge mountains.  Surrounding the entirety of the hotel and greeted with water at the base.  It was amazing and just the night before we had mistaken the snow for clouds in the sky.  Our first excursion was a snowshoe-hike up the glaciers during sunrise (which was at 8 am).  We joined the Flåm Guideservice at our coach and head up the mountain.  Until this point, we had not realized the landscape around us or even above us.  I will never be able to express the sights I saw this day or explain how many times I (figuratively) pinched myself.  Flåm is a place you see on National Geographic yet you never truly believe that it is real.  Well let me tell you, it is definitely real.  As we took a one-way road out of Flåm, we passed through a village of about sixty some people which seemed to be the norm in this part of the country.  The road heading up the glacier was narrow and nothing was stopping our coach from falling right off the side into the fjord.  But it was most definitely one of the most beautiful drives I have ever sat through.  Once up the glacier, we were equipped with snowshoes and not the old wicker ones like I had imagined.  Surprisingly there is some skill to walking with snowshoes, especially up inclines but it, in turn, made walking through the snow easier (duh).  After a short twenty minute hike, we made it to the edge of the glacier which gave way to THE MOST BEAUTIFUL VIEW I HAVE EVER SEEN IN MY WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE.  No combination of words will ever do it justice.

On our intermittent pause to take in the view we took a moment of silence.  Without phones or pictures, movement or talking.  And it was the quietest moment imaginable.  Not even rustling of branches, water dripping, or wind.  Just silence.  To make things even better we were given a snack break with Swedish “Kit Kats” aka Kvikk Lunsj and hot lingonberry juice (which I am now addicted to).  We then had a conversation about what a fjord is.  Fjords are basically narrow inlets of the sea between cliffs or steep slopes which were created by the melting of glaciers and the rising of land.  Therefore these landscapes are quite unique and only appear in certain parts of the world such as Norway, Alaska, and New Zealand.  They bring a variety of eco-systems from that of the water to the highest peaks of the mountains.  This fact and the simple beauty they emit have given them the title of a UNESCO Heritage Site.  Hiking down the mountain we were given a chance to see more of the eco-system and even had the chance to catch a glimpse of a few deer within the forest.  Part of our decent was done so by sledding down the steeper slopes which proved quite difficult while wearing snowshoes.

After our descent down the glacier, we were given a short amount of time to put on “as many layers as we possibly could” for our next adventure.  Our next activity was a winter FjordSafari and would prove to be ten times more exciting than our previous extremely exciting hike.  For the fjord safari, we were given an extremely stylish marshmallow suit to wear over our layers.  By the time I was all geared up for the boat ride along the fjord I was wearing two pairs of pants, two sweaters, wool socks, two pairs of gloves, my own winter boots, boots to go over my boots, the marshmallow suit, a winter hat, and ski goggles.

The fjord safari was basically one of those boats they use along the Everglades but about 100% cooler and colder.  We were taken out on the fjord basically taking it in for ourselves despite a few stops along the water.  Although the Flåm Guideservice preaches sustainability and to be environmentally friendly, they are still in the midst of converting their own practices.  While their boats use a ton of fuel in order to maintain the public need for these tours, they know that the biggest issue is the cruise ships that enter the harbor and produce waste.  As tourism to Flåm has increased, ships that do not follow an ethical environment code are refused entry.  The fjord safari is also a risk to many marine animals within the fjord.  Not only can propellers harm animals if they are caught, but boats produce noise pollution that we are not aware of.  This noise pollution can disrupt migration, mating, and food patterns of marine animals.  Overall, boats are extremely harmful to marine wildlife and ecosystems, however, if boats are made out of sustainable materials and are driven at a safe speed they can reduce their impact.

Halfway through our trip, we stopped at a little town called Undredal.  If you were wondering about my Frozen reference in the title of this blog post, this is it.  Arendelle, the city which Elsa reigns over, is supposedly based on this little town on the coast of a Norwegian fjord.  With a population of about one hundred people, they are greatly outnumbered by the five-hundred goats that also inhabit the town and the surrounding mountainside.  Besides for monetary gain from tourism along the fjord, the people of Undredal use the five-hundred goats to produce award-winning cheeses that are rarely exported.  While visiting the town, we had the chance to taste test a variety of their cheeses.  Their secret?  Supposedly they fought the Norwegian government for their right to not pasteurize the cheese, giving it the best flavor.  While tasting the delicious cheeses I finally realized that even with all my layers, I had never in my life been as cold as I was during my time on the fjord.

We once again boarded onto the boat and traveled throughout the fjord on our way back to Flåm.  Throughout both the snowshoe hike and the boat safari along the fjord, we were constantly talking about the concepts of eco-tourism and being an eco-tourist.  As people who were traveling throughout Scandinavia to sites of environmental value, we were eco-tourists.  While traveling we had to think about our use of reusable coffee and water bottles, our food waste, etc. and by going on this trip we had all become more aware of our actions and how they would affect the planet beyond our destinations.  Eco-tourism has become a huge industry where people travel to see places and things such as the fjords in Norway and want to go on a “fjord safari” where they are able to learn about the environment and eco-systems within the fjords and Norway.  After a two-hour long boat ride along the fjords, it was finally time to warm up and take in all the beauty we had just witnessed.

As usual, my day ended with another delicious meal.  If you hadn’t already figured it out, Flåm is in the middle of nowhere.  Therefore our hotel was one of only about five buildings on our part of the fjord.  And of course one of those buildings was home to an “authentic” Viking restaurant.  My dinner consisted of cider made on site as well as a salmon filet which was a fantastic way to end my first and last night in Flåm.