Norwegian 101: On a train vacation in one’s own land (På et tog ferie i eget land)
Photo: Heidi Håvan Grosch
The view from a train.
Heidi Håvan Grosch
Sparbu, Norway
It is always (det er alltid) amazing to me that you don’t have to go very far (ikke må gå langt) from home (hjemme fra) to experience (for å oppleve) something new (noe nytt). As I write this (da jeg skrever dette) I am on, for the very first time (for første gang), a Norwegian train (et norske tog) other than our local route (lokal rute) between (mellom) Trondheim and Steinkjer. Now I am traveling (nå reiser jeg) to meet (for å treffe) my family (familien min) in Bodø where they have found themselves (hvor de har funnet seg selv) after a journey (etter reisen) along the coast (langs kysten) on the Hurtigruten.
This is a surprisingly lovely train (det er et overraskende vakkert tog). The seats (stoler) are a bit nicer (finere), and if my senses don’t deceive me (hvis sansene ikke bedrar meg), even a bit wider (litt bredere) than the local one, and a café car (spisevogn) promises (løfter) all sorts of goodies to buy (å kjøpe) including drinks (drikker), meals (middagsretter), and snacks (småretter). But it is the scenery (men det er utsikten) that amazes (forundrer) me. Even after (selv etter) 10 minutes traveling north from Steinkjer, I am seeing landscape (ser jeg landskap) that I have never seen before (som jeg aldri har sett før). It doesn’t hurt that the sun is shining (solen skinner) and for the first time (og for første gang) in these many days (i disse mange dager) of tropical temperatures (tropiske temperaturer) in non air-conditioned settings (uten air conditioning), I am not sweating (jeg svetter ikke) thanks to the air-conditioned comfort of train car number five (vogn nummer fem).
The pictures out the window are idyllic (bilder utenfor vinduer er idealistiske). Fishermen (fiskere) cast their lines on glass-still lakes (innsjø stille som speil). Pine tree forests (granskog) dotted with the occasional red farm building (røde bygninger) offer a reminder (minner meg) that Christmas colors (julefarger) can be found year round (kan finnes året rundt) And the price (og prisen)? For a two hour trip (til to timers tur) on a local train I pay (betaler jeg) about Kr 180, which includes (som inkluderer) a coffee machine (kaffetrakter), no reserved seats (ingen reserverte stoler), and no air conditioning. For this seven-hour trip from Steinkjer to Bodø I paid Kr 299 for a more comfortable reserved seat (for en mer komfortabel reservert stol), a café car, generous overhead shelves (romslige hyller over stol), and air conditioning.
Train travel (togreising) isn’t as expensive (er ikke så dyrt) as one might think (som en tror), so on your next Norway journey (på neste tur til Norge) consider (tenk litt på) taking a part of your excursion by train (ta en del av turen med tog). It is great for the single traveler (det er god for enkelt reisere) and even better (og bedre) for groups (for grupper) as you can be together (som dere kan reise i lag) without (uten) anyone having to take responsibility (ansvar). Ordering tickets (bestille billetter) is easy (er lett) online at nsb.no. You can also be spontaneous (du kan også være spontan) and buy (og kjøpe) at the station (på stasjonen), with a fairly good chance (med stor sjanse) of getting a ticket on the spot.
This article originally appeared in the Oct. 9, 2015, issue of the Norwegian American Weekly. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (206) 784-4617.
