A memorable train journey through mountainous Norway (Travel with MP Prabhakaran)

(This is Chapter 21 from Mr. Prabhakaran’s book, An Indian Goes Around the World – I: Capitalism Comes to Mao’s Mausoleum, which we have been serializing in this space. Chapter 22, “Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial: a Chilling Reminder of Nazi Atrocities,” will be published next week. Read the series every Monday. – Editor)

Seventy percent of Norway is covered with mountains. A train journey across the country takes one around the valleys of some of them, through the tunnels dug into some others and to the peaks of still others. The awe-inspiring tunnels and panoramic views of the country one gets while on the train make the journey a memorable experience. I had that experience in the summer of 2008.

I was on my way from Oslo to Bergen. The capital city of Oslo, in the east, which is also the largest city in the country, sits at the mouth of a fjord. Bergen, the country’s most beautiful and second-largest city, on the west coast, is the “gateway to the fjords of Norway.” In the words of the well-known travel writer Rick Steves, “Norway’s greatest claim to scenic fame is its deep and lush fjords.” Looking out of the train window and taking in the stunning beauty of some of those fjords, I couldn’t help cursing myself for not planning my trip thoughtfully so as to include a fjord cruise in it. I vowed to do it next time.

Adding to the joy of my seven-hour journey was the pleasant conversation I had with a retired Norwegian couple. The retired geologist and his college-gym-instructress wife were going to Bergen to attend an open-air concert by their “favorite musician,” Eric Clapton. The August 6 concert was part of Clapton’s ‘2008 Summer Tour,’ which began in the U.S., at Tampa Bay, Florida.

“Clapton used to be a favorite musician of mine, too,” I told the couple. “In fact, I grew up as part of the rock ’n’ roll generation in India. I was a great fan of Elvis Presley and, later, the Beatles.”

“We, too,” the husband said.

“Don’t ask him to demonstrate the Elvis gyration,” the wife added.

“We have something in common there also,” I said. “I don’t have, and never had, any illusion that I am a singer. But in my younger days, I used to sing all Elvis songs. And I never missed an opportunity to do his gyrations.”

“Let’s watch it,” the wife said. “My husband will be happy to join you.”

“I clearly said I used to do it in my younger days. If I do it now, I may slip my disc. I am sure you don’t want me to end my Norway trip right here.”

Both of them laughed.

“Rock Against Racism”

“Now,” I continued, “to get back to Eric Clapton. I used to admire him a lot. He fell out of my favor when reports began to circulate, in the seventies, that he was a racist and a supporter of the anti-immigration policy of the controversial British politician, Enoch Powell.”

The “Rock Against Racism” campaign – which a few pop, rock and reggae musicians launched in Britain in the 1970s – was a direct response to Clapton’s racist, anti-immigrant attitude and utterances in those days. The most disgusting of those utterances came during a concert in Birmingham, England, on August 5, 1976. It was reported that in the middle of the concert, after once again repeating Enoch Powell’s favorite line – that Britain was in danger of becoming a “black colony” – he shouted: “Throw the wogs out. Keep Britain white.” That was the pet slogan of the National Front, the racist organization that had poisoned British politics in those days.

“Of course, the report also said that Clapton appeared drunk throughout the concert,” I told the couple. “But being drunk is no excuse for uttering such rubbish.”

“We know he had problems with alcohol and drugs,” the husband said. “He has turned his life around since then. But we always liked his music.”

“There is no denying that,” I said. “He was, and still is, a superb musician. How many musicians have been inducted into the U.S. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times?”

“Come and enjoy the concert this evening. Maybe you will once again start admiring him.”

“I will certainly try. I have to catch the last train back to Oslo tonight. I couldn’t get a room in any of the hotels in Bergen for the night. I didn’t know that Clapton enjoys this much popularity in Norway.”

The Longest Train Tunnel

While we were talking, the train had gone into and out of several tunnels. When it came out of one, nearly five minutes after going into it, I said, “This is the longest train tunnel I have ever gone through in my life. Is this the longest in Norway?”

“No,” the man said. “Between Oslo and Bergen, there are 182 tunnels. But the longest one is not on this line. You pass through that tunnel on your way from Oslo to the airport.” The 47,800-foot-long Romerike Tunnel (Romeriskporten, in Norwegian) was completed in 1999.

A few minutes later, the train stopped at a place called Finse. Finse is a skiing and hiking village. I could see snow on some of the surrounding mountains. Snow in August, the peak of summer? But then, it’s Norway.

At 4,006 feet above the sea level, the Finse station is the highest train station in the entire Norwegian railroad system. A few more minutes later, we reached Myrdal. When I saw many people getting off the train, I asked one of them, “Are you from this place?”

“No, I am from Washington, D.C.,” she said.

I gave her a surprised look. “A fellow living in New York had to travel half the world to meet a woman living in Washington, D.C.!” I said. “And what are you doing here?”

“Don’t you know?” she asked me, “this is where the Flam Railway [Flamsbana] begins. From here, I take a train to Flam. From Flam, I go on a sightseeing cruise through the famous Aurlandsfjord. After the cruise, I will be taking a bus back to this train line and resuming my journey to Bergen. I think I resume it at a place called Voss. The tour company that planned my trip strongly recommended this diversion on the way to Bergen. When I saw all these people getting off here to take the Flam train, I felt happy that I made the right decision.”

“How stupid of me not to have done my homework. If only I had, I would have taken the diversion, too. Enjoy your trip,” I told her and rushed back to the train, which was about to leave.

World’s Most Scenic Rail Trip

Back on the train, I told my new friends what I heard from the Washington, D.C., woman.

“Yes, that diversion is worth your time and money,” the husband said.

“I read somewhere,” added his wife, “that it is one of the world’s most scenic rail trips.” The couple had already enjoyed that, too. Then she went on to describe how scenic it was.

During the 12½-mile ride from Myrdal to Flam, the train descends 2,835 feet. It spirals its way through and around several mountains, making the descent smooth. It goes into and out of 20 tunnels. The numerous waterfalls, snow-clad mountains and lakes, on the way, add to the thrill of the ride. “After the unforgettable ride,” she said, “you reach Flam. Flam is unforgettable, too. It’s a small place nestling in the midst of mountains.”

“And the literal meaning of Flam is,” the husband added, “the little place with steep mountains. Of course, in this part of the world, a place of five hundred people should not be called little.”

Pointing to a few houses tucked away in a valley the train was passing by, he added, “That is considered a community here, with its own local administration. Some of them may have one or two policemen. And some have none. The need has arisen lately, though, for the presence of more policemen.”

“I find policemen here very decent and polite in their dealings with people,” I said.

An incident I had witnessed the previous evening, at a money-changing place in Oslo, was fresh on my mind. I was standing in a long line of people waiting to change their foreign currency into Norwegian krone. Suddenly, I saw a policeman come in and walk toward one of the cash-exchange counters. After a few minutes’ talk with a lady sitting behind the glass-enclosed counter, he approached a man who was standing a few feet away from the line.

The man had a few days’ growth of beard and was shabbily dressed. In physical features, he resembled some of the Ethiopians I had met during my wanderings around Oslo. It seemed he had been hanging around the place for quite some time, doing nothing, prompting the employees of the place to alert the police.

I heard the policeman say, “I don’t want to know who you are. I don’t want to know anything about you. And I don’t want to know what you are doing in this country. But if you have nothing to do in this money-exchange place, please leave. By hanging around here doing nothing, you are making the employees of the place nervous.”

The man paused for a few seconds and then left, without uttering a word.

After narrating the incident to the Norwegian couple, I added, “In most other countries, the first thing a law-enforcement official would say to a suspicious-looking person, especially a foreigner, is to show some ID. Here, not only did the policeman not ask for any ID, he thanked the foreigner when he left the scene politely.”

“Did he look like a Romanian?” the husband asked me.

“No, he looked like an Ethiopian,” I said.

“Romanians, some of whom are here illegally, have been causing a lot of trouble. Almost all beggars you see on the streets are from Romania. Begging is an organized crime the Romanians have been engaged in in this country. The beggars have bosses. Part of the proceeds from begging goes to the bosses. Here, people living in small towns, seldom lock their houses. Soon they will have to.”

That is the price the Norwegians are made to pay because of the country’s open-door policy toward those running away from war, persecution and starvation. Then he shared with me another concern caused by that policy.

State Supporting Osama bin Laden?

The Norwegian constitution, though democratic and secular, still permits some ties between church and state. One form of those ties is the financial support the state has been giving to the church. When the constitution was adopted in 1814, the population was almost entirely Lutheran and the only church the state had to support was the Lutheran Church. As the support went to the benefit of the people as a whole, there was no problem. But now, though Lutherans are still in an overwhelming majority (86 percent of the population), there are also other religious groups in the country. It has become necessary for the state to re-evaluate the policy of supporting the church.

Faced with the option of either stopping the support altogether or equitably extending it to all religious denominations, Norway chose the latter. The constitutional amendment, agreed upon by all legislative groups in April 2008, provides for equitable financial support to all religious groups, and even to atheist communities, in the country. “The possibility of state funds going to institutions run by Osama bin Laden’s supporters cannot be ruled out,” my new Norwegian friend said. “It will be interesting to watch how the government resolves the dilemma when the amendment is passed.”

“Islam is growing fast in Norway,” he hastened to add. “As long as we have Muslims of the type that came from Pakistan, there won’t be any problem. They are well integrated into our society. But the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have sent many Al Qaeda-type extremists into the country. Some sneaked in illegally. And some came in the garb of refugees. People are really concerned.”

By then, the train arrived in Bergen. “I am so disappointed that our conversation has to end when it just started getting very interesting,” I told the couple.

“Do come to the concert, if you have time,” the husband said. “I am sure you will like it.”

“And if for any reason you are not going back to Oslo tonight,” the wife added, “come and have a drink with us.” She gave me the name and phone number of the hotel where they were going to stay.

“I will certainly do it,” I said. I gave them a hug and left the train, exclaiming: “Wow!”

photo1:

A panoramic view of Bergen, Norway’s most beautiful and second-largest city. The author is on the top of one of the seven mountains surrounding Bergen. A funicular ride takes one to the top of the mountain. If “Norway’s greatest claim to scenic fame is its deep and lush fjords,” as the well-known travel writer Rick Steves puts it, Bergen is the “gateway to the fjords.” As is the case with Bergen on most days, it was raining on the day the author visited it, too. Bergen is nicknamed “the City of Rain.” But the rain neither dampens the spirits of its visitors nor tarnishes its beauty. A joke in Bergen about its perennial rain goes thus: A tourist asks a local boy if it ever stops raining. “I don’t know,” replies the boy, “I am only twelve.”

The Myrdal train station, which lies midway between Oslo and Bergen, in Norway. Tourists to Norway, who plan to go on the famous Aurlandsfjord cruise, get off at this station and take a train bound for Flam. The mountain range in the background gives the Myrdal station an exotic look.

(To be continued)

Chapter: 19

Manneken Pis in Brussels and the fuss over its portrayal in Air India Ad

18

Chat with an Austrian-Muslim woman determined to remain modern (Travel with MP Prabhakaran)

Chapter 17
A Bridge on Austrian border; a memory lane to the Hungarian Revolution (Travel with MP Prabhakaran)

chapter 16:
Monuments in Mexico City that pose challenge to the US (Travel with MP Prabhakaran)

15

What makes Islamic Turkey different from Islamist Saudi Arabia

14) Garbage dumps and traffic jams in the Silicon Valley of India

see also: 13
A humbling experience in a Laotian Town
(To be continued)

(M.P. Prabhakaran can be reached by email at [email protected])

12
A morning walk by the Mekong; A restaurant named after my niece

Chapter: 11:
A jacket and a bride for the price of one: Shopping on Nanjing Road (Travel with MP Prabhakaran)

10:
How a Shanghai neighborhood got an Indian name

9: 
Capitalist celebrations in Communist China – on May Day (Travel with MP Prabhakaran

8) Capitalism Comes to Mao’s Mausoleum – But in Its Crude Form

7) Picture of a cow on Beijing billboard confuses a Hindu (Travel with MP Prabhakaran)

6) Yoga on Copacabana, conducted by a Brazilian beauty (Travel with MP Prabhakaran)

5
Hunchback and sugar loaf: Two tourist attractions in Rio de Janeiro

4) 
How Portugal failed to colonize Calicut: Chat with a Brazilian

3) Brahma and Laxmi reincarnate in Brazil? (Travel with M.P. Prabhakaran)

2) Eva Peron’s tomb is too small for her ego (Travel with M.P. Prabhakaran)

1) My Two Embarrassing Moments in Buenos Aires (Capitalism Comes to Mao’s Mausoleum-1: M. P. Prabhakaran)
http://dlatimes.com/article.php?id=40709

(about the author) An Indian Goes Around the World – I (Capitalism Comes to Mao’s Mausoleum)http://dlatimes.com/article.php?id=40126

A panoramic view of Bergen, Norway