Stunning Mountain Scenery Peeps Through Fog on Famous Rail Trip

Day 3, 2025 European Odyssey

Tuesday, July 1, 2025; Åndalsnes, Norway

I’m gearing myself up for a marathon of cruise ports for the next few months. I’m used to long cruises with lots of sea days as we sail across oceans. This summer and fall will consist mainly of two-week cruises with little distance between almost daily ports. For example, sea days comprised 54 percent of my recent world cruise, but they will number only 30 percent of the next five months.

One way I will cope with so many ports is by scheduling short and more relaxing tours. Today was the perfect example. I boarded a train just a block from the ship and enjoyed a leisurely three-hour journey on what Lonely Planet has described as the most scenic rail journey in Europe.

Åndalsnes, a new Norwegian port for me with just around 2,500 people, is known for its scenery and its role in the successful evacuation of Norway’s gold reserves when Nazis invaded. It isn’t far from the larger town of Molde, which I visited in 2023.

As we left the ship around noon, young ladies in traditional dress handed out maps in the light morning rain.

By the time almost 300 ship passengers had boarded The Golden Train, the rain had passed, but fog and low-hanging clouds remained. Still, the beauty of the Romsdalen Valley inspired me to take dozens of photographs. It’s no surprise scenes from Harry Potter and Mission Impossible movies were shot along this rail line.

Dozens of waterfalls cascade hundreds of feet down rock faces along the journey. Small farms squeeze into the river valley, and the railroad makes two 180-degree turns within tunnels carved into the mountain.

We never had a clear view through the fog of Trollveggen — aka Troll Wall — the tallest vertical rock face in Europe. It is popular with mountain climbers and at one time with BASE jumpers wearing parachutes. In 1986 the sport was deemed illegal here due to the danger of jumping and rescue missions, after the father of modern BASE jumping Carl Boenish died jumping here.

After a brief stop at the Bjorli station where the engine was moved to the other end of the train, we headed back down the way we came.

After my train journey, the fog had lifted enough to expose the peak of Nesaksla Mountain. As tempting as it was to ride the cable car to the top, I figured the fog was likely to return by the time I got there.

Instead, I enjoyed the beautiful and bountiful flowers of the town.

Ideally, every cruise should start with a sea day, and that’s just what we had yesterday. It gave me time to finish unpacking, organize my cabin and learn my way around the ship. As this is my first cruise on one of Holland America’s Pinnacle Class ships, I had a lot of exploring to do.

Of course, I quickly found my way first thing in the morning to the Crow’s Nest – this time on Deck 12 instead of Deck 9 on the Vista Class ships. This ship may be larger, but the Crow’s Nest isn’t, and the tables and sea-view seats fill up fast, whether for morning coffee or afternoon gin and tonics.

I’ve sailed with Cruise and Travel Director Tjalling Riedstra before. I think he is one of the favorites for Northern European cruises because of his native Dutch. There typically is a large number of Dutch passengers on cruises out of Rotterdam, and he gives the announcements both in English and Dutch. Capt. Henk Draper welcomed us last night on the World Stage as he introduced his senior officers.

As most of the officers and staffs stay with a single ship for about three years, I don’t know many. Jenn, the barista on the 2024 world cruise, is a welcome face in the Dutch Café. Many fellow cruisers have predicted I will love the menu there, but I haven’t yet had a chance to try it.