Posted by At one of the small fjords which are part of the greater area of Sognefjord you find the small town of Gudvangen. It is usually on the tourist trail since there is a cruise leaving from here to Flåm nearby. The small village of Flåm is the terminus station of a famous railway. Combined the cruise and a trip on the scenic railway is one of the most popular trips to do in the area around Sognefjorden. That is most years – this year it doesn’t seem like the trip is in high demand.
When we arrive at Gudvangen there are only a few tourists in the village and they only seem to be wondering around for a bit before going again.
There isn’t much to see at the village but you can walk down to the harbor area where there is the best view of the fjord you can get around the village without actually going on a boat travelling to Flåm or another destination.
Next to the harbor is a statue of a Viking with his boat – I guess this is representing the long history of the village which were pretty important in the old days. The name gud in Norwegian means god and vangen means open space – so this was a special space for the gods of Old Norse mythodology before the change to the new Middle Eastern gods. Around the village there used to be several places of worship for the gods of the north.
In the hills behind Gudvangen there is several waterfalls including one of the bigger ones in Norway – apparently it is fairly famous but the view from the city is pretty distant so the waterfalls around the village probably won’t be the most impressive waterfalls you will see around Norway.
FrejaTravels 