The Train from Trondheim to Bodø

Cloudy 44º

Trondheim sits deep in the interior of Norway, but Stillfjord’s long inland waters link the city to the Atlantic. Its location makes Norway’s longest train – the Nordland Line – a fine way to travel the country's rugged mountains and valleys if you want to make it to the Arctic Circle. We did and so we boarded the train at 7:49 AM and headed to Bodø (pronounced Buddha) and the tip of the world.

It was dark and chilly. The train's big diesel engine sat rumbling with its nine coaches, looking muscular enough to haul us up and down Norway’s rough terrain. As it pulled out we passed along watery bays on the left and Trondheim’s suburban homes on the right, and then into farms and the first of the train’s 154 tunnels.

Forty-five minutes later, we are gliding through farms, mountains, and forests showing off early autumn, colors, and small islands, sitting in high lakes. Or maybe they were fjords. I couldn’t tell.

Soon we are well into Norway’s heartland. The train’s high whistle echoes across the immense lakes to our left as we head north through mountains and broad farmland, green with roaming sheep, horses, and cattle; dotted with brick-colored wooden barns and small homes with steep slate roofs. These herds are never large, because the valleys are small, cleaved by sharp hills and mountains.

Far away, we see a long ridge of snow, capped mountains, and I’m feeling like we are at the edge of Norway’s northern frontier. The interior of the country is primeval. The forests grow thicker. Birch, with their white, peeling bark surround us, and so do tall stands of pine looking like great, aged Christmas trees. We see clusters of aspen, already losing their leaves, and elms, maple and oaks fading from green to gold and rust.

The Nordland is a beauty of a train. At eight hours in length we paid the extra $50 each to sit in premium class. The extra money is worth it if you have it. The seats recline almost horizontally. You are delivered 3 feet between you and the nearest seat. Windows are large, the coaches themselves as clean as operating rooms, which is normal in Norway.

The service provides some nice amenities too: coffee, cappuccino, hot chocolate, lattes, even macchiatos; apples, oranges, a variety of teas and tiny chocolates to treat your sweet tooth.

If you want real food, that is available in the train’s café car, but we were fine with the yogurts, apples and sandwiches that we had picked up at the Remy 1000 grocery and then stuffed in our day packs.

By 3:30 pm the train has hauled us 4500 feet, the highest point in the trip and we cross into the Arctic Circle. It begins to snow right on cue and we are veiled in mist, basically in the clouds. The river the train has been following like an old friend suddenly switches course. Water that has been flowing toward Trondheim is now rushing toward Bodø, and we’re down its northern flanks. The trees return, small villages appear and the snow disappears into rain.

Soon we are seeing the outlines of Bodø. The Nordland has brought us to this city with all the smoothness I imagine Santa’s sleigh might provide. It feels nothing like the eight hour ride that it was.

When we debark, the evening is sharp with wind and drizzle and at 5:15 the darkness has already setting in. We walked the half mile to the Radisson Hotel , mostly along a wide pedestrian walkway, click clacking over concrete tiles and cobblestones. The architecture is mostly new office buildings, retail shops and restaurants unlike the older buildings of Bergen or Ålesund. The Nazi Luftwaffe bombed it down to rubble in WWII and it was subsequently rebuilt by the allies afterwards.

Once settled, we found an excellent restaurant, BRYGGERIKA that specializes in fish stew called blåskell, a kind of Nordic cioppino, a great way to chase the rain and cold winds.

The darkness came gently. Evening fell like a gray mantle above a broad lip of gold, and then rose as the sun disappeared. The low, small islands in the deep, glassy bay looked lonely against the monstrous, glacier–gouged mountains that stood beyond as unmoved as the Buncombe Lifeguards of Buckingham Palace.

Recommendations

The Nordland Line is something to behold. It’s an incredible way to explore northern Norway. Here are more recommendations if you’re looking to visit the country.