I was not awarded my Mensa membership today. Thankfully, things worked out and it turned into a grand day, despite my pre-dawn mental hours spent rounding up the mental monkeys who were busy taunting me because Mastercard did not post a rather important purchase to WestJet 4 days ago. Traveling is not for the cowardly.
Miscalculation #2 involved over-padding what should have been a 2 hour car trip, extending it to 4 hours. I was intimidated by warnings of construction, duly warned by CHAT and Google. Except, delay was about 3 minutes. So we ran a healthy few hours ahead of schedule and that resulted in quite a pleasant stop for a latte back in Voss. Even still, the driver was not thrilled to start his day a few hours early. I even bought him a cookie. Ahem.
We arrived in Flän with half an hour to spare. This, despite the navigator’s error combined with Google maps not catching up after an 11 km tunnel, necessitating a few extra km and a creative U-turn. (So, not my fault, really).
We boarded a handsome ship in the tiny harbour with about 375 other enthusiasts. About 370 of them were Chinese tourists, and boy, were they ever excited. Specifically, to have their pictures taken, one by one, by holding the flapping flag at the stern of the ship (where we were seated).
We sailed through a part of this beautiful planet that was timeless and rugged. There were too many waterfalls to count, and the intense green of the pastures where tiny villages and farms were located made a striking contrast to the stark peaks that soared over us.
Fläm in the rear view mirror
We did get a sprinkle of rain, but not much more than that. Sadly, the light was kind of flat so the pictures do not do justice to the breathtaking landscape. You can see how narrow the fjord is in the photo with the flag in it (in the nanosecond that it was not populated by the aforementioned group.)
I had booked us on a bus back to Fläm from Gudvangen after the cruise ended. We found the proper bus stop quickly and stood in line with the throngs and eureka, 5 minutes later the bus appeared. First in line, I proudly presented my E-ticket and that’s when he said…. Oh sorry, you bought a ticket FROM Flän to Gudvangen. Not the other way around.
Huh. Go figure. My face fell into my boots. Dave cleared his throat. We were advised to step aside and let the others board. So we did, looking like the two embarrassed Canadians that we were. I fixed my eyes on my feet. Held up the line and everything. For sure did not look at Dave.
After an endless, suspenseful wait, the bus driver consulted his iPhone and announced that he had four unbooked seats, and he would overlook my tactical error and let us on the bus. I could have kissed him, or at least offer him a dozen of my prized peppermint lifesavers. Instead, we boarded and grandly took the best seats up front and then enjoyed the 25 minute shuttle back to Flän. Where our faithful car awaited us, and the perplexing problem of the paid parking instructions. Since none of that was my fault (finally), I won’t go into details there. Not interesting.
And, for those who haven’t nodded off during this diatribe, let it be known that I managed to get through to Mastercard and they confirmed that indeed, Paris will receive me with open arms on October 3.
Hopefully I’ll sleep tonight.
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