Shadowing Practice: 2 DAYS Across NORWAY By Train (Norway in a Nutshell) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Welcome on board the most scenic trains in the world, crossing Norway by rail.

From mountains, to fjords, to waterfalls, waterfalls, and more waterfalls.

We'll see all that and more in this ultimate two-day journey across Norway.

Hello Jet Setters, I'm Jeb Brooks from GreenerGrass.com.

We're crossing Norway by train, and you're coming along.

This is Norway's most popular trip, and there's more to it than just trains.

We'll travel by bus and ferry too.

This is Norway in a nutshell.

Here's the plan.

We'll start in Bergen on Norway's west coast.

We'll travel by train to Voss, where we'll get on a bus to Gudvangen.

Then, we'll hop on board a ferry to Flam before getting on two more trains to finally reach Oslo.

This trip promises non-stop scenery.

The trip starts in Norway's second largest city, Bergen.

Famous for its reign more than six feet a year, its stunning views were what captured our attention.

And the best views around can be reached by Funicular, which for less than $20 round trip is well worth your time and money.

It takes less than 10 minutes to climb the more than 1,000 feet up the side of the mountain Florian.

At the top, you're rewarded with a perfect panoramic perspective over Bergen.

Meanwhile, back at sea level, we stayed at the very comfortable Hotel Norge.

Hotel Norge.

We booked this trip as a package, including accommodations and transportation, with the help of our friends at Railbookers.

We'll go over booking options, along with what we paid later.

For now, it's time to start our adventure.

Our ultimate destination today is Flom, but we've got three legs to get through.

It looks like a beautiful day for a train ride, a bus ride, and a ferry ride.

The trip we're going to take between Bergen and Oslo, or vice versa, is referred to as Norway in a nutshell.

And that's probably the most popular train trip you can take in Norway, but we're gonna find out.

Is it worth all that popularity or is it just a bunch of marketing hype?

Norway in a nutshell is a self-guided tour of some of Norway's best scenery using only public transport.

It's mostly by rail, but there's a bus and a ferry too.

We'll tell you how to book it for yourself, but first we've got a train to catch.

It's definitely gonna be a transportation marathon, so get ready.

We've got it all.

We've got boats, we've got trains, we've got planes.

No, we don't I don't have planes.

No planes in this one.

But they're coming soon.

Sorry folks, no planes in this one.

Now we better board this train before we miss it.

You see, the last time we traveled through Europe by train, we were not very successful, so we're gonna do our best this time to be on time for each of these trains.

This leg is scheduled to take an hour and ten minutes.

And despite the busy station, our car was relatively empty.

We had assigned seats on this leg.

There was, of course, plenty of space for our luggage.

The bathrooms were large and clean.

And if you're looking for a boost, no problem, there's coffee available.

How's the Norwegian train vending machine coffee?

I've had better coffee, but at 35 kroner, pretty good deal.

As we mentioned, Norway in a nutshell takes advantage of public transportation, which means there are locals on board and in addition to tourists like us.

Both locals and tourists can enjoy this non-stop scenery, particularly if they're on the left side of the train.

Norway really has to be one of the world's most beautiful countries.

And as you'll see, this trip will allow you to experience some of the highlights in a fairly easy way.

This first leg got us excited about what we're about to see.

When we pulled into Voss, everyone in our car got out and followed these signs to the bus stop.

We had about 30 minutes here and the crowd at the bus stop swelled.

Our empty train car from Bergen must have been an anomaly.

This is a lot of people.

We were worried about finding seats.

Bus boy, it's your time to shine.

Just waiting.

Do you deny it?

Nope.

Are you a bus boy?

A boy who buses.

A man who buses.

I'm a bus man.

The buses are scheduled to leave at 10.10 and just before 10 they arrived.

We loaded our luggage and found space at the back of the second bus.

Turns out there was no reason to worry.

They operate several buses on this route, so finding space is no problem.

And this leg should take about an hour and 15 minutes.

There's a foot rest, luggage storage above the seats, and reading lights that only work when the bus is turned on, and that's about it.

At 10.13, we were on our way.

Now it's possible to do the entire nutshell in one day, but we'd encourage you to follow our lead and break it up.

Doing it all in a single day involves something like 14 hours of travel.

We're spending one night along the way, and we'd recommend you do the same, but more about that later.

Both sides of the bus offer equally impressive views.

You really can't go wrong on either side.

Pack your own water.

Is there a bathroom on this bus?

No bathroom, but there is a stop.

We also brought snacks along with us.

And unlike the train, it felt like this bus only had tourists on board.

I'm sure locals can use it, but they may choose a different mode of transportation, especially given the fact we turned off the main road about 45 minutes after leaving Voss.

You see, we're making our way up to the Stahlheim Hotel for a 10-minute photo stop.

The hotel is beautiful, but as we've come to learn, it's all about the views in Norway.

I gotta say, I'm sorry we're not staying here.

This looks pretty nice.

But it's on the Gudvagen from here.

But not before picking up a complimentary snack for the road.

Best part about this topic, complimentary lefse, a traditional Norwegian flatbread.

Let's try it.

Looks to be filled with maybe sugar?

Cinnamon sugar.

It's like a bread filled with cinnamon sugar.

Oh yeah, that's good.

I feel this is Norway's answer to the Stroopwafel.

How's that?

I like it.

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We return to the main road, and it was this section, just after the Solheim Hotel, on the way into Gudvangen, that the true majesty of Norway began.

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These mountains are hard to capture on camera.

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They're just incredibly beautiful.

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My camera lens just isn't wide enough to capture it.

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With waterfalls seemingly at every turn and so much to see, it was impossible not to have your eyes glued out the window.

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And about 30 minutes after leaving Stahlheim, we arrived in Gudvangen, where we followed clear signs to continue our journey, this time on a ferry.

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We'll sail for two hours through three fjords to reach Flam, and that's where we'll spend tonight before continuing on again tomorrow.

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There's plenty of space to store luggage on board.

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And if you're hungry, there's a cafe, along with plenty of seats inside.

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But we wanted to take in the view, so we headed outside.

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There are no stairs on board, instead this is just one giant ramp.

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There are also no chairs out here, so wear comfortable shoes.

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There's a lot of standing on this ferry.

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The train is spectacular, the bus is spectacular, will the ferry live up to it?

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Let's find out.

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As usual, we were on our way, right on time.

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All of these fjords were formed by glacial activity millions of years ago, and they're absolutely incredible to see.

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The sheer cliff faces are mind-blowing.

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This is one of the most beautiful landscapes on planet Earth.

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Narefjord has been called the most outstanding natural attraction in Norway.

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It's on the UNESCO World Heritage List, and it's easy to see why.

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At more than 12 miles long, its beauty is stunning.

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It's surrounded by mountains towering up to a mile above the water, which reaches depths of up to 1,640 feet.

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It's definitely showing off its beauty today.

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We really lucked out with the weather.

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We're traveling in late June and haven't seen much rain.

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At least not yet.

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Making this trip in summer is your best bet for good weather, of course, but you'll also be fighting more crowds.

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And spotting other ferries along the way was a great reminder that we're truly experiencing Norway by public transport.

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But there's something special about ours.

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You see, not only is this catamaran absolutely silent, but it's also a zero emission vehicle.

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By now, it's almost one o'clock in the afternoon and we're hungry.

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So Suzanne went downstairs to the cafe where she got us two hot dogs and a beer to share.

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Lunch was quick.

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We didn't want to take our eyes off of these views.

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On the final push into Flamme, we passed Arlenswangen, which is famous for its goat's cheese.

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We're gonna try it later tonight at dinner.

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Most passengers were continuing their journey onward to Oslo, so they had a train to catch, but we have other plans.

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We left Bergen at 8.30 this morning and arrived here in Flam about six hours later, and that means we still have plenty of time to explore.

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Great first day.

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Made it here to Flam, which is our stop overnight.

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Tomorrow we'll make our way onto Oslo.

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We'd booked a room here at the Fretheim Hotel, located right in the heart of town, but we didn't want to stay in this room too long.

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There's just too much to see out there.

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So while you could cover the entire route between Bergen and Oslo in a single, full day, We chose to stay overnight in Flam, give ourselves some time to explore a little, so we're going on a hike.

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I don't know about you, but this is just absolutely incredible.

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Watch out for the cow poop.

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The best part of taking this break was the chance to see Norway a little closer.

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So far, we've been moving so fast, we've missed these details.

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We even got a glimpse of the train we'll be on tomorrow.

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But at this point, we were ready for a workout.

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It's time to climb.

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Is it time to burn off those hot dogs one step at a time?

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Yes it is.

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Burn off those dogs one step at a time.

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The Brekkafossen waterfall hike is a short distance from Flom

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and is a great way to stretch our legs at the end of this day.

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I think I highly understand why they said don't go chasing waterfalls.

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After about 20 minutes of steady climbing, we reached our destination.

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At a bit more than 500 feet over the valley, we enjoyed a commanding view.

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The view from the top is always worth the effort.

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That was a pretty steep climb, which makes sense.

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We're on the side of a fjord.

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As you do in Norway.

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As we began our hike back down to town, the rain started in earnest.

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There's no bad weather, only bad clothes.

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We're both wearing the right shoes, that's most important, and we've got the right outer layer for the rain, which we didn't expect until later.

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But hey, Norway's got a Norway, you know what I mean?

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I've got toilets everywhere in Norway.

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This country is just incredible in terms of infrastructure.

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You've got nothing to worry about when you come here.

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Norway for the win.

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Before long, we were back in town, right near the train station where we'll leave tomorrow.

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I've never seen this before.

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That's a device to wash train windows.

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It's a good sign.

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Hopefully, we'll get some good views tomorrow.

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You might have heard that Norway is expensive, and it definitely is.

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There's a grocery store in town and some takeaway spots where you can eat on the cheap.

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We're going to treat ourselves tonight and eat out at a restaurant.

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So let's check it out, and we'll let you know what it costs.

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We ate at the local brew pub.

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Their menu featured local dishes made with ingredients from nearby farms.

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Like this salad with goat cheese from the town we'd seen in the ferry earlier today.

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I had the lamb sausages, which I've been dreaming about ever since.

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And Suzanne had the pork wing, which was equally delicious.

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Now sure, everything is expensive here, but this meal is one we're going to remember for a long time to come.

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And that's a wrap on day one.

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It was so jam-packed.

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I don't know why they call it a nutshell.

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It needs a name that's way bigger than that.

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This was a lot.

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But we're going to head to bed now to wake up tomorrow for another journey.

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This time, two trains on the way to Oslo.

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The sun continued to shine well into the night.

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It won't set until after 11 o'clock tonight.

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And the next day came quickly.

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Sunrise was before 4 a.m.

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We enjoyed a buffet breakfast with international and local favorites before striking out on another adventure.

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We are about to hop on the Flamsbana, that's about an hour-long train.

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It'll take us up 3,000 feet up the side of the fjord.

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Some amazing views there.

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before we hop on the other train today, on to Oslo.

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So, hope you'll join us for another day here in Norway in a nutshell.

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I don't think that's our train.

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I think our train is over there.

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Is that right?

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Yeah, that's our train, that's our train.

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You know, somebody's always gonna be first in line and today it's Suzanne.

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We really weren't sure what time to show up.

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There's no assigned seats on this train, so we wanted to be here definitely early.

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Now we arrived at 7.45 for our train's scheduled departure at 8.20 this morning.

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It's an hour long trip up to Myrdal.

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Our train is the first one out of Flam this morning, which is a great hack we'd recommend to you to avoid crowds.

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You see, Flam is a major cruise destination, and these trains can fill up with cruisers.

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It's a really good idea to book an early train before the cruise ships are even in port.

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There was space at the front of our car for suitcases, and our backpacks fit easily over our seats.

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This is a really cool, older train.

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The best advice we dug up encouraged us to sit on the right side of the train for this leg, but more about that later.

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In no time, Flam was behind us, and we were in the beautiful countryside where we'd hiked yesterday.

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Now, every phone with a camera was aimed out the windows.

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This was the best scenery we'd encountered yet, and that's really saying something, because we've seen so much already.

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The Flam Railway is a true engineering marvel.

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It's the steepest railway run on regular gauge in the world.

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80% of the journey is at an incredibly steep 5.5% gradient.

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The line is a mere 12.5 miles, but we'll pass through 20 tunnels that twist underneath and and through mountains.

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This is absolutely one of the world's most beautiful train journeys.

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Construction began in 1924 but wasn't finished until 1940.

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You can still spot the road used to build the railway.

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We stepped off briefly at the Shostfassen waterfall, where everyone who wants gets a free shower.

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Oh, well, that'll wake you up.

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Our destination, Myrdal, is where you can connect to the main line to Bergen or Oslo.

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This town is inaccessible by road.

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The only way to get here is by train, which made it even more impressive to see the massive crowd we encountered as we stepped off.

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Everyone got here by rail.

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And that right there is why you want to take the first train.

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There's a lot of hype around this train.

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It's been named the most scenic multiple times.

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And my standards are kinda high, but I gotta say, jam-packed scenery start to finish.

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for the right side of the train, but it's not like the left side is disappointing at all.

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It's sort of divided into thirds, I would say.

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The beginning third is good on the right side coming up, the middle third good on the left side, and then the final third good on the right side.

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So that's why I think people say the right side, but you're going to be happy either way.

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On to Oslo.

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The train that brought us up the mountain began its journey back down, and we waited about 30 minutes for our train to arrive.

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The train to Oslo should come out of that tunnel right there any minute now.

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This will be the longest leg of the journey.

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It should take about five hours to reach Oslo.

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This is the first time since the train from Bergen when we had assigned seats.

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We'd upgraded this leg of the trip to plus class, which affords a bit more leg room and free coffee and tea.

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The bathrooms on board were clean and, for lack of a better word, forested.

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There were also plugs at each seat.

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And once more, we easily found space for our luggage and settled in for even more amazing scenery.

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Now, it was during this lag that I became most grateful we'd broken up our trip with an overnight in Flamme.

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Had we continued on yesterday without stopping, I might have fallen asleep and missed some of my favorite scenery of this whole trip.

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Because we're climbing even higher, we're anticipating alpine views, and we certainly were not disappointed.

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A quick reminder here, this is late June.

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These landscapes couldn't be more different from the ones we've seen so far.

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We're arriving at Finca.

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This is the highest point on this line at 4,200 feet.

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Sometimes, the scenery should just speak for itself.

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But as impressive as the views outside were, we decided to explore the train a bit.

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There's a car specially built for families, complete with a playground.

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How great is that?

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But we discovered what we were looking for, the cafe car.

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There's a selection of snacks, along with a menu with cold items and one with hot items.

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Susanne ordered the lasagna.

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But if you've watched this channel before and you saw this menu, you knew I couldn't pass up the meatballs.

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We lingered in the cafe car over views that didn't let up as we sped closer to Oslo.

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Now before we talk about what we paid for this trip, let's start where we began this trip.

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Let's start where we began.

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Is it worth the hype?

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Most definitely.

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It has to be one of the most jam-packed with scenery.

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It's also relatively accessible, well-organized, and as a result fairly easy for most tourists to do.

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But that means a trade-off.

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You won't be alone.

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Expect crowds, and big ones, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go.

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Follow our lead and travel early in the day.

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That way you may have a better chance at finding some elbow room along the way.

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Now, taking this trip in a single day from Bergen to Oslo, or vice versa, costs around $350 per person for transportation only.

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That's the tickets on the trains, bus, and ferry.

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You can book it using the Norway in a Nutshell website.

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However, we wanted to extend our trip and spend some time along the way, so we got help customizing our nutshell from railbookers.

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They help with everything from booking our preferred hotel in Oslo right next to the train station to advising on

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which side of the train to sit on along the way.

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A trip like ours, over four days and three nights starts at $1,150.

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But for the specific dates and hotels that we selected, we paid about $1,500 each.

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If you'd like help planning this trip or any other rail adventures worldwide, head to railbookers.com slash greenergrass.

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If you choose to book with them, we'll earn a small commission, which we'll use to bring you even more videos.

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And it's time to start working on our next one because we've arrived in Oslo right on time.

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Between now and the next time, see you on the rails.

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Only husbands will understand.

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Can't miss the shot.

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Hiking paused.

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Are you gonna miss the shot?

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Not gonna miss my shot.

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Rick said this was the Sunbelt compared to Bergen.

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I don't know if I was expecting such an intense hike.

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I was not fully expecting that we were gonna be taking a true hike.

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I thought it was a little walk around town.

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So I am not dressed appropriately, but it was totally worth it.

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What'd you think of the flumps, bottom?

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Bottom.

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Bono.

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Let me try that again.

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Behind the scenes.

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That's how the magic happens.

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We like long layovers between our traits.

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Why? For this.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “2 DAYS Across NORWAY By Train”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: train, Norway, trip, bus, Oslo. This video has 309 sentences and 3527 words to shadow. The speech runs for 21:00. The speaker talks at a natural 168 words per minute, close to everyday conversation. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
ferry noun	/ˈfɛɹi/	A boat or ship used to transport people, smaller vehicles and goods from one port to another, usually on a regular schedule.
nutshell noun	/ˈnʌt.ʃɛl/	The shell that surrounds the kernel of a nut.
scenery noun	/ˈsiːnəɹi/	View, natural features, landscape.
waterfall noun	/ˈwɔːtəfɔːl/	A flow of water over the edge of a cliff.
hike noun	/haɪk/	A long walk, usually for pleasure or exercise.
fjord noun	/fiˈɔɹd/	A long, narrow, deep inlet between cliffs.
luggage noun	/ˈlʌɡ.ɪdʒ/	The bags and other containers that hold a traveller's belongings.
climb verb	/ˈklaɪ̯m/	To traverse a slope or contour, either upwards (ascending) or downwards (descending).
café noun	/ˌkæˈfeɪ/	A coffee shop; an establishment selling coffee and sometimes other non-alcoholic beverages, simple meals or snacks, with a facility to consume them on the…
destination noun	/dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/	The place set for the end of a journey or to which something is sent; place or point aimed at.
assign verb	/əˈsaɪn/	To designate or set apart (something) for some purpose.
snack noun	/snæk/	A light meal.
hype noun	/haɪp/	Promotion or propaganda, especially exaggerated claims.
overnight adverb	/əʊvə(ɹ)ˈnaɪt/	During or throughout the night, especially during the evening or night just past.
menu noun	/ˈmɛn.juː/	The details of the food to be served at a banquet; a bill of fare.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
burn off verb	To dissipate as the result of heat.
find out verb	To discover, as by asking or investigating.
step off verb	To measure by steps or paces; hence, to divide (a space), or to form a series of marks, by successive measurements, as with dividers.
back down verb	To take a less aggressive position in a conflict than one previously had, or has planned to have.
break up verb	To break or separate into pieces.
come along verb	To accompany.
come up verb	To emerge or become known, especially unexpectedly.
get out verb	To leave or escape.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

We'll travel by bus and ferry too.
For now, it's time to start our adventure.
Are you a bus boy?
Are you gonna miss the shot?
What'd you think of the flumps, bottom?

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect continuous have/has been + -ing — an action that started earlier and is still going on	we've been moving · I've been dreaming
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've had · we've come · has been called
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	can be reached · is referred · is scheduled
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	transportation, which means · man who buses · Arlenswangen, which is

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 121 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, we'll, we've. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: underneath /ˌʌndɚˈniθ/, marathon /ˈmæɹəθən/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: nutshell /ˈnʌt.ʃɛl/, destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/, shine /ʃaɪn/, emission /ɪˈmɪʃ.ən/, specially /ˈspɛʃəli/
Long words — get the stress right: destination /dɛstɪˈneɪʃən/, complimentary /ˌkɑmplɪˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi/, spectacular /spɛkˈtæk.jə.lɚ/, anomaly /əˈnɑ.mə.li/, catamaran /ˌkæ.tə.məˈɹæn/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like ferry, nutshell, scenery.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: 2 DAYS Across NORWAY By Train (Norway in a Nutshell) - Learn English Speaking with Video

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