Imaginado cierto día, un mundo diferente, llegué a la conclusión de que no es el mundo sino como mirarlo. Entonces se me ocurrió ocuparme de algunas cosas que mantenía aisladas (como decidirme a estudiar algunos conceptos un tanto olvidados) para desentrabar el ferrum de la materia gris.

En ese momento me encontré con la coherencia, me encontré además con lo apropiado y lo inapropiado, que para efectos de mis lectores letrados no es lo mismo que lo justo o injusto JURIDICAMENTE hablando. El caso al fin de cuentas viene a ser el mismo, la disyuntiva entre hacer lo justo o lo “justo”. Acerca de lo injusto sobra con envolverse en los “massmedia”.

Y es que no es para menos, estas palabrejas se las traen. Un día un amigo algo alto me dijo: “aunque usted no lo quiera creer, usted también es un pecador (transgresor de una norma cualquiera). Las “normativas” no tienen espíritu, ni libre albedrío, son “majaderías” del que manda en función algunas veces de protegernos, en otras de perdurar en un encierro que se torna como un pozo sin fondo, donde no existe siquiera un eco de esperanza. El hecho de saber que es lo debido, si uno utiliza el maní, enseguida se da cuenta de que, lo que dice la norma (legal, religiosa, moral, ética, etc) normalmente no coincide. Así pues, lo debido y lo “debido” tienen una gran diferencia, el primero depende de la decisión de cada quien, de los pensamientos propios, la forma de ser, la autodeterminación que me lleva a tomar uno de entre varios caminos. Por otro lado, lo “debido” se encuentra amparado en lo que otros consideran que se debe hacer, sea porque pretenden imponerlo porque sí (las cosas de fe no se cuestionan), o porque están asustados con el resultado desconocido.

Y para colmo entonces decimos que lo “justo” lo es porque es un valor, y sorpresa, de nuevo llegamos al mismo punto:

“El uso común del término “valores” invita a la confusión entre valoraciones en sentido subjetivo, objeto de estas valoraciones y también la ubicación social total de las valoraciones. El uso del término “valores”, especialmente en la literatura sociológica y antropológica, también contiene usualmente una premisa oculta de valor: Que un valor es eo ipso apreciable en algún sentido objetivo. El término “valores”, finalmente, asocia con la idea de algo sólido, homogéneo, estable; mientras que, en la realidad, las valoraciones son contradictorias y también inestables, particularmente en la sociedad moderna” (Myrdal).

“Se ha dicho a menudo que los “valores” constituyen un puente por encima de la cesura lógica entre ser y deber ser, Y es verdad que a menudo hablamos de valores como si fueran cosas del reino del ser ["ser" y "deber ser"], cosas que pudieran ser simplemente “observadas”. Pero lo que en realidad observamos son “valoraciones” y no “valores”. (…) Pero las concepciones de estos valores son realidad síquica.” EPH

Para colmo, al inicio les hablé de encontrarme con la coherencia, lo apropiado, lo inapropiado, justo e injusto. El hecho de ver las cosas de forma distinta requiere por ende de agarrar las “palabrejas” estas y ver si es cierto que estamos dispuestos a hacer lo debidamente correcto. Téngase muy en cuenta que no indico que es lo debido, solo puedo hablar de lo “debido”.

De ello entonces solo queda que me avisen cuando me sorprendan en una “disonancia cognoscitiva” a modo de aclaración, después de todo, lo debido depende de cada cabeza.

Aktuellt hade ett inslag häromkvällen angående vårdnadsbidragets ojämna fördelning mellan olika kommundelar. Det visade sig att människor i invandringstäta kommundelar tog ut vårdnadsbidrag i större utsträckning än personer boende på östermalm i Stockholm. Detta har lett till att man fått dra ner på personal på diverse förskolor. En förskolechef intervjuas i programmet. Skälet till att invandrare tar ut vårdandsbidrag i större utsträckning än “svenskar” var enligt förskolechefen att de ville förbättra sin ekonomiska situation. Att det skulle kunna vara så att föräldrar (dit även invandrare hör även om en viss förskolechef verkar tvivla på det) vill vara hemma med sina barn fanns naturligtvis inte i dennes värld. 

En annan kritik som inslaget gav utryck för var att vårdnadsbidraget kunde hämma barns (speciellt barn till invandrare) språkliga utveckling. Det finns ett antal invändningar mot ett sådant påstående. För det första så har inte alla invandrare problem med svenska språket och för det andra så är inte förskoleverksamheten till för att rätta till en misslyckad integrationspolitik, den existerar för att underlätta för småbarnsföräldrar som vill kunna yrkesarbeta även när barnen är små. Åtmindstonde borde det vara så. Tyvärr har det ju i det semi-socialistiska Sverige allt sedan makarna Myrdals tid funnits än idé om att staten skall sköta barnuppfostran och inte föräldrarna. Kvinnor som stannade hemma med barnen jämfördes med prostituerade eftersom de försörjdes av mannen. Dagens syn på barnuppfostran har tyvärr inte blivit bättre. I tider av tilltagande främlingsfientlighet, radikalfeministiska slagord som död åt familjen och egocentrerade infantila vuxna som undrar varför vi ska offra vår jakt på lycka för våra barn http://www.newsmill.se/artikel/2008/10/18/svenskarna-borde-skilja-sig-mycket-oftare   så är det inte förvånande att ett inslag av denna typen görs utan tillstymmelse till förmåga att tänka utanför de ideologiska ramarna. Makarna Myrdals osaliga andar svävar fortfarande över Sverige.

Pelle Billing och Michael Högberg skriver om samhällets oförmåga att beskriva problemet med våld i nära relationer.

Länk

Den traditionella bilden av manlig förövare och kvinnligt offer kopplas samman med den av riksdagen utvalda teorin om könsmaktsordning. Forskning som  problematiserar andra former av våld missgynnas. Antagligen finns det en underliggande oro  att nya siffror skulle kunna användas för att relativisera våldet. I värsta fall skulle det kunna urarta till en tävling om vem som det är mest synd om. Jag tycker att författarna lyckas balansera sin text bra och trots att de beträder minerad mark  undviker de att provocera i onödan.

På ett övergripande plan finns anledning att fundera vidare över vad som händer när staten låser sig vid en förklaringsmodell – i detta fall teorin om könsmaktsordning. Jag har haft problem med tjänstemän som haft i uppdrag att bevaka detta officiella perspektiv i statliga utredningar. Delegationen för jämställdhet i förskolan är ett bra exempel på hur enkelspårigheten begränsar tanken.

Erfarenheter och litteratur som prövade andra sätt att se på relationer inom förskolan förvisades till giftskåpet. De treåriga pojkarnas våldslekar sågs som ett försök att träna sig in i en maskulin överhetsposition och skulle  motarbetas utifrån uppdraget att bekämpa traditionella könsroller.

Så gick det till gå när teorin blev ideologi som blev norm som blev genuspedagogik. Det är som i lumpen:
- Om verkligheten inte stämmer med kartan så gäller kartan.

Det mest förvånande var att poststrukturalistiska forskare tramsade med i denna ideologiska soppa.

Gunnar Myrdal - mannen, myten, legenden

Min lille vän läser om Hirdmans biografi över Alva Myrdal och stampar ursinnigt med foten. Spelet mellan Gunnar och Alva låter sig inte beskrivas i enkla makttermer och han förstår inte vem som är ond eller god.  Vem utnyttjar vem?  Den pompöse skitstöveln eller den narcissistiska karriäristen?

Teorierna ger inget stöd.

Länk till gammalt inlägg

USA:s nye president Barack Obama har tilldelats Nobels fredspris skriver tidningarna, t ex Expressen, DN och Aftonbladet. Obama är förmodligen en bra karl, åtminstone har han gjort ett gott intryck hittills. Men man frågar sig vad han har hunnit med på denna korta tid som gör att han är värdig detta pris. Många delar tydligen denna undran med mig. Se t ex den här artikeln i Sydsvenskan. Man kan ju hoppas att han i efterhand gör sig förtjänt av det.

Fredspriset delas ju som bekant ut av Norge, så det har inte avsatt särskilt många spår i den svenska frimärksfloran. Några märken har dock getts ut, bl a med fyra av fem svenska pristagare. De fem är Klas Pontus Arnoldson, Hjalmar Branting, Nathan Söderblom, Dag Hammarskjöld och Alva Myrdal. Arnoldsson är den som är bortglömd av Postverket. Jag väljer att sätta in två märken ur utgåvan Nobelpristagare Fred från 1991. De visar den förste pristagaren, Henri Dunant och vår senaste, Alva Myrdal.

Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om USA:s president, värdig?, Dunant, Myrdal

Det er ein av dei virkelige turistatraksjonene i Norge. Har du tatt Flåmsbana nokon gong? Eg tok den fyrste gongen, sumaren 1987… Siden den gang har det vorte omtrent ei gong i året. Her er noko av grunnen:

Flåmsbana, som går gjennom den trange og vakre Flåmsdalen, regnes som et mesterverk av norsk ingeniørkunst. Da jernbanestrekningen mellom Oslo og Bergen ble tatt i bruk i 1909, manglet det bare en sidebane ned til Sognefjorden. For å sikre transportveien til fjorden ble arbeidet med Flåmsbana påbegynt i 1923. Det skulle ta 20 år før Flåmsbana stod ferdig.

Denne spennende jernbanestrekningen trekker hvert år til seg mennesker fra hele verden, noe som har ført til at Flåmsbana i dag fremstår som en av Norges største og mest spektakulære turistattraksjoner.

På den 20 kilometer lange togturen opplever du noe av det villeste og mest storslåtte som finnes av norsk natur. Her ser du elver som skjærer seg gjennom dype gjel, fosser som kaster seg utfor bratte fjellsider med snødekte fjelltopper og fjellgårder som klamrer seg fast i bratte skråninger.

Flåmsbana er en av verdens bratteste jernbanestrekninger på normalspor. Nesten 80 prosent av strekningen ligger i 55‰ stigning, det vil si en stigning på en meter på 18. Vendetunnelen som går i spiral inn og ut av fjellet er et bevis på den mest dristige og kyndige ingeniørkunst i norsk jernbanehistorie.

Teksten er i all hovedsak henta frå www.flaamsbana.no

Slik kan det sjå ut då japanesera og andre sko vente på toget på Geilo Stasjon. Dette er under vår markise ein tidleg morgon før toget til Myrdal /Flåm. Det er artig å sjå koss dei oppfører seg rundt sparkstøttingen som står utanfor…. he he! Skulle likt å visst kor mange biletu som blir tikji tå den i løpet av sumaren!

Hjå uss får alle låne stol eller anna å sita på...Smiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil!

Japansk fotosession på sparkstøtting

Dear All,

Congratulations!

Our collective efforts to mobilize 42 member parliamentary standing committee on commerce which was studying foreign and domestic investment in retail trade has yielded positive results. Though the parliamentary committee recommendations are not binding on the Government, still its a victory worth celebrating.

best!

Dharmendra Kumar

House panel opposes foreign investment in retail

The committee says allowing cash & carry wholesale in India is nothing but allowing back-door entry of foreign firms into retailing

http://www.livemint.com/2009/06/08185249/House-panel-opposes-foreign-in.html?h=B

New Delhi: A Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended a blanket ban on foreign investment in retail and has opposed even big domestic corporate entering the sector saying that it will lead to unemployment.

“The committee … recommend that a blanket ban should be imposed on domestic corporate heavy weights and foreign retailers from entering into retail trade in grocery, fruits and vegetables,” it said, adding that restrictions should be put for opening large malls by them for selling other consumer products.

The committee, headed by Murli Manohar Joshi, feels that “opening of foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail trade by allowing single brand foreign firms in India will result in unemployment due to slide-down of indigenous retail traders”.

The 42-member panel in its report on `Foreign and Domestic Investment in Retail Sector´ further said that the government should stop issuing “further licences for “cash and carry either to the transnational retailers or to a combination of transnational retailers and the Indian partner, as it is “mere a camouflage for doing retail trade through back door”.

The government may consider setting up a national commission to study the problems in the retail sector and to evolve policies that would enable it to cope with FDI, the Parliamentary panel said.

According to existing guidelines, FDI is prohibited in retail trading except for single brand retail in which 51% FDI is permitted.

Whereas 100% FDI is permitted under the automatic route in wholesale cash and carry trading.

The committee said allowing cash and carry wholesale in India is nothing but allowing back-door entry of foreign firms into retailing.

“Consumers’ welfare would be sidelined, as the big retail giants by adopting a predatory pricing policy would fix lower price initially, tempting the consumers,” it said adding that after wiping the competition from local retailers, they would be in a monopolistic position and would be able to diktat the retail prices.

It said procurement centres constituted by big corporates for making direct bulk purchases would initially pay attractive prices to farmers and cause gradual extinction of mandis and regulated market yards.

Unorganized retail employs over 40 million people, which accounts for 8% of the total employment.

“…the government should ensure that some in-built policy must be established to relocate or re-employ the people who are dislocated due to opening of big malls in the vicinity of their shops,” the Committee said.

“…there is a need for setting up of a retail regulatory authority to look into the problems and act as a whistle blower in case of anti competitive behaviour and abuse of dominance,” it added.

On the use of agricultural land for shopping malls, the Committee feels that diverting the land may not merely lead to reduction in production or income to farmers, it may affect the social and cultural life of farmers.

“The government should come out with adequate safeguards to prevent diversion of agricultural land for setting up of malls,” it said.

====

One wonders whether a Parliamentary Committee will now comprehensively examine the demerits and lessons of laissez faire export led growth, emerging protectionist tendencies in Western markets, recession in global economy on behalf of Indian Planning Commission, which has been handed over back to the old school of World Bank inspired economists under Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

This morning, we got up early to take the long awaited “Norway in a Nutshell” fjord tour.The wikipedia definition for a fjord is “a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacial activity“. The Eurail pass holder fare was 550kr (S$127), discounted from the full price of 935kr (S$216) as we do not need to pay for the NSB train segments. Pretty expensive for a 12 hour roundtrip, but no Norwegian experience is complete without a visit to the fjords.

It all starts with a ride on a regional train from Bergen to Myrdal. The train is a short one, comprising of only four or five carriages, and is pulled by the front carriage, much like any other overland metro, not locomotive pulled. The windows were pretty dirty, so the view outside was not as clear compared to the EX-class train we took from Oslo to Bergen which did Myrdal-Oslo as the final segmant. The weather today was also rather poor, with forecasts putting it at cloudy with showers and no sun.

NSB regional from Bergen to Myrdal.

Around two hours later around 10.40am, we got to Myrdal, for the change of train and the start of the Flåm railway. Myrdal to Flåm is a 55 minute train ride along snow filled fjords and tunnels through the mountains, and provides stunning views of the mountains and some waterfalls.

View from Myrdal train station.

Flåmsbana train from Myrdal to Flåm.

I could really get some amazing pictures out of the window during this train ride, as the scenery was just so dramatic. It started out in a very snowy area where the lakes were all frozen and mountains we blanketed in snow, and progressed gradually to areas with less snow and then to the lush green valley of Flåm.

Entering one of the many tunnels along the Flåmbana.

I would not want to live down there.

Waterfall.

Less snow, more brown.

Another train approaching.

Where did all the snow go?

Finally in Flåm!

There is not much to do in the little town of Flåm if you are just stopping here foe three hours as we were. If you had more time, like a couple of days, there are many trekking paths around the town which go around and on to the fjords where complete solitude can be experienced. Unfortunately, we were surrounded by 40 or so other tourists, so no solitude here. We just had our over priced fish and chips lunch and hung around to take in the scenery.

Views from near the Flåm railway station (and town centre).

At around 3.10pm, we boarded the ferry to Gudvangen (~2 hour ride) that would bring us out the Aurlandsfjord and into the Naeroyfjord, one of the narrowest fjords in Europe. Surrounded by towering mountains up to 1,800 metres high, this branch of the Sognefjord is amazingly beautiful. We sat on the open top deck of the ferry to soak in the beauty of the fjords, and braved the ice cold winds and slight drizzle that started to emerge about 15 minutes into the ferry ride.

Ferry to Gudvangen.

View of the town and fjord from the top deck of the ferry.

Damned seagulls that would be interrupting 99% of my photos on the ferry.

Views of the fjords along the cruise.

Damned seagulls again!

Mini-rainbow.

Last of the fjords.

We got to Gudvangen around 5.20pm, and from there jumped onto the bus for the hour long ride to the Voss train station. The view out of the window during the bus rise would have been nice on a clear day, but a few minutes into the bus ride, it started raining again! Most of the peope dozed off, including myself (but only a few minutes).

Gudvangen. Looked nice, but we did not have time to hang around.

Bus to Voss.

Once at Voss, we had to wait about 50 minutes for the train back to Bergen as the ferry had come in early to Gudvangen. I went to the nearby Esso to get the first part of my dinner, a 54 kr (S$12) hotdog and Coke zero. We got on the train back to Bergen around 7.20pm. It was not a very interesting ride as everyone looked really tired and it was raining really heavily outside. Got to Bergen around 8.30pm and headed back to the hostel.

NSB regional train back to Bergen from Voss.

It was a good but long day today as we got to see a lot of the nature that we do not usually see in city life. This is a highly recommended tour to take if you are around Bergen as you really do get to see a lot during the 12 hour trip. The weather could have been much better (but it could also have been much worse).

Today’s pictures here.

Because this post will attempt to cover a number of different topics in one go, I’m going to resort to bold text to highlight the different sections.  I hope this is acceptable.

The Oslo to Bergen train, while long (nearly seven hours), wasn’t in the least tiring; about an hour outside Oslo and its suburbs, the scenery put on an absolutely wonderful show, full of dramatic mountains, pine-covered slopes, attractive farmsteads and, around the Finse station (the highest station in Norway at 1,222 m aabove sea level), snow.

Snow, there.  Unfortunately, much of the rest of the scenery, while equally arresting, was frequently much less photographable from a train seat, particularly with screens of pine trees in between the middle distance and the camera, as well as the understandably somewhat dusty carriage windows – here are the couple that I thought most salvageable:

Please take my word for it: this trip is absolutely wonderful and doesn’t feel anything like as long as the journey time would indicate and, while the photographic record mightn’t show it so well as I’d hoped, there is astonishing variety in the scenery too, going from temperate-and-brown to entirely snowed-under wastes of land to Alpine landscapes at the Bergen end.

On day four we took the Flåmsbana, or Flåm railway.  As you may remember from the itinerary, the plan was to take this railway down to the little town of Flåm from the station at Myrdal; from Flåm we’d journey through two fjords to Gudvangen and from Gudvangen take a bus onward to Voss, where we’d booked a hostel for the night.

This is not how it took place.

We did manage to take the Flåmsbana down to Flåm without incident, and the train is absolutely stunning.  In about 50 minutes it takes you from Myrdal, 865 m above sea level, to Flåm at sea level (the BF had to explain to me that this is quite a feat of engineering and so its fame is more than justified for that alone).  But that’s not why it’s such a tourist attraction: it is more famous because it is breath-taking.

By choosing to go from Flåm to Gudvangen to Voss (rather than the other way round, which is the conventional tourist route), we avoided the rest of the tourists, which meant that we could rocket from side to side in our carriage, empty but for two others, to get the best possible view of the magnificent sights out of the windows on each side.  Taking this route also meant that we had a few hours to spend in Flåm itself, rather than the 40 or so minutes that the usual route allows it; the BF, having read all the literature, found this inexplicable, as Flåm is apparently very beautiful.

It is indeed beautiful, but my God it’s boring.  The sum total of things to do there are the little museum about the Flåmsbana, about five minutes of marvelling at the scenery, and the dubious attractions of about three cafés, none of which opened until the rest of the tourists, coming in the opposite direction to us, turned up.  Three and more hours in Flåm does not exactly fly in; it is what I imagine purgatory is like.

When we went to take the ferry for our fjord trip, we were informed that an avalanche had put paid to the bus that was meant to take us from Gudvangen to Voss at the other end, and so we were treated to a trip up just one of the fjords (the Aurlandsfjord) and back again, in time to take the Flåm train back to Myrdal to wait on a train that would ultimately bring us to Voss by around nine (as opposed to six, as the unimpeded bus would have done).

Still, mustn’t grumble.

Now to the all-important gastronomic report.  Your intrepid taste-testers discovered a number of toothsome Norwegian delicacies which we would like to recommend to the world at large.

The BF’s top tip from Norway is the Kvikk Lunsj, which he was delighted to learn was basically a Kit-Kat not made by Nestlé (whose products he, the big Guardian reader, won’t touch).  It is, however, made by Kraft, so I’m not sure whether this is really a tremendous step up the morality ladder.  It even has nostalgia value, apparently, because it is so packaged that it will melt in its own wrapper.  For some reason this is to be cherished.

I think my favourite was the excellent Fruktnøtt bar made by Freia.  Be advised, though, that the plain old bar (the Melkesjokolade) is not a patch on their fruit and nut version.  I feel obliged to tell you the above photo features a monster 200g bar not because I’m a glutton, or at least not entirely, but also because it was to do the pair of us for at a day or two of immense train journeys.  Yes.

I think we both really liked the Smil sweets, again made by Freia, which the BF dubbed “ethical Rolos”.  They are nice, though are again made by a company owned by Kraft, so I’m not sure how much more ethical they are than the usual kind.  (Please note the scenic photo in front of the Norwegian royal palace, taken a few doors down from the Ibsen Museum.)

Now!  The next post is my last on Norway and, appropriately, will be all about the Norwegian capital.  I hope you’ll join me for it.

We have moved to our new website. Click here to go to the post.

European politicians talk tricky semantics of Risk -

Old World European politicians, with a peculiar disposition to remembering the old world views of their Christian minister fathers, and unable to shake off the irritating habit of converting civilization dropouts, to good old Christian moral values in return for a bowl of forcefully appropriated tropical rice, are now busily talking of risk ( did one hear a still more serious term called systemic risk ? )

In very sombre terms, they are desperately trying to conjure up grand economic ideas, bargains and deals to save the world, as the politics and economics – from Brussels to London, Budapest to Berlin, Athens to Paris, Rome to Dublin – is buffeted by new emerging strains on the European Union. Behind the scenes, they try to thrash out, well in advance, in face to face meetings, before the G-20 London summit, their common strategy and bargaining positions to put before the unconvinced new team in Washington and the shakers and movers of emerging economies.

Yes, same old European politicians of the twentieth century trying to understand the fears the 21st century may bring, even as Churchillian busts are returned with politeness and a certain weariness.

The new buzz term it seems is now “risk management”. This is really amusing, coming from small European nations which have repeatedly taken the world to two world wars in the past century alone, as they competed amongst themselves to divide up rest of the world between themselves.

For non European countries there is a need to drill below the common collective voices coming from Brussels. Maybe, just maybe, it will be same old pasta served up, with the same old cheese, but now with some still more fancy sounding names of recipes and chefs that will have the G-20 politicians scratching their heads furiously to draw out the substance behind European bargaining positions, disarming smiles, pleading eyes, and earnest shrugs of the shoulders.

Is it really Risk Management that is so dear to these European capitals and insecure European politicians, or is it once again, Risk Transfer outwards from Europe to rest of the world ? And whose risk, and risk from whom, are we REALLY talking of, before we get down to the nitty gritty of risk management measures that need to be in place, ostensibly for the good of the world ?

Reise-Artikel von Spiegel On zu Norwegen

In Süd-Norwegen liegt die “Riviera”:  Dazu folgender Artikel von Spiegel On

Kurztouren Oslo – Bergen:

Kombinierte Bahn-Schiff-Fahrt zwischen Bergen und Oslo: FjordTours

Boot Bergen-Balestrand, dann Fähre Balestrand-Flam (immer auf “Returtabell” klicken!!), dann die Flamsbahn und von Myrdal mit dem Zug nach Oslo zurück. Kann man in 2 Tagen schaffen.

Weitere attraktive Möglichkeit: in Bergen ein Mietauto nehmen und entweder auf die vorgelagerten Inseln fahren oder rund um den Hardangerfjord.

Aşteptând frumos încolonaţi permisiunea de îmbarcare în celebrul Flåmsbana

Înconjurată de munţi cu înălţimea de peste 1400 m, linia de cale ferată Flåm-Myrdal este una dintre cele mai spectaculoase din lume şi totodată, una din cele mai importante realizări în domeniu.

Celebra cale ferată, cu o vechime de 65 de ani, face legătura între fiordul Aurland (Flåm) şi vârful muntelui (Myrdal), urcând câte 1 m în altitudine la fiecare 18 m lungime parcursă.

80 % din traseul acesteia are o înclinare de 55 ⁰/₀₀, echivalentul a 1:18.

Pe cei 20 km, cât reprezintă distanţa între Flåm (2 m altitudine) şi Myrdal (866 m altitudine), trenul străbate 20 de tuneluri, care însumează o lungime de 6 km, parcurgând o diferenţă de nivel de 864 m.

18 din cele 20 de tuneluri au fost săpate manual, fiecare metru excavat în inima muntelui necesitând nu mai puţin de o lună de muncă grea pentru o întreagă echipă de muncitori.

Pentru a preîntâmpina riscul avalanşelor, calea ferată intersectează râul şi albia acestuia de trei ori în decursul călătoriei. În loc să se construiască poduri, râul a fost deviat printr-un tunel, pe sub calea ferată.

Călătoria de la Flåm la Myrdal oferă o panoramă a celor mai sălbatice peisaje din munţii Norvegiei: râuri care străbat ravene adânci, cascade care cad pe abrupturile de stâncă, vârfuri pudrate cu zăpadă şi ferme izolate căţărate spectaculos pe pante.

Trenul porneşte din gara Flåm, situată nu departe de port.

Flåmsbana, gata de plecare spre Myrdal 

După nici 3 km, se trece pe lângă o bisericuţă de lemn, datând din anul 1667.

În apropierea bisericii, se poate vedea monumentul din piatră ridicat în memoria poetului Per Sivle, originar din zonă.

În dreapta, pe fundal, vârful muntelui Vidmesnosi (1269 m) se înalţă maiestuos spre cer, atrăgând privirile călătorilor şi datorită impresionantei cascade Rjoande, căzând de la 140 m pe versant.

Cascada Rjoande

Flåmsdalen şi cascada Rjoande

Trenul lasă în urmă câmpiile înverzite şi livezile din vale, continuându-şi deplasarea în lungul râului şi prin tunelurile săpate în stâncă.

Calea ferată întretaie valea şi râul de trei ori, fără să treacă peste vreun pod.

În staţia Berekvam, linia este dublată pentru a permite trenurilor venind din sensuri opuse să treacă unul pe lângă altul.

Trenurile pereche trecând unul pe lângă celălalt în Berekvam

Aici, peisajul sălbatic, masivele colţuroase de stâncă şi curgerile de apă repezi, prelinse pe pantele văilor, precum şi râul înspumat, cu ravene adânci şi înguste, crează o imagine fascinantă.

La Blomheller, pantele muntelui stau mărturie a numeroaselor avalanşe, prin intermediul cărora forţele naturii şi-au dovedit, nu de puţine ori, supremaţia.

Kårdal este un loc renumit în întreaga vale Flåm, datorită modernei ferme montane pentru creşterea caprelor. Peisajul din jurul fermei, care găzduieşte în prezent peste 300 de exemplare, este dominat de păşuni de un verde crud, pante împădurite şi vârfuri îmbrăcate în nori, ca fundal.

Imediat ce trenul iese din Nåli, unde se află cel mai lung tunel (1320 m) de pe ruta Flåm-Myrdal, se întrezăreşte cea mai interesantă şi spectaculoasă imagine a urcuşului spre Myrdal – linia de cale ferată cu patru nivele distincte, pe partea muntelui, şi o parte din gara Myrdal.

În acelaşi timp, se poate vedea vechiul drum, cu cele 21 de serpentine, urcând pe abruptul masiv Myrdalsberget.

Rollarvegen, vechiul drum cu 21 de serpentine strânse

Oprirea la Kjosfossen este unul din principalele motivele pentru care călătoria cu trenul între Flåm şi Myrdal nu trebuie sub nici o formă ratată.

În nici un alt loc din lume, călătorilor nu li se oferă ocazia să coboare special din tren pentru a vedea, filma şi fotografia, de la câţiva metri distanţă, o cascadă de talia celei întâlnite la Kjosfossen.

Ridicând privirea către cer, nu vezi decât apă, curgând vijelios în cascade pe versantul abrupt al muntelui. Pe măsură ce se apropie de vale, şuvoiul nestăvilit, venind din înalt, se transformă, urlând, într-o spumă albă şi rece.

Nu apuci să te dezmeticeşti bine şi să imortalizezi imaginile incredibile înregistrate de propria retină, că din eter se porneşte o muzică divină, de o sonoritate nemaiîntâlnită.

Copleşit de spectacolul seducător de sunet şi lumină, care ţi se oferă gratuit, ai impresia că nimic neobişnuit nu se mai poate întâmpla.

Greşit, greşit, greşit, pentru că din aburii de spumă se conturează, mai întâi, în fundal, pentru ca apoi să apară, nu foarte departe de tine, în deplinătatea frumuseţii sale sălbatice, aproape nepământene, o fee nordică, despletită, unduindu-se într-un dans numai de ea ştiut.

Nu poţi decât să amuţeşti, să te freci insistent la ochi, crezând că visezi, şi, dacă ai şansa să-ţi revii până la plecarea trenului, să faci o fotografie.

Din nefericire pentru mine, am rămas doar cu amintirea.

În continuare, trenul trece printr-un tunel “în ac de păr”, făcând o întoarcere de 180°. O deschidere făcută special prin tunel, lasă vederii o imagine panoramică fabuloasă. La câteva sute de metri sub fereastra vagonului, râul aduce cu o panglică argintie aruncată pe fundul văii, în timp ce, sub ochii tăi, versantul abrupt, pe care se găseşte linia de cale ferată, este tăiat de o prăpastie adâncă.În Reinungvatnet, se zăreşte un lac de munte, chiar înainte de a vedea pentru ultima oară munţii şi ţinuturile zonei Vatnahalsen.

Aici se află Hotelul “Vatnahalsen”, cunoscut şi ca “St. Moritz” al Nordului, un popular hotel montan, deschis tot timpul anului.

Călătoria continuă prin câteva tuneluri protejate împotriva depunerilor de zăpadă.

O deschizătură în tunel face posibilă aruncarea unei ultime priviri asupra văii Flåm, înainte ca trenul să ajungă în Myrdal.

În Myrdal, se schimbă trenul, pentru a ajunge în Oslo, punctul final al excursiei “Norway in a Nutshell”, începută în Bergen.

Linia de cale ferată dintre Bergen şi Oslo a fost inaugurată în anul 1909.

Lucrările la derivaţia Flåm au început în 1923, pentru a asigura transportul spre Sognefjord, şi au durat până în 1936.

O adevărată operă de artă pusă în slujba omului, linia de cale ferată Flåm-Myrdal râmâne simbolul curajului şi puterii din vremurile de mult apuse.

Hvordan får jeg min artikel om Keynes og Myrdal til at fremtræde lidt tydeligere på Nettet? Det må jo være ved at deltage i den debat, som føres og dermed relatere til min artikel. Det prøvede jeg så i dag på grund af en artikel i Politiken af økonomen og nobelpristageren Joseph Stiglitz. Det gav mig anledning til følgende kommentar til Læsernes redaktør:
At skrive i en blog er jo i høj grad at arbejde i bloguniverset, der skal gå links til kilder – det er en måde at føre samtalen på. Politiken har haft og har måske endnu tilknyttet den udmærkede tjeneste ‘Twingly’ til sine sider, selvom jeg sommetider ikke kan finde den. Måske er man bange for, at et link skal trække folk væk fra Politikens sider? I så fald har man ikke forstået mekanikken, for den blog, Twingly linker til, linker jo selv til Politiken, hvilket sender læsere til Politiken. Men i princippet er det ikke kun i bloggene, debatten føres, men netop ved hjælp af programmer som Twingly, at debat kan føres om alle artikler, som bringes på nettet. Så besværes debatten af, at Politikens sider på Nettet er noget flimrende, så det kan være svært at finde artiklerne. I dag leder jeg efter Joseph Stieglitzs artikel om den kommende økonomiske tankegangs relation til Keynes, for at give læserne mulighed for at supplere hans overvejelser med en artikel om Keynes og Myrdal [her var så link til artiklen], jeg for kort tid siden satte på Nettet. For at dette skal ske, skal jeg kunne linke til artiklen i Politiken – men søgningen på ‘Joseph Stieglitz’ bringer ikke artiklen for dagen. Nu kan man selvfølgelig godt forstå, at ikke hele papiravisen bringes på Nettet, men netop debatartikler af den type bør høre til det, der medtages! Så meget mere som artiklen allerede kan findes på Nettet hos Guardian. [her var så link til Guardian!]

Den afventede så moderering – og hvornår sker den? Så prøvede jeg track back, som jeg ikke før har anvendt. Derved ryger et link ind på Politikens blog, så kan læserne straks se linket til min kommentar, som jeg nemlig også har placeret hos mig selv, ved mit indlæg om den pågældende artikel af mig om Keynes og Myrdal.
Næste problem er, at få dette supplerende indlæg til at stå tydeligt her på egen blog. Det gør jeg så ved at lave dette indlæg og her linke bagud hos mig selv. Lidt kringlet måske – men det virker.

I just got off the night train from Bergen to Oslo, and I’m feeling good, if a little disoriented.  The train stopped multipile times on the way, and I kept waking up and checking the window, thinking we must be in Oslo.  I also woke at one point with a killer pressure headache, from going through so many tunnels.  Luckily a few quick yawns and ear-pops cleared that up, but it was definitely a weird feeling. 

The day before I took the Norway in a Nutshell journey – From Oslo, a train to Myrdal, another train to Flam, a boat from Flam through the fjords to Gudvagen, then a bus from there to Voss.  Some continued on another train to Bergen, but I stayed overnight in Voss before heading to Bergen the next day, then taking the night train back.  It’s an all day journey, and because of the kitchy name, I worried it would be more about the packaging than the actual landscape, but to my surprise it was excellent.

On the way from Oslo to Myrdal, I got to see craggy rocks and snow with cold waterfalls running among them.  Barren and beautiful.  You can see, in this kid of landscape, how one could easily imagine trolls running around and popping their heads up. (I also almost missed the train when I misjudged the time we had at one stop…I had to leap aboard just as the doors were closing!)  From Myrdal to Flam it was all greenery, huge waterfalls, and adorable villages nestled into valleys surrounded by unbelievable mountains.  From Flam to Gudvagen, it was breathtaking fjords and more tiny houses mysteriously perched on cliffs and in nooks.  From Gudvagen to Voss was a steep and windy road with hairpin turns and more waterfalls, and a kind woman named Bonnie I kept running into in my time in Norway (she was on her way to the North Pole!).

The one ridiculous touristy moment in the Nutshell trip was at a large waterfall.  We stopped to go outside the train and take pictures, and suddenly we hear music from somewhere, and before you know it, this woman in a long purple dress pops up on a cliff near the waterfall and starts dancing.  Then she goes into a tunnel and another woman, dressed the same, pops up somewhere else (I think we were supposed to believe they were one person).  It was a little silly, and I kind of just wanted to enjoy the waterfall without the fake-o fairy ladies.  Ah well.

Voss itself was absolutely gorgeous, and the hostel served a free breakfast made from organic fruits and vegetables from the farm across the street!  I couldn’t help staying longer than I intended.  At first, I wanted to get up early, get some breakfast, and catch the 8:35 train to Bergen, but the view out my window of the lake and the mountains had me asking instead for good hikes in the area. 

The receptionist at the hostel told me that the nearby mountain was a great walk, but that I should take the cable car up and then walk down, as the mountain was very steep.  But then he revealed even more important information: the cable car was 20 dollars to go up, but free to take down.  So, I was walking up and riding down.  This turned out to be a great idea, as I needed the exercise, it was a beautiful day, and it made the view at the top that much more spectacular.  I even got to watch a paraglider take off on my way up.

So, I took the 1:43 train to Bergen instead, which was smart because Bergen was beautiful but easy to cover in a few hours.  I even saw a free one-woman show in English (about the Bergen fire), and then I even caught a Norwegian folk-dance concert in an old medieval meeting hall.  I especially loved the folkdancing and singing, I have to admit – the music was beautiful and the older woman who presented each dance and song had a great dry wit to her that left me giggling.

Sorry for the incredibly long post…getting access to a computer in Norway has been hard!  Now I’m out to explore Oslo (as it’s just waking up), and then I head to the airport for a sleepover (my flight leaves at 7:30 in the morning, so no way am I paying for a hostel when I would need to get up at 3am to get to the airport).  I’ll be in Amsterdam tomorrow!  Yikes!

Jan Myrdal försöker återigen förklara det han försökte säga under debatten förra veckan.

Aldrig mer!

Tyvärr tror jag inte det hjälper då ‘den som inte är med, är emot‘.

Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om myrdal, malmberg, papegoja, debatt, kina, tibet, dalai lama

Ever been to a place and it felt like a scene from a game or movie? Simply use your imagination and relate to your experiences. The feeling is so unreal.

Myrdal, Bergen, Norway. (above)
This was the train ride to the snow mountains. It felt like a scene from the “Seven Years in Tibet”.

Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. (above)
If the photo in Myrdal seemed like a scene in the movie, then this photo seemed like a scene from a game. “Prince of Persia”? This is the magnificent Putra Mosque.

We woke up early and enjoyed our last hearty breakfast at the Balestrand Hotel. Unfortunately, I’d failed to read the fine print on my expressboat timetable, and didn’t see that the boat I was expecting to take back to Flåm in fact didn’t run today. This meant that we’d have to take the later morning boat instead, and therefore miss the early afternoon train back to Oslo. Our hotelier graciously talked things over with the NSB people over the phone, and got us transferred to the later train to Oslo. Since we had extra time before the next boat, we wandered around Balestrand in the morning drizzle, and found a couple of old Viking burial mounds included in our guidebook, and a nearby statue of King Bele given to the town by Germany’s Kaiser Wilhelm II.

We finally boarded our late morning expressboat back to Flåm. As we approached the entrance to the Aurlandsfjord, our expressboat came alongside another ferry. This is a floating transfer point listed in guidebooks as “Midfjord,” where passengers can simply change boats in the middle of the fjord so they can get where they’re going without having to go all the way back to Flåm.

Everyone onboard rushed up to the deck to watch the two boats get cozy and a couple of tourists walk across a ramp. Nothing exciting looking back on it, but at the time it seemed nothing less than a marvel of human innovation.

We continued on our way, met another ferry for a Midfjord transfer, and swooped by a pretty waterfall for another close look. Looking at the simple schedule on the side of the boat below, you can get a sense of how few times a day some of these boats run, and therefore how important scheduling snafus can become.

We arrived back in Flåm, ate an overpriced lunch, and took the first Flåmsbana train we could. We’d been lucky enough to get better seats on this one, by a window that actually slid down so we didn’t have to take pictures through greasy fingerprints. Below is the Flåm Valley from the window of the Flåmsbana on our way up.

The scenery along the route was beyond description. The picture below is more beautiful green mountainside from the window of the click-clackety Flåmsbana.

We disembarked at the Myrdal station, where we had to wait more than an hour for the Bergen-Oslo train. Below is a shot of the grand old Flåmsbana train departing Myrdal on its way back down the mountain.

A long wait at Myrdal meant some walking-around time for Kim and I. Below is a view of the Myrdal station from the end of the platform. Notice how, this close to the Arctic, a gain of just 2800 feet in elevation nearly broke us out above the treeline. It was cold and began to drizzle again, so we hid inside the station and I bought a tourist-trap book on Nærøyfjord to whittle away the time.

It was late afternoon by the time we boarded the train to Oslo, and it started to rain hard outside as evening approached. Luckily the weather cleared by the time we got off in Oslo in the dark and walked from the Nationaltheatre Station to our hotel. It was a long day of travel and I was looking forward to a good night’s sleep and a lazy day in Bygdøy tomorrow.

More pictures here (Ryan) and here (Kim).