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The fjords are the most familiar and alluring image of Norway: huge clefts in the landscape which occur along the west coast right up to the Russian border, though the fjord region is usually defined as lying between Stavanger and Alesund. Wild, rugged and peaceful, these water-filled wedges are visually stunning; indeed, this part of the country elicits inordinate amounts of purple prose from tourist office handouts, and for once it's rarely overstated. In the summer, the fjords are, it's true, patrolled by a steady flotilla of cruise ships, and the hills heave with hikers, but the crowds are rarely oppressive and what little development there has been is seldom intrusive. Bergen , Norway's second largest city, is a handy springboard for the western fjords, notably the Flam Valley and its inspiring mountain railway, which trundles down to the Aurlandsfjord, a tiny arm of the mighty Sognefjord , Norway's longest and deepest. North of the Sognefjord, there is the smaller but less stimulating Nordfjord , though there's superb compensation in the Jostedalsbreen glacier which nudges the fjord from the east. The tiny S-shaped Geirangerfjord , further north again, is magnificent too - narrow, sheer and rugged - while the northernmost Romsdalsfjord and its many branches and inlets reach pinnacles of isolation in the Trollstigen mountain highway. By rail, you can only reach Bergen in the south and Andalsnes in the north. For everything in between - including the Sognefjord, Nordfjord and the Jostedalsbreen glacier - you're confined to buses and ferries . Consequently, although the buses and ferries virtually all connect up with each other, it means that there is no set way to approach the fjord region, and itineraries are very much a matter of personal choice. It's a good idea to pick up full bus and ferry timetables from the local tourist office whenever you can; be aware that shorter bus routes are often part of a longer routeing on which the buses and ferries link up. Car ferry rates are very reasonable, and although the impressively speedy catamaran ( Hurtigbat ) services are expensive, they are considered an extension of the train system, and holders of rail passes often qualify for fifty-percent discounts.
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