Åndalsnes is the ÅndalsnBEST: a photo anthology of a great traveling toddler

Last sabbatical, we did lots of long weekends away to different places in Norway. This year, we’ve done less of that, because of reasons.

We decided it was time to try again. We made a list of places we could get to by train or boat, did some research, and ended up with a weekend in Åndalsnes (pronounced Ohn-dahls-nes). We left on Friday, and got back on Sunday.

Åndalsnes is about 5.5 hours away by train, which seems like a lot if you’re equating it to plane travel. The trains are way easier, though – there’s more legroom, there’s no security, there’s a dining car, a child can run up and down the aisles, there’s often a family car where you can make a little noise, etc. Trains are also pretty fascinating for three year olds.

Annalise loved every element of this, including running around at the empty train station during our transfer in Dombås. And, the two hours from Dombås to Åndalsnes is the famous Raumabanen, named by Lonely Planet as “the world’s most beautiful train line,” and appearing in “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning Part 1”.

Three year olds are not famously into scenery, but even she was pretty impressed, between sessions of her seat calisthenics.

Saturday was all about seeing the beautiful fjord Åndalsnes is located next to. We woke, enjoyed the view out our windows, had a hotel breakfast (Norwegian hotels do great breakfasts), and set out.

We did a hike from our hotel up to a viewpoint called Rampestreken. This was a short hike, but with an average of 25% grade. Not a hike for high heels (note they didn’t feel the need to have this info in Norwegian).

I had my baby-carrying backpack, but Annalise wanted to hike it herself. She did about 2/3 of it on her own and still threw a fit when I put her in the pack because it was getting a little dangerous, with the trail on a cliff. We were shocked – we had no idea she could do all that walking and climbing (I did carry her down). As you can see, the hike was beautiful.

After the hike, Annalise was pretty pooped, and took a nap in the hotel room.

Post nap, we headed to a playground to burn an hour (she immediately made a non-English-speaking friend), then took a gondola up to the top of a mountain, where we ate at a restaurant that had appeared on Succession (a lot of Hollywood on this trip).

After the sun set, we saw the first of the deep blue skies we love about the Norwegian winter.

That night she slept great, and slept through the extra hour of the European daylight savings time fall-back.

Sunday, we took the same train route back. It was just as lovely the second time, and one of our train family cars even had a little play room with Brio trains, ladders, and an overhead tunnel to crawl through. Annalise made a little Norwegian friend in the playroom, and we got our first chance to watch her talking Norwegian with another kid.

Åndalsnes: one of my favorite spots in Norway! A perfect weekend trip, and a perfect traveling toddler.