August 17 Dombås (Day 325)
Another train ride, another town! Today we traveled further south to the village of Dombås (pronounced ‘Doom-boss’), with a short stop in Trondheim which is the 3rd most populous city in Norway (Oslo #1, Bergen #2). Along the route we had many stops at small villages that boasted beautiful train depots.
Some log buildings and some stone buildings.
And an unfortunate fire damaged depot.
Then the next stop was “Hell”!
The name Hell stems from the Old Norse word hellir, which means “overhang” or “cliff cave”. Among English-speaking tourists, popular postcards depict the station with a heavy frost on the ground, making a visual joke about “Hell frozen over”. Temperatures in Hell can reach −25 °C (−13 °F) during winter!
The prettiest rail depot near Dombås, in Kongsvoll.
We reached Dombås soon after and our host picked us up at the station, saving us the 20 minute walk to the apartment. We settled in and then walked back to the village center for groceries.
The troll patrols the shopping district!
Next to the troll is the National Park Center, which was closed unfortunately.
Dombås is situated at about 2200 feet in elevation (673 meters) surrounded by higher mountains and between 2 National Parks! One, the Dovrefjell-Sundallsfjella Nasjonalpark is the only place in Norway to view musk oxen! The other park Rondane Nasjonalpark is home to wild reindeer.
We have only 2 nights here, so we won’t be able to explore the National parks unfortunately.