Roots Rails & Rambles

Northern Lights in Norway!
With musical guests BettySoo and Kelly Willis

October 7 – 15, 2025: Oslo – Tromsø – Bergen - Oslo

In late May of 2024 we took our first trip to Norway and promptly had our socks blown off. Not only is it a spectacularly beautiful country, it also has a great transportation infrastructure, which allowed us to cover a lot of ground in a short period of time. We traveled almost 1500 miles by train and about another 1,000 miles by ferry, saw amazing sights and met great people along the way – all in the oddly disorienting round-the-clock arctic daylight. It was fantastic! We all agreed that we needed to return, but this time we wanted to witness the mesmerizing Aurora Borealis in the pristine remote landscape north of the Arctic Circle. And so we shall!

This trip will originate and conclude in Oslo – one of Europe’s most dynamic and interesting cities. After exploring Oslo, we’ll hop on a short flight up to Tromsø, where we will board a ferry for a 3-night cruise down the Norwegian coastline to Bergen. Now when we say “ferry” that doesn’t really do the experience justice. Our vessel will be a 500 passenger liquid natural/battery-powered ship with many of the amenities and creature comforts of a cruise ship, but less negative environmental impact. It is both a ferry service used by locals to travel from port-to-port along the rural (and often roadless), but also offers a pretty swank leisure experience for visitors. We’ll dine on delicious locally-sourced food with a focus on reducing food waste and promoting sustainability, sleep in comfortable, well-appointed cabins (all with windows and private baths), enjoy the multiple indoor and outdoor spaces designed perfectly for absorbing the glory of the natural wonders surrounding us, and the odds of witnessing multiple displays of the Northern Lights are very, very good.
We’ll have 2 nights in Bergen( a wonderful city we all agreed we shortchanged last year)  before heading back to Oslo via a fast ferry through the Sognefjord (King of the Fjords), then a short, but spectacular train ride on the legendary Flåmsbana, climbing up through the mountains and waterfalls before rejoining the mainline back to Oslo.

And we’ll have music! Joining us for this trip will be none other than two phenomenal singer-songwriters – BettySoo and Kelly Willis, who will be performing intimate, acoustic, unplugged concerts along the way.

BETTYSOO: BettySoo is one of the hardest-working singer-songwriters we know, but her well-earned reputation as a “road dog”, relentlessly touring independently as well as with the likes of James McMurtry, Chris Smither, and Alejandro Escovedo doesn’t really capture the nuanced depths of her extraordinary songwriting skills. Encompassing the full range of human emotion, BettySoo’s songs have earned the respect and admiration of luminaries across the musical spectrum and her live performances are some of the most engaging and masterful displays of her warmth and vocal prowess. We’ve been privileged to have BettySoo join us for a number of our adventures and couldn’t be more pleased that she’ll be with us in Norway!

KELLY WILLIS: “I know I’ve been around through many different phases of my genre of music. Whether it was the New Traditionalist, or Alt.Country or Americana. I ought to be able to write a book about it all” says Kelly Willis, and we certainly hope she does. Held in extremely high regard by artists such as Lyle Lovett, Rodney Crowell, and Ray Wylie Hubbard, Kelly’s range and depth as both a songwriter and performer have merited serious attention since the late 1990’s and the release of her album, “What I Deserve”. As is the case with many of the artists we love, the breadth and depth of her work have resisted pigeonholing into a particular genre for decades. Following a hiatus from touring to raise her four children, Kelly is back out on the road again, and we’re delighted she’ll be joining us on our hunt for the Northern Lights!

ACTIVITY LEVEL: LIGHT TO MODERATE (With opportunities for more vigorous independent exploration should you so choose). If you have particular mobility concerns, please discuss with Sarah. We will do our best to make the trip as comfortable and enjoyable as possible for everyone, and some advance notice always helps us make appropriate accommodations where necessary.

- MUST BE ABLE TO HANDLE YOUR OWN LUGGAGE -- LOADING ON AND OFF TRAINS, LIFTING ONTO OVERHEAD RACKS
- MUST BE ABLE TO WALK THE EQUIVALENT OF A FEW CITY BLOCKS WITH LUGGAGE
- MUST BE ABLE TO NEGOTIATE A FLIGHT OF STAIRS

THE ITINERARY:

For those wishing to arrive a day or two early in Oslo to mitigate jet lag or to have some more time to explore, we are happy to arrange add-on hotel rooms at our group rate.

Tuesday, Oct. 7: Arrive Oslo. It’s an easy connection from the airport to our hotel. We’ll gather in the early evening for an informal orientation,

Wednesday, Oct. 8: Fly to Tromso, north of the Arctic Circle, have a chance to explore the area before boarding our ship at 11:30 pm. We’ll have hotel rooms in Tromso so we have a place to hang out and rest up before boarding. We may get our first Aurora sighting!

Thursday, Oct.9: Technically, this is our sail-away day since we depart Tromso at 1:30 am! We’ll settle in to our comfy cabins, or go scope out the best deck areas for Aurora-spotting. After a restful night on board (this ship is silent and smooth!) a leisurely day of sailing unfolds before us after we indulge in a delicious breakfast. We’ll have a Nature Talk with Elsabe so she can orient us to the region and clue us in on what we should be watching for today – geological features, marine life, and likely a bunch of little-known-facts about the Aurora Borealis. The pace of the days on board is leisurely and relaxing, perfect for digging into a good book or a knitting project. The ship does offer a wide variety of shore excursions in various ports that may be of interest to you, so I’ll be providing details on how to sign up for those when we get a little closer in. Today is all about the Lofoten archipelago – a stunning landscape of dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches, and untouched lands. This evening we’ll have a concert on board with BettySoo and Kelly – perhaps Elsabe will join them on fiddle!

Each cabin’s phone has a button you can press to get Aurora alerts, so you don’t have to worry about sleeping through them. There also multiple apps Elsabe can orient us to which will help us pinpoint the ideal time and conditions for viewing.

Friday, Oct.10: Another wonderful day begins as we wake up to the Nesnakroken strait and the multitudes of little islands, bays, and inlets. We’ll cross over the Arctic Circle latitude line in the early afternoon before we get a stunning view of the Seven Sisters mountain range and Torghatten – the giant rock formation with a hole in the middle of it. There is an excursion option to hike up to the hole for the really adventurous! It’s a really great scenery day! This may be a good day to do a Norwegian edition of “BettySoo’s Nobody’s Happy Hour” in which she and Kelly can delve deep into their catalogue of heartbreak songs and murder ballads!

Saturday, Oct.11: Early morning finds us in Trondheim, where we have a few hours stop, during which we can disembark, stretch our legs and see a bit of the town. There is a ship excursion opportunity to visit the Niardos Cathedral for those interested. Upon re-boarding and setting sail we’ll be heading into yet another maze of little islands and fishing villages, hugging the coastline closely enough to get a great peek into local life. We’ll have a very short stop in Kristiansund before dinner and another concert to celebrate our last night on board.

Sunday, Oct.12: We’ll wake approaching Floro, the westernmost town on the Norwegian mainland – the next land mass on the western horizon is the Faroe Islands, a mere 320 nautical miles away. As the day unfolds, we’ll be slowly starting to notice a bump up in the number of cottages and signs of civilization along the coast as we make our final approach into beautiful Bergen. We’ll have a final delicious lunch on board before prying ourselves out of our happy cocoon and heading for our hotel, where we’ll arrive in plenty of time to go out exploring this great city.

Monday, Oct.13: We’ll have a full day to spend in Bergen! Perhaps a ride up the funicular to the top of Mount Floyen for a bird’s eye view of the city? Or a wander through the old wharf neighborhood and fish market? Bergen is a wonderfully walkable city with something for everyone to enjoy! Tonight we’ll gather for our farewell dinner (it’s a day early, but we likely won’t get back to Oslo until early evening tomorrow) and have another hotel overnight.

Tuesday, Oct. 14: Today is a long, but rewarding day of travel. We’ll take a ferry up the Sognefjord to the little village of Flam, where we’ll board the Flamsbana train, one of the steepest standard gauge rail lines, for a spectacular ride up into the high mountains, curving through multiple tunnels and waterfalls before connecting to the high-speed mainline in Myrdal which will whisk us back to Oslo. We’ll have a final overnight in Oslo.

Wednesday, Oct. 15: We bid you all a fond farewell as you head out on your next great adventure! Of course, if you wish to stay on in Oslo and explore further on your own, we're happy to arrange additional hotel nights at our group rate.

What’s included in your trip fare:

- Hotel accommodations in Oslo, Tromsø, and Bergen
- Three nights on board the ferry with all meals included.
- Flight from Oslo to Tromsø
- Ferry tickets from Bergen to Flam
- Flåmsbana, tickets
- Train tickets from Myrdal to Oslo

What’s not included:

- Airfare to and from Oslo
- Excursions organized by ferry company
- Airport to hotel transfers

Pricing:

$4989 per person (single occupancy for solo travelers)
Special discount offered if paid all-at-once
Post-deposit interest-free monthly payments happily accommodated

To purchase:

$4889.22 to purchase all-at-once for a 2% discount

$500 deposit to hold your spot

Then, within 30 days of deposit, settle your remaining balance or set up a convenient interest-free monthly credit card draw by contacting Sarah at sarah@rootsontherails.com or 802-258-1397.

TRAVEL INSURANCE

Since the advent of Covid-19, and its impact upon travel, we feel purchasing travel insurance has gone from wise precaution to fiscal necessity. Going forward, we are strongly suggesting that all patrons carry trip insurance that provides, at a minimum, coverage for the following:
- Cancellation for Covid-19 illness
- Trip Cancellation
- Trip Interruption
- Cancel for Medical Reasons
- Medical Coverage for Covid-19 (often included under Emergency Medical Care)
- Emergency medical care
- Medical Evacuation

You may purchase travel insurance through any company you choose, and we advise checking the coverage on the credit card you used to secure your booking with us -- often there are travel protections built in to your user agreement. If you're unclear on where to begin your travel insurance search, we can suggest looking at products such as AXA USA Assistance Silver or Nationwide Essential which provide robust coverage for all those items at a very fair price. Both of those products (and many more) can be purchased through our affiliate, Squaremouth. Because travel insurance is such a highly personalized product, when you click on the link and are directed to the Squaremouth landing page and the "Compare and Buy Travel Insurance" calculator, you’ll have to enter your own demographic information – age, state of residence etc. -- after which you'll be presented with a number of options to consider. Among them will be the AXA and the Nationwide products. You are certainly not limited to those two products – we are merely outlining the elements of coverage that we are strongly suggesting going forward and a convenient way to access them. If you purchase the policy through that link to Squaremouth it does not cost you anything more than purchasing the product directly from the vendor, but we do receive a small commission.

THE FINE PRINT

Our customers are extremely important to us, and when travel disruptions occur, we are committed to working with you to minimize the financial impact. In the event that you need to cancel a trip for whatever reason, we will work with you to try and find a buyer for the space you are needing to give up. Often this works out well for all: the person needing to cancel recovers most, if not all, of their investment, and a person who might have been on a waiting list gets to go on the trip - however, there are no guarantees.
We understand that the new realities of travel are such that we need to be more flexible than ever before. We are also an extremely small business with many fixed costs that can't always be recovered if a trip needs to be postponed or cancelled due to health and safety concerns. We will be completely transparent if a scheduled trip looks like it needs to be adjusted in any way that might impact your enjoyment of the experience. Please read through our cancellation policy carefully and feel free to reach out to us with any questions or concerns.

Cancellation policy: Deposits, whether paid separately or as part of a full payment up front, are non-refundable. Outside of deposit and credit card fees, full refund will be given up until 90 days prior to start of trip. 50% refund 60-89 days. No refund less than 60 days prior to start of trip. Reservations are fully transferable to another person.The payment of a deposit or any part or full payment for a reservation shall constitute consent to all the provisions contained herein.

Roots, Rails, and Rambles LLC shall not be held responsible for property loss or damage and/or any damages resulting from illness, personal injuries or death which may be sustained by reason of, or while engaged on, any trip or tour whether due to the ownership, maintenance, use, operation or control of any vehicle, hotel, common carrier or any other conveyance used in carrying out these tours. We can assume no liability due to any cause whatsoever whether caused by failure or delay or other irregularity, acts or omissions occurring during a tour under which the means of transportation or other service thereby is offered or supplied by owners, operators or public carriers for whom Roots, Rails, and Rambles LLC acts only as agent. Roots, Rails, and Rambles LLC reserves the right (at its discretion) to alter or omit any part of the itinerary, or change any reservation, feature and/or means of conveyance without notice or for any reason whatsoever and without allowance or refund and with extra costs, if any, resulting therefrom paid by the passengers. We reserve the right to cancel any tour prior to departure, in which case payment will be refunded without further obligation on our part. Roots, Rails, and Rambles shall not be responsible for any injury to person (whether or not resulting in death) or damage to property.

Baggage is at the owner's risk entirely. The transportation companies concerned are not to be held responsible for any act, omission or event during the time passengers are not aboard their carriers or conveyances. The passenger contract in use by the carriers concerned (when issued) shall constitute the sole contract between the transportation companies and the purchaser of these tours and/or passage. By accepting the ticket the passenger also agrees to its terms and conditions. By forwarding of deposit, the passenger certifies that he/she does not have any mental, physical or other condition or disability that would create a hazard for him/herself or other passengers. Roots, Rails, and Rambles LLC reserves the right to cancel or withdraw any person as a member of the tour at any time. Roots, Rails, and Rambles LLC reserves the right to refuse service to anyone whom it considers incompatible with the best interests of its services or its guests.