Sørumsand is the home of a small railway that has nothing to do with fjords. The narrow-gauge line Urskog-Hølandsbanen, the only preserved narrow-gauge railway in Norway, runs steam and diesel trains from here on summer Sundays, and the museum in the old station shows the carriages and engines.
The ride's name speaks of the Hardanger Fjord, far to the west, but the day ends here, in a very different landscape: flat farmland, pine woods and the wide, slow Glomma, Norway's longest river. The roads are straight and quiet, with gentle bends along the river, and a surface that is generally good. Traffic is light, except near Lillestrøm and the main roads towards Oslo. In summer, the fields are full of grain and the air smells of cut hay, and in autumn, the birch woods turn gold.
The river has a long working history. For centuries, timber from the forests of the interior was floated down the Glomma to the sawmills, and at Fetsund, the Lenser, a series of log-sorting booms, stayed in use until 1985 and is now a museum, with a footbridge over the water. To the west, Øyeren, a large lake at the end of the river, has a vast inland delta, a protected wetland that is one of the most important places for migrating birds in northern Europe.
Fuel and food are easy enough, with stations and shops in Sørumsand and a wider choice in Lillestrøm, and small cafes open in summer. Norwegian bakeries sell fresh bread, and farm shops offer strawberries and potatoes. The train to Oslo runs from Lillestrøm in about fifteen minutes.
Walk onto the footbridge at Fetsund if you can. Looking down at the old booms, you can almost hear the logs.