There are journeys where we want to arrive as quickly as possible.
And there are journeys where we consciously choose to travel more slowly.
My trip to Norway begins in a few days with a flight to Oslo. I will spend three days there before heading west – with the Bergen Railway, a stopover in Voss, and a trip through the Nærøyfjord on an electric ship, and then continuing by train to Bergen.
I could travel this route much faster. But that is precisely what I do not want.
For me, the train journey is not simply a connection between two places. It is a conscious part of the journey itself. Two days for just under 500 kilometres, with the focus not on efficiency, but on awareness. Time to look out of the window. To savour a cup of tea with full attention. To let my thoughts wander. To watch the landscape pass by without already having to think about the next item on the itinerary.
For me, that is precisely the true luxury of our time.
Not to go faster.
But to consciously choose to be slower.
When the journey becomes more important than the destination
We have learned to organize trips as efficiently as possible.
Direct flights.
Short layovers.
Optimized routes.
Every hour should be used as productively as possible.
In doing so, we often treat the journey as a necessary interim space – something that should be behind us as quickly as possible.
I am increasingly preoccupied with the opposite question.
What if the journey itself became part of the recovery again?
Not as an interruption.
But as a conscious transition.
Perhaps today, more than ever, we need these transitions. Moments when we don't have to react, organize, or decide. Moments when our gaze can once again turn outward.
The Bergen Railway as an antithesis to acceleration
That's exactly why I chose the Bergen Railway.
Not despite its duration.
But precisely because of it.
It connects Oslo and Bergen over approximately 470 kilometers, passing through forests, lakes, valleys, and across the Hardangervidda – Europe's largest high plateau. The route is fully electrified and is considered one of the most impressive train journeys in the world.
I am less fascinated by the tourist aspect.
It's the idea of being on the move for several hours without constantly having to do something.
A train demands surprisingly little from us.
You get on.
You take a seat.
And at some point, the landscape takes over.
Perhaps that's precisely its special quality.
Perception takes time
At SOJOURN, we often talk about rituals.
Not because they are spectacular.
But because they change our attention.
Slow travel seems to do something similar.
Not because the landscape changes.
But because we change.
We suddenly notice the light on a lake.
The change between sun and rain.
The fog slowly drifting over a valley.
The silence between two tunnels.
Studies show that nature experiences reduce stress, restore attention, and promote our psychological well-being. But perhaps nature is only part of the story.
The other part is time.
Because perception cannot be accelerated.
A new form of travel
Norway is currently not only changing the way people travel.
Tourism itself is also changing.
Since the beginning of 2026, new zero-emission regulations for smaller passenger ships have applied in the UNESCO World Heritage fjords. Emissions and noise are to be reduced step by step to protect these extraordinary landscapes in the long term.
I, too, will experience the Nærøyfjord on an electric ship.
Not because sustainability is a marketing term for me. But because I like the idea that some places remain special precisely because we approach them more quietly.
Perhaps responsible travel begins exactly there.
Not in renunciation.
But in respect.
The Nordic art of clarity
It's not just the landscape that attracts me to Norway.
It's also the attitude.
Clear architecture.
Natural materials.
Lots of water.
Lots of wood.
Lots of light.
Little superfluous.
This form of simplicity does not feel cold.
It creates space.
Perhaps that is precisely why so many people find the North soothing.
Not because everything is perfect there.
But because much there seems calmer.
What I want to take home with me
I don't yet know which impressions will stay with me most strongly after this trip.
Perhaps the vastness of the Hardangervidda. The Nærøyfjord. The conversations with friends in Oslo.
Or simply the hours in between.
The time on the train. The silent passing of the landscape. The moment I realize that I don't constantly have to be busy to experience something.
That's exactly why I planned this trip this way.
Not because slower travel is inherently better.
But because I want to experience what it feels like when the journey itself becomes part of the recovery.
Perhaps I'll share some of these moments later on Instagram or LinkedIn. Others will simply remain memories. And that too feels like a conscious way of traveling to me.
The SOJOURN idea
At SOJOURN, we believe that rituals don't necessarily change where we are.
They change how we experience a place.
I hope this trip does exactly that.
Because recovery doesn't always begin only where we arrive.
Sometimes it already begins the moment we give the journey the attention it deserves.
