Destination Flåm Bakery

There is no shortage of awesome bakeries in Seattle. I have favorites scattered around town. “Well, since I’m in West Seattle, I have to stop at Bakery Nouveau.” Every time I stray north of Market I feel like hitting up Larsen’s. On the other hand, I never just happen to be in Black Diamond, but I love the Black Diamond Bakery. Some bakeries in remote places still thrive because people make excuses to drive out to them. These are the destination bakeries that you go out of your way to sample. I found one such bakery in Flåm.

Flåm

I guess you could say I just happened to be in Flåm. It’s a tiny town in a narrow fjord that outsiders only visit because it’s on the end of a historical rail line and fits neatly into a Norway in a Nutshell route. I almost blew threw Flåm on the way to the Viking Village, but the nice folks at Visit Flåm convinced me stop over there, and I’m so glad I did. Aside from the general vibe and the kick-ass brewery, little foodie Flåm offers Flåm Bakeri.

Bakery Breakfast

We arrived in Flåm in the late afternoon, and by the time we confirmed our ferry tickets for the following day and found our campground, the bakery was already closed. Plus we indulged in some of the locally hand-made Huldra Chocolate we found at the gift shop.

Since we stayed in a self-service cabin at the Flåm Campground, we could have bought food at the little grocery in town and made our own breakfast. But I’d heard about the bakery before I arrived, and really wanted to try it out. Plus, we were on vacation. Pastry for breakfast seems appropriate.

Flåm Bakery

I’ve always been a winging-it kind of traveler, but when you’ve got little kids, a bit more preparation is required. Not being used to that sort of travel, I was in a semi-constant state of near-terror that we would miss our transport connections. So we had cleaned up our cabin, checked out, and lugged our luggage “downtown” by 8:30, half an hour before the bakery opened. So we were the first customers of the day and got to pick from completely full cases that contained everything from fancy pastries to simple breads.

I got a latte and one of the cinnamon buns that seem so popular all over Norway. My daughter got a Danish and a hot cocoa. We dove right into the deliciousness and forgot to stage cute pictures of our food.  

Missing the Boat

For all my anxiety over missing the boat, we had licked our plates clean and crossed the few meters from the bakery to the dock before they even began boarding at 9:30. The boat pulled out into the fjord, passing in front of the bakery. “Ah, that was such a good bakery!” my daughter and I reminisced, already nostalgic for Flåm’s particular knack with sugar and flour. It was only then that I realized my stupidity in not stocking up on pastries for the road.

A week later I would learn from my mistake and bought half a dozen Easter buns at the bakery in the Oslo airport on our way home. But they weren’t as good as the pastries at Flåm Bakery. I’d already missed that boat.