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Published: January 31st 2019
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Finally caught up on all the blogs from last summer although this entry has been finished for a while. I was waiting til the blog's email notification function was fixed. Publishing this from Mexico, ~1½ hours south of Tijuana in Ensenada to be exact, where I crossed yesterday. The border crossing was actually one of the easiest I've ever passed through, no big, beautiful wall,
no problemas y muy tranquilo. After leaving here for Guerrero Negro first order of business will be finding a place to watch Superbowl LIII this Sunday.
GO PATRIOTS!
I'm getting too old for this stuff. Used to be standard procedure on pretty much all of my trips to cram in as much as humanly possible. Those days appear to be coming to a crashing and resounding end as I desperately needed a week straight of chillaxin after this trip was over which, much to my chagrin, was not forthcoming. The 11 day dash through Norway was a total blur, crashed at a different place every night except for 2 nights each in Tromsø and Spiterstulen.
Norway wasn't supposed to be like this at all. I had initially factored in several slack days around
Jotunheimen Park to account for weather and/or if I were feeling up for Glittertind, Norway's second highest peak at 2465m ASL. That seemed like a brilliant idea upon arriving in Norway especially after getting thoroughly knackered on Kebnekaise and Halti Mts in Sweden and Finland, respectively. But while in Tromsø, which was rainy enough, the forecast was calling for even more widespread rain across much of the country. If I were lucky I would get maybe one day of decent weather for the ascent of Galdhøppigen Mt.
With that being the case and not much to do in drizzly Tromsø, I wandered over to Hurtigruten - Norway's iconic cruise company - to see what kind of space there was for an overnight from Ålesund to Bergen, my last stop before Oslo and flight home. There was a very good deal on a cabin (including the enormous breakfast buffet) but only for the night of August 11-12 which fit perfectly into my itinerary as long as I abandoned any hope of a Glittertind attempt and gave myself exactly one day for Galdhøppigen, Thursday August 9. Miraculously, it all worked out and the weather on the daytime portion of the cruise
was very nice, no rain.
$US ≈ 8.8 NOK
Ålesund
Semi-mandatory stop for a night before the cruise. Was very rainy...
¡no muy bueno! Accommodation and Food Only hostel in town was the IYH dorm which was going to be permanently closed after this summer season unless a new location was found. Dorm bed with a standard Scandinavian breakfast buffet was 320 NOK and there was a good kitchen for self-catering. Little too rules based for my liking, can't use any facilities after the early 10:00 checkout including the bathroom. Free WC at the nearby Shopping Plaza that also houses the ever present Egon Pizza (117 NOK for the buffet, great deal for Norway).
Transport Just the Hurtigruten cruise, 944 NOK in a cabin including the breakfast buffet. Departed 01:00, arrived 14:30 in Bergen. Would have been only slightly cheaper to go by bus during the day but that would have wasted nearly an entire day in transit and I would have had to pay for another night's accommodation, not to mention the buffet.
Bergen
Beautiful city and was really lucky with the weather as it was by far the nicest day of 11 in Norway. With good weather
Channel Marker, Lighthouse and Another Rainbow
On the cruise to Bergen. Benefit of all the rain... the hike up Fløyen right behind the hostel is not to be missed.
Accommodation and Food Don't remember how I stumbled across Intermission Hostel online but it was a gem, 210 NOK in a huge open dorm which seemed like it would be impossible to sleep but everyone was thankfully respectful of the quiet hours. Great breakfast is only an extra 30 NOK and there was a free waffle night. Anne Madam Fish & Chips near the water had a takeaway deal for 119 NOK.
Transport Bought a ticket for the night train to Oslo months before I left for Scandinavia and miraculously used it,
minipris 249 NOK.
Oslo
Short stop here before flying home. Not quite as scenic as Stockholm but still nice and plenty to do for a couple days especially if interested in the historical ship museums. For the National Art Gallery, I only wanted to see The Scream but wasn't too keen on paying 120 NOK. While waiting just outside the entrance I struck up a conversation with one of the security guards on a cigarette break who told me the museum was free just after 17:30 (closes 18:00)... sweet! Good, reasonably priced gift shop
(don't need to pay entrance fee for the shop). Did a free Oslo city walking tour but the huge numbers of people on the tour made it kind of tough to hear the guide.
Accommodation and Food Anker Hostel a bit north of the train station had huge, clean 8 person dorms for 260 NOK, linen 70 NOK or use your own sleep sheet like I did. No breakfast offered although I think there was some kind of deal at a nearby café. I'm a bit fuzzy on whether or not there was a kitchen. Skipped the café and took both breakfasts at the enormous buffet at Hotel Bondeheimen for 169 NOK, definitely well worth it. Hit a salad bar at a nearby supermarket for a couple of other meals after gorging at the buffet.
Transport Airport train leaves central station every 20 minutes or so, 101 NOK no
minipris.
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