Blogs from Norway, Europe - page 2

I made a lot of plans for this short journey. There initially were featured some other cities, but finally the plans took shape and everything was arranged. I lost some money on non-refundable air tickets and in future will plan better. I chose Oslo and Vilnius because of cheap flights, and Riga because it’s relatively near to St. Petersburg. I’ve seen a bit of Riga in summer and was anxious to return for a more complete impression. While the previous trip to Stockholm was 100% pre-planned and about 95% fulfilled according to plan, this 5-day experience was not planned as regards what to see and what to do, I was unaware of what Oslo and Vilnius had to offer. Somewhere at the back of my mind, though, the “word” Sigulda stood emphasized (I had a vague ... read more

Oslo city centre is a combination of old and new buildings. The older buildings reminded me of Denmark with the darker stone colours and the new ones were huge metal boxes with windows. In a strange way it reminded me of Glasgow however not as pretty. My hostel was a dump, in this case it just proved that having a central location compromised on everything else (atmosphere and comfort) and it was the most expensive one I have stayed in throughout my travels to date! Glad I was only staying 2 nights and a massive lesson learned on my part, if the hostel world rating is less than 80% do not touch it with a barge pole. The high point of my stay was walking along the tramlines and seeing some lovely buildings outside the city ... read more

Oslo, one month in Oslo and little bit around. Most wonderful thing for me in Oslo was to find that National Gallery and 3 other museums has entrence for free every Sunday. I did not have chance to visit all, but went to National Gallery twice, as i found out it can be taken pictures there too! What a nice policy, indeed.... read more

Troll hunting, dance parties, and fish soup? Where do I sign? Oslo was the destination for my first adventure of November. The schools in Ireland take a week off for "midterm break" so I joined my classmates Maeve and Mariana for a 3 night excursion. We reunited with a handful of others with whom we studied last year in Belgium and were welcomed more warmly than we could have imagined. Between the borrowed snow gear, the shared bathrooms, and the delicious homemade meals, I'd say Friederike (our lovely German) and Malene (Norway's greatest) weren't all that sad to see us go on Monday morning. ;) Our original class of 20 is now split between Norway, Ireland, and the Czech Republic (with a few scattered elsewhere for various reasons). I am so thankful that we had some ... read more

So, here’s what happened on Tuesday 16th of October at Knivskjelodden, Norway: Early Tuesday morning I got to the breakfast at the Vandrerhjem Hostel in Honningsvåg, where I had been staying for two days already. I was planning to do the hike to the actual northernmost point of continental Europe – not Nordkapp, but the one-and-a-half kilometers farther reaching Knivskjelodden. A hike of nine kilometers, going and back. I knew it was going to be hardcore, but I really needed to go there, write my name in the book and get this certificate. So the morning started well. Breakfast, saying goodbye to the friends I made the night before and finding two German guys to convince to do the hike with me. I was warned already that I should be prepared for fast-changing weather and a ... read more