Blogs from Oslo, Eastern Norway, Norway, Europe - page 8

Our journey from Tyssedal to Voss by bus then onto change to a train from Voss to Oslo was a scene one. I was surprised by the volume of snow that was covering the mountains. They were not that high either but laden with snow. It was a very pretty journey. When we arrived in Oslo, we checked into the Scandic Hotel, which was very conveniently located across from the train station. We faffed around for half an hour then met Zoë at the ferris wheel. We wandered up Karl Johan Gate- the Main Street that lead to Parliament House, the Royal Palace and then down to the promenade walk, along the river- which brings you around to many historic sights of Oslo. We ate out at Lekert'n which was on the water and out in ... read more

With a plan for all the places we wanted to see today, we set off in the rain towards Bygdoy Where there are a number of museums very close togethe. The number 30 bus took us straight there. We purchased a 24 hour Oslo pass from the Maritime Museum. The pass gives you access to all attractions, train, bus and ferry. First was the Norway Maritime Museum showing some of Norway's coast culture and maritime history include boat models, fishing, marine archeology, marine paintings, ship building, and shipping. The Arctic ship Gjoe was on display. Gjoe was the first vessel to transit the Northwest Passage in a 1903-06 expedition of Roald Amundsen. Followed this up with the Fram Museum which honours polar Norwegian polar exploration in general and three great Norwegian explorers in particular Fridtjof Nansen, ... read more

We left Oslo wishing we had more time, but it was time for the next adventure in the Swiss Alps. The mist of the day before had turned heavier, sprinkling lightly as we walked back to the Oslo terminal. Fortunately again, it was just a few yards to the covered walkway. We had a ticket on SAS, code shared with Swiss Air, actually operated by Helvetic, a Swiss Air subsidiary. We had a shock trying to check in the night before the flight and being told “that ticket is invalid for check-in ” at SAS. It took some sleuthing but found the reservation on Swiss Air, but we still couldn’t check in. We gave some more margin to get to the airport. “Check-in” was easy by waving a barcode from an email under a scanner. Then ... read more

Setting off from Norwich bus station at 7am I'm heading off on my travels again this time to Norway, starting in Oslo. This is another in my tried and tested series 'Doing it on the cheap!' using budget airlines and youth hostels plus buses and ferries rather than the much more expensive cruise option that many seem to favour for Norway. I'm hoping for some stunning scenery after I get out of the capital city and a bit of trolsk. Apparently a word without a single word translation in English other than troll which isn't really its proper meaning at all - according to what I've read anyway! Trolsk really means an eerie, ephemeral misty forest or mountain atmosphere, a feeling that, when you're out walking at dusk, at any moment a troll might appear from ... read more

I'm writing this in the Oslo airport - we got here ridiculously early for our flight to Paris because I've contracted a cold and so wasn't up to sightseeing in town today. Anyway, this gives me a chance to catch up a bit on the blog. After the challenging but hugely rewarding hike on our first day at Gjendesheim, the next day we walked a low-level nature trail. A complete contrast, and our legs welcomed the break. Then back at it the following day: we intended to do a 5.5-hour loop in a mountain valley, but the hike ended up taking more like 8 hours. We were by another long, narrow lake with rounded, snow-covered mountains around it. This time we saw a herd of about 100 reindeer - and they saw us. At first they ... read more