Blogs from Eastern Norway, Norway, Europe - page 4

Unlike yesterday, today was a gorgeous sunny day in Oslo. I was out walking a good portion of the day and I enjoyed the weather. My first stop was to City Hall. I had tried to see the interior on my first day, but it was closed for some function. Today the main hall was open and I was there early so it wasn’t too crowded with tourists. The largest mural is from the 1930s and its central portion depicts typical Norwegian workers - fisherman, farmer, miner. I also liked the ceramic medallions in the entry hallway, especially the one depicting (I guess) Mother Norway looking after the people. Next I walked to the Historical Museum to see the Viking exhibit. I had read up on Vikings before the trip (that’s one reason I was so ... read more

This morning I flew from Bergen to Oslo and it was a remarkably automated experience. I checked in, checked my suitcase, went through security, and boarded the plane without speaking a word to anyone. I never did have to show my ID. I have noticed that Norway is, in general, much more automated than the United States. One rarely needs cash. I pay for nearly everything from a hotel room to a soft drink with my credit card. And unlike the US, waiters in restaurants have handheld devices that take credit cards so the bill is paid while you sit at the table. But back to Oslo. For some reason Oslo is known as Tiger Town (and I thought that was Detroit!) so there is a large tiger statue that greets visitors as they exit the ... read more

Friday was a 300 km local bus trip to Oslo, Norway's capital and a 3 night stay at the Hotel Anker. The bus was super smooth & comfortable & we arrived to a warm 28 deg. afternoon. After lunch & a quick check-in we took our usual guided orientation walk to get an understanding of the layout of the city to best plan the rest of our free time. The main landmarks seen among others were the Royal Palace, Parliament, University & the National Theatre. Next day was hot again. We bought a 24 hr Oslo Pass which allows free admission & transport to numerous museums & other attractions. First off we caught a local bus to museum island. Although technically not an island 5 amazing museums are located within walking distance of each other on ... read more

Nun sind wir schon seit einer Woche wieder zu Hause, und irgendwie fehlt im Blog noch der letzte Teil der Reise. Daher gibt es hier noch einen Nachschlag... Vom Sognefjord geht es weiter Richtung Geirangerfjord. Der Weg dorthin führt durch eine sehr alpine Landschaft: Berge, die teilweise mehr Schneeflecken als nackten Fels haben, zugefrorene Seen und viele Haarnadelkurven. Wir stehen mit unserem Wohnmobil auf einem Aussichtspunkt auf 1.500 m Höhe; von dort können wir nach hinten in die Berge und den Schnee und nach vorne in den Geirangerfjord und den Ort Geiranger schauen - ein sehr interessanter Gegensatz. Bei der Bootstour auf dem Fjord wird uns u.a. erzählt, dass sich eine Felswand über dem Fjord bewegt und irgendwann abrutschen und eine bis zu 80 m hohe Flutwelle verursachen wird. Aber die Bewegungen werden gemessen, so dass ... read more

16 – 31 May 2019 Where have we been? A good question as we are not sure, the time has passed so quickly. Opening dates at various places have determined our movements. The site in Copenhagen did not open until 24th May and in Oslo 1st June. It is always possible to find free or very cheap sites open but the city sites only open when they expect tourists to arrive at the start of the summer. Jim is quite pleased about this as he has been monitoring temperatures in Norway and they are still in low single figures during the day and even lower at night. We hope that by the time we have spent five or six days in Oslo they will be creeping up. Days are long and as we travelled through Sweden ... read more