Norway in a Nutshell

Posted: August 30th, 2009 | Author: LumDimSum | Filed under: A Day In My Life, Personal | No Comments »

Known as the most expensive country in the world (more so than Japan and England), Jan and I were hesitant to select Norway as one of the destinations of our trip. For awhile, we were even contemplating Estonia.  But with more research and pretty convincing Norwegian friends, we made Norway our second stop after Sweden.

From Gothenburg, Jan and I took the 4 hour train to Oslo, where we had just about 24 hours to sightsee, explore the city, catch up with old friends, check out Oslo’s nightlife scene and catch our next train to tour the fjords.

Oslo in a Nutshell:

Strategically planned to be as efficient as possible and see as much as possible, our first stop from the Central Station was to head up the hill of Karl Johans Gate, past Domkirke Cathedral to Stortinget Parliament building to Det Kongelige Slott, the Royal Palace.  We went through the Palace’s garden and some of Oslo’s most premium real estate until we reached Vigelandsparken, the infamous outdoor sculpture park by Gustav Vigeland displaying massive sculptures including a 20m high obelisk of nude bodies atop one another. This was not only impressive from an artistic standpoint, it portrayed nudity in a way that caught me by surprise. The park was filled with sculptures of nudity, yet it was not at all sexual, but rather deeply humanistic. He portrayed very expressive and emotional depictions of children with their parents, elders, people playing, fighting, teaching, loving, eating and sleeping. My personal favorites were the little pot-bellied toddlers, including the local favorite – Sinnataggen (The Angry Child).

After a picnic lunch in Vigelandsparken, we quickly toured the Viking Ships Museum, the Akerhus Festning Castle, and climbed to the top of the very modern new Opera House, offering a lovely view of the Oslo harbor.

From there, we made our final stop in a local grocery store before we had the best home-cooked meal of our trip: fresh Norwegian crabs and the biggest serving of fresh salmon I’ve ever seen.

Photos from our day of adventure and sights in Oslo:

After dinner, we caught the train back into the city to check out Oslo nightlife on the east side of town, where we were educated in the new trend in Scandinavia: Snus. Rather than suffering the series consequencesof smoking cigarettes, everyone chooses to use Snus, moist powder tobacco in little packages that you place under your lip.  Believe it or not, this product was validated and recommended by none other than Oslo Med students.

**Without our dear friend Jorund, none of this would have been possible.  Jorund took us in to stay at his parent’s spectacular 200 year old home, where all heating is still from furnishes and they bake their own bread.  Thank you for being a perfect host, for such a special dinner with your family and a great night out with your friends.

Norwegian Fjords in a Nutshell:

In considering our limiting time in Norway, Jan and I signed up for a trip called Norway in a nutshell, which organized transportation through some of Norway’s most beautiful fjord scenery. Through this trip, we experienced the Bergen Railway, the Flam Railway, the Aurlandsfjord, the narrow Naeroyfjord and the steep bends of Stalheimskleiva.  We liked this trip because it got us from point A to point B without any hassle of signing up with any tour groups or guides. It gave us freedom to come and go as we pleased.

At 6am, Janice and I got up to catch our 8am train from Oslo to Myrdal, where we changed trains to reach Norway’s beautiful waterfalls and fjords from Myrdal to Flam, then took a ferry from Flam to Gudvangen, and finally the bus from Gudvangen to Voss, traveling Stalheinskleiva, the 1.5km long stretch of road that twists 13 times up a mountain.

Upon reaching the home of prestine Norwegian water, the adventure town of Voss, Jan and I checked in to the Park Hotel, one of the nicest hotels in town and spent the next day hiking and exploring the town’s location surrounded by snow-capped mountains, forests, lakes and white water rivers, making this place a center for extreme sports.

**Shout out to Andreas for your ridiculous generosity for arranging our stay at the Park Hotel!  Soo sooo nice!!  Voss was incredibly beautiful and such a wonderful, naturally exquisite experience.  See you soon in Beijing!!

From Voss, we traveled the last leg of the trip to arrive at our final destination, Bergen.

Bergen in a Nutshell:

Bergen, known as the Gateway to the Fjords and a World Heritage City, is an international city full of history and tradition, a city with small-town charm and atmosphere.

Bergen truly is such an incredibly beautiful city with so much character and so much life, but one big warning:  it does not stop raining! It rains on average 260 days a year and it rained off and on every day of our visit.

Up until this point, Jan and I had been pretty blessed in terms of the amount of sunshine and good weather…until Bergen.  And of course Eric did not own an umbrella (since umbrellas are for sissies?).

Luckily, Jan and I arrived in Bergen without rain on a Thursday night aka Student Night, which is quite a big night out in Bergen.  Eric and his Norwegian friend planned a night out on the town, hitting up at least 5 different bars/lounges before we arrived to our favorite destination: The Scotsman.  What a scene!  And the best part about it was that the entertainment was a one-man-show!

After a great night out, we spent the next two days touring around Bergen. While there is so much to see and do in Bergen, Jan and I ended up spending most of our time waiting out the rain in coffee shops picking Eric’s brain and learning more about Norwegian culture and lifestyle.  Good thing Bergen’s got an abundance of quality coffee and sandwich shops serving hot chocolate and pastries.

A few very memorable activities we did – The Unriken643 Panoramic Tour, which took us by cable car to the highest of Bergen’s famous ‘Seven Mountains’. Once the rain and clouds did clear, we had a spectacular view of the scenery and mountain terrain 643 meters above the city streets.

The next day, we took the Fløibanen, a ride to the top of Mount Fløyen (altitude 320 m), offering a magnificent view over Bergen and the suburbs. It was also where we explored the legendary home of the trolls, which was very funny in spite of it being so muddy from all the rain.

One of my favorite stops was exploring Bryggen and checking out Torget, Bergen’s infamous open-air fish market where we ate WHALE! (After which Janice was on a mission to find a shirt saying, “I ate whale in Norway”.) Without much luck, she settled for some Norwegian keychains.

**Shout Out: Eric, you were a phenomenal host and tour guide despite your lack of umbrellas.  Thank you for your time, your couch, your fascinating stories (my favorite time was by far ‘story time’), and most of all, your company.  You were so much fun, and it was so great to catch up.  If I don’t see you back in Sac-tizzle, I hope you will make a trip to visit Beijing!

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