Iโve been to Norway before so not a new country to tick off my list but I havenโt visited Oslo so Iโm very excited as we fly from the Faroe Islands. Itโs an hour and a half flight and we leave early in the morning so have more or less a full day to start exploring.
By the time we get into the city, on another very easy train ride, itโs noon and as our Airbnb host is meeting us at 1pm we decide to start with some lunch. Itโs time to switch the special birthday celebration from Renee to Jennifer and we have a great chat with our waitress who is a lovely girl called Suzanne. She tells us sheโs a singer songwriter and her mother is also turning 50 this week. Her mum is Sophie and sheโs a designer who makes gold and silver jewellery (a little out of our price range having found her on Google!).
We are staying at a really spacious apartment on Platous gate (pretty sure gate means street) within walking distance of the train station and the centre. Fed, watered and settled into our accommodation, we head out for a walk.
I happen to mention that if there was a Norwegian donut on offer Iโd happily try one and low and behold a donut shop appears in front of us. The tea is brewed from a machine dropping water into tea leaves, kind of like drip coffee – Iโve never seen this before. Itโs really good and the lemon curd donut is delicious. Heading over the bridge, we pass the Deloitte office.
We pass the opera house and Munch museum and see lots of interesting looking buildings.
We also admire the saunas along the inlet. Although the Norwegians pride themselves on their beautiful clean water this part of the bay does not look too clean. Iโm hoping we may run out of time and avoid the cold dunk that the girls are threatening weโre gonna do!
Thereโs rain forecast but alas we decided not to bring our rain jackets so when it starts pouring we get soakedโฆ the only saving grace is that itโs not that cold. We head to The National Museum which holds the iconic painting by Edvard Munch “The Screamโ.
Thereโs a good collection of other European masters including a Van Gogh portrait and a number of the impressionists. Thereโs even a copy of the Mona Lisa!
As we walk back toward our apartment there are gorgeous flowers and the sunflowers catch my eye in particular as they are really bright yellow.
They love sculpture in Oslo and there are statues everywhere.
We get home for a short rest before surprising Jennifer for her birthday. Renee has organised a tour of the city on a motherbike and sidecar!! As we badly disguise that we have nothing planned for the birthday girl, we exit the building to a couple of bikers and all becomes clearโฆ
We start by riding through the city centre passing Stortinget (Parliament Building) and the Royal Palace. As we turn onto a main road, we couldnโt be more than 5 minutes on the road and the bike Iโm on splutters to a stopโฆ the battery has gone.
We get her going again with a push from driver no.2 and weโre offโฆ
Every so often we stop and my driver jumps off to give us some info on our surroundings. He has to keep the engine going in case the bike wonโt start again!!
It is such great fun driving around waving at random passers-by who in fairness to them, mostly waved back. I am in the front car most of the time so Iโm setting them up for the girls behind me!
There is a lot of video footage and photos taken.
We continue up the hill to Ekeberg park and sculpture garden. The views from up here are spectacular.
This park is where Munch was allegedly inspired to paint The Scream and it has some interesting sculptures.
Back toward the city after the parkโฆ.
What a brilliant evening touring aroundโฆ. Great fun! I think the birthday girl enjoyed it!
Our drivers drop us off at Lorry restaurant which is described as โBar/restaurant with antiques & stuffed animals, for Norwegian/European dishes & vast beer selectionโ. The decor really is eclectic and there is so much to see as you walk around (which they encourage you to do).
The reindeer patties are particularly tender and very tasty.
We enjoy an evening walk back to the apartment to let our meal go down and get some sleep in ahead of another busy day.
Next morning we take a bus to the National folk museum. Quick sidebar: on the way to the bus stop the General (in case you havenโt figured it out by now, thatโs Jennifer) trips going up some steps and performs the most impressive save, a multiple save in fact, catching herself with quite a wobble and managing not to fall. After the initial shock of saving herself we are in stitches laughingโฆ it was quite unique. ๐คฃ
The open-air museum includes 160 buildings from rural and urban Norway โ from the Middle Ages to the 20th Century. Itโs a really interesting space to walk around.
The Stave Church from Gol is one of the main attractions. Itโs from 1200.
Inside thereโs a very strange man who we decide to talk toโฆ he has the oddest demeanour for someone whoโs supposed to be engaging with tourists!!
Across the way in another old house we meet a very different lady who is dying for a chat (I reckon sheโs bored stupid!) and sheโs delighted when we ask about the violin sheโs got. Sheโs very happy to play us a tune.
Of course we tell her itโs Jenniferโs birthday.
We continue through the museum and the sun shines down on us. Plenty of entertainment with traditional music and even some dancing .
Having enjoyed the sunshine and the walk around this impressive open air museum we take a ferry back to the centre.
Itโs lunchtime so we have some fish and chips which is local cod served with the most amazing tartare sauce Iโve ever had.
Next on the list is the Nobel Peace museum. Itโs an excellent museum and I learn so much about the Nobel peace laureates and the founder himself – Alfred Nobel. I knew he created dynamite but never knew much about how the awards came about. He had accumulated a huge wealth and a few years before he died, he began to think about what would happen to his fortune after his death. He drafted several wills, and described the idea of creating awards. He had discussed a possible peace prize with his friend and peace activist Bertha von Suttner. After he died of a stroke in 1896, at his home in San Remo, Italy at 63 years old his final wishes were revealed. Fascinating!
The most recent NOBEL PEACE PRIZE for 2023 was awarded to Narges Mohammadi for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all women. We join a tour and learn all about this woman who is currently in prison in Iran.
We leave filling inspired and also with the notion of rewatching the movie โNot Without my Daughterโ!! Although itโs not sunny itโs not raining so itโs time to climb the opera houseโฆ
The white tiles give off quite a glare but itโs an easy and enjoyable climb with some nice views from the top.
We have some drinks in the rooftop bar where there are great views. Itโs a bit too windy to sit outside though.
We walk through some different streets and see more interesting statues!
We decide to stay out and roll straight into dinner which sadly is our final dinner together. The drinks and chat is flowing and while GJ goes to the loo I think you know what we tell the waitress โฆ yep, we let her know itโs her birthday โtodayโ!!!
The lovely waitress surprises Jennifer with a desert and birthday wishes from the kitchen. Has to be done!
When we get back to the apartment weโre all a bit worn out so after a few minutes connecting to the smart tv we are ready for a movie night. Sally Fields performance in Not Without My Daughter is such a great movie and very apt considering our recently acquired information about Narges.
Next morning we take a walk to a bakery in a close by neighborood to try a cardamom bun which is supposed to be the best in Oslo. It is really good and we taste a few other bits too.
We walk through the botanic gardens which are really nice and again itโs nice and sunny.
We walk through a couple of cute neighbourhoods and and have two other bakeries on our list but although Google tells us theyโre open, unfortunately both are closed. Itโs time to get back to the apartment to pick up our bags and head to the train station.๏ฟผ
We are taking the train to Bergen. It is considered one of the most scenic train journeys in the world. Iโm going all the way which is just over seven hours and the girls are departing 6 hours in, at Voss to do some kayaking. The views from the train are spectacular.
There are lots of trees (unlike in the Faroe Islands where there are practically none) so often it means waiting for a gap to see the beautiful fjords.
After a couple of hours we decide to head to the dining car or to be more precise the drinking car. If you buy alcohol on the train you must drink it in the dining car no taking it back to your seat. We happily comply with the regulation and have a couple of rounds which puts in the bulk of the journey. We enjoy the beautiful scenery as we sip on some cider/beer/wine ๐ท
The train stops at Finse which is the highest station in Norway and we see the Finse glacier.
Itโs an emotional goodbye when the girls departโฆ. Thereโs always a few tears but we always make great memoriesโฆ. Until next time my Texas girls ๐
I carry on to Bergen with a change of seat up to fancy class where I get free teaโฆ hooray!! The landscape continues to impress and I enjoy looking out the window (with my tea) as it passes by!
Bergen is the second-largest port city in Norway and is located right on the edge of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is allegedly the wettest city in the world. I arrive to the train station and itโs only a short walk to my accommodation which is a small basic (very basic!) studio apartment.
It starts to rain but it doesnโt stop me getting out to see the town. I walk to the historic old town Bryggen.
I walk around the Hanseatic Museum, comprising of historical buildings dating back to 1704 and 1879. The city of Bergen is now almost one thousand years old, with half that period dominated by the presence of the Hanseatic merchants. It is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.
I donโt do much this evening as Iโve a busy day planned for tomorrow but I do enjoy a cup of tea with this nice view out my window.
Next morning I am doing the local Parkrun – Parkrun Lovistien. It is across the river and halfway up the mountain, a 40 minute walk from where Iโm staying. I set off early to make sure Iโm not late and arrive in good time. Thereโs plenty of visitors at this Parkrun and theyโre very friendly. I take the obligatory photo with the Parkrun sign drop my bag and jacket and weโre ready to go.
There are some nice views from up here โฆ.
โฆ.. but after a few minutes the heavens open and it pours rain. Everybody is soaked. Luckily itโs not too cold so itโs actually quite enjoyable. The route itself is one of the hardest Iโve ever done, with steep hills and very little on the flat.
Iโm soaked to the skin and ready to get back to the apartment for a shower so when a German couple from parkrun ask around to see if anyone would like a lift down the mountain I happily agree. They drop me at a pedestrian bridge which knocks about 20 minutes off my walk home. Happy days!
After a bit of a rest I head out to tick off some of the museums.
I visit the gallery which has more Munch paintings called โRasmus Meyerโ and the ticket gets me into three other museums.
I check out the โStenersenโ museum which is showing modern art so itโs a very quick walk through for me (not my bag!). The next museum called โLysverketโ which houses the textiles has all of one exhibit of 3 scarvesโฆ even the security guard giggles when I ask him if Iโve missed something – not quite worthy of a visit!! The composer Grieg was from here but I donโt have time to visit his home as itโs a bit of a distance outside the city. I suppose there should always be something to return for.
I walk back towards the harbour and reckon there will be a snack option at one of the food stalls.
Iโm delighted when I see a stall that serves reindeer hotdogs, a little reminder of when I was in Alaska with my little bro – we loved the old reindeer.
I take the Flรธibanen funicular and go to the top of Mount Floyen.
The views are fantastic, even if the sky is grey.
I enjoy the views for a bit and then take a walk to a lake which is only about ten minutes away. Itโs very picturesque to walk around even though itโs raining again. They say in Norway you should always take a raincoat – it may not be raining when you head out but it will at some point!
The walk back down the mountain takes less than an hour with plenty of photo stops. The forest area and traditional houses make for a very enjoyable walk, and of course the views.
The German couple from parkrun recommended having a drink at Frescohallen which was formerly the stock exchange building and has gorgeous frescos all over the walls. So back in town I head here for an hour relaxing.
I have a Bareksten gin and tonic and enjoy the surroundings.
Then I have another and a few truffle chips!!
Itโs been very comfy here but I head over to the fish market for some dinner. I have to have the fish soup which is more or less the national dish here and Iโm keen to try the whale, which I can have in a burger or on skewers – I go skewers!
This place is great except for the fact that alcoholic is forbidden because we are essentially eating outside!! Glad I had that 2nd g&t!
Next morning Iโm homeward bound. I take a final walk across the square to the tram station and make my way to the airport.
odohertyelaine 