I must start out by saying, Norway was a delight. It struck me as that sort of Socialist paradise that all the politicians in the USA are always warning the citizens about. Beautiful libraries, clean walk-able streets, close to nature; I loved it. Despite the easily walked capitol city, there is a great public transportation system in Norway and an extremely easy-to-use app for it; Ruter. We installed Ruter and it got us anywhere we needed to go. Getting into the city from the airport was made easy and cheap by following Megan Starr’s guide here. There are two train options, and they both have the same travel time. Take the cheap one.
Oslo was a rough start for me. I am normally an excellent traveler and able to manage sleep and expectations for time zone changes. This flight however, I stayed up nearly the whole flight speaking to the endlessly fascinating gentleman next to me about his fishing trip, finally making the rookie mistake to try and get an hour of sleep before we land. Oof. I awoke bleary eyed and confused to go into one of the most horrible customs experiences I have ever had in Europe. We were queued up hundreds of people deep with two customs agents to process the entirety of the arriving populace. It took nearly two hours, but somehow the radiant customs agent who finally processed my entry into Norway was smiling and made me forget all about the delays and my complaining bladder as I strolled away in the fog of sleepless travelers in the land of the midnight sun.
I hadn’t realized how pronounced it would be, despite having been in similar situations before. 22 hours of sunlight a day was a lot to deal with. “Sunset” happened sometime after 11 p.m. and “sunrise” somewhere around 2 a.m. The couple hours between were a nice milky white grey color. Nothing resembling “night time” was to be mine for another couple weeks. That said, you couldn’t pick a finer city to be delirious in!
If you do nothing else in Oslo, go to the main library near the docks. The Deichman Bjørvika, Oslo’s main public library, is a justification for literacy all on it’s own. It was visually arresting, clean, suffused with modern art, and a great way to watch the populace get down. You may also walk all over the Opera House adjacent to the library, and swim in the harbor, availing oneself of the diving platform.
Here are some lovely visual highlights!
I had a Norwegian neighbor, Paula, at one time in my youth, and I remember they had some very strange and delightful food; I know this because back when dinosaurs ruled the earth, neighbors still exchanged foodie treats with one another. If you don’t know what Norwegian food tastes like… and if Brown Cheese and “sour cream porridge” sound delicious, have I got good news for you! The porridge was my fave, though with a name like Rømmegrøt, I’m afraid I didn’t start off in love with the idea. Foodora is a delivery service that will bring you just about anything you want, or you can walk around randomly and just eat what smells good. Both of these options should help you avoid the $10USD per gallon petrol costs.
If you do want some Norwegian food recommendations, then here are two that I tried and liked in Oslo: Engebret Cafe, and Asylet. Engebret is a bit fancy and has a long history of doling out great food. Asylet is far more laid back with a great courtyard and sometimes even live music and trivia nights.
Tijuana and I had a couple things we wanted to do in the Big N; ride the Flåmsbana, or Flåm railway, out to the coast, and kick around the fjords. I also wanted to go to a beach north of Bergen, Dårlig Ulv Stranden, until I found out the location was completely fictitious. Don’t believe everything you see on TV, kids.
If you are planning to ride the Flåm railway, please get your tickets days in advance. We thought 24 hours was sufficient time to get a train ticket, but we were mistaken, and wound up delayed. The Flåm is a loooong ride, nearly 8 hours, so bring some cards, a journal, and a willingness to chat and nap alternately.
On the train, we sat adjacent to a lovely couple who had lived all their lives in Bergen and they told us story after story of their lives. One lovely thing I have to note is their pride in having taking in so many refugees from other nations in conflict, such as Syria. This not-quite-elderly couple said they were glad to have been able to give refugees a new home and that they felt most of them were integrating very well.
Arriving in the gray hour around midnight in Bergen, the first thing I noticed was the weather; clouds and rain controlled the previously sunny and warm skies as we stepped out of the train. The second thing was the graffiti; which was both a much higher class of art and more prolific than we had seen in Oslo.
Our fjord boat was named “Bloodaxe” so we figured we were in for a treat. While the ride was lovely, there were no axes and very little blood. Ultimately, the Bloodaxe was a lovely sight seeing trip with not many surprises. If you are in Bergen and want to go sight seeing in lovely nature, go take a fjord trip by boat; you will be well pleased with it. Despite the bloodless nature of a cruise decidedly lacking in axes, I’d still give it 4.5 stars.
On the tour, our guide pointed out a little place named Salhus; sounds like Solace. It is a specific little point one days row from Bergen with white guest houses right on the water that one can rent. I’d love to come back one summer and stay there and row around the fjords aimlessly, reenacting famous nautical battles or monologues from the 2019 Horror/Drama “The Lighthouse” starring Willem Dafoe.
Bergen has so many little things to see and do, it’s well worth a look. If you have a few days, I suggest you go check it out. We found a home rental there from a couple who were in the USA while we were in Norway! For food just go out and get crazy. Tijuana and I opted to have one fancy meal out at Bryggeloftet & Stuene. It was as delicious as it is hard to pronounce! Boar, reindeer, local fish; please go put all their meat in your mouth!
Wrap up:
- Oslo in the summer is lovely.
- Use the Ruter app for public transportation.
- Use the Foodora app for food delivery.
- Eat all the food, even the brown cheese.
- Buy train tickets well ahead of time.
- Check out the secondhand shops.
- Steal a rowboat and live out a mini viking adventure; just be sure to pack a lunch.