We started our trip in Oslo, Norway’s capital city known for its Viking heritage, Edvard Munch’s “The Scream”, and traditional hand-knitted sweaters. We arrived just as the lilacs, tulips and horse chestnuts were in full bloom on every street corner.
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Our hotel graciously provided an early check-in (much needed after a transatlantic all-night flight) along with a series of amazing breakfasts and late-night aquavits. We spent our days exploring world-class museums and our nights strolling the Aker Brygge harbour and dining in seafood-centric restaurants. For the three days we were there, the sun shone, nearly 20 hours a day.
From Oslo, we traveled by two trains over the Dovre mountains to the charming port city of Ålesund.
A cold rain didn’t keep us from finding a warm wine bar. The next morning, we boarded a ferry for a three-hour cruise (each way) to Geiranger Village. The sun poked in and out all day, accompanied by a nippy wind.
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We simply bundled up and wore our sunscreen and sunglasses. As we made our way through the fjords, views of snow-capped mountains and sparkling waterfall were breathtaking. Upon landing in Geiranger, we bussed to the visitors' center and then hiked our way down the mountain, following a waterfall.
Back in port, our challenge that night was finding a way to stay up to catch a late-night ship to Bergen, Norway’s second largest city.
Thanks to a beautiful sushi supper, we managed to stay up until we boarded the ship a little after midnight (still light in the sky). We slept soundly in our port-side cabins, sailing all night to “the capital of the fjords”.
Cold rain kept us from exploring much of Bergen’s colorful harbor and 900-year-old wharf. Fortunately, we were welcomed into a lovely restaurant in the fish market where we had a late lunch of mussels and fish soup, one of my favorite meals of the entire trip.
An early-morning train the next morning took us to Gudvangen, were we boarded a small electrical powered ship to Flåm. We cruised through Nærøyfjord, the narrowest fjord in all of Europe. Flåm, a small village of 400 inhabitants, was not short on hospitality. Once a big cruise ship departed, we had the town to ourselves and had a memorable meal at the Ægir Bryggeri, the local craft brewery serving up amazing food.
From there, it was two more spectacular train rides to bring us back over the mountains to Oslo, for one final night, punctuated by an Eritrean dinner and one last Norwegian breakfast. Then it was time to head home to Farm Dover and for Jack to return to Berlin.
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A couple of observations/facts:
All told, we rode four planes, seven trains, three buses, five boats, one tram, and three cabs. We walked more than 112,500 steps.
Norway’s public transportation was clean, fast, reliable and comfortable. It was easy to navigate and most seats included an electrical outlet for charging your phone. Oh, how I wish there was a train from Shelby County to Hazel and Norbert in New Albany!
We booked our independent travel trip through Nordic Visitors, who reserved all our hotels and transportation, making the logistics easy.
Perfect English is spoken everywhere, but it was nice to hear Norwegians speak their native language; it sounds so relaxed, clear and melodic.
Ed withdrew $500 in kroner from an ATM in Oslo before finding out that most places only take digital forms of payment. I got really good at tapping for payments!
The other breath-taking Norwegian experience is the cost of things. Plan on paying at least $12 a beer. I’m not complaining, just come with a high limit on your credit card (see item above).
Oslo Highlights
Ålesund highlights
Bergen highlights
Bryggeloftet & Stuene Restaurant
Flåm highlights
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