Norway

 

Our final leg of the Scandinavia journey was Norway. We started and ended in Oslo but much of our time was spent exploring the fjords and smaller towns. 

More Norway photos here:  https://photos.app.goo.gl/9Lo5sFgQF2ScPYkV8

Wed, 8/20 – Stockholm → Oslo

We flew into Oslo later in the day so only enough time for a little exploration and dinner. One impression I have of Oslo is the social activism, not just with this small protest about fossil fuels, but the general vibe (i.e. graffiti).  All very calm but lots of opinions!

The Tiger statue outside the train station.

Thu, 8/21 – Oslo → Bergen

Not much time in Oslo before we began our exploration of Norway.  This was the most stressful part of planning the trip and why I delegated it to Ryan. It involved piecing together various transportation modes and he thrives in planning trains, buses and water-related transportation.  It was a complex puzzle that mirrored the popular "Norway in a Nutshell" trip planner. 

We started off with an early train with only backpacks (luggage left at the hotel) - taking 6+ hours to get to Bergen where we were staying the night. The main challenge on this train was that our seats were not together and we thought we would be sneaky and sit in an open row. But the conductor informed me that those were "his" seats.  He in fact did not ever use those seats and let another random lady sit there for much of the trip.  #annoying

Bergen is a popular town, smaller than Oslo but still the 2nd largest city in Norway.  We took the funicular to see the views and walked around town. 

View from the top of the funicular:

Park at the top of the funicular had some random statues (not including the statue-like child):

Non-funicular part of Bergen:

Fri, 8/22 – Bergen → Flåm

Off for another travel adventure today.  We arrived in Voss in late morning, the "adrenaline capital of Norway", which we honored with a mild hike to a gorge and lunch.

After Voss, we took a bus toward Gudvangen to catch a fjord boat cruise.  All the various transportation elements needed to align perfectly in order for the trip to succeed which it had - until now. We ran into a  traffic jam while on the bus which seems random in rural Norway.  We were not worried at first, but then we were!  So we decided to get off the bus and walk the rest of the way.  I needed to document that:  

After the longer-than-anticipated walk to the ferry, we cruised through fjords for a couple hours in the direction of Flam. This is where we saw the most spectacular views of the whole trip and I will share a few of the eleventy billion photos I took.

Approaching Flam, our destination for the night:

The hotel I booked in Flam was not a disappointment.  All of the rooms had a little patio looking out onto the fjord. View from our hotel in Flam which seemed to call for a glass of bubbles:

There was a rainbow!

 Cow that seemed photogenic:

Sat, 8/23 – Flåm → Oslo

Our journey back to Oslo from Flam included a  train to Myrdal and then a transfer to another train to Oslo.  Still more incredible views!  

We returned to our previous hotel to reunite with our luggage, and then a little more exploration of Oslo.

A lot of naked statues:

Sam's first attempt at chopsticks that went about how you would expect it.

Shuffleboard at the hotel bar.  We learned that there is a strong shuffleboard culture in Norway.

Closing Thoughts on Scandinavia

Scandinavia has been equal parts stunning (mostly Norway) and logistically exhausting.  I would do it again but maybe in a more relaxing way + more bubble drinking in Flam.