ourtriptoswedenandnorway

[ourtriptoswedenandnorway]

Epilogue

Here are some observations I made throughout our trip. These are just my impressions and experiences and not based on actual facts. Also included below are a couple of recommendations.

Weather: The weather was totally unpredictable and changed hour by hour. When the sun comes out in Sweden, it seems like everybody wears shorts, regardless of the temperature. It could be because Swedes are accustomed to cold weather and have developed a high tolerance for it. Or, they just want to make the most of sunny days, even if they are cold, to enjoy outdoor activities and soak up as much light as possible after their long, dark winters.

Crime: I felt safer in Stockholm, Oslo, and Bergen than in any other European city I have been to. Not that I feel unsafe in Europe—it feels far safer than in the US. It felt like crime doesn’t exist in Scandinavia, but I am sure it does.

Poverty: In the nine days we were in Stockholm, we never saw a homeless person or someone begging for money. It is unclear to me why that is, but I would guess they have a more comprehensive welfare system that includes housing and other social services. It was refreshing not to see people living on the streets, like in San Francisco. In Oslo and Bergen, we saw a few people (less than 10) non-aggressively begging for money, but again, nothing like you see in major cities in the US, or other cities in Europe.

Diversity: I found Norway to be more ethnically diverse compared to Sweden. The Swedes in Stockholm seemed more homogeneous. The best way to describe the Swedes is blond, blue-eyed, physically active, and fit. It seems like everyone on the street is in their 20s, 30s or 40s and dresses like fashion-aware preppy members of a fraternity or sorority. I know it’s not true, but I can’t help wondering where they hide their ugly and older people—or maybe they just age really well.

Walkability: Stockholm, Oslo, and Bergen are all very walkable cities. And when they are not, public transportation is easy to use and runs frequently. Because of that, I don’t recommend the Hop On, Hop Off buses, even if you have a limited amount of time. I would only use them if walking around presents a problem.

Pedestrian Friendly: Stockholm and Oslo limit the number of cars in the central area of the city, making it relaxed and very enjoyable for pedestrians. The few cars that are there have very courteous drivers who yield to pedestrians. Drivers don’t seem to be in a hurry, unlike in the US. E-bikes and e-scooters, however, are everywhere and used by locals and tourists alike. Bergen, however, does not limit cars in the central area, and I found the city more congested. But still, car congestion was nothing like you would find in US cities.

Tourism: We encountered very few crowds or signs of tourists in Stockholm. It might have been because it was June and still early, but it was very refreshing to go to museums and move around the city without long lines. Most of the people we encountered in Stockholm appeared to be Swedish. The only exception was in Gamla Stan, the old town, which had tourist shops and plenty of tourists. But there is so much more to Stockholm than just Gamla Stan. In Norway, it was the same thing—we encountered very little tourism. Do tourists exist? Sure, but not to the extent we have seen in other major cities in Europe, or where it presented a problem for us. Bergen appeared to have more tourists than Oslo. The only time tourists and tourism got on my nerves was in Flåm in Norway, where everything seems to be geared around tourists from cruise ships coming in to see the fjords. But rather than hanging around Flåm waiting for our cruise to depart, we went for a walk out in the countryside instead.

Cash is King—NOT: Before we left, we got $200 in Swedish kronor and $200 in Norwegian kroner. We typically try to pay by credit card for everything, but most trips to Europe we still end up going to an ATM to get cash for small purchases, tips, museums, taxis, etc. Not so in Sweden and Norway. They are pretty much cashless countries—at least in the cities we visited. Two or three of the hotels even advertised they are “cashless hotels” and have no facilities to accept or provide cash. Most of the restaurants and museums we went to would not take cash. Buy a gelato, charge it! So we had a hard time spending our cash—we found the cruise ship tourist areas had the highest likelihood of accepting cash.

Tipping: After talking with a number of locals we learned that in Scandinavia tipping is welcome, but not expected. The staff in restaurants appear to be paid a living wage and are not reliant on tips. How nice that someone can make a living as a waiter. The only place I found that not to be true was in tourist areas, where restaurants and taxis try to take advantage of tourists who are not familiar with tipping customs and get as much money from them as possible. Most of the time, I tipped about 10% and still got US tipping guilt.

Honor System on Transit: In Norway, the buses, trams, and subways all work on the honor system. No badging on, no badging off. It works so much more efficiently. Most buses are articulated buses. A bus pulls up, and everybody just gets on, with people entering and exiting from all doors on the bus. While we were there, we purchased a 7-day transit pass, which you have to electronically activate the first time and then just need to make sure you have it with you whenever you use public transit in case someone asks. No one ever did ask, but supposedly, they have people who occasionally check. I came away with the impression that Norwegians are honest and trustworthy. I don’t think that would work in the US. How sad :-(.

Public Restrooms: Scandinavia has clean restrooms. During our three-week trip, I only encountered one restroom down by the harbor in Oslo that grossed me out. Otherwise, every restroom would get my Good Housekeeping seal of approval.

Unisex Restrooms: In Scandinavia, it was relatively rare to find separate men's and women's restrooms. One restroom, and a man, woman, or trans person just takes the next stall available. Makes sense and eliminates all the transgender issues related to restrooms that we have in the US. And if there is a queue, men and women wait the same amount of time.

Utensils To Go: Scandinavia is much more environmentally conscious than we are in the US. In Scandinavia, when you get food to go, instead of plastic utensils, you get wooden ones—a wooden fork, spoon, and knife. Sure, they have a lot of trees in Scandinavia, but it is also very environmentally friendly. Wooden utensils do taste and feel a little bit strange the first time you use them.

Pride: Scandinavians take a lot of pride in their country. And so they should. There is a lot they can be proud of, and in many cases, the US should model our society after theirs. I guess I am a late-blooming socialist :-). When you tell them you are from California, they ask, “How do you like Sweden/Norway?” They even appear to be proud of their Viking warriors who looted and terrorized most of Europe, unlike the Portuguese, who barely acknowledge their part in the slave trade (e.g., no museum there acknowledges or explains their part in the slave trade). I felt the greatest sense of pride from the Swedes—they appeared proud of their country, their traditions, their music (ABBA), and their history.

Sell It, but Don’t Use It: I found it ironic that all of Norway's public transit is electric, including their buses, and that Norway leads the world in electric vehicle (EV) adoption, yet oil makes up over 70% of Norway’s exports.

Packing for Scandinavia: The weather is very unpredictable in Scandinavia, and it rains a lot. Stockholm had the worst weather during our trip, but was sunny and hot the weeks before. Scandinavia is beautiful when it is sunny and wet when it rains. Essential items to pack are an umbrella, raincoat, waterproof pants, and waterproof shoes.

Laundry: It is not easy to find a laundromat in Scandinavia. There is maybe one in all of Stockholm and two in Oslo. And they are very busy. Using your hotel’s laundry services is prohibitively expensive. So bring quick-dry clothes that you can wash in your hotel room.

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Flying home

Thursday - 6/27/24

We flew back home today. It was a long day. We got up at 3:00am and took a Tesla taxi to the airport. The picture below is at the Bergen airport at 4:00am. The sun was just about ready to rise, after setting last night at 11:10pm. We had a 6:00am flight from Bergen to Amsterdam, where we connected with a direct flight to San Francisco.

Our flight from Bergen left a little late due to a backup at Amsterdam airport. When we landed in Amsterdam, there were no gates available. After a 10-minute wait, we were diverted to the KLM cargo area, deplaned on the tarmac, and bused back to the terminal.

It took us about an hour to get through passport control in the airport. What a zoo! Global Entry doesn’t help you in Amsterdam. I think they should rename "Global Entry" to "US Entry" because it only helps once you are on US soil. Based on this event, Amsterdam is now tied with Frankfurt in my mind as a miserable airport in Europe to make a connection. The picture below shows the mob of people waiting to go through passport control.

Our flight from Amsterdam to San Francisco was uneventful, and we arrived in SFO around 11:30am. Global Entry was a quick two minute process.

From there, we took BART back home. After spending over three weeks in Sweden and Norway, which have excellent electric subways and trains, riding BART was an adjustment. The trains/subways in Scandinavia were smooth and relatively quiet. Riding BART, the train swayed from side to side, and the wheels squealed at times so loudly that we couldn't even have a conversation—it even set off an alert on MaryEllen’s Apple Watch because the sound had reached an unsafe 85 decibels.

But it was nice to be home and see the sunshine :-).

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Rosenkrantz Tower

After lunch we decided to return to the Rosenkrantz Tower and go inside of it.

The tower has low doors and narrow staircases take you from the basement dungeon all the way up to the cannon loft. The picture below is MaryEllen down in the dungeon.

Below are other pictures from the tower.

Here is a picture of the Bryggen Wharf taken from the top of the tower.

For dinner, we went to Namastey Bergen. We had chicken tikka masala and mango chicken. The food was good, but not great.

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Bryggens Museum

Wednesday - 6/26/24

Here is the art work for the day from our hotel. This one from a wall in the dining room where we eat breakfast every morning.

After breakfast we headed over to the Bryggens Museum. It is an indoor museum where you can see the floorplans of the old buildings, some of which were built over the footprints of earlier structures. They have lots of artifacts that have been found during archaeological digs on and around the site.

Bryggen was historically an active trading center, bustling with people from early morning until late at night. Houses were built precariously close together, and the buildings frequently caught fire. But no sooner had the smoke cleared than the ashes were dumped into the harbor and the rebuilding began again. After each fire, the houses and docks extended farther out into the bay.

This particular structure was built after the fire in 1120 and torn down before the fire in 1170. It was an elevated storeroom with a sub-floor enclosure, and there are remains of posts and upright wall planks.

King Magnus VI, also known as Magnus the Lawmender, shown below, ruled Norway from 1263 to 1280. He established the Laws of the Land to improve and unify the laws of Norway. Before Magnus, different regions in Norway had their own sets of laws, which could be confusing and unfair. Magnus created a single set of laws that applied to the whole country and to make the legal system fairer and more orderly. They covered many aspects of life, from criminal justice to property rights and family law.

The colors used in paintings in the Middle Ages were derive from plants, as well as animals, but most were made from rocks. The minerals were ground into a fine powder and then mixed with a binder into paint. Some of the pigments were highly toxic, as they contained lead, mercury, and arsenic. Pigments could be exclusive, such as blue from lapis lazuli, which was imported from the East and was more expensive than gold. It was only used to paint the holiest figures, like the Virgin Mary.

Below are typical weapons a wealthy farmer from the 13th-14th century would have. In addition to a shield, spear, and axe or sword, which everyone was required to own, they would also have chainmail armor and a helmet.

The Thieves section in the Laws of the Land prescribed fines as the most common punishment for theft. Fines were to be paid to the king and those who were harmed by theft. The amounts depended on the value of what was stolen and on whether the thief had stolen before. If someone was arrested for theft for the first time, they could expect a fine equal to four months' wages for a craftsman. The next time, it was doubled. If someone stole something of high value, the fine could be equivalent to one and a half years' salary.

The Thieves' Section describes fines as a way of "buying oneself out of flogging". For those with limited means - which was the case for many who became thieves - a fine was probably as painful as flogging. Many were forced to choose whipping over a fine. In case of a second theft, you were branded in addition to being flogged if you were unable to pay a fine. Branding involved heating a metal key or a branding iron to a high temperature and pressing it against the criminal's skin, typically on the face or hand, to leave a permanent mark as a thief.

When we finished viewing the museum’s exhibits, we had a picnic lunch at park next to the museum.

The day continues in the next post.

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After lunch we went to Targallmenningen Street, the major shopping street in Bergen. It has a series of stores, department stores and an indoor mall. This is where the locals shop. We went window shopping and prices were about 25 to 50 percent higher than you would pay for an equivalent item in the US. But there is no sales tax here.

Below is a picture of Targallmenningen Street.

We had signed up for an English-speaking walking tour and ferry ride in the late afternoon. We wanted to go on the tour starting at 12 noon, but it sold out, so we opted for the one starting at 5:30 pm. Although the tour could accommodate up to 12 people, we ended up being the only ones on it! So we ended up with a two-hour personal tour. This was great because in addition to learning about the historical aspects of Bergen, we also got insights into what it’s like to live here.

During the “private tour” our guide Don took us to the Fish Market. Hanging from the ceiling is dried cod. I had enough cod liver oil as a child… no more cod for me :-).

The building below is in the Bryggen Wharf and illustrates the problem that fire presented for the wooden structures built there. Wood was used because it was readily available in the area. At this site, the original warehouse was destroyed by fire in 1476 and rebuilt in 1480. Another fire destroyed the wooden warehouse in 1702, and it was rebuilt in 1712. In 1912, the wooden warehouse was torn down and rebuilt using bricks to minimize the fire hazard. So far, it has lasted.

Along the way we passed the Mode Museum shown below. This museum focuses on the history and cultural significance of fashion and textiles within the region. We didn’t go in it, but it has a beautiful architecture.

The statue below is of Ole Bull, a renowned Norwegian violinist and composer of the 19th century, celebrated for his virtuosic performances and charismatic presence. He was an 1800s version of Elvis and quite the lady’s man. In addition to fathering over 40 children, he played a significant role in promoting Norwegian culture and music.

Henrik Ibsen, shown in the statue below, was a famous Norwegian writer known for his plays and poems starting around 1850. People often call him the 'father of modern drama' because he was one of the first to write plays that showed real-life situations and characters, making his work very influential in the world of theater. Check out his eyes. He look more like Dracula than a playwright!

Below is the Bergen National Theatre, the exterior on the left and the interior on the right.

The tour included a boat ride on ferry number 2070 from Strandkaiterminalen (a pier in the harbor) to Kleppesto, an island in Bergen Bay. It is a commuter ferry to facilitate people living in Kleppesto and working in Bergen. It provided us an opportunity to view Bergen from the bay.

The picture below is the Bryggen Wharf taken from the ferry.

In addition to using the ferry, the residents of the Kleppesto island can get there using a bridge. The bridge looks a lot like the Golden Gate Bridge, except for the color, of course.

Our tour finished at 7:15pm and from there we went to Royal Gourmetburger & Gin restaurant for dinner. We had read in a local newspaper review that it had the best hamburgers in Bergen and it had good reviews on TripAdvisor. We both had a bacon cheese burger and sweet potato fries. The food was just OK— I’ll bet there are better burgers in Bergen.

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Ulriken Cable Car to Mount Ulriken

Tuesday - 6/25/24

More Norwegian artwork at our hotel. The halls in the hotel are like being in the Bergen museum of modern art.

Today we decided we would take a ride on the Ulriken cable car and in the late afternoon take an English speaking walking tour that includes riding a ferry in the harbor.

To get to the cable car we needed to take a bus. Here are a couple of interesting things we saw on our walk over to the bus stop.

Bergen’s equivalent of Lombard Street with many switchbacks, except there are no cars allowed on this street!

However, Bergen does has significantly more cars in the city compared to Stockholm and Oslo. Both Stockholm and Oslo excel at minimizing the number of cars in their city centers, and the difference is remarkable. Walking around these cities is much more relaxing when you’re not constantly competing with cars. Bergen could benefit from following the examples set by Oslo and Stockholm.

We also saw a military marching band playing a concert for the locals. I don’t know what the occasional was.

We bought a 24-hour bus pass and took Bus 5 to the Ulriken cable car. I continue to be amazed at how modern, clean, efficient and enjoyable public transportation is in Sweden and Norway.

Here is base of the mountain where you get on the cable car.

The Ulriken Cable Car, also known as Ulriksbanen, goes from near sea level at the bottom to the top of Mount Ulriken, which is 2,110 feet above sea level.

We experienced spectacular views of Bergen and its surrounding fjords and mountains.

Me at the top of Mount Ulriken.

After enjoying the views from the top of the mountain and watching some people on a zipline, we took the cable car down. We didn't seriously consider hiking down as we had read that the trail has a lot of steps—1,400 to be exact. And we had signed up for a two-hour walking tour in the late afternoon and didn't want to be tired from going down all those steps.

At the bottom of the cable car ride, we walked back to the bus stop and took Bus 5 back to Festplassen, where we sat and ate lunch.

The day continues in the next post.

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Bergenhus Fortress and Bergen walk

After lunch we finishing walking down the mountain and then walked over to Bergenhus Fortress. It’s medieval castle and fortress, and is one of Norway's oldest and best preserved fortifications, dating back to 1240.

At the fortress we realized that Bergenhus Fortress was also the start of Rick Steve’s self-guided walking tour of Bergen. So we decided to do the walking tour and check out the neighborhoods and shops along the way.

Here is a picture of Rosenkrantz Tower, which is part of the castle. Because it was close to closing time, we didn't go up into the tower but plan to come back another day.

King Håkon’s Hall (Håkonshallen) below is one of the most historically significant buildings in Norway. Constructed in the 13th century during the reign of King Håkon Håkonsson, it was a royal residence and banquet hall, symbolizing the political importance of Bergen as Norway’s then capital.

The church below, St. Mary’s Church, is from the 12th century and is the oldest building in Bergen.

Below is a statue of Snorri Sturlason by Gustav Vigeland. What is the significance of this statue? It is the only statue I have seen in Norway that was sculpted by Gustav Vigeland, where the person wasn’t naked!

Snorri, who lived in the 1200s, is famous for documenting Viking sagas, providing us with a better understanding of the Nordic era.

Along the walk we saw they were setting up for a Brian Adam’s concert on Wednesday. Too bad we will be packing then to fly back home.

Shown below are commercial buildings from the historic Bryggen area of Bergen, dating back to the 14th century. Adjacent to the harbor, these structures originally served as warehouses and trading offices for the Hanseatic merchants who dealt in fish, grains, and other commodities.

The Bryggen structures are characterized by their distinctive wooden construction, narrow alleyways, and colorful facades. Despite suffering numerous fires over the centuries, many of the buildings have been reconstructed to preserve their historical appearance. The Bryggen wharf area is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

McDonald’s is pretty low-key here in Bergen, housed in a building from 1710. No golden arches!

We decided to step inside to check out the prices. McDonald’s, like all food in Norway, is expensive. A Big Mac costs 79 kr, which is $7.48 USD. According to the Economist Big Mac index, the average price for a Big Mac in the US is $5.65, is 32% higher when compared to the US, making it the second most expensive country in the world to order a Big Mac. Switzerland is the most expensive.

It was a beautiful night, and we decided to have dinner outside at the harbor. We ate at Egon restaurant and shared a fried chicken sandwich and a pulled pork sandwich.

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Fløibanen Funicular

Monday - 6/24/24

We woke up this morning in Bergen, Norway. The city's strategic location, scenic beauty, and rich cultural heritage make it a popular stop for many cruise ships exploring the Norwegian fjords and the North Atlantic region. It is one of the busiest cruise ports in Norway.

Here is a picture of Hotel Olena, where we are staying in Bergen.

Hotel Olena is a boutique hotel with a lot of art work. The hotel is in an excellent location, but even in our "superior room", the bathroom was very small, about 3 feet by 7 feet, and no dressers or shelves to unpack our clothes. So we lived out of our suitcases.

I don’t remember our thought process when we selected this hotel three months ago.

The first thing we did this morning was head to the grocery store to buy our lunch. Then, we went to the tourist information office to get a map of the city and answers to some of our questions. Afterward, we headed to the Fløibanen Funicular. To avoid the long line for tickets, we purchased them online when we arrived at the funicular.

The funicular goes up to the top of Mount Fløyen, which is approximately 1,050 feet from its starting point to the top of the mountain.

At the top of Mount Fløyen you get a panoramic view of Bergen and the surrounding fjords.

In addition to fantastic views, there are a number of hiking trails there and we decided to hike out to Lake Skomakerdiket. During our hike out it felt at times as if we were in an enchanted forest.

The lake was very serene and picturesque.

After hiking around the small lake, we return to the top of Mount Fløyen and decided to hike back down the mountain instead of taking the funicular back to the bottom.

We ate our picnic lunch along way on our hike down the mountain. Below is the view we had when we stopped to eat lunch on the way down.

The day continues in the next post.

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Flam train and Nærøyfjord fjords

Sunday - 6/23/24

Logistically, today was complex from a transportation standpoint with many dependent legs— take a train to another train to a boat to a bus to another train. We needed to manage our time carefully today, and we did, because miss one of the connections and the whole process falls apart, and who knows where we would end up sleeping! But it all worked out and we woke up in Voss and went to sleep in Bergen.

Today we checked out of our hotel in Voss, but had them store our luggage for about 10 hours as we took the Flåm train and a two hour cruise on the fjords.

The first train we took was headed east from Voss back to Myrdal. We passed through Myrdal yesterday on the train, but didn’t stay there because it is only a train stop and doesn’t have acceptable accommodations.

So we got off the train in Myrdal and took a different train that was headed to Flam. In Norway the train from Myrdal to Flam is a famous train route, and they call it the “Flam Train”.

The Flam Train traverses 20 tunnels with stunning views of Norway’s landscapes, including mountainsides, cascading waterfalls, picturesque valleys and fjords. It descends 2,800 feet with a gradient of 1:18, one of the steepest in the world for a standard gauge railway. Completed in 1940, it is considered an engineering marvel.

Kjosfossen waterfall

Another waterfall

When we got to Flam there are a lot of tourists— most of whom were either on a 7 or 14 day tour of some sort or on a cruise ship. Before making our Flam train reservation, we researched how many cruise ships were due to be in Flam on the various days and booked our trip on a day when only one cruise ship was going to be in port.

Flam is built around tourism—plenty of places to spend money in overpriced gift shops and “cute” places to eat lunch. Even with only one cruise ship being in port, there were a lot of people there, most of them older, acting totally touristy. Since that is not our thing, we decide to go for a hike. We had about 3 hours before our cruise left, so we bought lunch and headed out on a hike to the old Flam church. It is a 2 to 2 1/2 hour hike out and back. The area around Flam is beautiful with lush greenery, steep mountains and waterfalls. After 5 minutes of walking we were out of all congestion and on an old country road that ran parallel to a beautiful river. We ended up stoping along the way to take pictures so never made it all the way to the old Flam church, but had a nice hike regardless.

Bridge used by locals for fishing,

At 3pm we boarded an electric catamaran and cruised for the next two hours through the Nærøyfjord fjords. The fjords is 10.5 miles long and at its narrowest it is 820 feet wide surrounded by steep mountains with snow covered peaks. Waterfalls cascade down the mountains with small villages dotted along the way. The Nærøyfjord fjords is a UNESCO World Heritage site and is considered one of the most beautiful fjords in the world.

When the boat docked in Gudvangen, we boarded a bus that went from Gudvangen back to Voss. At Voss, we went back to our hotel, which was next door to the train station, picked up our luggage, and took the 7:15pm train from Voss to Bergen. We sat on the north (right) side of the train, which had the best views.

Unfortunately due to our tight timeframe there was no opportunity to buy dinner before we got on the train, nor was there any food on the train to Bergen. When we arrived in Bergen it was late and we just bought survival sandwiches in the Bergen train station. We then went to our hotel and checked in. We are staying at Hotel Oleana, where we will be staying for the next four nights. It was a long day.

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Train from Oslo to Voss

Saturday - 6/22/24

Today we took a six hour train from Oslo to Voss. The best views from the train is on the southern side of the train (I.e. the left side of the train).

During our train ride, a Norwegian text message appeared on the overhead display. We didn’t know what it meant at first. The picture on the left shows the message displayed on the train’s digital screen. Using Google Translate, as shown in the picture on the right, I quickly found out the English translation.

It’s hard to remember traveling in Europe before iPhones with digital cameras, Google Maps, WiFi, TripAdvisor, cell service, eSIM cards, Google Translate, and ChatGPT. Technology has made traveling abroad so much easier than it used to be. Upcoming generative AI releases will make traveling even easier and more interactive. I have been using ChatGPT regularly on our trip to fill in gaps in my knowledge, answering questions I had about Scandinavian life and a few of the museum exhibits.

Below is the first sign of snow we saw from the train. The train went up hill above the snow line towards Myrdal.

Then we saw more snow.

And then we saw a lot lot of snow.

From Myrdal the train went downhill to Voss. Voss is a small town known for its stunning natural landscapes, including majestic fjords, lush valleys, and pristine lakes. It is a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts and adventure sports like skiing, hiking, mountain biking, rafting, kayaking, paragliding, and skydiving. 

Below is a picture of the Voss train station and Scandic Voss Hotel, which is to the right of the train station. We checked into Scandic Voss Hotel, where we are spending one night. The hotel is convenient and pretty nice.

We walked town and saw the cute little house below. Too bad the rest of the town doesn’t look like this. Most of the town was built in the 60s, never remodeled and looks pretty tired. We are only staying in Flam because it is a convenient spot to leave our luggage as we take the Flam train and Fjord cruise tomorrow. We don’t want to have to bring our luggage with us during the day, and we will pick it up late tomorrow and then take a 7pm train from Voss to Bergen.

We decided to go for a hike to a lookout point at the Voss fjords and MaryEllen took the picture of me below at the observation point. This is what we have been waiting for!

Ok, not really. None of the last picture is true. We didn’t go for a hike and that is not me at the observation point. It is a photo of a postcard I bought in Voss.

Back to reality. The hotel offered a $39 per person all-you-can-eat buffet dinner, which would have been an option if we wanted to pig out. However, since we’re eating out so much, we try to eat lighter to avoid gaining weight on our vacation. We walked around town to check out the other four or five walkable restaurants and cafes, but they all looked pretty run down, had poor reviews, and/or were empty.

During our walk, we saw one food truck called El Caminito and decided to get food to go from there. We ordered a chicken burrito bowl and a pulled pork burrito bowl, and ate them on a very nice deck at our hotel. The food ended up being fantastic and was one of the top five meals we had in Scandinavia.

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Oslo Opera House and Ekeberparken

After lunch, we walked up the Opera House’s sloped marble roof to the top of it.

It’s a long way up in a series of switchbacks.

Here is the view from the top of the Opera House’s marble roof.

After reaching the highest point of the Opera House roof, we took some pictures, walked back down and then took tram 19 to Ekeberparken. Ekeberparken is a public wilderness park and sculpture garden located within Oslo.

We selected a loop trail that traveled through the trees and it took us about an hour and a half to walk. There were not many people around, and the only sounds we heard were birds chirping in the trees. It was hard to believe we were in the city!

Along the way there were statues and of course some naked ones. But they also had some other interesting statues like this one by Ann-Sofin Siden of a woman peeing. Every five minutes or so, the statue relieves itself and we happened to be there to get the “complete artistic experience” as shown below. It reminded me of the “Betsy Wetsy” doll in the 60s that you fed her water from a bottle and she wet herself.

This statue is called “Anatomy of an Angel” by Damien Hirst.

After hiking around in the park, we did a little tourist shopping—I got a T-shirt. Then, we went to dinner at Scotsman. It was a beautiful night, and we ate outside. We both had cheeseburgers and fries. MaryEllen had a Diet Coke, and I had a beer. As I mentioned earlier, food in Scandinavia is expensive, especially in Oslo.

After dinner we went back to our hotel to pack and then headed down to the City Hall Swuare where a major outdoor music concert called the “VG-lista concert” was being held. It is an annual event and Scandinavia’s largest outdoor concert.

There were projected to be about 100,000 attendees at the concert. Once a year the city of Oslo hosts the concert featuring top Norwegian and international artists performing their hits from the past year across all genres. Tonight was that night, and although we didn’t pay for the concert, we could watch it from a distance behind a fence. If you lived in Oslo, this was the place to be!

We saw many kids, as young as 12, came with their friends and no adult supervision. This is a testament to the fact that Oslo, and everywhere we have been in Scandinavia, appears to be very safe. They are kind of like Disneyland countries with a lot of rain.

I don’t know who this singer is, but the Norwegians really liked her.

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Friday - 6/21/24

The first stop today was the Nobel Peace Museum.

They had an English speaking tour where we learned that Alfred Nobel was born in 1833 in Stockholm. Like his father he was an inventor, engineer, and industrialist. He took an interest in the newly discovered nitroglycerin. After his brother died from a nitroglycerin explosion, he started working on ways to make nitroglycerin safer, leading to the invention of dynamite. His invention of dynamite, brought him substantial wealth. By the time he died on December 20, 1896 he had dynamite factories in 20 countries and held 350 patents.

His will established a fund to award annual prizes on the anniversary of his death in the following five categories:

1. Physics

2. Chemistry

3. Medicine

4. Literature

5. Peace

Alfred’s will specified the first four prizes were be administered and awarded by Sweden, and the last area, peace, was to be awarded by Norway. Each award recipient gets a prize mental plus approximately $1 million award.

In 1969 Sweden expanded the Nobel prize categories to from five to six and added economics. The Nobel fund has approximately $500 in it today.

After visiting the Nobel Pease Museum, we went to the Coop, bought lunch and walked over to the Oslo Opera House. On the way we stopped at the Oslo central train station to figure out in advance where to catch the train to Voss. The train station is very large and somewhat confusing— especially if you don’t speak Norwegian.

We ate our lunch in plaza that allowed us to appreciate the architectural design of the Opera House. The exterior design has a sloping marble roof which angles down to the ground level. The roof is designed to be walked on, allowing visitors to walk up the roof and enjoy views of the city and the fjord. Below is the plaza where we had lunch with the Opera House in the background.

Like all good Oslo attractions, the plaza had its “required” (not really) nude statue.

The day continues in the next post.

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Walk to Grunerlokka

After resting for about 1/2 hour, in the late afternoon we did a Rick Steve’s self-guided walking tour to Grunerlokka, a neighborhood in Oslo. Here are the highlights of our walk.

On July 22, 2011, Oslo experienced a terrorist attack in which 77 people were killed. Four buildings in Government Quarter suffered structural damage. Below is a glass plaque that memorializes the people who lost their lives. It is located at the site where the car bomb exploded.

Below is the Gamle Aker Church, which is the oldest building in Oslo. It was built in the middle of the 12th century.

On the walk we passed Mathallen Food Hall, an indoor food market with cafes, eateries & specialty shops featuring small-scale Norwegian producers. We stopped to enjoy a gelato and a pastry before continuing our walk.

The Akerselva River flows through the center of Oslo and was heavily utilized by textile mills and red-brick factories starting in the mid-19th century during Norway’s Industrial Revolution. While these factories have been modernized and moved outside of Oslo, the riverbanks have been transformed into green spaces and recreational areas. To preserve this industrial heritage, some of the historical buildings and structures have been repurposed for new uses. Below is an old grain silo that has been converted into student dorms.

Next to the grain silos is a waterfall with a fish ladder on the right, which allow salmon and sea trout to spawn.

I cannot believe that a scene like this exists within a city! Walking along the paved trail next to the riverbank is absolutely beautiful. In my mind, this walk was one of the highlights of Oslo. It makes me want to live here… well, at least for a minute or two until reality sets in and I remember that: 1) it rains a lot in Oslo, 2) the Norway has long, cold, snowy, dark winters, and 3) the cost of living here is very high.

The paved trail kept crossing back and forth over the river on small pedestrian bridges. Here we are at a hut just past one of the many bridges, with the river in the background.

On one of the bridges there are two bronze statues on each side of the bridge. The one below is of a naked guy trying to wrestle a moose. Oslo loves their naked statues— that is for sure.

After completing the trail walk along the river, we walked along Thorvald Meyers Gate street in Grunerlokka. It is filled with bars and cafes with outdoor seating. We ended up having dinner in Grunerlokka at the Eldhuset, a BBQ restaurant. It was such a nice evening that we ate outside. Both MaryEllen and I had pork ribs, cold slaw and sweet potato fries and the meal was delicious.

After dinner we decided to walk back to our hotel, which was about 30 minutes walk away.

Today we walked 22,500 steps, which is the highest number of steps so far on our trip.

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Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Museum

Thursday - 6/20/24

This morning we went to Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Museum. To get there we took train 1 to the Holmenkollen train station. The train ride took about 30 minutes as it made about 14 stops. Along the way we saw our first gas station of the trip— a Shell station and gas was the equivalent of $9.00 per gallon. From the Holmenkollen train station it was still a good 20 minute hike uphill to the actual ski jump and museum.

The Holmenkollen Ski Jump is one of the oldest and most famous ski jumping venues in the world. The first competition took place 1892 and since then it has gone through numerous renovations and upgrades, including replacing the wooden structure with a steel structure. It was used in 1952 when Oslo hosted the Winter Olympic and since then Holmenkollen regularly hosts World Cup events. It has reputation as a premier ski jumping venue.

At the museum we learned about the history of both the Holmenkollen Ski Jump and skiing in general. Here is a sample of some of the exhibits we saw at the ski museum.

Below is Norway’s oldest ski from approximately 5,200 years ago. It proves that people were skiing in Norway already in the Stone Age.

Here is a more modern ski from 605 AD.

Here is an old set of skis that uses leather straps for is bindings.

After checking out the ski museum, we took an elevator to the top of the tower (I.e. where the skiers start their ski jump). It is a long way up.

Here are some photos to give you idea of how long and steep the ski jump is.

There is no bobsledding allowed here!

The white area in the picture below is the downslope ski run where you get going around 60 miles per hour before you take off into mid air.

The blue seat below is where the skier jumper sits while waiting for the signal to go from red to green. When the light turns green it indicates that the track is clear, and the skier can begin their descent.

From the top of the ski jump you can see panoramic views of Oslo and all the surrounding area. Below is a picture of us at the top of the tower.

When we were done at Holmenkollen, we decided to get a little exercise and hike down to the Midtstuen train station. We had lunch along the way, having purchased packaged salads at a local grocery store. From the Midtstuen train station we took the train back to the National Theatre station and then walked from there to our hotel for a short rest.

The day continues in the next post.

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Norwegian Folk Museum and the Fram Museum

The Norwegian Folk Museum is 130 year old open-air museum that consists of 160 buildings that illustrate rural and urban Norway – from the Middle Ages to the 20th Century. Many of these buildings were transported to this site from the countryside.

We took an hour guided tour of some the buildings and then explored other buildings and exhibits on our own. Below are a couple of examples of the Norwegian historical buildings we saw at the museum.

This building, constructed in the 1600s in southern Norway, served as a loft. The ground floor was used to store food and other items, while the second floor was designated for sleeping. The building was elevated above the ground to prevent field mice from accessing the stored goods.

Moss and soil were layered on top of the roof to insulate the building. At that time, more than 95% of the people in Norway lived in the countryside.

Houses had small doorway openings for three reasons: to retain heat within the house, to enhance the structural integrity of the building, and to make it easier to attack uninvited visitors, as they had to stoop and step over the high threshold. The buildings were cold and dark during winter. Meat, fish, and cheese were reserved for special occasions. The average life expectancy was 35 to 40 years, and the survival rate for children was about 50%.

In 1050 in Norway, the construction of churches was mandated by law and supported by ruling monarchs and church authorities as part of the Christianization of the country. It was a period marked by the ultimatum, “become a Christian, or lose your head,” which was a drastic method to rapidly establish the new religion.

The church below was originally built in 1250 and then rebuilt in the 1800s. It served as a Catholic Church until the Reformation in 1537, after which it became a Protestant church.

Here is the inside of the church.

This house was built in 1738 and owned by a rich farmer.

Inside this house, note the white ceiling. Displaying wealth was important back then, and one way to do this was by painting your ceilings. The white color helped to brighten the interior spaces by reflecting available light, which was especially useful during the long, dark winters.

Drinking water was often unsafe and could carry diseases. Beer, which is boiled during the brewing process, was a safer alternative because the brewing process killed harmful germs. As a result, everyone drank beer. Farmers were required by law to brew a specific amount of beer, and failure to comply could result in fines or imprisonment.

In 1755, Norway began producing its own glass. Prior to that, glass had to be imported from Amsterdam. Windows were considered a sign of luxury, and farmers would save up for years to buy them.

After we finished exploring the Norwegian Folk Museum, we took Bus 30 to the Fram Museum, also located on the Bygdøy Peninsula. At the Fram Museum, we learned about Arctic explorers and exploration. You never know when that knowledge might come in handy!

The Fram Museum is dedicated to Arctic exploration and houses two famous Arctic exploration ships—the Fram and the Gjøa.

The Fram was designed and built by Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian. He designed the Fram to withstand the pressure of Arctic ice. Nansen is best known for the Fram expedition from 1893 to 1896. His plan was to allow the ship to become icebound and drift with the Arctic ice pack to reach the North Pole. Although they did not reach the North Pole, the expedition provided valuable scientific data about the Arctic region. Below is a picture of the Fram at the museum:

The Gjøa was the first ship to sail the entire Northwest Passage, the sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America. Lead by Roald Amundsen the expedition was the the first to successfully navigate the entire Northwest Passage, the sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America. He accomplished this from 1903 to 1906 aboard the ship Gjøa.

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Getting to the Bygdoy Peninsula

Wednesday - 6/19/24

Today we went to a couple of museums on the Bygdoy Peninsula, which is an upscale neighborhood in Oslo. But before I get to that, I thought I would post the Oslo Hop On, Hop Off bus route. It does a get job of illustrating where the major museums and attractions are located in Oslo. Here is the map:

Today, as I mentioned, we went to the Bygdoy Peninsula to visit the Norwegian Folk Museum and the Fram Museum. Our plan was to take Bus 30 from our hotel to the Y museum, but we had a very difficult time finding the bus stop. When we finally found the bus stop, we learned that for some unknown reason (remember we don’t speak Norwegian), the bus was not stopping there today. Experienced like this are all part of what makes foreign travel interesting and memorable.

In the interest of time, we decided to take the ferry there instead. So we headed off to Rädhusbrygge 3 at the harbor to catch the ferry.

Here is our ferry boat.

While on the ferry, I looked over at the Akershus Fortress Complex at the entrance to the harbor. I thought of the cannons I saw yesterday and understood why they chose to locate the fortress there.

Here is a picture of the Fram Museum from the ferry.

Once the ferry docked, we had a 10 minute walk to the Norwegian Folk Museum. Along the way we saw a robotic lawn mower in action mowing someone’s lawn. From the picture it looks like a Husqvarna Automower 430X, which retails for 29,890 kr ($2,830). As I mentioned earlier, the Bygdoy Peninsula is an affluent residential area in Oslo.

I am envious of their lush green lawns. But then, it does rain here a lot.

The day continues in the next post.

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Laundry day

Tuesday - 6/18/24

Our hotel in Oslo has a great buffet breakfast. Since it wasn’t too busy this morning I took a couple of pictures of it. Both in Stockholm and here in Oslo we have had great breakfasts. That is one meal they know how to do right!

If it’s Tuesday, it must be laundry day! Laundromats are scarce in Scandinavia. Before our trip, I did a lot of research and found only one laundromat in all of Stockholm, and it wasn’t centrally located. In Oslo, there are two or three laundromats, but none are centrally located either. This morning we took a tram out to Clean Kokos (the laundromat). It’s hard to travel for over three weeks without doing laundry at least once. Normally we rent an AirBnB during some part of our trip that has a washer and dryer— but not this trip.

Hotels have laundry service, and before we left learned that it was expensive. We were shocked to find that in Sweden it cost 85 kr ($8.19) to launder a tee shirt and 40 kr ($3.85) for a pair of socks. Oslo was even more expensive— 95 kr ($9.00) for a tee shirt and 95 kr ($9.00) for a pair of socks. We can buy them cheaper than wash them!

Laundry took a couple of hours, but we met three people on a Rick Steves’ Scandinavia tour at the laundromat and talked with them to pass the time. We learned about their travels and how Rick’s tours operate. Based on what we learned, we are still of the opinion that tours try to visit too many locations in too little time.

After we did the laundry and had returned to our hotel it started to rain, so we had lunch inside at our hotel instead of outdoors.

Mid afternoon the sun came out and we went to the National Museum. The museum features both older and modern art, contemporary art, architecture and design. It consists of 87 exhibit rooms, with each room displaying about 10 to 15 artworks. We spent about three and one half hours at the museum and managed to visit all 87 rooms! Below is a sample of a few of the artworks we saw.

Here is Munan Ovrelid’s “Buttons Unbuttoned and Empty Plates”

Art depicting Norwegian culture. This piece is from Gustav Wentzel in southern Norway showing a lively summer night's dance on an open meadow. It wasn’t raining that day :-).

And of course there were the classics, like this one from Monet.

Kristian Kvakland’s sculpture below represents how some people felt after visiting the museum’s 87 rooms of art.

And this is my favorite. From the exhibit: “Soot Klevig's work can be seen as an expression of the fear of nuclear conflict during the Cold War, but also as a contribution to the debate about the construction of nuclear power plants in Norway.”

You have got to love Soot and his symbolic expression! At first glance, before reading the description posted, I just saw fried eggs in a bunch of frying pans :-).

From the museum we went directly to Ricksha Pakistani Street Food restaurant for dinner. We had Samosa Chana Chaat, Mango Lamb, Pepper Chicken and Garlic Nahn. It was outstanding and tied with Der Peppern Gror, also in Oslo, as the best meals we have had on our trip. Ricksha is rated by TripAdvisor as third best restaurant in Oslo.

The top restaurants in Oslo do not typically serve traditional Norwegian food such as lutefisk. In Scandinavia, most restaurants offer a variety of international cuisines, including Italian, sushi, Indian, Chinese, and pizza.