We flew from Rome to Oslo where our friend Kristin met us at the airport and took us to our hotel in the city. We walked around, had dinner and then amazingly good hot chocolate in our hotel lobby. Kristin left us there with only our backpacks and the next day we boarded our first mode of transportation, a train, for a 5 hour ride through the countryside. Beautiful views of quaint little towns and hills everywhere. After we went through the mountains and the snow, we boarded another train for an hour ride through an area full of waterfalls and mountains with beautiful views. At the bottom, we boarded a boat for a 2 hour trip of the fjord. Again, beautiful views everywhere. It was cold, but not so cold you couldn't sit outside, although we bought sweatshirts and hats before boarding. The next mode of transportation was a one hour bus ride, and by this time it was dusk so you couldn't see all that much. Lastly, another one hour train ride to Bergen where we would spend the night. The trip was called Norway in a Nutshell and was really nice and lived up to our expectations.
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| Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow |
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| Beautiful |
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Gotta love the hat
for my RBS friends, I should be getting paid for advertising! |
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| Our Tour Boat |
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| Looks like a picture on a puzzle |
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| and yes, another shirt because we didn't pack correctly |
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| Love the snow covered mountain in the background |
Our hotel was right across the street from the train station which was great after a long day of travel. We checked in and since it was raining decided to eat at the hotel. Holy cow.....prices are crazy here. For a hamburger and boiled potatoes, bratwurst and mashed potatoes and two very small beers it was $75. Sticker shock for sure.
We spent the next day wandering around Bergen, but since it was raining and foggy, there wasn't much to see or do, so we spent a little time at the aquarium and then headed to the airport for our flight to Fredrikstad to catch up with Kristin and her family.
We had dinner at her home and spent time with Kristin, her husband and parents as the kids were sleeping. Off to our hotel on top of the hill and a beautiful view of the city.
We visited old town in Frederikstaad, which was a very quaint old town with beautiful buildings.
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| Don't we all look like a statue? |
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| No Greg, you're not welcome in this home |
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| Sitting on a cannon |
We got to spend an afternoon with the kids, which was fun. Even though we couldn't speak their language, just playing with kids gets them engaged and we got along just fine.
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| Greg and Noah |
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| Kristin and Josephine |
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| Noah loved to play |
Kristin's Mother spent a morning with us and us out to their lake house for some beautiful views and we took a long walk along the shore line where granite had been mined and statues left behind.
Our last day was spent touring the Olympic training ski slope, and the Viking Museum. We had a birthday celebration dinner in Oslo for Kristin's Mom and then we left for Rome the next morning.
We loved Norway for its beautiful scenery, but mostly for our friend Kristin and her family. Unfortunately the country is so expensive, that it exceeds our budget and will likely be the one and only time we visit the country. Sorry Kristin!
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| Looking down the ski slope |
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| Views from top of ski slope |
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| Olympic gold, silver and bronze medalists |
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| Stinkin' cute |
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| Cool Viking Ship |
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| Viking Burial |
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| Head from front of ship |
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| Sled |
I so understand, but if you come again and in the summer time - we let you have the summer house at your disposal! I would love to drive you around as well - so we could manage to get you under budget!
ReplyDeleteI will come see you though!
Hugs,
Kristin