Oslo, Norway
This year I got to finally take a trip to one of those places that had been on my list for years: Oslo. We had a tight timeframe – two full days plus travel time either side – to try to make the most of Norway’s capital city.
After choosing flights based on cost rather than actually-landing-close-to-Oslo, we arrived at TORP Sandefjord airport fairly late on a Sunday night. We’d already arranged our airport shuttle transfer to the city though, so it was time to kick back and relax on the empty coach with cinnamon buns in hand for the near two-hour-long journey.
Getting into the city around midnight, our hotel was handily just a ten minute walk from the bus station which meant we were rested and ready to go on Monday morning.
Day 1
First up, we jumped on a tram to get us to Aker Brygge on the shore of the Oslo Fjord so we could transfer to the ferry around Øyene, or the Islands and spent a pleasant and chilly hour taking in the views around the fjord from the top deck.
After that, time for a whistle-stop DIY walking tour of Oslo sentrum (because we’re there out of season so there aren’t enough people around for one of those free walking tours).
In quick succession we found… Tjuvholmen: location of a contemporary art museum and trail, as well as some brave cold water swimmers.
Next, we got lucky. The latest production to open at Oslo Opera House, A Tale about Swan Lake, was sold out all week.
But shy bairns get nowt, so we asked if there were any returns at the ticket desk. Leaving about 900kr lighter and with two tickets secured, it was just a fast dash across Oslo to get changed at the hotel which stood between us and a night at the ballet.
Did you know you can get to your hotel and back to the opera in half an hour with time to spare if you time the trams just right? We do now.
After all that drama, we wound down with a cocktail (or two, or three…) at Pier 42.
Day 2
Today was all about getting out of the city and into Oslomarka, the forest surrounding the city on three sides. We hopped on the metro and headed for Vettakollen on the 1 Holmenkollen line. The plan? Walk up to the Vettakollen viewpoint for a bracing view of the city. The reality? Fog.
Another reality? Soggy trainers when we attempted to negotiate the marshy section just before we popped back up at Sognsvann, a lake on the outskirts of the city.
Having a bar of Norway’s famed hiking chocolate in my pocket helped to take my mind off the chill.
After a metro ride back to Oslo centrum and a quick refuel, it was time to check out the National Museum of Norway.
It’s probably most famous for being home to Edvard Munch’s The Scream but, also, you should go there to see this painting of some scamps smoking a cigar:
And that’s about it, really. A real whistlestop tour which ended in a mad dash to Oslo central station the next morning to catch the express train to Oslo Gardermoen Airport for the flight back to blighty.
Oh, one more thing, the breakfast at Anker Hotel was everything you could have wanted and more.