Nuts about NORWAY 

I had heard a lot about Norway in the context of experiencing the Northern Lights in winter. But what I didn’t expect, was for the country to be just as beautiful, if not more so, in other seasons. I have to thank all my friends who recommended that we make Norway the key focus of our Scandinavian spring sojourn.

From Stockholm, we flew into Bergen, “The Capital of the Fjords” and the starting point of our exploration of the country. Thankfully, we chose to spend 3 nights in this gorgeous town. We lucked out with a perfectly designed, centrally located apartment, a few minutes’ walk to the fish market, in the heart of town. We fell in love with the town from the get-go as it reminded us of the beautiful, little towns in Europe that we had come to love – Cesky Krumlov in the Czech Republic, Zermatt in Switzerland and the quaint Tuscan towns in Italy come to mind.

After having settled into the apartment, we couldn’t wait to start exploring the town on foot and what better place to start than the Bryggen Hanseatic Wharf. 

It is a UNESCO world heritage site and a reminder of the town’s importance as part of the Hanseatic League’s trading empire from the 14th to the mid-16th century. Many fires, the last in 1955, ravaged the characteristic wooden houses of Bryggen. Its rebuilding has traditionally followed old patterns and methods, thus leaving its main structure preserved, which is a relic of an ancient wooden urban structure once common in Northern Europe. After a longish walk, the Mantris had to decide where to eat and the restaurant at the top of the recommended list it was. As it turned out, our dinner at Bryggeloftet & Stuene ended up being the best of our entire trip. In fact, that day, we were fortunate with the food choices. Earlier, we had stumbled upon Kaf Kafe Bryggen, which serves awesome coffee and nibbles.

The next day, we took the Fløibanen funicular to the top of Mount Floyen, 

which is a must-do while here. The views from the top are breath-taking besides offering a lot of gorgeous treks. And trek the Mantris did. As a reward, we treated ourselves to the yummy soft serve ice cream at the café at the top before taking the funicular back to town. Feeling peckish by the time we were done, the scrumptious hotdogs from Trekroneren really hit the spot! After a bit more walking in town and a rest at the apartment, it was time for dinner at the fish market and we chose Fjellskaal. The fish and chips of cod were the best we have ever eaten!

On Day 3 we decided to do a fjord cruise to Mostraumen, 
which is highly recommended. The views were to die for! That evening, after a delicious Mediterranean dinner at Baban Grill Pa Kull, Nordnes beckoned for the sunset and we were sad to be leaving this beautiful town the next day.

The next morning, we embarked on the ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ tour which is a must-do for any visitor to the country. The journey kicks off with a train ride to Voss. From there, it is a scenic bus ride to Gudvangen, where we got our first glimpses of snow-clad mountains. In Gudvangen, we boarded a fjord cruise to take us to Flåm. The cruise passes the Naeroyfjord and Aurlandsfjord along the way. Absolutely stunning scenery! On reaching Flam, one has the option to continue onwards to Oslo after spending two hours in the town. However, we decided to spend the night at the lovely Flamsbrygga Hotel and boy, are we glad we did! 

The restaurant Aegir Bryggeri, which was part of the hotel, was amazing and where the boys tried the 5-course Viking plank, paired with 5 different beers. An experience in itself!

We had done a short trek prior to dinner but saved the more strenuous trek to the Brekkefossen waterfall for the next day since we were taking the train out only at 4.00 p.m. While we had to negotiate around 570 steps on the way up, the views from the top were well worth the effort. Then it was back for a pint at the brewery before catching the Flamsbana train to Myrdal.

The Flåm Railway has been described as one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world and is one of the leading tourist attractions in Norway. The train runs from the end of Aurlandsfjord, a tributary of the Sognefjord, up to the high mountains at Myrdal station. The journey features the finest aspects of the stunning scenery of Western Norway. The pictures speak for themselves.

With our cruise company making a last-minute change to the schedule, we ended up having just half a day to explore Oslo. We chose to visit the Vigeland Sculpture Park and the Fram polar ship museum, both great choices. 

The former is Gustav Vigeland's life work, comprising over 200 sculptures in granite, bronze and wrought iron. It was installed mainly in the period 1940-1949, but is a result of over 40 years of work.

Not only were the sculptures very impressive, but the park itself was beautiful and lovely to walk around.

Meanwhile, the Fram Museum contains exhibitions of the most famous voyages of global historical significance. The centerpiece of the museum is the world´s strongest wooden ship, the polar ship Fram, which successfully completed 3 polar expeditions.

The public can go on board to see her cabins, lounges, cargo hold and engine room. It was very interesting and the interactive exhibits at the museum contributed to the overall experience. After a quick bite at Oslo Street Food (since our first choice, Mathallen, was closed), it was time to board our DFDS cruise for Copenhagen. It was a wonderful journey, made even better with 2 Commodore cabins as well as lounge access. We had a blast in the bar, playing the Danish version of scrabble.

We were excited to be spending the last few days of our Nordic sojourn in the highly recommended city of Copenhagen, which definitely lived up to our expectations. More about that in a separate blog 😊