Norway - From Oslo to the Fjords

July 14 - 21:

Iceberg sculpture outside Oslo's new Opera House

The narrowest point in the Sogne Fjord, a World Heritage Site

Florescent fjord fireweed

The famous new Holmenkollen ski jump, on Oslo's outskirts

We took a pricey overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo and were of two minds about the beautiful view from the campground overlooking the city and the fjord. It was a heck of a climb with loaded bikes, but once there, the view was awesome! We can tell that all of Europe is on vacation now. The campground is a sea of campers and tents and the museums and streets are packed. Norway is awesome in many ways, but the cycling infrastructure is weaker than anywhere we have been yet. Oslo has a highway running along the waterfront and the rest of the roads seem to be quite neglected as they have been spending billions putting the multi-land road underground as they make the waterfront more accessible. After visiting large cities in Europe with no centre expressway, it seems a shame to spend such sums on a road that could be unnecessary. Hard to say for sure, we are merely passing through...

Before you get super excited about visiting Norway, you need to know that it is pricey. Oslo is said to be the second priciest city in the world after Tokyo, Japan. We could hardly afford a 20 dollar full meal deal at McDonalds. Apparently the prices are high due to the high standard of living brought on by their oil, but they seem very good on maximizing revenues. Even a visit to the toilet at the train station is 2 Euros, that is 2.60 Canadian. Not a place to bring the kids, that's for sure!

The sights in Norway are awesome. We enjoyed the sites in Oslo immensely, seeing their splendid city hall (with dramatic artworks, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded), the Arctic exploring ship the Fram, the Nobel Peace Prize museum with South African winner profiles, the Viking ship museum, Maritime museum, fascinating Vigeland sculpture park and the new ski jump at Holmenkollen (from the top! now ready for the 2011 World Nordic Ski Championship). Won't those nordic skiers be surprised at the starting gate for their races!

We did not come to Norway to cycle (mountains and such being rather daunting!), so we parked our bikes at a hostel and took a bus up to the Sogne Fjord where we feasted on blueberries and learned about their weather patterns. Not surprisingly, it is like the west coast of Canada and there can be a lot of rain (despite the tourism photos). We did some hiking up to the meadows from the town of Mundal and took three different boats along the fjord, including along the narrowest in Norway and world heritage fjord, and completed the tour with the famously steep and dramatic Flam railway journey. We saw many gorgeous waterfalls and vistas, despite the misty weather.