Oslo
If you have yet to read part 1 of my journey, head over before you read this :)
Continuing from before, when we got off the train at Flam, there was about an hour to spare before the boat was scheduled to depart. I spent that hour getting lunch (which proved to be difficult when you're travelling with ALL your belongings for 10 days - see This Post) and running around taking pictures of the surrounding.
THE CRUISE RIDE
After a not so satisfying lunch, I was more than excited to go on this cruise ride. It was the most anticipated part of the journey for me! Plus, it just happened to be a gorgeous sunny day, what a better day to go on a cruise! I stood near the harbour and spent half the time looking up as the area was surrounded by the tallest mountains, and the bluest waters.
Since it was not a typical touristy harbour, it meant that it was not as crowded too; apart from everyone that was on the tour.
Since it was not a typical touristy harbour, it meant that it was not as crowded too; apart from everyone that was on the tour.
15 minutes before the departure of the cruise, I went to the entrance and started queuing. This turned out to be a good move as up on the deck of the cruise, there were chairs laid out and getting up before others meant that I could choose where I wanted to sit to so called get the best view.
Eventually the deck was filled with people no one was sitting down anymore, everyone was standing and snapping away with their cameras. Being right by the rails meant that I could get the best view and I did not need to avoid the heads of people way taller than me.
As the boat pulled away from the port, I got to see a more macro view of the mountains and houses at the foot of it. To imagine I was there a tiny speck of dust amongst the colourful houses, compared to the huge mountains around.
The cruise ride was the most emotional I felt during the journey.
My thoughts hopped from "Omg I can't believe I'm actually seeing this right now", awe and wonderment, to "I wish I had someone here with me to share this with", mildly lonesome.
The cruise took us through one of Norway's most famous fjords, the Nærøyfjord, stopping at islands along the way. The islands had more or less the same feel to them - houses with colourful roofs clustered at the foot of the mountain or in the valley. We were also accompanied by seagulls during our ride, they circles around the cruise ship and flew beside us struggling against the wind.
I spent half the journey on the deck watching the seagulls fly and staring out into the vast waters and massive mountains, letting the sun rays (and extremely strong winds) hit my face.
Eventually, it got too cold, and I felt as though my fingers were about to freeze and fall off. I decided to head into the cabin, and grab myself some food. The cabin had tables and chairs where you get a decent view without having the wind in your face. So I stayed inside for a little bit since I managed to get a seat by the window, had a hotdog bun and some hot chocolate. Before heading on the deck again to admire the view before we docked at our arrival port.
THE BUS RIDE
It was as if cruising through fjords was not sufficiently marvellous, the last part of the tour was a bus ride. The part I refer to as my road trip with 40 other passengers.
As you could have guessed, after blue waters and green mountains? You get another stretch of snow covered land!
As you could have guessed, after blue waters and green mountains? You get another stretch of snow covered land!
On this bus ride, I sat right at the front behind the driver, because I figured he'd have the best view. But the view although magnificent wasn't the highlight of the bus ride.
During the ride, I sat beside this lady who had difficulty with walking. Her husband carried her up the bus, and since the nearest seat was beside me, she sat there, and he had to seat somewhere behind because he felt bad that we, the people around, wanted to give up our seats. I started talking to her, and was so shocked that she took the entire Norway in the Nutshell tour. I found it incredibly tiring to move from one transport to the other, much less her.
But she was so cheerful and appreciative, she kept talking about how beautiful Norway was, and the way she talks about her husband and the way he cared for her, was one of the truest forms of love i've witnessed in real life.
I have a personal issue with disbelieve when it comes to love and marriage, but what I saw proved to me that genuine pure love can exist between humans. Even though we're far from perfect.
There was a last part which was a train ride on The Bergan Railway again, but by that point, I was more than 10 hours into the day and seated by a dirty window. My camera had over 500 images, the battery was almost dead, I had maxed out more than one SD Card, and I desperately needed to pee. Everyone slept on that train ride, but instead of doing the same, I just stared out and soak in as much of the view as I could, and thought to myself how incredible the entire day has been.
Lugging a suitcase around 4 different forms of transport to get from Oslo to Bergen (when it could have been a straight train ride on The Bergan Railway) turned out to be way more tiring than I had expected, but for that experience, it was worth it.
Never could I have imagined seeing so much beauty of the world in one day. I was reminded of how wonderful God is, I had such a nice time marvelling at the wonders of nature, and just taking a step back to ponder about my life whilst seeing enjoying one of the best views i've ever had my entire life. It was beyond, and I'm so glad I did it.
Summary: Norway in a Nutshell TourIf you read both part 1 and part 2 till the end, thank you so so so much.
+ Recommended if you don't have a car and have insufficient time to spend in Norway, yet you want to get see and experience the most of its natural beauty
+ Tickets come in a nice neat book, there were guides at each stop, and transition from one mode of transport to another was effortless
+ One of the best days of my life
- You could probably get deals if you booked each ticket on your own, so if you have the time and are up for it, you could definitely adopt the itinerary and book your own tickets for each leg of the tour
This journey meant a lot to me, and I just wanted to be able to share it. If you didn't read the text, I hope you enjoyed the pictures and that Norway is now on your list of countries to visit!
I would go back to Norway in a heartbeat. In fact, anywhere in Scandinavia. If I could visit it the region again, I would without a doubt.
Norway in A Nutshell = Perfect Views (Part 2)
1 June 2015 Nærøyfjord, Aurland, Norway
Out of the 10 days in Scandinavia, I only spent a day in Oslo. Before going to Oslo, friends who have been to Oslo, and said that they didn't find anything too special with it. Since I had only 10 days to spend in scandinavia (and there is SO MUCH to see), I decided to stop over at Oslo for only one night, before continuing on with the rest of my trip visiting fjords and heading to Bergen. Another reason for stopping in Oslo was so that I could go by trains which worked out to be cheaper than flying straight to Bergen.
I arrived in Oslo around early afternoon, and after a week of jammed-pack traveling, I was extremely tired. In my head, I thought of giving Oslo city a miss and considering it as merely a rest stop (since it was easter weekend, I thought all the shops would be closed).
However, as I was talking to a girl I met in my dorm she told me that Oslo isn't a huge city, and it is pretty easy to cover the major parts of the city in a day. She also mentioned that the weather that day was surprisingly delightful and the best they've had in the past couple of days. With me and my huge fear of missing out, I hauled my tired ass out of the hostel and went city exploring.
Accomondation: I stayed in 4 bedroom dorm in Anker Apartments.A fairly decent hostel, slightly far from the main train station, but rooms are super well furnished, clean, almost hotel style! I'd really recommend it if you don't mind walking a little bit :)
It was nice to see people sitting out in the park, couples, children, all just enjoying themselves on a causal sunday afternoon.
I took a walk past a river, and headed towards the Oslo harbour, passing by interesting statues and the MOST BIZARRE troll-like-gargoyle-gnome i've ever seen.
The size of that was probably about 1/3 to 1/2 of my actual height. Very unusual that you could easily find these things around Oslo; I saw a couple of them just as I was walking around!
I walked past the main streets of Oslo, and although all the malls and shops were closed, I was contented with window shopping and "studying" the scandinavian fashion style shop displays. Thankfully, most of the cafés were open that day, so that was great! I had a delicious norwegian salmon together with something called a white beer for dinner, which (although expensive) was so satisfying!
Speaking of beer, I when I ordered my drink, I did not specify the size of the beer I wanted, thinking that the waitress would give me a normal/small size. But when she placed the JUG (the cup was bigger than my face!) on my table, I was so shocked. She gave me a whole pint! I typically don't drink that much at a go, but it was some really nice beer, so I finished it up, and continued on my journey towards the harbour.
I loved visiting the harbours of all the scandinavian cities I visited during my trip. I think I probably have one too many shots of harbours, boats, canals, rivers, and waters. But this isn't something I get to see very often, so I was all for embracing it!
The Oslo harbour is pretty huge. Even though there were quite a number of people around eating and drinking, it didn't feel as crowded. Moreover, there were so many street buskers in the vicinity. Lively music to complement a nice view by the water, no wonder there were so many people just sitting around and soaking up the happy vibes. What a great way to unwind at the end of a day!
My trip to Oslo was short, and I didn't get to visit any museums or enter any major attractions. Despite that, I was glad I went out that day and made the most of my time in Oslo. At least I got to see the city and appreciate the nice blue-skied day.
OH YES, and I spotted that Troll-Gnome. Still finding it super quirky that they have things like that along the streets just outside of regular shops!
Blue Skies in Oslo, Norway
28 May 2015 Oslo, Norway
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