Jump to content

Norway -- Oslo to Bergen

Brisketexan

By Brisketexan
in Food and Travel

 Share

Recommended Posts

Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105064

Posted
Posted

So, we're planning a jaunt up to Norway in late June.  Based on flights (we're headed there from Berlin), we'll probably start in Oslo, end up in Bergen.  I know we want to see the Viking ship museum in Oslo, and my wife very much wants to take in some scenery either near Bergen, on the way to Bergen, etc. - fjords and all that (my daughter and I discussed the fact that we'd keep our eyes out for roaming flocks of Norwegian Blues -- beautiful plumage! -- which we thought was hysterical, my wife, not so much).

Anyone ever done this, have any recommendations for 1) good itinerary items and 2) the best way to get from Oslo to Bergen (flying is fast, and cheap -- driving is long, bus is longer, BUT, if there's stuff we want to do between cities....)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gecko

gecko 1104

Posted
Posted

Will follow this thread closely.  Wife and I need a late June through July 4 vacation idea.  This is intriguing.  I would think rent a car and drive it so you can stop and see what you want to see.  Also, they drive on right side of road so you won't have that to contend with.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
52-80

52-80 19147

Posted
Posted

There's a direct train that goes from Oslo to Bergen, and it stops in such places like Voss (where those 8$ water bottles come from). 

It also has options for overnight to save time, or during the day for scenery -- and is considered one of the worlds great scenic routes.

Speed limits are pretty low for driving. 

Our fjord tour was based in Bergen.  Pretty spectacular but I forgot exact operator or route

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Robin Masters

Robin Masters 122

Posted
Posted

We rented a car in Oslo and drove a loop, out to Flam. On the way we stopped at one of the super old churches.

Google rick steves norway in a nutshell and he has some about the flam area.

I really can''t remember the order we did it all in but I think we took an out and back on a train, and then the same on a Fjord cruise. After that we drove to Bergen. Rick is going to have you train out there, do a one way train down to the water, cruise one way, then train to Bergen. I didn't mind the out and backs because everything was draw joppingly good, plus we saw of great stuff driving ourselves.

We spent a rainy day in Bergen wandering around the old town, then drove down to Stavanger. We were going to do the hikes to

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Preikestolen

and

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kjeragbolten

but we had crappy weather so wound up only doing Preikestolen. Well worth it.

They have some designated scenic routes. Overlap those when you can, but man we saw amazing stuff all over the place. You'd just be tooling along, and bam, waterfall coming out of the mountain right by the road.

https://www.visitnorway.com/plan-your-trip/travel-tips-a-z/norwegian-scenic-routes/

Norway is expensive compared to anywhere. We loaded up on sandwich making stuff, and we had a kitchette in our Stavanger hotel and it was still costly.

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
immamac

immamac 42835

Posted
Posted

Train is the way to go if you are only going between the 2 places. How long are you in Norway? Oslo and Bergen are the 2 most boring places I went in Norway when we were there for 14 days. They have an airline called wideroe which has directs all over the country even up to some of the northern parts. If you can get to the lofoten islands forget about going to either Oslo or Bergen it'll blow both of those out of the water if you are into the outdoors thing. There's also a crazy cool viking museum https://www.museumnord.no/en/lofotr-viking-museum/ 

Oslo and Bergen are not bad by any stretch, they are just cities in the nordic, Bergen has some really cool historical stuff and you can go do all the Bryggen history tours etc, although if memory serves me correct the actual UNESCO's museums are going to be closed for renovation while you are there. The fish market is a tourist trap, but it's a cool tourist trap! Oh and prepare your anus for anything that has a service component (restaurants, bars, etc etc) prices are nutty even when you factor in that you don't have to tip. I'm talking 10 dollars for a hot dog at a gas station high. There's also not much difference between the "low end" of food and the "high end" until you get to the michelin starred places with 20+ course tasting menus. I would maximize your dollar value and just hit up highly rated restaurants because the cost difference isn't all that much.

Bergen is the "gateway to the fjords" but beware that there aren't really any cool fjords within about an hour of Bergen, they are all full on day trips, but you can see trolltunga and some other iconic fjord spots that everyone takes pictures of from Bergen. 

If cities are your thing, I'd skip Norway entirely and go to Copenhagen - it's way way fucking cooler than either Oslo or Bergen from a historical and cultural perspective there's also some great scenery and hikes very close to the city in the danish country side. Plus TIVOLI GARDENS is cool as fuck. 

Happy to send over a full itinerary of what we did upon request, it's pretty hefty and has a lot on there you can choose from and includes what we paid for everything.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bone3421

Bone3421 716

Posted
Posted
So, we're planning a jaunt up to Norway in late June.  Based on flights (we're headed there from Berlin), we'll probably start in Oslo, end up in Bergen.  I know we want to see the Viking ship museum in Oslo, and my wife very much wants to take in some scenery either near Bergen, on the way to Bergen, etc. - fjords and all that (my daughter and I discussed the fact that we'd keep our eyes out for roaming flocks of Norwegian Blues -- beautiful plumage! -- which we thought was hysterical, my wife, not so much).
Anyone ever done this, have any recommendations for 1) good itinerary items and 2) the best way to get from Oslo to Bergen (flying is fast, and cheap -- driving is long, bus is longer, BUT, if there's stuff we want to do between cities....)?
There is a train that goes from oslo to bergen...could probably hop off and on with a pass
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105064

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
44 minutes ago, immamac said:

Train is the way to go if you are only going between the 2 places. How long are you in Norway? Oslo and Bergen are the 2 most boring places I went in Norway when we were there for 14 days. They have an airline called wideroe which has directs all over the country even up to some of the northern parts. If you can get to the lofoten islands forget about going to either Oslo or Bergen it'll blow both of those out of the water if you are into the outdoors thing. There's also a crazy cool viking museum https://www.museumnord.no/en/lofotr-viking-museum/ 

Oslo and Bergen are not bad by any stretch, they are just cities in the nordic, Bergen has some really cool historical stuff and you can go do all the Bryggen history tours etc, although if memory serves me correct the actual UNESCO's museums are going to be closed for renovation while you are there. The fish market is a tourist trap, but it's a cool tourist trap! Oh and prepare your anus for anything that has a service component (restaurants, bars, etc etc) prices are nutty even when you factor in that you don't have to tip. I'm talking 10 dollars for a hot dog at a gas station high. There's also not much difference between the "low end" of food and the "high end" until you get to the michelin starred places with 20+ course tasting menus. I would maximize your dollar value and just hit up highly rated restaurants because the cost difference isn't all that much.

Bergen is the "gateway to the fjords" but beware that there aren't really any cool fjords within about an hour of Bergen, they are all full on day trips, but you can see trolltunga and some other iconic fjord spots that everyone takes pictures of from Bergen. 

If cities are your thing, I'd skip Norway entirely and go to Copenhagen - it's way way fucking cooler than either Oslo or Bergen from a historical and cultural perspective there's also some great scenery and hikes very close to the city in the danish country side. Plus TIVOLI GARDENS is cool as fuck. 

Happy to send over a full itinerary of what we did upon request, it's pretty hefty and has a lot on there you can choose from and includes what we paid for everything.

Thanks -- we are going to Copenhagen as well. Planning on a couple of days there, and a day trip over to Malmo.

And now you've got me re-thinking our itinerary.  I mean, we're going to Norway.  That much I know.  Where to fly into and what to do, I'm still fleshing out.

So, if you were going to Norway for 5 days or so, where would you recommend hitting?

Thoughts on Trondheim, Molde, Alesund, Harstad, Bodo, Tromso?

Edited by Brisketexan
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105064

Posted
  • Author
Posted
42 minutes ago, immamac said:

Happy to send over a full itinerary of what we did upon request, it's pretty hefty and has a lot on there you can choose from and includes what we paid for everything.

And yeah -- would LOVE to see that.  I have no idea WTF I'm doing.  I just know that my wife wants to see some epic scenery and fjords and shit (and I kinda do too).  And, my daughter is getting her conversational Norwegian down, so we'll have a passable translator in the hinterlands, if need be.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bone3421

Bone3421 716

Posted
Posted
And yeah -- would LOVE to see that.  I have no idea WTF I'm doing.  I just know that my wife wants to see some epic scenery and fjords and shit (and I kinda do too).  And, my daughter is getting her conversational Norwegian down, so we'll have a passable translator in the hinterlands, if need be.
Thats not a bad way to do it though...pick a few places you want to see then wing the rest

I usually have a sight seeing day or 1/2 a day then a full day of just walking the streets with no aim
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105064

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Just now, Bone3421 said:

Thats not a bad way to do it though...pick a few places you want to see then wing the rest

I usually have a sight seeing day or 1/2 a day then a full day of just walking the streets with no aim

I'm down with that....but....it's a big-ass country.  Need to be in at least the right area.  I figure we'll fly in to Oslo from Berlin, it's easy.  And we can at least spend a day in Oslo -- seems like we kinda have to, right?  But after that.....wherever, dude.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
immamac

immamac 42835

Posted
Posted

Check your email I sent it over.

z6zTE3l9HQ37-xFJRRtxCJfxleqpy7u0HaFfEH8Z

LXWZHalw677pHtsciyjsYxmuPTpIrxHk0TFslfkO

Here's what we did, we flew the big portion from Bodo to bergen instead of driving, and then took a cruise from oslo to copenhagen and back before flying home.

Tromso was far and away my favorite city, but Lofoten Islands is somewhere you have to go at least once in your life. It's culture rich, amazing scenery and just fucking amazing in general. If you go to Tromso in June you will probably be able to catch the midnight sun.

-02gwo2ZVrihH4AyW_1e7tDSVPnaFurkFC2uy8RP

This is probably something you won't do, it's on the island of Senja and it's called senjatrollen it's the worlds largest troll with a troll museum inside lol.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105064

Posted
  • Author
Posted

So, our Norwegian exchange student agrees - she thinks that Tromso and Lofoten would be very cool. Midnight sun at Tromso, and she says Lofoten is very popular with folks she knows (she hasn’t been yet, but she’s heard how beautiful it is).

How do you get from Tromso to the islands? Long drive? I’m thinking we have 5 days in Norway, and 4 in Copenhagen and Malmo. Do we even spend a day in Oslo?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25915

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

So, our Norwegian exchange student agrees - she thinks that Tromso and Lofoten would be very cool. Midnight sun at Tromso, and she says Lofoten is very popular with folks she knows (she hasn’t been yet, but she’s heard how beautiful it is).

How do you get from Tromso to the islands? Long drive? I’m thinking we have 5 days in Norway, and 4 in Copenhagen and Malmo. Do we even spend a day in Oslo?

You may need to come to California instead of norway

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105064

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Tromso to lofoten is about a full days drive (7-8 hours with stops), but you get to see some of the most awesome fjords and tunnels in Norway. Super worth it.

And how long to spend in Lofoten? 2 days? I mean...I figure we have lots of time to see stuff, what with 23.9 hours of daylight.

Also...I love cotija cheese. Nothing to do with Norway, but mmm....queso cotija.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105064

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 days and we drove to the end and about halfway back before getting on a ferry to bodo. We stayed in Svolvaer, but I would recommend staying deeper in the islands in a fishing village there's some really cool ones. 

Dude, this is awesome info.

Wife is already pumped about this sort of itinerary, as is the boy. A trip above the arctic circle is totally his bag.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Robin Masters

Robin Masters 122

Posted
Posted

I did Lofoten/Tromso in the winter for northern lights. He's not kidding, amazing area.

I'm telling you drive. Every time I've been on a train looking out the window, wow that looks coo, and it's gone. In a car, wow that looks cool. Stop, turn around, go back.

I would keep your schedule as loose as possible. We were there mid-July for the Oslo, Bergen stuff. We had drizzly, crap weather about half the time. On the plus side it never really got dark, so you have can have long long days of touristing. Bring eye masks or whatever you need to sleep. You do not want a hotel room on the street side, mostly it's no AC, open window if its hot, and people are up all hours making noise with the all night twilight.

Copenhagen is great. There's that one row of colorful buildings along a canal that everyone takes a pic of. Take the tourist boat tour there that goes around a bunch of canals.
They have several kick ass museums. One is right next to Tivoli Gardens, the Carlsberg Glypotek. Carlsberg beer guy a few generations ago had a very solid art collection, as well as Egyptian mummies and what not.

A block or so away The National Museum of Denmark. Like their Smithsonian. It's huge, tons of cool things. They do a changing of the guard thing if you're in that area and you probably will be at some point.

Noma is open again, but probably impossible for reservations. It's been 4-5 years since I was there but back then there was a some places like Bror and Amass that were former Noma chefs doing their own thing, and those were not that hard to get in.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Hagbard Celine

Hagbard Celine 10850

Posted
Posted

When/if i ever do norway it will be a "only there once, cost no option" junket with optimized logistics to combine flying and driving to the following.  Strong agree on Tromso and Lofoten Archipelago (Islands); haven't checked but believe you can fly to Leknes.  Other airports to achieve the bucket list include Bodo, Honningsvåg and Longyear.  Note SAS flies Tromso-Longyear every day.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Ocean_Road

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltstraumen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moskstraumen

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longyearbyen

http://www.visitnordkapp.net/en/

And I would plan my visit in the transition time between the equinoxes to have a chance for aurorae.

Going in the summer or the dead dark are extremes that make the one-shot itinerary untenable.

Also, if you have not bought your transatlantic yet, even though Icelandair has pulled out of Dallas, Bergen-Reyjkyavik-Denver/KC/Chicago and a switch to Southwest back to Austin might be less $ and less time.  Also note the following Tromso nonstop service (per the wiki):

Finnair: Helsinki (to JFK & LAX, seasonal to MIA, ORD & SFO)

Lufthansa: Frankfurt; seasonal: Munch

Norwegian Shuttle: seasonal Gatwick

SAS: Oslo (to JFK), Stockholm (to JFK); seasonal: Copenhagen (to JFK & ORD)

Transavia: seasonal Schiphol

Returning through Berlin adds 6-7 hours, adds an unnecessary stop, etc.

You might even pick up business class one one-way flights for not much more than a straight up round trip.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Brisketexan

Brisketexan 105064

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Well, we’re starting out by meeting my son in Germany at the end of his exchange program. And we’ll meet him in Berlin because 1) cheap and quick flight there from AUS (relatively), 2) we love Berlin, and 3) my daughter has dear friends there who she wants to visit. And we’re flying back to the US out of Copenhagen because there’s a cheap straight shot to LAX (where we’re meeting family for a week in SoCal). So, to Berlin. Then to Norway (itinerary tbd) for 5 days. Then to Copenhagen and Malmo for 4 days. Then to LAX.

We’ve made it a point to do something “different” each time we met one of the kids after their German exchange. We did a jaunt to Armenia last time.

Berlin is easy for us to plan. Copenhagen seems easy enough to plan.
The Norway bit is where we’re looking to explore.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Gil Bang

Gil Bang 25915

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, immamac said:

dude wtf that's both racist and cloak room outside of CR, fuck off with your bullshit.

racist my ass.  Brisket loves that kind of food, as do I. 

If the wall was made of chicken assholes, he'd love that too.  Is that racist?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
RiceOwl

RiceOwl 74

Posted
Posted

Norway is an awesome, awesome place to visit.

Roadtripped last year and did the following:

-Flew into BGO from ARN I’m SAS.

-Drove from BGO to Voss. Putzed around there for an afternoon. Nice lake to rent kayaks on, some decent restaurants, etc.

-Next morning, drove from Voss to the ferry dock in Gudvangen... We then took the ferry from Gudvangen to Flam... Incredible, incredible scenery. 

-We spent that afternoon/evening in Flam... Did the train up to the top of the mountain (where it meets the train to Bergen and Oslo) and back down. We stayed at a cabin in Flam. There’s a good brewery and a nice hotel with a good dinner buffet there.

-The next morning, we drove/ferried to a cabin we rented just outside of Jostedalsbreen National Park between Sogndal and Fjaerland. This was a base camp for hiking, swimming, relaxing for three days. Incredibly remote and beautiful.

-From there, we drove to Alesund and spent three nights. The city has a few interesting museums, good short hikes, and very, very cool Art Deco architecture. 

-We then turned our car in and flew to Oslo from Alesund. I actually really like Oslo, more than Stockholm and some other European cities that people love (like Prague for example). It’s not so overwhelmed with tourists that you get lost in the crowd but there’s some really cool attractions. The Viking Museum, the Ski Museum/Jump, the Opera House, the Norsk Folk Museum, just to name a few... We stayed in an awesome AirBnb in Fagerborg that was walking distance to some great restaurants. Side note: Tjuvholmen is one of the coolest modern “neighborhood” developments I’ve seen, anywhere. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
52-80

52-80 19147

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, RoundRobin said:

Not one damn request for pics of the Norwegian exchange student? For shame!

If you go to Trondheim check out Nidaros Domkirke. My grandfather took music lessons there as a boy (late 1800s)  

you're a descendant of armybrat?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 1 year later...
  • 2 years later...
52-80

52-80 19147

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, smwhorn said:

Headed to Oslo this weekend.  Taking the train from Oslo to Bergen during the week. 

I suppose a tour of the fjords from Bergen is a must?

Tour if the fjord from anywhere is a must. The nature is much better than the cities. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Napoleon

Napoleon 8661

Posted
Posted (edited)
11 hours ago, Tonesky said:

Get off the train in Myrdal and take the round trip to/from Flam - https://www.norwaysbest.com/the-flam-railway/round-trip-with-the-flam-railway/


Did this in 1997, because a UT kid in my hostel said that his parents had done it on their honeymoon. 

It’s 12 miles down the valley from Myrdal to Flåm. 
👀

Walking that sucked after about 3 or 4 miles, but when we passed the only stop between Myrdal & Flåm, we thought that we were near the bottom. We were only half way down. 

image.gif.d38d98aa7787eeead37ea32b1bc858d8.gif

Last summer, some people I know took a cruise and their boat pulled up to Flåm. 

1) They rented bicycles in Flåm.

2) They put the bikes in the train and rode up to Myrdal, taking photos out the window. 

3) They got off the train and took photos of the various water falls that are near the path around Myrdal.

4) Then they coasted down hill on their bikes and occasionally stopping for photos. 
 

ABSOLUTELY THE SMARTEST WAY TO SEE THE FLÅM VALLEY!

#2 best is train both ways. 
 

DO NOT WALK THE 12 MILES DOWN TO FLÅM!!!

Edited by Napoleon
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Napoleon

Napoleon 8661

Posted
Posted
On 6/29/2023 at 7:56 PM, smwhorn said:

Headed to Oslo this weekend.  Taking the train from Oslo to Bergen during the week. 

I suppose a tour of the fjords from Bergen is a must?

You can tour fjords out of Bergen, or you can maybe book a ferry to the fjord that takes you up to a puddly ski hill on a glacier…

…if the glacier is still there. 

I met a group of UT study abroad kids in Bergen and we took a ferry that went in a couple of fjords before our stop. 

1) It was more of a mode of transportation than a sight-seeing tour. 

2) You saw a couple of fjords, but the magic of a tour ship wasn’t there.

3) The skiing sucked, but it was about August 23rd or one of the hottest summers in decades. (They have probably had several of those over the last 26 years.)

4) I can always start a sentence with: “When I went skiing on a glacier in Norway…” 😎⛷️🇳🇴

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
 Share
Go to topic listing


Football ... Basketball ... Baseball ... Other Sports ... Futbol ... 🤫995🤫 ... Gambling ... Movies & TV ... Music ... Hobbies ... Lulz ... Food & Travel ... Daily Texan ... Business and Markets ... Cloak Room ... Help ... For Sale ... Board Discussion ... Subscribe!... Donate!... Advertise... COOKIE MONSTER!

×
×
  • Create New...