[I realised we've skipped quite a bit now, but time has gotten away. I wanted to get some more recent activity up here before it too became a distant memory. Enjoy!]
- Arrival in Oslo: Tuesday 17 October (from London Gatwick with Norwegian Airlines)
- Departure to Trondheim: Wednesday 18 October (by train from airport station)
We arrived in Oslo around 6pm local time, losing one hour due to the change of time zones, after a smooth 2 hour flight from Gatwick. It was just on sunset and much colder than London. There seemed to be a very light drizzle falling, although it could simply have been the night setting in. Oslo Airport was eponymously Nordic in design with soaring timber beams and minimalist in every way. We had quite the walk to baggage collection, with our bags just a minute or two behind. All belongings retrieved, we headed for the bus stops at the front of the terminal to catch our bus to the airport hotel. We were only staying overnight, with train tickets from the airport to Trondheim for 8.28am the next day. The hotel website suggested we should wait at stop 25. Suffice to say, after walking in one direction and then the other, we found nearly all numbers from 1-40 except 25! Although the system of assigning numbers to stops must only be known to the Asperger’s-afflicted transport designer, the electronic signage eventually directed us to the appropriate spot, and we paid our 140 NOK (about $24) to ride the bus the 10 minutes or so to the Best Western.
We alighted, checked-in and got ourselves sorted for dinner. Xavier had missed his daytime nap and was the worse for wear, so we were keen for a quick meal to enable him to get to bed relatively speedily. The hotel restaurant was very simple, offering a small number of choices, but nothing that seemed particularly Norwegian in provenance. Linton opted for the burger, me the tagliatelle and X specifically requested bread, which was readily available. The food wasn’t bad – I think my pasta outshone the burger on this occasion – and it soon arrived, piping hot. The bill represented a jarring introduction to routinely outrageous Norwegian prices. For our food, two small beers and Xavier’s untoasted, condiment-free foccacia, we forked out about $90! We had wondered if this incorporated an airport-style, “you are completely isolated with no other options so we will gouge you as best we can” premium, but later experience would prove otherwise!!
Off to bed for X and a bit of internet surfing for Linton and I, and that was the end of Tuesday. We were up early on Wednesday to get back to the airport for our train. Our transfer to the airport was right on time at 7.38am, and while we were waiting, Xavier discovered the joys of breathing steam in the cold air (it was around 3 degrees). Being perhaps overly cautious with our timings, we had about half an hour to kill before departure. Coffee and snacks for the journey (around $35 later) organised, we boarded the four-carraige train and found our seats easily.
We were in a ‘comfort’ carriage which provided free tea and coffee for the journey. The seating was pretty standard but it was warm and comfortable enough with big windows for enjoying the view. We were seated next to a fairly old man who immediately took an interest in Xavier and the collection of toys he was progressively laying out on the table that we shared with him. As it turned out, the man had been a major general in the Norwegian army and was riding the train around 75% of the way to Trondheim so we (mainly me; Linton managed to frquently exclude himself on the basis of looking after X!) talked about all sorts of things along the way. It was good to have someone there who was able to tell us about the areas we were travelling through and imparting bits of knowledge about Norway, and to hear some of his stories about working with soldiers from various countries as part of his extensive experience commanding UN peacekeeping missions (including in the Sinai, Macedonia and Sri Lanka). He said he was surprised to have run into Australians but really seemed to enjoy the conversation and interacting a bit with Xavier (who was looking for lions all the way, even after the man got off, after it was suggested right at the beginning of the journey that X should keep an eye out for them!!!). There was one minor drawback, which was that I missed the opportunity to savour some of the spectacular scenery during the first part of the journey. The glimpses I managed to sneak without wanting to seem rude were postcard-like, with lots of clear water, pine and fir trees, gentle hills and open spaces, etc. It would be good to repeat this part of the trip again, just to appreciate the beauty more fully.
We eventually arrived at Trondheim about 2.30pm and were met by Sven, the co-owner of the Air B&B were had booked. It started to rain just as we exited the station and found him, so we quickly loaded our stuff into his car, a Mercedes AMG station wagon! Air B&B must be lucrative! He helpfully saved us the short train trip to the accommodation and gave us a potted local history of the Ila district that we were headed for. The flat was on the second floor of an old house that had been transported to its location from the other side of the fjord in the early 20th century. Its age showed in many ways but it was warm and spacious (although the coffee table in the living room was way too big). X was immediately enamoured by the large box of toys that lived there and we were made feel that if X was to jump up and down all night directly above the owners’ bedroom immediately below, that they couldn’t have cared less! We were pleased about the potential for a home-cooked meal and to watch some TV after X went to bed, both for the first time since Granada.
We headed out for groceries (including the brown cheese that we were reliably informed on the train was a tell-tale indicator of a Norwegian!) and came across a fairly well-equipped park, where X had the chance to try out a flying fox for the first time. Needless to say, he found it most agreeable and it was difficult to encourage him to leave, despite the fading light and falling temperatures.
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| On the flying fox |
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| Definitely a winner! |
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| Brown cheese...really good with a sweeter after-taste |
An uneventful (but home-cooked) dinner and storytime later, and X was asleep. Linton and I enjoyed
Julie and Julia on the Norwegian equivalent of Foxtel, before retiring ourselves.
We had decided to explore the top three highlights of Trondheim the next day. According to Trip Advisor, these were the Old Town, the Old Bridge and the Old Church (the cathedral, the largest in northern Europe apparently).
The walk into the centre of town (about 2km away) wasn’t bad, although a bit chilly despite the sunshine. There were few people around, which we put that down to the temperature and the mid-morning hour. We found a Starbucks for a warming and energising coffee, then walked the short distance to the cathedral, which had seemingly been a major destination for religious pilgrims for hundreds of years. It was equipped with two large organs, plenty of stained glass and a relatively understated feel. Then we wandered towards the old town, which was preceded by the old bridge. After stopping for a few pics, we continued across the bridge and found the old town quite deserted. It was cold but it was about 12pm and perfectly clear, so we couldn’t really understand the isolated feel. We kept going for a while and ended up crossing back into the new part of town on a different bridge. There were some fairly impressive buildings and the area had a nice feel, but it certainly seemed a subdued and quiet place.
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| Side view of cathedral |
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| Imposing front view |
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| The old bridge |
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| View from the bridge; water like glass |
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| A glimpse of the newer part of town |
We plumped for McDonald’s for lunch – our third fast food meal of the whole trip I think – and it was probably lucky we did. Although the Happy Meal came without a toy (and much to X’s unhappiness, with ‘bubbles’ water (carbonated spring water)), the bill came to $41! We wandered home for X’s nap, before heading out for groceries for dinner and another play on the flying fox. We had an early-ish start on Friday, and quite a lot of distance to cover, so after our frozen fish, veges and garlic bread slap-up dinner, it was early to bed for us all.
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