Norway

[Kswiss]

Looks like everybody is travelling these days


Thinking of heading out to Norway later this year and just wondering if anyone has any experiences (food, architecture, parks etc.). I am a total newb for this area.

All tourist traps / hidden gems stories are welcome!!


Thanks.

[octothorp]

First, go there. It's awesome. Scandinavia was one of my favorite trips I've ever taken. I would have liked to spend more time in Norway and get a bit more off the beaten track, but we spent a day in Oslo and then about four days in and around Bergen, and loved absolutely all of it. Definitely get out into the fjords. We took the Flam Railway (near Bergen) and then a ferry through the adjacent fjords.

[Kswiss]

Yeah, it always intrigued me, thinking of visiting Bergen, and Oslo. (perhaps Stavenger).

Probably will be doing that train ride from Bergen to Oslo or vise versa.

[VladtheImpaler]

Very expensive. Oddly enough was able to get a hotel across the street from the royal palace very cheap (the SAS something) but the food is double what you would pay here as far as I recall (and here is expensive). Get some trolls and a wool sweater. See the Kon Tiki museum.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Kswiss

Yeah, it always intrigued me, thinking of visiting Bergen, and Oslo. (perhaps Stavenger).

Probably will be doing that train ride from Bergen to Oslo or vise versa.

Definitely, yes. You should go to Norway.

I am back in Canada now after having lived in Kristiansand for the past three years.

The "Norway in a Nutshell" tour is excellent value. My wife did it last summer and it was one of her highlights from the time we were there.

http://www.norwaynutshell.com

Oslo is a terrific city. You should definitely find time to see the Opera House and the Munsch Museum, as well as the Vigeland sculpture park. Of course, there are over 30 museums in Oslo, and most of them are excellent. However, like all things in Norway, they are also quite expensive. You should buy the Oslo Pass (http://www.visitoslo.com/en/activiti...ons/oslo-pass/), which will not only give you access to practically everything, but also includes public transit. (Otherwise, you can pay between $8–20 per ride on the city bus or the metro). In addition to the Kon-Tiki Museum, definitely take the whole day to visit the other three museums on Bigdøy Isl. My family's favourite was easily the Fram Museum (http://www.frammuseum.no. Their website sucks, but I think that in part is to preserve the experience of awe that you are sure to have upon entering the building.)

If you decide to head South, Stavenger is definitely worthwhile as a third destination beyond Oslo and Bergen (probably the nicest city in Norway). From Stavenger, it is worthwhile to take a day trip to see and hike Preikestolen, or Lyndesnes fyr.

Be prepared for sticker shock, especially when it comes to food. A typical dinner in a city restaurant is likely to cost in the ballpark around $50–80 per person. Most of the local beer is undrinkable, but Nøgne Ø is very good. Unfortunately, it too is also very expensive.

[BloodFetish]

Really pay attention to that conversion rate, so you know how much things cost before you get sticker shock.

Oslo was our first stop on a cruise and we didn't understand that our casual lunch (two plates of salmon, potatoes and a beer) was going to cost us $80 USD. That was an eye-opener for the rest of our stops.

(Or just read TextCritics post above...)

[Buff]

Some people who grew up down the street from me now live in Norway and from the pics I see on Facebook, Norway looks great!

My wife is Dutch and wants to visit Holland and I'm Norwegian and want to visit Norway. I guess we'll settle for Vegas for now.

[Firebot]

Visited Oslo a couple of years ago on a trip to Europe. Everything is closed Sunday and Monday, and when stuff is actually open, it closes early anyways. Everything is crazy expensive. I still remember having to pay 17$ for a beer at a bar, and 30$ for a thin tasteless bowl of soup and crackers at a cafe. Your canned soup is 3 steps above this.

One thing that was actually on the cheaper side is the loads of gravlox you can buy. If you are cost conscious (and you will be once you see your first Norwegian bill) you can buy bread and gravlox at a grocery store and make a great sandwich.

Scandinavia is notorious for bland boring food, and that's coming as a Canadian standard. You've been warned.

Very beautiful though.

[Kswiss]

Thanks for the heads up on everything all.

Yeah totally didn't realize the cost of everything was that high. So silly question, do people tip in Norway? Dont want to add 15% on a $17 beer!

[core_upt]

Originally Posted by Kswiss

Thanks for the heads up on everything all.

Yeah totally didn't realize the cost of everything was that high. So silly question, do people tip in Norway? Dont want to add 15% on a $17 beer!

Haven't been to Norway, but assuming it is the same as Sweden/Denmark/Iceland....

The price you see is what you pay - it includes VAT and 'tip'. They don't really believe in tipping, becasue they get paid a good wage and in turn, are expected to do a good job. Some fancy, high-end restaurants may encourage a tip, but no server/bartender would bat an eye if you didn't tip on top of the posted price.
It's a WAY better way of pricing.

Also, if you aren't being a total jackass , no one really cares if you are sitting in a park enjoying a beer. it's far cheaper than the bar.

[me_dennis]

I've been to Stavanger with my wife on a work trip. As everyone has already mentioned, food is extremely expensive. Like $20CAD for a Big mac (no meal) expensive.

Stavanger is a major oil and gas city, and we were there during an energy expo, so hotels were extremely expensive and scarce. Luckily the company paid for our accommodations.

The Preikestolen hike was amazing, and pretty busy as well. The terrain can be challenging if you're not used to hiking, and the path is really slippery when wet. I would advise wearing good hiking shoes, and taking your time. The views at the top are spectacular. Be sure to bring a camera. To get to the base of the hike, you would need to take a bus and a ferry from Stavanger. I cannot remember how much this costs, but I'm sure you could do a quick online search to find out.

[heep223]

I lived in Bergen for 6 months, can't speak to anywhere else (spent a bit of time in Oslo). Norway is like Canada in many ways in terms of outdoor activities and beauty, and the weather was similar (except it rains a lot more and is much cloudier in Bergen). So if you're really big on hiking etc. then it would be great, but not much different than Canada. The food is bad, everything is super expensive, stores/services have odd hours, the people aren't exactly welcoming. Honestly - there are much better places to go and much better ways to spend your money in terms of travel IMHO.

[Scrambler]

Originally Posted by heep223

I lived in Bergen for 6 months, can't speak to anywhere else (spent a bit of time in Oslo). Norway is like Canada in many ways in terms of outdoor activities and beauty, and the weather was similar (except it rains a lot more and is much cloudier in Bergen). So if you're really big on hiking etc. then it would be great, but not much different than Canada. The food is bad, everything is super expensive, stores/services have odd hours, the people aren't exactly welcoming. Honestly - there are much better places to go and much better ways to spend your money in terms of travel IMHO.

As a Swede, I have to agree with all your points... though in saying that, I
d say a lot of the same about Sweden, lol.

Taking Hurtigruten up the coast to the very very north can be pretty cool.

Psst.. anyone interested in Hurtigruten (http://www.hurtigruten.com/en/) PM me

Also, good airfares to Norway (and the rest of Scandinavia for that matter) right now too.