So after a lot of travelling I embarked on my first solo trip. Unfortunately, I couldn't extend my trip this time as my passport is nearing its expiry date but I made the most of the time remaining. At about 3pm local time I arrived in Norway at Oslo Lufthavn. Just flying over Norway the beauty of the country below blew me away. My face was glued to the airplane window. I don't mind flying but I was glad to escape. On the 2 hour flight it had become extremely stuffy and sticky, so I was extremely grateful for the cold, Scandinavian fresh air as I left the airport. I got onto my coach transfer (FB1) to Grunerlokka near Oslo City and although it was almost an hour long journey the scenery along the way was simply beautiful. * it was a lovely journey but I have since found out that there are cheaper and faster ways to Oslo City. The coach transfer was 160KR and the NSB train was 93KR which takes 25 minutes to Oslo Sentralstation. The conversion to GBP is about 100-1 so 93KR was roughly £9.30 When I arrived at the hostel (Anker Apartments) I completely crashed out. It was cheap, clean and had a great atmosphere. There is a small shop adjoined to the hostel which is cheaper than the rest of the city but if you take a trip to Oslo be prepared for the extraordinary high costs for everything. The cheapest beer I found in the whole city was 50KR (£5.00). Coffee ranges from 30KR to 60KR and you'll be lucky to even get a sandwich under 70KR. I woke up at 9pm to a note from my bunk mate, Alex, from Serbia on a bar of chocolate. Later on that evening I spent some time in the hostels common room and played foosball with Alex, narrowly losing 3 times. I got to know Alex more and learnt that he is a pharmacist job-seeking in Oslo. Later on that evening I met a fellow British girl, Amy. We watched the boxing together whilst trying to ignore a German guy who seemed to be kinda obsessed with Amy. Unfortunately she was leaving the next morning but coincidentally we discovered we're going to be in Stockholm at the same time early next year. That night I slept so well, all the travelling had drained me, there was a man in the bed over from me who was snoring all night long and a security guard who came in at about 3am to check peoples beds like in the cinema but I still slept so well. When I woke up I went down to the common room for breakfast and a cappuccino and sat with a guy from my room, Pierre is French and studying in Sweden and was visiting Norway for the weekend as a celebration for passing his exams. When I decided to get going instead of using a map I took the most scenic route, I knew roughly the direction I was going in but I just walked around and saw some awesome street art and wandered until I arrived at Reptilpark. It was 100KR for a student ticket and it was good but was very small and only took about 15-20 minutes to go around, it's more for young children s if you are on a budget like I was I would advise against it. I still enjoyed it though. After that I ventured even further into the city and went into the National Gallery (which I got in for free - under 19s). I'm nor normally a huge fan of some art but it was truly incredible. There was a drawing room and I had a go at drawing a sculpture. Most people stuck them up on the boards on the walls but I decided to keep mine as a memoir. About half way through the walking around the National Gallery, I bumped into Pierre and we decided to walk round. He knew a bit more about art than me and it was quite interesting to learn a lot about the French artists he knew about as well. I would definitely say it is a must in Oslo and I would 100% go again. Later on we went to Oslo City Hall ( which is free for everybody!) which was quite cool and really huge. There's so much empty space and I could have fit my whole home into one room. After that Pierre and I walked up the hill to Oslo Royal Palace (after I went hunting for a winter hat) which was windy on the way up but sitting outside on the base of the statue was really nice as it was sunny (which is great for this time of year, I was very lucky for weather as it is rainy season) At 1:30pm at the Royal Palace was the guard change which was another 'must see'. I enjoyed it but it did take a little while and the wind was bitter. After that we decided to go and get some lunch at an Espresso house. They're everywhere in Oslo. Whilst I was there I spent about £12. I had a chicken wrap and a cappuccino, and believe it or not, in Oslo that was considered cheaper. Whilst I was in the queue I saw the man I was sat next to on the plane and that really made me think of what a small world it really is, especially on the other side of the capital city of Oslo. After that we made our way to Frogner Park. We decided to go to Oslo City museum and explore Frogner Park as the sun set. The City museum in Frogner Park was free, but it was a bit bland so I can see why there was no cost. Again, anything free, especially in Oslo, is a bonus, but time could be better spent. After that Pierre and I went through Frogner Park. The sculptures were amazing and were hand carved out of single blocks of stone and granite. Some of the sculptures were a little strange but they were still really good, and it was real art. It was so beautiful especially as the sun was starting to set and I don't use that word lightly. After that we decided to make our way back to the hostel. Most people used the public transport around Oslo, but the walk was scenic and only about 30 minutes and I was on a tight budget, but the cold was really affecting my electronics. My fully-charged portable charger normally lasts about a week, the batteries in my camera were new and my phone had been fully charged and on low power mode all day and everytime we stopped I would recharge my phone. But on 40% battery my phone died and wouldn't turn back on. I did have a paper map but I quickly learnt I have absolutely no co-ordination. Luckily, Pierre did. On the way back I went to McDonald's to recharge my phone and get something small to eat. I got a coke and fries and it cost £6!! We continued to walk back which was so, so cold although it made the hostel feel much more comforting. I rested and then went down to the common room again to socialise. Whilst I was downstairs Yashar from my dorm room was trying to book his flights to stay in London. I helped him with that and he appreciated my efforts to get the flight as cheap as possible. Later on Pierre, Alex, Yasher and I went to the Irish bar across the road from the hostel. The cheapeast beer was 67KR. Again we played foosball like true Europeans although I still lost. We then played pool, on the first game I was making some good shots until I potted the black ball, the white ball and my colour in one shot. Impressively bad! We played another game and I lost again but only by the black ball so I wasn't too disheartened and I'd had fun. I made that one beer last 3 hours to save money, but I'd really enjoyed my first full day and it was great to make friends already. For one night there were 6 friends travelling together from Turkey that were in the same dorm as me. I became good friends with all 6; Caner, Ozberk, Itir, Begum, Oguz and Furkan. For a while we were sat downstairs in the commom room and they taught me some Turkish pharses/ words, but needless to say I can't speak the language very well. They also all travel too so if you'd like to see their Instagram pages they are: Caner - canercakmakk Furkan - frknbayraktar53 Ozberk - ozberkiscan Itir - itircalik Begum - begummm_g Oguz - oguzcan_yogurtw They all then went to the city and we made our separate ways as I headed for Vinterpark with Alex ( my bunk mate). It was a bitter morning as it was and we made our way to the metro. It's pretty fast (although quite expensive) and changed to get the tram up to Vinterpark. When we got off the tram it was even colder than down in the city. Unfortunately, we got off a stop too late (or so I thought) because I wasn't paying attention, the views were just too pretty. When we did get off we begun a 3km hike up the mountain to Vinterpark. bad idea! Although we did see some beautiful things on the way as the temperature dropped to -6C. We went through a forest, messed around skimming rocks on a frozen lake and admired the views above the city. When we finally got to Vinterpark, it was sadly, closed. Something I probably should've checked before we'd made the journey, and even though by this point I was exhausted and freezing I was grateful that I had travelled with Alex and it was a fun hike on the way up. You live and you learn! we made our at back to the tram station.... a different one just a 9 minute walk down the mountain from Vinterpark, not the 2 hours that we took to walk! But, at least I got to see the snow! We then decided to take a change of route and started the next leg of the journey to HolmenKollen, the Ski Museum of Oslo. We went into the ski simulator (which was funny but not all that great) and into the 'duty free' shop and I treated myself to a Norwegian t-shirt with the money hadn't spent on Vinterpark. The Museum itself was an extra cost that I didn't want to spend and overall it wasn't the most exciting place to visit, but may have been better if you knew more about skiing than I do! We made our way back to the centre, Majorsteun and after all the walking decided it was time for lunch. I found a deli that was the food I thought was only of the imagination. I had a pizza wrap (literally seemed to be a pizza rolled up) and an Oreo cake. I think that was the time I actually felt pleasantly full whilst on this trip! Alex and I were so tired at this point that we decided to make our at back to the hostel, but not before going around the city twice on the tram! (good excuse for getting lost *cough* Alex) Later on that evening after I'd rested I spent another evening in the hostel's common room with my Turkish friends until they had to leave for their night bus. it was sad to see them go but we'll hopefully meet again when travelling in Poland at the beginning of next year! By this point of the trip money was starting to get tight so Yasher and I arranged to share what food we had left to make a meal for the following night. On Tuesday morning I woke up a little later than usual and then went to the communal kitchen and had a traditional Norwegian breakfast with Yasher, with crisp-bread, butter and Danish cheese, which I thoroughly enjoyed, but chose not to put squirty caviar on mine!! Again, I made my way to the city and saw the other side of the city that I had not yet seen. I went past Sentralstation and took a typical tourist photo; I then went literally across the street to visit Oslo's famous opera house. I didn't choose to go inside ( I had been advised against it) but I didn't need to to enjoy it. They encourage you to walk on the roof of the Opera House, an architecture masterpiece and again the views from their just take your breath away. I was so pleasantly stunned by the natural beauty in this country. I then walked a circle around the city just to see the sights and to hope I hadn't missed any hidden wonders before I left ( I did find the shopping centre but after the cost of feeding myself was so high there was no chance of me treating myself). It was so much cooler than it had been the past few days and I was still pretty exhausted from the hiking the previous day so decided to go back to the hostel for a while before my dinner with Yasher. Alex was going to join us but unfortunately felt poorly s stayed in bed. He did give me some Serbian hot chocolate and coffee though which I thoroughly enjoyed. Yasher and I enjoyed some Knorr chunky tomato soup, which I had bought from the adjoining shop on my first evening in Norway, and we shared some more Norwegian crisp-bread stuff (no idea what its genuinely called!!) and then we said our goodbyes as Yasher headed for London. I then went to Church as I'd had missed my normal service at home due to my flight. Although it was lovely to go I was misinformed via google that it was an English speaking service. I did learn though that I know absolutely nothing about the Norwegian language. A little later on back at the hostel there were 3 new people in the dorm, 2 of them girls (which was rare). They're (Jodard, Carolina & Amanda ) from Costa Rica and we spent the evening in the common room chatting, drinking cheap beer, and playing cards. After playing cards (and winning) we were all so tired so we went up to our dorm. I was quite sad as it was my final night, and it had felt like I'd been there forever at this point! If you'd like to follow them on Instagram; Jodard - jodpicadoaraya Carolina - caro9ac Amanda - ami_roux Wednesday morning (departure day) I was quite sad to be having to pack all of my things and say goodbye to the friends I'd made at the hostel, although I did still have a portion of the day to explore more of Oslo, and I wasn't letting that time go to waste. We wandered through the suburbs to the city (another different way) and headed for the harbour to get the ferry to visit the Fram museum. We made lots of stops on the way, we saw the miniature bottle gallery (from the outside) all the statues and sculptures, scarf-bombed by a local artist, and a mega nerdy comic book store that was just the kind of place I like, and I'm not even ashamed. And my friends from Costa Rica also shared that interest. I couldn't get enough of the street art in this city and on our way to the harbour saw the perfect photo opportunity. Eventually we arrived to the harbour, Carolina got a day cruise to see Fjords for 299KR which I was very jealous of because the fjords are beautiful but I was on a budget. Jodard and Amanda decided not to go on the day cruise too because of the price but we searched around for a little while for the ferry to the Fram museum, but unfortunately the season had ended just 2 days before on the 30th October (it was November 1st).
By that point I didn't have enough time to take the bus round to the museums because I was taking a faster and cheaper route to the airport, but wanted to make sure I made it in good time. I said my goodbyes to Jodard and Amanda, but again hope that it won't be the last time I see them and plan to meet up with them if I'm ever lucky enough to visit Costa Rica. I went for a cappuccino at an Espresso House and then made my way to Oslo Sentralstation. The cold in Norway was also really messing with my phone battery and co-ordination on google maps. The compass was out of sync and to make things worse it as raining so my touch screen wasn't working well either. Eventually though, I did get to Oslo Sentralstation. I then got the NSB train (93KR)... with only 92KR left, luckily the man who served me was kind enough to give me the extra 1KR. The FB1 bus route was a beautiful but cost way too much so I'd definitely recommend taking the NSB train for both cost and travel time. I made it to the airport in good time ( with 6 hours to spare). I loved my visit to Oslo. It was definitely been an experience. I met some amazing people and did some awesome things, made a few mistakes, but learnt so much more than any other holiday has taught me, and it was still all an adventure, and I can't wait to have my next one! <3 Thank you for reading. Nik Kirby.
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AuthorNik, the small town Brit. Traveller, adventure enthusiast, writer, has 2 goldfish. The norm. Archives
August 2018
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