Like last year I spent the holiday season in Telemark. Despite the chaos in Europe I was able to fly to Gardermoen, take the train, and continue by bus. Apparently snow is not a problem in Norway.
In Oslo I went out and tried tapas at Delicatessen, which has been on my wishlist for years. The only thing wrong with the place is that it is unbearingly crowded. They could be more frugal with the number of tables they squeeze in, and refrain from putting four people at a table for two. Having eaten here next on the to-do list is Sult, but it apparently no longer exists. Will find out next time I am here. Afterwards I had homemade beer in the local brewery: SchousKjelleren. The next day I took the Haukeliekspressen to Telemark. When I got there the thermometer claimed it was -22 °C. Brr, luckily I came prepared: warm clothes! Curiously enough I managed to travel while first evading the weather chaos, and then apparently I missed the sillyness at Gardermoen.
Christmas involved lutefisk, rakfisk with homemade flatbrød, pinnekjøtt, aquavit, risengrynsgrøt, rådyr, juleribbe. The cullinary events force me to consider fasting the entire next month. Apparently all my clothes have been washed too hot. Even those I did not bring with me. Guess what my New Year's resolution is.
Like last year I visited some friends to try the Norwegian shrimps. The next morning I took the train to Oslo to prepare for the flight home. The last day in Norway I used to do some shopping. But first I had some excellent coffee at Stockfleth. Oddly enough they forgot to install toilets. Then to see if there are any new DVD's, trousers and other important things: shopping centre. While I was waiting for the train to Gardermoen I ate a burger at Fiasco. Should you have some time and don't want to go shopping around Oslo S, please try their Fiasco burger.
This ends the festive season for this year.
Showing posts with label Norway. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Norway. Show all posts
Wednesday, 12 January 2011
Tuesday, 17 August 2010
Summer in Norway, again
Having seen the mountains of southern Norway, last summer, this time I decided to travel across the arctic circle to see Nordland and its midnight sun. First, I went to see Lofoten, after which Kystriksveien followed. The trip traversing Nordland was about 2160 km, the distance on the ferries not included.
Harstad/Narvik airport Evenes was my place of arrival in the North. From there I drove to Harstad for lunch in de 4 Roser. The brilliant thing was that there was a watertap and icecubes standing next to it. All free! You won't believe the amount of places I have been to that that refuse to give water with coffee. Only sporadically, like here, do you get free water served. For the technically inclined, they also have WiFi. Just ask for the password as you order your coffee/lunch/dinner. Having bought a new toy I just had to play with it! When I finished playing, and eating, I drove through Sortland, and Stokmarknes. While noting that in Norway the outdoors is subject to allemannsretten I put up the tent between Teigan and Taen on Hadseløya. Unfortunately, on my way there, I didn't find the intended site to have coffee: Uværshula.
Next day I saw Svolvær, had lunch by Lofotenkatedralen, took the ferry Melbu - Fiskebøl to see Nusfjord. That night I camped by Selfjorden in Ramberg. To get there I had to negotiate a steep bridge. Since I never experienced the midnight sun it was a disorienting, yet mesmerising, thing to see. The sun amazingly does not go down. The lack of a sunset resulted in going to bed late.
The next day my exploration of Lofoten continued on the E10, driving through Svolvær en route to the Lofotr Viking museum in Borg. Of course, in my mind no visit to Norway would be complete without it. The museum has the biggest chieftain's homestead excavated in Scandinavia, and a replica, Lofotr, of the viking ship Gokstad, that I saw in Oslo. Admittedly, it was a bit disappointing, so don't bother coming to the region just for that. Fortunately the road turned into a scene from Lord of the Rings with a towering mountain in front of me.
The fishing village Å had a somewhat artificial atmosphere, though less than Nusfjord. As in: too much of a tourist attraction. Saving money and time I decided to take a roundtrip, through Kjerkfjorden, on the ferry from Reine. As opposed to the original plan to take a lengthy excursion to the maelstrom, or a whale- and/or eagle safari, or visiting a cave. That night I set up camp at Djupfjorden near Reine, where I found the almost perfect camping site. Secluded, and with a great view. To get there is easy, get out at the parking next to Djupfjordbrua (Djupfjord Bridge), walk five minutes towards the Fjord, and presto: magic.
In the morning I returned to Svolvær, visiting both Henningsvær and Lofoten akvariet (Lofoten aquarium) at Storvågan. I then took the ferry to Skutvik, headed for the E6 so I could have dinner in Fauske. After dinner I slept at Nordnes Camp & Bygdesenter, which surprisingly has WiFi for the intrepid traveller with electronic gadgets.
The next day, continuing to Sandnessjøen and Tjøtta to catch the ferry to the Vega Archipelago, I took a detour through Mosjøen to see Sjøgata. It is a nice historical street, and in it you will find Vikgården Landhandel og Kaffebu which is a brilliant place to have coffee, or lunch. The following ferry part did not impress me. Annoyingly, to some islands the last departure was scheduled at around 15:00h. Incredible, considering the amount of tourists that were trying to make a similar trip. The Norwegian Tourist Board may want to rethink their priorities. While arriving at least thirty minutes before departure in Tjøtta there were too many cars - it is a holiday season, so who could have known, to borrow this famous disingenious statement by certain politicians- leaving me stranded. Strangely enough the last ferry, of the week, from Tjøtta to Vega leaves at 18:00h on friday. The next one is not before monday. Therefore I had to make a massive detour via Forvik, to then catch the ferry at Anndalsvågen to Horn. There I finally caught the ferry to Vega. Some five hours later than planned I was able to reach Vega. Since it was too late for the shops to be open I made some food myself. In the morning I took a tour of the island as I did not have the chance earlier. There was the E-Huset in Nes, and also the impressive Stone-age walk. It shows the changes in sea level and human skills, mainly fishing, by the local people. The island turned out to resemble a postcard from the south pacific. Beautiful white beaches.
Next stop, coffee, and Norwegian waffles with homemade rubarb and prune jam, at Vegstein before catching the ferry back.
In light of the inability to explore Vega the previous day I had to reschedule, and so my visit to Ylvingen had to be cancelled due to the limited time available. Therefore, without stopping there, I made the same trip in the opposite direction. What is inexctricably linked to visiting the Vega Archipelago is de syv søstre mountain range on the island of Alsten. It is impossible not to notice. Be sure to read up on the mythology surounding it, and its connection to Torghatten Mountain.
I travelled with the ferry from Søvik to in Herøy, crossed the bridge to Dønna, where I passed Dønnamannen on my way to see the view from Dønnesfjellet. That night the beach at Breivik was my campsite. From Bjørn I went to Sandnessjøen. Took the ferry in Levang to Nesna, continued for the ferry at Kilboghamn to Jaktvik. Ågskardet to Forøy.
In Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park I saw Svartisen, a collective term for the two glaciers Vestre and Østre. Slept at Bodøsjøen camping - a nice camping, but it would have been smarter to sleep closer (discovered it too late) to Saltstraumen, "the world's strongest tidal current," in Bodø, which is a massive whirlpool of fast streaming water. As it happened, I had to travel the same road -nearly 30 km - three times. All to witness the maelstrom the next day. The phenomenon occurs every six hours. Back in the city centre I tried tørrfisk which, to me, appeared similar to lutefisk. The holiday ended with a brief visit to Narvik, and the stone-age engraving of some sort of deer, followed by an improvised midnight meal at Evenes airport. From there I took a plane to Oslo.
From Oslo Bussterminal I took the bus to Telemark. There I visited several great spots. Of course the birthplace of skiing: Morgedal. It turned out a lot smaller than I had envisioned. Went to see the Eidsbog Stavkirke, had coffee at the picturesque Dalen Hotel, swam in the lake to just unexpectedly miss Selma, a distant cousin of Nessie. Not my cup of tea but in Seljord I noticed the annual Countryfestival.
The short sightseeing tour ended with a stay in the Hardangervidda Nasjonalpark, in a hut close to the Haukeliseter Fjellstue. The scenery was stunning, fishing not so good. But all in all the sunny weather made it a success. Looked at the exhibition, and tried some homemade beer, at Nutheim Gjestgiveri (The art hotel in Telemark). Via Sandefjord I returned to Oslo to catch the plane home. That is, after a BBQ and a swim at the beach in Hvervenbukta.
As an afterthought, I found the roads of Nordland too narrow for my taste. The local "highway" is a small two-way street which barely has space for two cars. Combine that with a meandering mountain road and the very big trailers heading in the opposite direction are a truly frightening sight. Admittedly, driving for weeks on such roads has increased my confidence as a chauffeur, but I still prefer the wider roads in the south of Norway.
Another unpleasant part of the trip was the horrendously insatiable hordes of stinging insects, yet more creatures mimicking the ones in Scotland. Luckily I did miss the local fauna, of the polar region, which turned out to be slightly too hospitable to other tourists.
Harstad/Narvik airport Evenes was my place of arrival in the North. From there I drove to Harstad for lunch in de 4 Roser. The brilliant thing was that there was a watertap and icecubes standing next to it. All free! You won't believe the amount of places I have been to that that refuse to give water with coffee. Only sporadically, like here, do you get free water served. For the technically inclined, they also have WiFi. Just ask for the password as you order your coffee/lunch/dinner. Having bought a new toy I just had to play with it! When I finished playing, and eating, I drove through Sortland, and Stokmarknes. While noting that in Norway the outdoors is subject to allemannsretten I put up the tent between Teigan and Taen on Hadseløya. Unfortunately, on my way there, I didn't find the intended site to have coffee: Uværshula.
Next day I saw Svolvær, had lunch by Lofotenkatedralen, took the ferry Melbu - Fiskebøl to see Nusfjord. That night I camped by Selfjorden in Ramberg. To get there I had to negotiate a steep bridge. Since I never experienced the midnight sun it was a disorienting, yet mesmerising, thing to see. The sun amazingly does not go down. The lack of a sunset resulted in going to bed late.
The next day my exploration of Lofoten continued on the E10, driving through Svolvær en route to the Lofotr Viking museum in Borg. Of course, in my mind no visit to Norway would be complete without it. The museum has the biggest chieftain's homestead excavated in Scandinavia, and a replica, Lofotr, of the viking ship Gokstad, that I saw in Oslo. Admittedly, it was a bit disappointing, so don't bother coming to the region just for that. Fortunately the road turned into a scene from Lord of the Rings with a towering mountain in front of me.
The fishing village Å had a somewhat artificial atmosphere, though less than Nusfjord. As in: too much of a tourist attraction. Saving money and time I decided to take a roundtrip, through Kjerkfjorden, on the ferry from Reine. As opposed to the original plan to take a lengthy excursion to the maelstrom, or a whale- and/or eagle safari, or visiting a cave. That night I set up camp at Djupfjorden near Reine, where I found the almost perfect camping site. Secluded, and with a great view. To get there is easy, get out at the parking next to Djupfjordbrua (Djupfjord Bridge), walk five minutes towards the Fjord, and presto: magic.
In the morning I returned to Svolvær, visiting both Henningsvær and Lofoten akvariet (Lofoten aquarium) at Storvågan. I then took the ferry to Skutvik, headed for the E6 so I could have dinner in Fauske. After dinner I slept at Nordnes Camp & Bygdesenter, which surprisingly has WiFi for the intrepid traveller with electronic gadgets.
The next day, continuing to Sandnessjøen and Tjøtta to catch the ferry to the Vega Archipelago, I took a detour through Mosjøen to see Sjøgata. It is a nice historical street, and in it you will find Vikgården Landhandel og Kaffebu which is a brilliant place to have coffee, or lunch. The following ferry part did not impress me. Annoyingly, to some islands the last departure was scheduled at around 15:00h. Incredible, considering the amount of tourists that were trying to make a similar trip. The Norwegian Tourist Board may want to rethink their priorities. While arriving at least thirty minutes before departure in Tjøtta there were too many cars - it is a holiday season, so who could have known, to borrow this famous disingenious statement by certain politicians- leaving me stranded. Strangely enough the last ferry, of the week, from Tjøtta to Vega leaves at 18:00h on friday. The next one is not before monday. Therefore I had to make a massive detour via Forvik, to then catch the ferry at Anndalsvågen to Horn. There I finally caught the ferry to Vega. Some five hours later than planned I was able to reach Vega. Since it was too late for the shops to be open I made some food myself. In the morning I took a tour of the island as I did not have the chance earlier. There was the E-Huset in Nes, and also the impressive Stone-age walk. It shows the changes in sea level and human skills, mainly fishing, by the local people. The island turned out to resemble a postcard from the south pacific. Beautiful white beaches.
Next stop, coffee, and Norwegian waffles with homemade rubarb and prune jam, at Vegstein before catching the ferry back.
In light of the inability to explore Vega the previous day I had to reschedule, and so my visit to Ylvingen had to be cancelled due to the limited time available. Therefore, without stopping there, I made the same trip in the opposite direction. What is inexctricably linked to visiting the Vega Archipelago is de syv søstre mountain range on the island of Alsten. It is impossible not to notice. Be sure to read up on the mythology surounding it, and its connection to Torghatten Mountain.
I travelled with the ferry from Søvik to in Herøy, crossed the bridge to Dønna, where I passed Dønnamannen on my way to see the view from Dønnesfjellet. That night the beach at Breivik was my campsite. From Bjørn I went to Sandnessjøen. Took the ferry in Levang to Nesna, continued for the ferry at Kilboghamn to Jaktvik. Ågskardet to Forøy.
In Saltfjellet-Svartisen National Park I saw Svartisen, a collective term for the two glaciers Vestre and Østre. Slept at Bodøsjøen camping - a nice camping, but it would have been smarter to sleep closer (discovered it too late) to Saltstraumen, "the world's strongest tidal current," in Bodø, which is a massive whirlpool of fast streaming water. As it happened, I had to travel the same road -nearly 30 km - three times. All to witness the maelstrom the next day. The phenomenon occurs every six hours. Back in the city centre I tried tørrfisk which, to me, appeared similar to lutefisk. The holiday ended with a brief visit to Narvik, and the stone-age engraving of some sort of deer, followed by an improvised midnight meal at Evenes airport. From there I took a plane to Oslo.
From Oslo Bussterminal I took the bus to Telemark. There I visited several great spots. Of course the birthplace of skiing: Morgedal. It turned out a lot smaller than I had envisioned. Went to see the Eidsbog Stavkirke, had coffee at the picturesque Dalen Hotel, swam in the lake to just unexpectedly miss Selma, a distant cousin of Nessie. Not my cup of tea but in Seljord I noticed the annual Countryfestival.
The short sightseeing tour ended with a stay in the Hardangervidda Nasjonalpark, in a hut close to the Haukeliseter Fjellstue. The scenery was stunning, fishing not so good. But all in all the sunny weather made it a success. Looked at the exhibition, and tried some homemade beer, at Nutheim Gjestgiveri (The art hotel in Telemark). Via Sandefjord I returned to Oslo to catch the plane home. That is, after a BBQ and a swim at the beach in Hvervenbukta.
As an afterthought, I found the roads of Nordland too narrow for my taste. The local "highway" is a small two-way street which barely has space for two cars. Combine that with a meandering mountain road and the very big trailers heading in the opposite direction are a truly frightening sight. Admittedly, driving for weeks on such roads has increased my confidence as a chauffeur, but I still prefer the wider roads in the south of Norway.
Another unpleasant part of the trip was the horrendously insatiable hordes of stinging insects, yet more creatures mimicking the ones in Scotland. Luckily I did miss the local fauna, of the polar region, which turned out to be slightly too hospitable to other tourists.
Thursday, 10 December 2009
Christmas in Norway
Having planned a white christmas in Norway, following a wet summer there, I was pleased to see Santa, E.T., or some other fata morgana, reportedly already arrived.(h/t/ Greg Laden)
Friday, 6 November 2009
Skiing
Just making a small overview of places I went to ski.
Together with a French friend I visited Valfréjus while I was starting my internship. It is a small village with about 60 km of pistes. For the more experienced I think just a weekend is enough to have seen everything. The aprés-ski is not bad if you don't mind spending time in just one or two spots.
Went to Scotland and apparently they have got small stations for those that abhor long descents.
With nurses and doctors from the Intensive Care Unit I went to Briançon-Serre Chevalier. Clearly, this location is meant for those who detest doing more than ski since, aside from snow, they have little else..
Some friends and I rented an appartment in Val Thorens, which is part of Les Trois Vallées. It is a huge area (in excess of 600 km of pistes) where you can ski for days without going on the same piste twice. If you feel adventurous you can even go into the Italian Alps.
On of the hospitals I worked as resident Internal Medicine has an annual long weekend the first week of january in St. Christoph am Arlsberg, meant as team-building for the group of residents and specialists. Following a day in the snow, luncheon on the piste midday, we returned to the hotel for diner, copious wine and cocktails which were mandatory.
Eventhough my significant other is from Telemark, arguably the birthplace of Skiing, I have yet to try the Norwegian snow. Maybe this Christmas.
Together with a French friend I visited Valfréjus while I was starting my internship. It is a small village with about 60 km of pistes. For the more experienced I think just a weekend is enough to have seen everything. The aprés-ski is not bad if you don't mind spending time in just one or two spots.
Went to Scotland and apparently they have got small stations for those that abhor long descents.
With nurses and doctors from the Intensive Care Unit I went to Briançon-Serre Chevalier. Clearly, this location is meant for those who detest doing more than ski since, aside from snow, they have little else..
Some friends and I rented an appartment in Val Thorens, which is part of Les Trois Vallées. It is a huge area (in excess of 600 km of pistes) where you can ski for days without going on the same piste twice. If you feel adventurous you can even go into the Italian Alps.
On of the hospitals I worked as resident Internal Medicine has an annual long weekend the first week of january in St. Christoph am Arlsberg, meant as team-building for the group of residents and specialists. Following a day in the snow, luncheon on the piste midday, we returned to the hotel for diner, copious wine and cocktails which were mandatory.
Eventhough my significant other is from Telemark, arguably the birthplace of Skiing, I have yet to try the Norwegian snow. Maybe this Christmas.
Saturday, 31 October 2009
Decisions, decisions
At the moment I am researching the possibilities of moving to Norway. How to get my license to practise medicine, how to find a place to live and apply for work. This weekend I am going to a meeting where, hopefully, my many questions will be answered.
Should you be interested in emigrating to, and settling in, Norway please try the linked sites for information.
Should you be interested in emigrating to, and settling in, Norway please try the linked sites for information.
Saturday, 24 October 2009
Summer in Norway
This summer I was in Oslo before going into the mountains. Both were great. Oslo is a surprisingly familiar place for anyone who has been to Berlin, Edinburgh, Paris, or Rotterdam. The same people, same shops and more or less the same nightlife. I found several nice spots while exploring the city. The fact most Norwegians speak English is helpful. Unlike Dutch, French and German, my Norwegian is slightly rusty, as in: non-existent. Although, combining these I was often able to more or less understand these Scandinavians, especially written texts.
That evening I took the bus to Seljord where we packed hicking gear as prelude to a five hours long walk into the mountains. The weather was awful, rain, rain, rain and some more rain. Nevertheless, we caught alot of trout which we marinated in our stomachs with whiskey and other important cullinary aids. Also, my new Gore-Tex shoes, Kaikkialla Jisko Softshell Pants and Fjällräven Iceland trousers worked perfectly. Dry feet and no blisters, even after spending hours exploring the terrain surrounding our small cottage.
Despite being in the middle of nowhere I still was able to miss this animal's Norwegian family. The week in the mountains concluded my summer in Norway.
Arriving on a Friday I used the Oslo Pass that weekend, which is a great way to get to know Oslo. Saturday morning I took the ferry to the peninsula of Bygdø. Arriving near Oscarshall I then visited Vikingskipshuset (The Viking Ship Museum - Huk Aveny 35) which is a cross-shaped building. One of the ships can be seen here.
Then I continued to Frammuseet (The Fram Museum - Bygdøynesveien 36) and Kon-Tiki Museet (Kon-Tiki Museum - Bygdøynesveien 36), which are situated next to each other.
It was possible to see the inside of Fram which was a nice experience. The Kon-Tiki surprised me. Looking at the crafts at display in the museum I would not even have boarded them floating on a small lake. To traverse the ocean appears to me as either a very brave thing to do or utterly stupid. After some coffee I took the ferry that departs from Frammuseet back into town where I found United Bakeries where I had a small lunch. Replenished I went to the Nasjonalmuseet (National Gallery - Universitetsgata 13), to finish my day across the street at kaffebrenneriet which is a franchise, not unlike Starbucks, that specialises in all types of coffee and juices to be served with bread, pastries or tart. Returning, on foot, to the place I stayed at I discovered the enjoyable borough Grünerløkka, with Birkelunden park and Olaf Ryes plass. The latter is a nice square with lovely dinner and drinking spots around it. Fru Hagen apparently is the place to be, Parkteatret Bar has drinks but no lunch. Of course, being in Norway I tried some local food that evening.
The following day was extremely hot and sunny, which made the trip to Vigeland Museet og Parken (Vigeland Museum and Park - Nobels gate 32) -located in Frognerparken- a succes. An exhibition of sculptures by Gustav Vigeland. Being not that into sculptures the museum could not really interest me. The park however was brilliant, with many people enjoying the weather and scenery.
At the entrance of Frognerparken I also found the Bymuseet (Oslo City Museum - Frognerveien 67) which is a small museum detailing Oslo's history.
Close by there was another one of the kaffebrenneriet. Yes, true, no denying, I am addicted to brown juice and warm milk. One drink, and a moment in the sun, later I hurried to the Munch-Museet (the Munch Museum).
That evening I took the bus to Seljord where we packed hicking gear as prelude to a five hours long walk into the mountains. The weather was awful, rain, rain, rain and some more rain. Nevertheless, we caught alot of trout which we marinated in our stomachs with whiskey and other important cullinary aids. Also, my new Gore-Tex shoes, Kaikkialla Jisko Softshell Pants and Fjällräven Iceland trousers worked perfectly. Dry feet and no blisters, even after spending hours exploring the terrain surrounding our small cottage.
Despite being in the middle of nowhere I still was able to miss this animal's Norwegian family. The week in the mountains concluded my summer in Norway.
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