8 Days in NORWAY (on a budget)

Cities/Towns we visited: Oslo, Bergen, Tromsø

Three words to describe Norway:

Stunning
Freezing
Breathtaking

Accommodation:

Oslo: Room in Stovner (Airbnb)
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/861529510947400412?source_impression_id=p3_1719719187_P38IttEWGbFe3Rtj

Bergen: Room in Årstad Bergen (Airbnb)
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/6620676?source_impression_id=p3_1719719240_P3aM_rBHFLktink4

Tromsø: Room in Tromsø (Airbnb)
https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/53092379?source_impression_id=p3_1719719307_P3nRcXqu5qgolFp2

Transport:

Train (interrail pass)
Airplane: SAS Airline

Month: late-October

WHAT WE DID:

Day 1:

My partner and I caught the train from Copenhagen (Denmark) to Oslo (Norway), which arrived in the evening. We caught the metro to Stovner (30 min), where we checked-in to the Airbnb. It was in a beautiful, leafy, quiet area. After dropping off our bags, we walked to the local shopping centre, picked up groceries, and headed back to the accommodation. After a shower and cooking dinner, we went to sleep.

Day 2:

I woke up a 7am, had coffee, went for a COLD run throughout the streets, and put on a load of clothes washing. After brekky, we left at 11am and hopped on the metro. We got off at Oslo S Station and looked in a few shops, where I purchased some warm clothes. We met our guide for the ‘free walking tour’ at 1pm at Jernbanetorget (by The Tiger statue). We learnt so many fun facts in the tour! We walked to Kirsten Flagstad statue at the Oslo Opera House. There we saw floating saunas all along the harbour, where some crazy people would jump naked into the freezing harbour water, to defrost back inside the sauna.

Then we walked along Trondheimsveien, Christiania torv (Oslo’s first town square), Aker Brygge (the pier), Oslo City Hall, National Theatre, Karl Johans Gate (main street in Oslo), and the Storting (Norwegian Parliament). After visiting a few shops after the 1.5 hour tour to keep warm, we walked to the ‘Best Library in the World’ – Oslo’s Library’ – which was quite spectacular. It had so many levels, glass windows, and was filled with studious people reading and studying. We then walked in and around the Opera House, before catching the metro to Vigeland Park, which was stunning with the orange autumn leaves and incredible ‘family sculptures’ (there were over 200 sculptures).

We then caught the metro back to Stovner, where we popped into a grocery store and headed back to the accommodation. After a home-made dinner and shower to defrost, we watched a movie in bed and called it a night.

Day 3:

I woke up at 7am, went for another COLD run, then had a delightful warm shower. After brekky, we checked-out of the Airbnb at 10am, and caught the metro to Oslo S Central Station. We boarded the train at 12:03pm to Bergen, which took 8 hours. It was incredibly scenic, going through fjords, snow blizzards and lovely/quant remote towns. We arrived at Arna Station after 7pm, where we got straight on a bus (train replacement) to Bergen Central Station. We arrived at 8pm. We quickly went into a grocery store, picked up dinner, then got on a tram to our accommodation. The Airbnb was so cosy, modern and stylish. It smelt divine too. There were also two small dogs and two gorgeous fluffy cats – who were all super friendly. We went to sleep, watching the starts from the sky light on the ceiling.

Day 4:

I woke up early, had a coffee, and watched the sunrise. Then we got ready, left at 9am and walked to the station. We caught the tram into the centre where we boarded a boat that left at 10am. The boat was a fjord cruise. We went through Osterfjord, saw waterfalls half frozen, went passed salmon/trout farms and went through Mostraumen Strait – it was all BEAUTIFUL.

The boat docked after 3 hours, just after 1pm. We explored the streets of Bryggen, famously known for the colourful buildings (UNESCO World Heritage Site listed), and walked through the Bergenhus Fortress, where we were lucky enough to watch medieval fighting. We walked through the Skuteviken village – known for all the wooden houses – it was so pretty. We walked through Nordnes, and browsed a few shops, before heading back to the tram station to get the tram back to our accommodation. After a 12 min walk to the Airbnb, we made dinner and went to sleep.

Day 5:

I woke up at 7am, had coffee, and went for a run. After a shower, my partner and I checked-out at 9am, and walked to the tram station, where we headed to the airport. At the airport, I ate a ‘pistasjbolle’ (sweet bread with pistachio) from Bit Union and WOW, it was one of the BEST bakery items I’d ever had. I died, went to heaven, and returned back to earth (bit dramatic, sorry). We boarded the plane which left on time at 12:35pm. After 50 min in the air, we arrived back in Oslo, to board a connecting flight to Tromsø. After 2 hours, we arrived. Tromsø was STUNNING. We were surrounded by mountains covered in snow. We walked to a Co-op Extra, picked up some food for the next few days, and then caught the bus to our accommodation (6 min journey). The buses here were super easy to navigate and very regular. We were surprised to find that our accommodation was virtually private, although attached to the house a lovely lady lives in. After cooking dinner, we watched Netflix from bed, when the Airbnb hostess knocked on our door (at 10pm :P) to greet us and let us know that the aurora borealis was putting on a show in the sky!!! Holy WOW!!! We spent ~40 minutes walking around, looking at the northern lights in admiration. They were constantly changing shape & positioning in the sky. It was unreal.

Day 6:

I woke up at 7am, had coffee watching the sunrise over the mountains, then went for a run around the frozen lake (where I kept slipping on ice). After a warm shower and brekky, we left the Airbnb at 10:30am, and walked down to central Tromsø. We visited the Tromsø church, Polaria (an arctic aquarium with incredible architecture) and visited some gorgeous stores. We walked over the Tromsø Bridge to Tromsdalen. We went to the Arctic Cathedral.

Afterwards we walked up the Sherpatrappa trail to the top of the mountain (I would HIGHLY recommend chains for your shoes if you plan to do this climb, it was purely ice at the top of the mountain and super dangerous for that reason). This was such a surreal hike, being surrounded by bare trees and thick snow. The top of the mountain was called the Fjellstua Viewpoint and the views of the city from there were incredible.

We got the cable car down the mountain, and then caught the bus back to our accommodation. After warming up, we prepared dinner, and left just after 5pm to get the bus into the centre. We met our tour group for the ‘Northern Lights Tour’ and left in the bus at 6pm. We went to beautiful/remote areas where you had perfect clarity of the stars and constellations in the sky. It was so calm, COLD and beautiful. Unfortunately, this night the aurora borealis was very weak. We arrived back in the centre at 12:30am and walked 30 min back to the accommodation.

Day 7:

I woke up at 8:30am, had a coffee, went for a run around the lake, then had a shower & brekky before leaving at 11:30am to walk to the Arctic-Botanical Gardens. The trail we took was essentially a literal frozen stream. We were slipping and sliding the whole way there. After an hour, we made it. Most of the plants were frosted over and dormant from the cold. There were some beautiful mini waterfalls that had icicles all around. It was gorgeous.

We then walked back to the city centre, where we had lunch in a 7-eleven and visited some more souvenir stores. We caught a bus back to the Airbnb. After defrosting inside, we caught the bus back to the city centre and walked to the Tromsø Bridge and watched the sunset over the fjords – the pink sky reflected onto the mountains, turning them a stunning pink colour too. We then popped into a grocery store and caught the bus back to the accommodation. We cooked dinner & relaxed inside.

Day 8:

We woke up at 7am, had coffee and went outside to watch the sunrise. We had fun walking on the frozen lake.

After a shower & brekky, we left just after midday to the main centre, visited a few more stores, then caught the bus to the airport. We flew from Tromsø to Oslo, then to London.

TOURS:

Day 2 Tour: