Norway - our train trip

Red wooden house-Norway

Leaving Sweden, we crossed into Norway and were surprised that there was a customs check point at the border. We were stopped, and a very nice young customs woman asked if we had any alcohol on board. She seemed satisfied when we said that we only had four normal sized bottles of wine (we were low on wine at the timeJ ). She was also amazed that we were from New Zealand and was very chatty.

Red house-Norway

Alcohol seems to be very regulated and expensive here, and we have read that Norwegians cross into Sweden to buy it cheaper! 

We then drove on into winding hilly roads which reminded us of NZ. 

Oslo-Karl Johan Gate, Marg

The rain kept reappearing so we didn’t speed but leisurely wound our way through the attractive Norwegian countryside. 

It was mainly farmland and small villages, with lots of red painted wooden houses and big barns. 

Oslo Parliament House, Marg

In our last blog, we mentioned the red wooden houses in Sweden. We have now found them in here Norway where, like Sweden, every farmhouse is painted red with white trim. 

We have since found out that the red paint is a bi-product of the mining industry in Sweden. The paint contains pigment from the mineralization of Falun copper. It is created from ore with a low copper content, iron ochre, silicon dioxide and zinc, which together have a protective effect on timber.

Oslo Palace Guard

They turned it into paint and called it Falu Rödfärg (or Falun Red Paint). The first evidence of its use of goes back the 1500s.

In 1814, Denmark lost Norway to Sweden, and Norway was part of Sweden until 1905 when it became an independent nation again. This might explain why we saw so many red houses in Norway as well as in Sweden.

Our next destination was Oslo and before driving into the city, we did a little detour to the Oslo airport. We wanted to check out the parking facilities as we were going to leave Vanni there for 10 days while we travelled to other parts of Norway without her. 

We found the parking zone we needed, did a drive by to find the airport railway station that would take us into the city, and then satisfied, we drove to the only campsite in Oslo that was open at this time of the year. 

When we woke up the next morning the grass was white with frost, and it was reeeeelly cold...brrr! To go out, we wrapped up in poly-props, icebreaker tops, puffer jackets, beanies, gloves and scarves (Leigh even had fluffy earmuffs)!

The camp was in a great location as we discovered it was only a bus trip to take us right into Kvadraturen, the historical centre of Oslo. 

Oslo is lovely, with lots of grand, attractive buildings lining the streets, with some streets being pedestrian only and others buses and cars as well. 

Oslo-Viking boat, Leigh

We wandered up Karl Johans Street past the Oslo Cathedral, Parliament House, theatres, and the City Hall to the Royal Palace. This is the residence of the King of Norway.

It is a huge building but was not accessible when we were there because of extensive earthworks going on in the front courtyard.  

The Palace is guarded by the Royal Guards who wear the most interesting uniforms. Their hats look like bowler hats and they had a fluffy plumes coming out of them! 

We thought they looked a bit uncomfortable once it started to rain because their nice uniforms were getting wet. 

Next day, we headed back into the city and walked to the waterfront. There we discovered a modern marina, apartments, restaurants and shops – the whole area was really attractive. 

From there, we caught the ferry across the harbour to Bygdøy and visited the Viking Ship Museum which has an amazing display of ancient Viking ships excavated from burial mounds.

Oslo-Holmenkollen ski jump

We really enjoyed this museum and its interesting collection. 

We then caught the little ferry back across the harbour to the city and wandered through town again.

We popped into a rainbow bar for a red wine to keep our strength up before finding our bus stop to get back to camp.

Oslo marina area

Driving out of Oslo a few days later, we visited the amazing Olympic standard ski jump called Holmenkollen. 

We didn’t climb to the top, but even from the car park the view of Oslo and the surrounding fjord was great.

We enjoyed exploring Oslo as the centre of the city was different to many we have seen. 

Norway in autumn

The bulk of its architecture is of a later era with many grand buildings from early 1900 mixed in with more modern ones.

It was an easy place to walk around and not too busy, although that may have been due to the weather which was cold and wet.

Oslo-Bergen Train

The weather has not stopped us from admiring the colours of autumn. 

It is a pretty time of the year here with all the trees, of which there are many, wearing their autumn yellows, oranges and reds. 

The nights are freezing which we are not enjoying. But we have a very efficient heater in Vanni, and we planned ahead when in Lithuania a few months ago, and bought a warmer duvet.

Oslo-Bergen Train line, Finse station

The locals don’t seem to feel the cold - they sit outside at cafes while we huddle inside - many definitely don’t wear as many layers of clothes as we do! 

We have decided we are definitely warm temperature folks and this is the first long spell of cold weather we have travelled through since we came to Europe in 2011. Roll on the Kiwi summer!

Oslo-Bergen Train, Haugastøl area

The local supermarket here is called Kiwi! We asked why and apparently the two owners used the first two letters from each of their surnames Ki and Wi hence Kiwi!! 

Nothing to do with New Zealand! Everything is very expensive here so we are glad we made sure that we stocked up with basics in cheaper Germany before hitting these Scandinavian countries!

Bergen-Bryggen houses, Leigh

One of the highlights of this year’s travel was to be a trip billed as “one of the finest scenic rail trips in the world”. It is the train from Oslo to Bergen.

We had pre-purchased our tickets, so after parking Vanni at the airport, we caught the fast train into the city then got on the Oslo to Bergen train with great anticipation.

Bergen-Mt Floyen view, Marg

The train line goes through some amazing scenery, with the most stunning stretch being the one over the Hardangervidda Plateau, Europe's highest mountainous plateau, where we saw snow.

Finse, at 1,222 metres above sea level, is the highest town on the line.

 We enjoyed the 6.5 hour trip and it lived up to our expectations.

Munch-Evening on Karl Johan 1892

We saw a huge range of stunning scenery and were amazed at the large number of houses in these very remote areas.

Arriving in Bergen we trundled our suitcases through the cobbled streets to our hotel and got settled.

It was a very short walk from there to the waterside and a view of houses perched up on the hills as well as Bryggen, the old, old colourful buildings down near the water. 

We ate the most yummy shrimps and mussels at Torget, which is the local fish market, but we sat under cover as it was very cold outside. 

We caught the very steep funicular railway to the top of Mount Floyen.

This is one of the 7 hills of Bergen and overlooks the city, giving wonderful panoramic views from the top.

We walked the 3 km back down the winding track past lots and lots of very cute little houses tucked away in all sorts of places on the hillside. Shades of Wellington but older!

We also took a boat ride to one of the fjords on the “White Lady” and saw lots lovely attractive countryside.

A highlight was going to the Kode Museum to see the art of Edvard Munch.

It was wonderful. We also viewed a collection of art from the “Golden Age of Norwegian Art” which showed us a whole new area of art and artists that we had not seen before. This was all housed in a gorgeous old building that Rasmus Meyer, the collector, designed especially for his art. A great way to spend the last few hours we had in Bergen. 

We loved Bergen and thought it had a really nice feel to it, and was so pretty around the water. 

We are now looking forward to another trip highlight that we planned before leaving home – a cruise up the coast of Norway to the Arctic Circle and beyond.