Norway: Oslo

June 18, 2022

Oslo, the capital of Norway, sits on the country’s southern coast at the head of the Oslofjord. The city was referred to as Tigerstaden (the City of Tigers) by the author Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson around 1870, due to his perception of the city as a cold and dangerous place.

🙂 Aker Brygge

🙁 Weird Norwegians!

We had been planning our exciting trip to the Norwegian Fjords and to Svalbard with our friends for some time.

Our taxi collected us at 9.30am and we picked up Tony and Nessy afterwards – not feeling great as all the children had been over the night before to celebrate Father’s Day as we would be away and it had been a late night! It was quite amusing seeing the difference between our luggage and our friends!

We travelled with British Airways from Heathrow to Oslo – quite a queue for check in despite being Business Class on Avios as there were major issues with getting baggage through on the system. The flight departed at 12h55 and arrived at15h05. The view from the plane were tantalising heightening our anticipation for the trip!

We decided to drop our excess luggage at the Radisson as we were flying via there to Svalbard in a few days time. I got chatting to a lady about her dogs – turns out that she had flown to Alaska to pick up these 10month old Alaskan Husky puppies which she would be training for sled driving – poor things, they had travelled a long way.

The taxi from the airport to the centre of town took about 45minutes and cost £175!! We stayed at the Anker Hotel, Oslo – centrally located and reasonably priced with a nice view but a bit noisy at night.

We set off to buy tram tickets and headed to Aker Brygge area.

This is part of the Sentrum area and is known for its pier where eateries with outdoor tables serve upscale Nordic and French cuisine, or casual fare like burgers and steak. A popular summer boat bar is moored nearby, and ferries depart year-round for the scenic Oslo Fjord. Local cultural draws include the Nobel Peace Center, with exhibits on the famous prize, and the striking Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art.

It was very vibey and cool to take a stroll people watching. We found a ‘typically Norwegian fare’ restaurant which had been recommended: Rorbua. It should be a great experience as the interior has what promises to be a cosy atmosphere. We were shown to a table but unfortunately waited about 20minutes before a waitress asked us for our choice of drinks (there were two other tables dining and 4 members of staff behind the bar chatting!). Another 15mins before the 4 beers arrived an we could place an order, so we requested another 4 beers at the same time. We were told that we were still drinking our first beers so could not order more!! VERY strange. We ordered the ‘taste of Norway’ skewer – the reindeer and elk were good but I did not like whale at all – tasted like liver. Paul enjoyed his mixed stew. After waiting another 20mins for the bill we went up to the desk and paid ourselves, without leaving a tip. She appeared surprised that we were leaving and that we didn’t want another four beers?! Appalling service, expensive food – with better staff it could be a better experience and you wouldn’t begrudge the cost.

We headed on to the pier and had another drink to watch the sun set. VERY expensive place – about £13 for a small glass of wine! Beer is a little cheaper. It is very interesting – I can read most of Norwegian as very similar to Afrikaans – but no way can I understand a spoken word!