Norway

Day 1

On July 12th, we arrived in Oslo and we spent the afternoon visiting the capital. We found it very busy, with interesting architecture as modern and classic intermingle, and vibrant due to its many bars and restaurants facing the Oslo fjord. We stayed at Clarion Hotel The Hub, close to the train station so we can catch the train very early the next morning. 

Day 2

We took the train from Oslo to Myrdal where we changed to the panoramic train to Flam, a picturesque village with 350 inhabitants but thousands of tourists. Initially we wanted to spend the night in Flam, but we were happy to have decided differently. We continued the journey by boat to Balestrand, a much quieter village with panoramic views towards Sognefjord. We stayed at Hotel Balestrand, a modest hotel which charmed us completely with the balcony view. 

Day 3

The day started with a 3 hours cruise along Sognefjord until we reached Bergen. Here we visited the historic harbour district, Bryggen, and we dined at the Bryggeloftet restaurant. The mussels were delicious and we also had the chance to try something uncommon, but typical to Norway: whale and catfish.

Day 4

Raul had a wonderful idea which made this trip even more memorable: flying with the hydroplane to see the fjords from above. Having booked this activity the day before on seaplanes.no, we put the idea into practice. In the evening we dined at restaurant Cornelius, a prestigious Scandinavian restaurant, located on a small island 30 minutes away from Bergen. At this romantic location we enjoyed the food and the sunset ... at around 23:00. For the two days spent in Bergen, we chose Hotel Norge by Scandic.

Day 5

It was time to head back to Oslo, but on a different route. What we didn't know was that the magic was yet to start. We took the boat to Rosendal, then the bus to Odda and finally the boat again on the Hardanger fjord to Lofthus. Until the end of the trip I was repeating the word "Hardanger" a hundred times a day. The area was simply paradise. Less tourists, so quite and peaceful, beautiful mountains and fjords, imposing waterfalls, scenic views and ... Handanger cider. 🥂

So, first stop: Lofthus, Hotel Ullensvang.

Day 6

Another day of relaxation started with an hour boat ride to Ulvik. At Hotel Brakanes we had the best room in the whole trip, very spacious and with a marvelous view. We hope to come back to this place soon. The area is filled with orchards as it is famous for its apple cider. We visited the Syse Gard fruit farm where we ate local specialties and drank a wine-like cider, Kjedlar. In the evening at the hotel, we were recommended to also try the champagne-like cider from the Hardanger Saft- og Siderfabrikk, for which I will leave a photo here. The diner at the hotel was delicious. Among the dishes, we had gazpacho with trout as starter and lamb which is very often eaten in the Hardanger region.

Day 7

We wished to stay longer in Ulvik, but we had to follow our plan. We took the boat to Eidfjord where we continued our journey by bus. We visited the Voringsfossen waterfall, the Norvegian Nature Center Hardanger and Hardangervidda, Norway's largest national park, a mountain plateau with stunning landscapes where wild reindeers live. We spent the night in Geilo, at Hotel Dr. Holms, which operates since 1909 and is like a museum itself. In the evening we tried reindeer stake and shark with shellfish sauce at restaurant Hallingstuene.

Day 8

We took the train in the morning and reached Olso at noon. We already knew what we wanted to visit this day: the Norsk Folkemuseum and the Fram museum where we embarked on the real Fram ship which reached the South Pole in December 1911. We had dinner at "The Salmon" where we tried oysters and of course, salmon specialties. 

Day 9

This was the last day of our trip to Norway (or so we thought). We had the morning available for a visit to the digital Viking Museum and a good coffee in the heart of Oslo, on the Karl Johans Gate street. Having reached the airport, we found out that our flight was cancelled, so we spent one more day in beautiful Norway. 

Overall the trip exceeded our expectations. We were impressed by how many forests we saw, the width of the fjords, the unusual food, and last but definitely not least, the Hardanger cider. ❤️

We can't wait to visit Norway again and unveil the beauty of the more northern parts which we didn't get to explore this time.