Less than a year ago, we tried to max out Apple Maps’ ability to render geography South of us in Punta Arenas. This week, we will try the same but in the northern direction when we head up to Svalbard.
But I get ahead of myself as I’ve only just arrived in Norway. We got a good deal out of Newark (Marathon Monday week means no deals from Boston). We rented a car to get us to Newark, and that was a saga not worth telling. We made it to the airport with just enough time to get to the gate and board and that’s all that matters. This was another of the 5:30pm departures that, now that I understand that I can’t even pretend to sleep on such early flights, I won’t book again.
We landed in Lisbon at a little before midnight Boston time (5am Lisbon). Had some food, then boarded the 4-hour flight to Oslo. We all slept on the flight. A quick train ride from the Oslo airport to the city center and we were done traveling. Ish.
Food is mind-blowingly expensive here. 3 burgers and 2 beers run $100 easy, but we were hungry and tired and happy for a tasty, hot meal. Despite the barely 50 degree weather, outdoor dining (with sheepskin seat covers and blankets provided) was popular so we opted to spend some time outdoors. Rejuvenated (and lighter with bags in luggage lockers, something I greatly miss in the US), we went for a walk.
We walked around Oslo for about an hour. Norway has clung to the idea of no business on Sunday, so it was a bit less exciting than it might be other days, but still enjoyable to see a pedestrian-friendly city, and one that is SO clean!
Last adventure for the day was the train to Bergen. 6.5 hours, so I booked us a whole compartment which allowed us to each take a nap or two. The scenery was quite gorgeous, and you could feel the seasons change as we moved from the coast through the higher elevations and then back to the coast.
Vacation Days 