Land of Vikings – Paradisical Norway

Central Oslo

Jan 2022 – S and I started to mull over a holiday after a two-year terrible hiatus. We wanted to get Vidur’s poonal done in March. V’s poonal was postponed twice since 2019. The pandemic had turned the world upside down, so I can’t blame. But now, a sliver of hope for travel was seemingly possible in March 2022, so we just wanted to get that done. A fortnight in Chennai after 2.5yrs turned out to be fruitful and satisfying one. We were able finish all formalities we had targeted.  Since we spent two weeks in March end, and subsequently were planning to invite both parents to Dubai, one after another, we ruminated over skipping India trip in July and go somewhere else.

S was keen on doing Iceland. We did dream about Iceland once in 2020, which got dropped due to the pandemic. Yet, this time I suggested Norway, which appeared to be less strenuous than Iceland. After days of cogitation, we decided on Norway, because of: direct flights to Oslo, lesser number of days, slightly less heavy on pockets, and the anxiety of doing whole the ring road which involves single night stays in most places, which S was not mentally ready. My close friend at work ‘N’ had been to Norway few years back. His itinerary gave me quick idea of which cities to go.

A few snippets about Norway: - Norway is known for its fjords, treks, waterfalls, northern lights (during winters), midnight sun (during summers) and its pristine backdrops all over. Lots of unique trekking spots like trolltonga, pulpit rock, kjeragbolten, etc, are one of the best scenic hikes in the world. These are largely in the southern part of Norway. They are roughly 6-8hours ones, thereby compelling one to stay in neighboring towns. Northern lights and midnight sun can be seen above the artic circle - towns like tromso and lofoten islands. For the more adventurous ones – Svalbard – an island located above the northern tip of Norway, and is supposedly incredible. Towns like Bergen, Alesund, stavenger are more of culture, food, coffee shops and walks. Between Bergen in the west and Alesund in north – sceneries galore: fjords, mountains, waterfalls, cottagecore towns, snow even during summer, etc.  I finalized on an itinerary of oslo-flam-alesund- and fly to amsterdam from alesund.

 

Oslo – the Scandanavian nicety

This is S’s first entry into a Scandinavia. I had the privilege of doing a boys trips to Saariselka in Finland in Feb 2020 with N and A – yes, I did see northern lights and yes ofcourse, it was right at the cusp of lockdown. S was going a tough time over last year or so – mentally and physically battling a vestibular imbalance issue and the general derangement that covid and lockdowns has created not just for us but for countless fellow humans. I was keen on dedicating the holiday for her. I had promised that the entire trip would be kept flexible based on her convenience, mood, and physical disposition ☺.

Two days in Oslo was prefatory. We got acclimatized to weather, went around oslo - few popular spots, got a glimpse of the ‘noble’ buildings and got the necessary paraphernalia like sim cards, etc for the rest of our journey.

Before the trip, I had asked Vidur and Vedha to do some research and give me their choice of places to see around the trinary locations; just to inspirit them and bring some euphoria. Nothing worthwhile came out! 😊.  So, I gave them some targeted task – such as, find out options for: transport passes in Oslo and Amsterdam, best way to reach Oslo central from airport, which SIM card to buy in Norway, etc. Vidur had come with a suggestion of SIM from Telia (one out of 3 providers). To instill some confidence in him, I blindly went by it.  We found Telia shop near the central station; got 2 SIMs activated.

We got into Ruter’s office nearby to purchase our day passes for public transport. Though Vidur had told me to purchase it from the app, upon seeing the office I went to customer service, which was right by the station, because I somehow wanted to evade from S’s multitudinous questions, half of which, she’s aware that I don’t know, yet incessantly bombarding me or asking me to enquire with someone, which also - she knows - is out of my comfort zone. At least let the counter attendant be gainfully employed for some time, I thought. We also got metro / tram route map and city maps. I gave one each to both Vs to get their feet wet in comprehending metro maps.

on way to holmenkollen

We took the metro to holmenkollen ski slope. The train goes up the hill, providing some lovely views of the city and surrounding fjord. It was drizzling and misty. We were enthralled by the view, weather, and milieu. As we were walking up near the slope, visibility reduced to nearly 100 meters ahead. It started raining and there was no point going any further. We headed back to Oslo central. All the other attractions were around the oslo central.

We tried Mcdonald’s for lunch; unsurprisingly the ‘veggie delight’ too had chicken in it. Vidur pulled us into Subway. S and I have travelled lot of Europe, east and west of US, Canada, etc. yet, such a shame that we have never ventured into Subway – yes, not even once!;  scandalous – no?.  I was frivolously thinking it’s another joint like KFC, burger king; thankfully S was not better either. A reluctant entry turned into a delightful meal.

vigeland sculpture park

I had booked Citybox hotel in Oslo central. The hotel is worth a mention here, because we noticed a new concept. The room was eponymously just like box with a queen bed, bunker bed, bathroom and barely enough space to keep our luggage. However, they had an entire floor left open for guest, which had TT table, darts, table football, 3 large dining areas with trendy furniture, sofas and chairs, conference rooms, 4 smart televisions with netflix, fridge, vending

machine, kitchen sink, 2 microwaves and some disposable cutlery. Check in and check out done by machines with an entry option in app instead of room cards. Our first experience of such a kind. There was also a laundry room with washing machines and driers. We entered the room only when we needed to hit the sack. We had cereals and breads for breakfast, ‘subways’ for lunch and ordered Indian curry for dinner via foodra app (Zomato equivalent). A value for money hotel in central Oslo. I knew I was signing up for a that in Oslo, so no disappointment with that.

Both days were very pleasant to roam around – cold, drizzly, sunny and cloudy – depending on your luck. We went to Royal palace, vigeland sculpture park, akershus fortress, walked all the way through Karl Johan’s gate (Champ Elysee of Olso), took ferry ride to nearby inhabited islands, opera house – all by walk and tram. We bought some chocolates from famous Freia of Norway. Thankfully, my kids also have no interest in museums, so we just suffered it from outside.

vigeland park

outside hotel

olso central station

holmenkollen ski slope

vigeland park

ferry ride to island inside olso

Heart of our Trip – Flåm

I had booked the car from Oslo airport on 27^th July; a corolla station wagon which has a bigger boot space. Just as I vaticinated, the boot was barely enough despite being longer, forcing us keep the smaller bags in rear seat. It was a hybrid car with good interiors and fairly new. Some travel blogs had advised not to venture central Oslo by car if you are a novice; trams / busses can confuse the hell out of you. Therefore, we dragged our suitcases down all the way to airport to pick up the car.

My usual obsession with booking.com made this accomodation hunt in flam a laborious one - went on for quite a few days. I had my nose applied to grindstone booking umpteen hotels on cancellable basis in booking.com, wrecking my brains over the options, route and evaluating pros & cons; besides, earning S’s wrath for spending evenings in front of laptop.  On a regular lunch time tête-à-tête with N, he mentioned about Airbnb being his chalk-horse. I was stumped thinking how ‘airbnb’ did not cross my mind. I found a beautiful house in Ardalstagen which is an hour drive from flam, in airbnb.  Oslo to Ardal was 4.5hours drive. After a couple of hours from Oslo aiport, we stopped at petrol station for lunch break. There was big kiwi supermarket adjacent to it and there was a lake and a mountain behind the station. We had our sandwiches for lunch, took an ice-cream stick each and a long walk across the lake, spending nearly an hour.  The next part of drive towards Ardal gave us the first  Norwegian experience. The breathtaking drive took us to top of a mountain: snow, glacier lakes, lush greenery and chill breeze - charmed all of us. I made some 7 stops enroute – once even walking a few steps up a hill to touch the snow. The mirth was tectonic. The scenic curves continued all the way into Ardal. The house was just at the edge of fjord, across the river, surrounded by mountains and two waterfalls, which can be seen from drawing room. The house was a luxurious 3 bedroom, elegantly furnished, with full kitchenette, with private parking and was just opposite a big kiwi supermarket – icing on the cake.  We felt we wasted a day in Olso.

outside ardal town

enroute to ardal

enroute to ardal

enroute to ardal

near the petrol pump

near the petrol pump

just outside our house in Ardal

3 days around Flam

Flam is a town situated in the middle of Norway, known for its picturesque fjord, river and surrounding landscape. Flamsbana (the popular mountain scenic train), zip line (europe’s longest one), flam cruise, beach, trekking and biking from Myrdal to flam, Segastien view point – these are some of the popular attractions. 

S had done some net-exploration about flam. Her neophilia led us to pin a place called ‘viking valley’ in Gudvagen near flam. This has also incited some excitement in her, which essentially means, we had no choice but to head straight to flam on first day from Ardal.  The shorter route takes about an hour from flam. It goes through Lardeal tunnel – the world’s longest tunnel – 25kms long. There were parking shoulders inside the tunnel with ambient lighting.   We headed to stegastein view point first. The hilly climb to the view point was venturesome. The road was so narrow that only one vehicle can either go up and come down. The vehicle on the opposite side has to give way by going to the edge of road and give way for the other side. Unfortunately, due to some incident, there was a pile up after half way. It was quite an adventure turning vehicle back down midway. Flamsbana was fully booked and viking valley was just a museum - read worthless. But we discovered a kayaking option right behind the museum – which was also fully booked that day. We finally extracted something out of the jinxed day, by visiting a waterfall near Aurlandsfjellet on the way back home. We parked in a narrow spot and trekked few meters down the forest following a trail to a beautiful waterfall. We were awestruck by the falls and location. Vidur and I further went further in to touch the gushing water.  It was worth the extra hour’s drive.

aurlandfjillet falls

lardeal tunnel

Unfazed by the disappointment of missing most of the attractions on day 1, we headed again to flam through the lardeal tunnel. Repeating the tunnel was monotonous. Kids were kicking a fuss about it.  We had bookings for flamsbana, so we started the day with a positive note on finishing the first target. Vidur was very keen on kayaking. Luckily, we got a ‘on the top’ kayak which can have 3 pax. I took the courage to take vedha in the middle. Though we had life jacket, the instructor petrified me by saying “if this turns upside down or you fall over, you turn over the kayak like this and get back in yourself” holy moly! – to my bewilderment, he said it so nonchalantly as if we were riding bikes on a bicyle track.  I mustered some courage and went into fjord kayaking with two kids. The water must near zero degree, lest we should fall in water, the body would freeze within minutes. The genial sunshine added a little comfort. Despite the on and off butterflies that I had, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of kayaking with both Vs; the scenery was absolutely stunning.  Vedha was super excited to have fortuity to get into kayak with us. The kids loved the experience.  I took the longer but scenic route back home, instead of taking the tunnel, covering the stegastian view point.    This was one the best 3 hours of the entire holiday. Winding roads, beautiful landscape, snow, glacier lakes, waterfalls, sight of people having supper on mountain top, caravans, chilly winds, bright sunshine – such an euphoria and bliss.

on way back from kayak

Kayak

on way back from kayak

stegastian view point

flam zipline

view from flamsbanna train

    

We decided to keep the third day very relaxed. Ardal has plenty of waterfalls and treks nearby. I was keen on doing a trek with vidur. We headed to ’vettifossen’. It’s a 2-hour trek up a mountain leading to the bottom of the falls.  we were greeted by a nice waterfalls to begin with, a few meters from the parking lot, which is the starting point of trek. S and vedha decided to stay back after a short walk. Vidur and I trekked for about 75mins beyond which the it started to get very steep and arduous. Vidur at that point lost interest and wanted to return back. We saw 3 waterfalls enroute. Though the final one – vettifossen should be best of the lot, I still decided to give it to the boy and returned to base camp where both girls were relaxing the milieu.

Every time we rode out of ardal in the last three days, we were greeted with limpid emerald green waters gently kissing the surrounding verdant mountains that were standing majestically tall with a white cap on top, giving an image as if it is standing on a mirror, and the black contrasting tarmac coiling through the fjord all the way.  Be it sunshine or be it pluvial clouds or be it snow or in fact any season: it will hold your soul spellbound.

falls after 1 hour of trek

walking trail

outside ardal

outside house in ardal final day

We wanted simply relax through the evening doing nothing. Kids were rollicking with Netflix at home, while S and I took a nice post-dinner walk along with river. We sat at one of the benches along the river, while dusk was hemorrhaging out of the sky, algid winds were caressing every nerve, river burbles were soothing our ears, birds were chirping: we relished the mere quietude, for an hour.  Coming from an intramundane world, I have always wondered what such rural neighborhood does for a living. I still remain puzzled. When it started drizzling, we had amble back to home, unwillingly – thereby biding adieu to Ardal.

Ardal to Geirnager to Alesund

Alesund is 5-hour drive from Ardal. There is route via Geiranger which takes 30mintues more, albeit more scenic. Salso had Geiranger in her wish list. It is one of the most beautiful fjords in Norway, a UNESCO world heritage site, and has also been named as Scandanavia’s best destination by Lonely Planet for its spectacular scenery. Cruise ships pile during the four-month tourist season. we took the longer route, with an idea to finish off Geiranger even it meant reaching Alesund little late in the day; after all this place has the luxury of sunlight till 11.30pm during summers.

After a 15minutes drive past Ardal, we started ascending a mountain and reached the top within 30 minutes. I realized there are no tunnels, which meant the ride is going to be though serpentine curves, and hence going to be more scenic. It was drizzling all along and hence quite gloomy as well. Vidur was cantankerous, a bit recalcitrant, and was getting irked at the smallest of things. In few minutes, the lad complained of headache and feeling suffocated.  Gleam of excitement of that I had all along, turned into bouts of ague suddenly. I was driving at the top of a mountain - persistent drizzle, frosty weather outside, no sight of shelter on either side of road, already segued half way to next destination; I quivered, thinking what to do if Vidur falls sick. Whilst hiding my emotions, I was giving soothing words to vidur to pep him. S was remarkably calm. She released the panacea – ‘Tiger Balm’. She asked vidur to gently apply and to keep snorting it. The champ dozed off a bit and was much better after thirty minutes or so. I reckon the mountain pass was probably giving him motion sickness, which the poor boy was unable to express it clearly initially.

The breathtaking scenery all along the 4-hour drive from Ardal to Geiranger deserves a special mention. Some routes – like these - though less popular compared to much vaunted ones like the ‘atlantic road’, which you happen to hit them unwittingly, end up being the pinnacle.  After we crossed the ski town of Groti, I was driving in between 2 mountains, with a river racing with us on my left, we started to witness fog at ahead of us at the next mountain top.  By now, I could feel the vivacity in Vidur’s voice from rear – while demanding something to eat. I was fully charged up, after being enervated for a short while.  The next 30 mins ride was through thick fog with 100 meters visibility in any direction. With circumspect, I drove down the mountain, slowly emerging out of fog - into to the gorgeous Gerinanger fjord.  Since the fjyord was covered with fog and shower, we decided against the speed boat cruise that day. Given that this is much popular amongst tourist, unsurprisingly, the town had lot of restaurants and shops.  After a bit of window shopping and munching our meal there, we headed to Alesund. There were few drop dead viewpoints enroute.  As we entered the suburbs of ‘Eidstal’, google akka (sister) was leading us into the water. I remained puzzled, until we hit the banks of fjord, where the vehicle banksman directed us to join the line of cars queued up in rows. I realized the cars were going to get ferried across the fjord. Yes, this was also a unique and rare experience.  We reached our Airbnb in Alesund around 6ish. I struggled with understanding the arcane parking mechanism and signboards in Alesund. I also got a parking ticket for briefly parking at the wrong place to offload the suitcases – a welcome gift from costal town.

  

enroute to geiranger

Geiranger Fjord

enroute to geiranger

on top of ferry 

from geiranger

Final destination in Norway – Alesund

A fine two bedroom apartment on the 4th floor on one of the few buildings which had elevator. Unlike the previous home, there was no key box, and hence I had to coordinate with the host to time the arrival and receipt of keys – yet no hassle; surely was a better choice than a hotel.

Alesund is a costal town on the Atlantic – a bit congested, narrow streets with steep slopes going up and down around our neighborhood, and about 5 degrees colder than flam. It has an airport though; hence the plan was to fly out of alesund to Amsterdam.

Both Vs had come with choice of things-to-do in Alesund. Atlantic road – one of most popular roads in the world, which was a three hour drive from alesund - was part of our itinerary. By now, kids were hoary of mountain drives; hence thought of bringing some variety into the trip. We spent around half a day at ‘sea world’ in alesund.  It was loaded with shows: penguin, Seal, whale, etc, acquarium, cafeteria, interactive zones with sea creatures. My little girl calmly held a live crab in her hand. We had a wholesome family outing, with kids having a ball at the play area towards the end, while we both sat there quietly enjoying the horizon over the sublime atlantic. We also went to Aksla viewpoint – got a nice view of town before returning home.

aksla view point -alesund

view over the atlantic

Though the initial plan for last day was Atlantic road, I knew S has her heart left hanging over the unfinished RIB boat ride (speed boat) inside geiranger flord. I asked her   “what do you want to do – Atlantic road or Geirnager - the whole trip was dedicated for you after all” – served with a tone of both: dispassion between the choices and love, in tandem.  After youtubing – unable to decide – she gave pros of both choices – and put me on that predicament by saying those golden words “You Decide”.  This essentially means I have to decide what she wants.    During one of those conversations N had made a passing remark about how he felt the Atlantic road was little over-rated. In the absence of a storm, it’s a normal road with curvy bridges over the ocean. It helped me assert to her “lets do geiranger RIB boat”.  Kids were also more excited for the speed boat ride rather than another plain vanilla road trip.

We were just in time at the Geiranger booking station for booking the 1pm ride. There was pestilential, soul stirring, consistent drizzle to mild showers on and off. Having come for second time, regardless of shower, we still went on for the ride.  The protective gears were good enough to keep us dry inside, yet due to the sheer speed, the rain droplets were pelting our eyes and head – making me embrace vedha, close to my body covering her head with my palm. The scenery was dazzling with several waterfalls with varying density all along. The ride was bumpy, like a roller coaster on water – ofcourse it was a speed boat.  Despite the discomfort caused by rain, the kids did not flinch. They came out happy at the end of it. I still felt it was a better choice than Atlantic road.

on the way back to alesund

from speed boat

on way back to alesund

Since it was only 2ish, we had time to take a detour to trollstingen enroute to Alesund. Trollstingen is one of the most popular and fascinating roads in Norway.  Since we had enough dosage of hairpins for last 5 days, folks wanted to head back and relax with a maggi dinner and Netflix movie.

Our flight to Amsterdam was at 3pm the following day. I had booked SAS airline: Alesund – Copenhagen – Amsterdam with an hour hop in CPH. I was aware about the pilot strike in SAS which got resolved a month prior to our travel; still, I was checking the departure and arrival of flights from alesund regularly. Over the last one week, flights were on reaching on time. Around 6pm, we started packing our bags. Having heard so much about baggage delays in major European airports, I insisted to pack valuable clothes and accouterment for two days in cabin bags; with the idea - should the bags not arrive in Amsterdam on time, we are still ok to spend last two days and head back to Dubai – without much laceration.

I went online, to reconfirm weight allowed in cabin. As I was sifting through my mails, I showed S a notification from SAS airlines, that the itinerary has been cancelled; I have an option to take next day flight or get full refund!. We both looked at each other in mock horror. Until a day back, the website showed the flights were reaching on time - from Alesund to Copenhagen. For a minute, I just sat there frozen momentarily, whilst grappling with the situation, calculating what next. I checked KLM flights to Amsterdam for next day; it was costing $3.5k additionally. I lost faith in SAS now and thought of booking KLM – a visceral reaction. S propounded, is Amsterdam really worth so much – no way. From my earlier attempts, I knew getting connected to SAS call center was next to impossible. I decided to drive down to airport, which was 12 minutes away, in pursuit of a SAS desk inside the airport. It was 7pm and it was drizzling outside. The streets lay bare and solitary.  I heaved though those 15 minute drive evaluating plan B.  Plan B: drive down to olso – though 7 hours from alesund; stay overnight in aiport hotel; ditch Amsterdam and escape from Dubai from Olso directly. I was connected to S all through. In those anxious 15 minutes, all of them were falling in place – emirates reschedule did not cost much, airport hotel options were aplenty, and Sixt agreed for a day extension. By the time I reached airport, I was breathing with a sigh of relief. I entered the aiport check-in area, confoundedly looking at the vacant hall, turning my head 360 d, trying hard to find a single soul inside the airport. A coffee shop at one end had someone at the table. Upon my enquiry for SAS counter, with wry smile, she asked me to knock at the door behind check-in counters. As I was approaching the counter, co-incidentally a tall lady, middle aged, attired in customary airport staff uniform, came out smiling at me – asking ‘how can I help you’.  I wanted to ask, first is this an aiport for real!. I came straight to the point. Looking at the bewilderment in my eyes, she said “at this hour there are no flights and hence usually quiet. She was able to connect to someone at the SAS operations in a minute – a miracle; and gave me an option for 6am flight next day to Amsterdam via oslo. The original schedule was at 4pm next day via Copenhagen. I kept her on hold, had a quick chat with S and decided it is better than plan B. I took it and came home at 9pm with the boarding pass. The lost excitement in S’s face regurgitated.

 3 days in Sin City – Amsterdam

Besides the fiasco, it was a very efficient flight. We reached Amsterdam airport on time. The wait for baggage at the airport was excruciating, due to the anxiety of whether we will in fact get our checked in bags. The arrival area in Schipol airport is a sight to behold. Large racks made of steel, with multiple layers of rows and columns, about 10 feet tall, spanning across the arrival hall, were loaded with unclaimed suitcases and bags. I surmised these bags could be abandoned ones or are waiting to be shipped back to rightful owner or just kept there hoping someone would come back claiming for it.  Airports in Europe these days have special counters – many of them – with sign ‘baggage complaint’.

Amsterdam itinerary was tailor made for S. I have been on stags trip to Amsterdam before. Going by N’s suggestion again, I had booked NH collection Barbizon palace, a five star – for 3 nights. It was right across the central station, and safe enough for kids.  The number of museums in the city seems to have increased compared to my visit last time.  Vedha was very keen on Anne frank museum. She had studied the whole story about Anne Frank before travelling. Disappointingly, we were informed, it is booked for 3 weeks in advance. We took the day pass for trams / busses on day 1; roamed around from one attraction to another, exploring the city from outside, without spending a dime on overboard entrance tickets.

The streets were crowded, a dour of smoke (of weed or cigarettes) hung always in the air, sight of mendicants on the sidewalk, grime on the streets, profanatory items were in public display outside the shops on the main roads, and sun was bronzing the nape of our neck: we glowered, realizing the flagrant difference and the opulence of nature that we enjoyed over the last 10 days. I told S that you have come to see central Amsterdam and what do you expect. Perhaps the countryside of Netherlands would be totally different. Now that vidur is above 12, we had the confidence to leave both Vs in the room post dinner, with the company of Netflix, and a mobile phone. I took S ambling around the nocturnal side of city, took her to shows and sights which you get to see only in Amsterdam; satiating the whole purpose of the stop-over in this city. The streets were filled with coarseness, yet so touristy that it does not make you cringe.

We visited zaanse shans the next day. It had rained early morning; so overcast conditions pursued through the day, making it much cooler, and in fact forcing S and kids to pull their jackets out. The village, windmills, traditional dutch houses, cheese factory, wooden shoe making process, waffles and ice-cream – made the day a pleasurable one. We wasted the evening and 40 euros by going up A’dam look out tower – nothing else better to do either.

We received email from emirates to reach airport at least 4 hours ahead of departure. Given that we had nothing to do on last day, we reached airport by 11am for 3.30pm flight. Long queues right from check in counters took us 2.5hours to go past the security clearance. The airport seems to be in mayhem incapacitated to handle the crowd. we had a safe flight back home.

Thanks to God for blessing with a small yet wonderful break after almost 2 years of pandemonium, uncertainty - enervating everyone with some disharmony in life.   

I hope and pray the pandemic comes to and end soon, and life returns to normalcy for all.