On the road to Oslo
We left Bergen at around 9am today for our long drive to Oslo. This is about 7hrs 30min so a real long day behind the wheel. Weather is cooperating. Today it is partially cloudy and around 600 in Bergen and should be clear and 600 in Oslo. Torill and Ole have been great hosts here in Bergen but time to move on.
The drive will take us along the coast for some time then go inland for a bit. The scenery will change several times from fjords to highlands to farms to bays, hopefully we’ll get some great pictures. Collette has our lunch prepared so we’ll find a nice spot along the way to enjoy our cheese, salami, chicken strips and crackers, just something to hold us over until we get to Oslo where dinner awaits!
Just a note for those who use Google maps, like we do, to navigate in foreign countries. Sometimes it goes stupid on you. Today is one of those times when Google couldn’t find where we were or where we wanted to go when we left the parking garage. We wanted to go back to the apartment to pick up our luggage which should have taken about 5 minutes. Instead, 30 minutes later, we’re wandering around town paying very close attention to the street signs so we don’t drive the wrong way ( if you remember our experience in France going down the pedestrian district during lunch hour).
When all else fails, rely on your instincts. Ole, our host, said to always look for the church steeple to find your way to the apartment. Bingo, there it is and within 5 minutes, we’re at the apartment. Loaded the Maserati Yaris and headed on our way to Oslo.
Somewhere about 2-2 1/2hours into the drive, we encountered a strange phenomenon, snow. That light dusting of snow we mentioned a few days ago was now about 6-8 inches and everywhere. We had made the plateau of one of Norway’s mountains and found snow. How wonderful! We haven’t had to deal with snow for months. As tempting as it was, we didn’t stop to make snowballs or angles in the snow, we just drove on.
Along the way we came across this recreation of a Stave church. Stave churches were common in Northwestern Europe around 1200AD. Over the years most have been destroyed by fire or gradually replaced with stone constructed buildings. We’ll visit one of the oldest remaining Stave churches in Oslo later this week.
Single nave, Stave church
Door detail
A few hours later and we pull into Oslo. Oslo is a major city and the capital of Norway so there is plenty of road construction, traffic and people (over 600,000 live here). Just what I needed after a 7hr drive, congestion and tons of people. But it gets better, Google went stupid again. This time telling us to take an exit onto a road that has obviously been under construction for months. Once again, rely on your instincts. We got back on the highway, took the next exit and weaved through neighborhood after neighborhood and well-a, found it.
The apartment is located close to the university so lots of young people walking about but amazingly a quiet neighborhood. Our host, Fredrik, met us as we arrived and helped walk me through using the parking app so our Lamborghini Yaris didn’t get ticketed or towed. We took our bags to the apartment, poured a glass of wine, and now…….time to relax, then go find a restaurant for dinner.
Kitchen
Dining
Le pottie with washer & dryer
End of a fun day even with all the driving. Fortunately, my navigator – the Misses, overcame the shortcomings of Google and got us here safe and sound. There is a lot to see in Oslo so we’re here for 4 days. Tomorrow will be a walking tour of as much of the city that we can cover and we’ll start at the Vigeland Park, the sculpture park displaying statues by Gustav Vigeland.
Till then amigos……………….
Cheers.