Intro:
http://bbs.qyer.com/viewthread.php?tid=25286&forum=25
Norway:
http://bbs.qyer.com/viewthread.php?tid=25287&forum=25
Denmark:
http://bbs.qyer.com/viewthread.php?tid=25288&forum=25
Sweden:
http://bbs.qyer.com/viewthread.php?tid=25289&forum=25
More photos:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/xiaodongyao/my_photos
10/15, Day 1, Surprise, surprise.
Flam
I arrived in Oslo in the early morning of 10/15. By the time I got through immigration, my mind was kind of muddy. Without thinking clearly, I got 3000nok from the ATM machine and purchased an OSLO card for 195nok. The main reason I bought this card is that the cheapest train from Airport to Central station is 75nok and this card covers it. This was just the beginning of the small things that manifested my lack of experience and planning:
It started on the plane. It suddenly occurred to me that I forgot the part-time student card (taking a class for fun). Then I couldn’t pretend to be a student and get any discount. well, maybe I am not supposed to.
I started reading Rick’s book almost before the plane landed, and learned the that there were 2 Tourist information centers in OSLO, TI and UseIt. My arrival time at the OSLO-S(central station) was 11:00am and I thought I had enough time to find either one of them and then get a plan as to what to do today and later in the trip. I did validate my scan rail pass according to the illustration and then left the station in a hurry, with no idea about how far those centers were and what to do next.
After fumbling around and found the small UseIt office, here comes 1st surprise, it was closed. How come? The book said it’s open between 11:00am to 5:00pm, were they late?
Read again, it says Mon –Fri, and today was Sat. bummer.
Then it took me another 40 min or to find the other TI office. Again, it was closed, what was going on? The book said Mon – Sat. read again, it says Mon – Sat. during June – Aug, but only Mon – Fr. during Oct. – Apr. And as you know, it is Oct. man, how poor was my reading!
And what’s more, later (at around 6:00pm) I realized that there was a small TI office in central station which was open on Sat until 5:00 pm and I just miserably missed it.
At this time, I was completely thrown off by this situation. The question as to what I should do after arriving Bergen on 10/17 and before going to Copenhagen on 10/19 eve had always been bothering me, and I needed an answer. Posted a question on go2eu but too bad Duckla was on vacation. But now I didn’t have any information and nobody to ask. At the time I almost wanted to kick myself but decided to be calm and play it by ear. Any I was traveling alone, didn’t have to make an itinerary.
Since this office was not that far from the Royal palace, I decided to take a look at the palace and then decide what to do next. By this time, I had been wondering around the main street for about 2 hours, carrying both the carry and the backpack. And I was really tired. Later I learned that I could easily checked my bag at the station for 25nok for 24 hours, which would have made this whole time so much easier.
After taking some quick pictures, I decided to find the hostel and check in and then come back. The hostel is a bit far from the center, it took me more than 20 min to get to the station and walked about 7 min to arrive there. It was a nice building located on a high ground. The attendant was kind and nice and told me that I can use their kitchen. I paid 200nok (25 extra for not being a member). It was 2:00pm already. I went to the room, not bad, clean, bright, with 4 beds. Then cooked some instant noodle I brought from US ( a friend strongly recommended me to bring my own food).
By the time I finished food and started reading where I should go, it was already 3:00pm, and I just realized that all the museums were either closed or will be in one hour, and tomorrow was Sunday, they won’t be open until very late and I planned to go to Myrdal at the latest 10:30am. Oh, my Oslo card, what can I do with it? The top recommendation was Vigeland Park which will be closed at 4:00 pm (wrong again!) and I had to make it today, even just for a very short time.
Rushed to Vigeland park at 3:50pm and it was free and didn’t look like even near close. Read the book again, it was talking about museum, not the park. The park is open all the time and free. Well, I swear I will read it more carefully in my future days. But anyway, I was at the park and the weather was wonderful.
The clear blue sky matches the rich and vivid color of the trees, grass and flowers in the fall. And the best for sure were those sculptures. Here are some pictures.
I truly enjoyed the park, got out at around 5:00pm, and it was not dark yet. I decided to go to Bigdoyy island. The ferry was closed due to the off season, but I can make it by bus 30, and the station is close to the park. Another small twist here, I got off one stop earlier “by mistake” and walked to the central places where the museums are, of course they were all closed. It was not that impressive. Stayed for about 45 min and decided to go. Waited about 45 min but never saw a bus, almost thought about ask for a ride, but instead asked a gentleman who was a resident nearby. He told me that the bus does not come to this station, which was explained on the board not so clearly. Actually what I did earlier was the right way and I need to walk another 10 min back to where I got off. And you can imagine by this time, I was getting tired.
Then I went to OSLO-S to make seat reservation. You can make all reservations here, including between Copenhagen and Stockholm. I got the following: Oslo – Myrdal, 10:30am (didn’t want to get up too early and miss the free breakfast at the hostel),
Myrdal to flam (Scan rail didn’t cover but got a discount) at 4:00pm, all for 10/16.
Then I took the bus again and went back to hostel. The room had a shower and toilet. I’ve got 2 other roommates who were not at the room at the time. I took a shower and cooked instant noodle again. At least I got enough warning and was prepared for Norway’s high prices. Everything is double or triple of the price in USA. I didn’t spend any money on food the first day (had a decent breakfast on plane and the rest at the hostel). Please do take advantage of the hostel kitchen if you are allowed to use it.
Then went to bed and kept thinking about what I was going to do after Bergen, fought hard with jetlag and finally fell asleep until very late.
10/16 day 2
1st taste of fjord.
Started from day 2, I got rid of the shadow of yesterday’s misses, slowly adjusted myself and got on the right track.
Had a very hearty free breakfast(fit a viking, as Rick said), went to Oslo-s with my Oslo card. At around 10:00 am, a Chinese asked me about how to get to airport from Oslo-s, I gave my Oslo card to him and told him that he can use it until 12:00, finally made it worth.
Then I made another seat reservation from Oslo to Copenhagen for 140 on 10/19 night ( got a couchette which means the cheapest sleeping seat), a good deal since the sitting seat would cost 50 anyway. planned to cancel the boat trip reserved earlier (I was not clear about my trip and wanted maximize my scan rail pass).
Scan Rail, Day 1
The train was very nice, few passengers, glass window was clean. With the beautiful scenery outside, it is like 50" plasma TV. 3 hours into the trip, the scenery became interesting. Got some nice pics from the window. Changed train at Myrdal at 4:00pm, was very surprised to find that only a couple people did the same, kep wondering where all the tourists on this Norway-In-A-Nutshell route are, even though it was the off season. I figured out the answer after arrival at Flam.
The Flam railway is an awesome project. Thank God, it's not built by software engineers like me. A bug here means a hard end to everything, not a chance to put a patch. Later found I lost the book I borrowed from library on the train from Oslo, the one I feared to lose the most. Never put anything in the seat back pocket and be sure to look back when you get off.
At the railway station, got some brochures, and went to check in at the Heimly Pension which was only 450m away from the station. The town is so quite and the hotel is overseeing the best view on the hill. It's very clean and looks very nice. I booked a shared
room without asking how many people, for 195nok. Breakfast is extra, not cheap, 89nok, but ordered it anyway.
To my pleasant surprise, it's a very nice room with only two beds, a bathroom with shower. And the best of all, seemed that there is no other person coming.
After reading the timetable, I realized why there were so few nutshell crowd with my schedule, starting from 10/1, there was only one boat from flam to Gudvagen at 3:00pm, again, it’s the off season. Therefore I cannot leave Flam until then if I want to take the boat trip. I didn't plan to stay that long, but turned to be the best decision I made so far.
Rent a bike for 50nok, ride to the old town, only my self on the road, used my min tripod and took a couple pictures for myself. The bike didn't have much air and when I mentioned it when returning, the owner said I could take another 1hour tomorrow for free.
I wasn't allowed to use the kitchen but they did give me hot water with which I cooked my dinner – instant noodle again, the breakfast from Oslo helped me through this
far:-). I think it must be record that I didn’t spend any money on food for two days in a row, of course I can’t do that for long, 89 for tomorrow’s breakfast.
I took a nice shower and started planning the trip, still no idea about what to do after Bergen.
Slept for an hour and woke up at 2:00am and couldn't get back to sleep. I am very bad in terms of fighting the jetlag. Found the bright moon hanging over the mountain, dressed up and walked outside. It was so peaceful; I cannot help but remembering 赤壁赋by 苏轼(it took me 2 minutes literally to find this word). Time and space were so different but the beauty of the nature and the peace of the mind were similar. I tried my min tripod and manual control of my digital camera and got some nice night view pics. And then went back to sleep.
Got up in the morning, eat in the dinning room; tried to stuff as much as I can, that's the most important energy supply of the day. The dinning room has a magnificent view over the fjord. It reminded me the luxurious hotel in 17miles of San Francisco (I just passed by and saw the great view from the restaurant, not stayed there). Here I am, enjoying it almost myself. There were only 4 people around including the owner, had a conversation with a nice German couple. The man came here 10 years ago and started coming almost every year and mostly during off season.
At heimly, they had a guest book where the guests write whatever they want. I was surprised to find that there were many Chinese who left messages, people from mainland,
Taiwan or Hong Kong. Chinese from mainland are all in groups, and many of them were 劳模(model workers). It's interesting to observe the different styles of the messages among people from different background. You can tell who was a model workerJ. I left some message in Chinese as well, although I was truly ashamed of my handwriting again. Well, hey, didn't they say that participation is the most important?
I still didn't decide what I am going to do after arriving at Bergen. Almost cancelled the hostel reservation, but luckily didn't do so since I would be arriving pretty late. But was thinking to go to Alesund the next morning. That won't leave me time for Bergen. I wanted to go to Alesund since it was recommended by 穷游ers a lot. The flight will cost over 1000nok, bus or boat would take a whole day for around 500 –600 nok. And I need another whole day to go back to oslo.
10/17 day 3
After breakfast, got the bike and ride a bit and got more pics, my min tripod rocks, all I need is a place higher than me. Throughout the trip, I took pictures of myself with that in most places except on the boat or busy places like Vigeland park.
Riding bike is definitely a worthwhile experience at Flam, especially in such a nice day.
The view and lights varied and every single combo brought me into a wonderful painting. On my way back, saw a bird flying over the water, that kind of peace is something I never experienced before and would have never experienced had it not been off season.
Then I took the time, went to post office, sent out three postcards to wife, parents and
sister for 58nok. At 1:16, got 1hr Internet access for 60nok (very expensive) and wrote my journal. That was the first usage of Internet Café and I was really into it later.
The only bad thing is that the keyboard here is little different and I was not used to it.
highlight of the trip:
I got on the boat that cruises from Flam to Gudvagen. Felt the pain 1st time for forgetting the student card. Paid 195nok, 95 for student. and they didn't even look at the id, man.
Fjord is 名不虚传(the fame is well deserved). Only pictures can describe it. As soon as it started, you can see the most beautiful pictures at every minute, at every angel, with various light exposures. The mountains are high and deep on both sides, as if cut by something, the water is so clean that it's like a mirror at all times. The curves of the mountain are clearly reflected in the water. Since the weather is very nice, the sun shines at different angels depending on where the ship is. This is definitely the most magnificent view I've ever seen.
It's a bit cold on the deck, but I stayed there during the whole 2 hrs except a toilet trip J.
This cruise trip is definitely a must if you have limited time in Norway(there are many other fjords which take some time to get to). I kept wondering how Norway is so blessed.
This cruise is definitely worth the price.
Not too many people on the boat. I just overheard a Norwegian lady talking with several Japanese. She seemed very keen in telling every detail about this area and people’s life, so I started asking her questions and she answered each one with great patience. It's funny that later I found out she was supposed to meet this group on the boat and give them some orientation during the trip. And of course with my face like Japanese and I asked many questions, she thought I was one of the group. I clarified with her as soon as I found out the misunderstanding. But she was still nice to me after that. I even go into the captain room and the captains were very nice, took a pic for me with one captain whiling me holding the wheel. Got the address of that captain and said I will mail him the picture.
Dad a hot choclate for 17nok and some cookie I brought from US for lunch.
After the cruise ended, took one hour bus from Gudvagen to Voss, 76nok, again, paid more for not being student. This bus trip is supposed to be very nice as well. But during off season the good view route was closed and the current one does not have much to offer.
And then I took 1 hour train to Bergen for 144nok(chose not to use my Scan Rail because it's cheap and it was the only ride for the day).
Arrived in Bergen at 7:30PM, got the reservation from Andasle to oslo on 19th for 50nok because I still planned to go to Alesund. The hostel I booked (Marken Gjestehus) got good ratings from bugeurope.com (I cancelled the other one and booked this after seeing the review) and Rick's book. It's just 6 min walk from the train station. I booked one in a 4-bed room, got two other roommates. One German, one from new Zealand, both are very nice. No bath or toilet in the room. It’s clean and tidy. Saved 50nok again for bringing my own linen (same thing the previous two nights).
Then decided to walk around Bergen since I won't have enough time tomorrow.
It's a very nice small town, walking friendly, weather is not cold at all.
I used my mini tripod again. Then decided to get a decent dinner since Rick has some
recommendations in Bergen but Alesund is not in his book. Plus, I hadn’t had a decent dinner for 3 days. Found the place but the name changed, the waiter said they just renovated and changed the name. They sent a letter to Rick. So next year it will be correct.
Had Whale fillet for 179nok (that’s almost 30USD! The most expensive dinner during my whole trip). This price is considered pretty good in Norway. I heard that Norway is one of the few countries allowing whale hunting. don't want to miss the chance to taste whale meat. The food is great although whale meat is not that different. No tip needed, as the book said.
While walking back to the hostel, all of sudden it just occurred to me that I didn't have to go to Alesund, I can take tomorrow’s night train to Oslo and therefore have a full day in Bergen and a full day at Oslo. The minute I thought of this, everything seemed working so well, no hurry, more relaxed, less money.
I can enjoy more and spend less money. I might miss some of the scenary along the way, but the price for that including time, energy and money is just too deep to be justified at this point. Plus I got the whole day on 19th to make it up for my stupidity on the 1st day. And I don't have to get up early today.
I then went back to train station and got the reservation from Bergen to Oslo for 175nok (sleeping seat). And also got the refund for the Andasle reservation. This just told me how important it is to go with the flow while traveling alone, don't just do something because you think you have to do it. I remembered reading an article on go2eu, named why is it pouring in fairy tale world (sorry, not a great translation), the girl wrote a very nice journal about her having a miserable time in Copenhagen. The journal was nice but I would not prefer that kind of experience. To me, lessons learned are that we should go with the flow; try to take it easy and enjoy whatever experience coming up. Remember? “Change your liking if something is not to your liking”
After getting back to hostel, it took me a while to get in. The elevator was made in 1938 and I waited for a few minutes for the door to open and just realized that I need to push it to open :-). Overall the hostel is good. It is clean, it has a kitchen and they didn't charge me for not being a member (guess they are not affiliated to any chain). 195 nok for 4-bed room. 2 negatives, one, the bed really sucks, it squeaks with every single turn. I got the upper bed and was very careful not to turn. Second, the reception was not that accessible after 8:00pm.
Talked with two roomates and recommended the fjord trip to the new Zealand young man. They are the type of people you would like to meet in hostel, kind, open and willing to share.
10/18 day 4.
Got up at 9:00 am; had a shower; changed clothes, I won't be able to do it in the next two days until the best accommodation in Copenhagen, a secret at this point.
I had my last bag of instant noodle in the kitchen for breakfast. These 5 bags took me around 5 dollars and saved at least 80-100 dollars, if not more. Super value!
My German roommate showed me how to check my luggage at the railway station for just 25nok for 24 hours. Very convenient! Every railway station I had been to later hat this kind of facility at similar price.
Started walking around Bergen on this warm and clear day. It reminded me of San Diego, CA. Planned to eat at the famous fish market for lunch/dinner. Walked all the way to almost the end of the map; saw a very nice apt like along the harbor, there was even a swimming pool, took a picture without asking for permission, haha.
Around noon, I went to an Internet Café in Bergen, paid for 75 nok for 75 minutes and wrote the above.
75 min passed so fast. Man! got to buy a PDA in future trips.
Getting out of Internet Cafe, I decided to climb up to the mountain, which overlooks Bergen. There were many houses on the hill, and the roads on which you can drive a car lead all the way up.
It was a great experience to look down at Bergen from the high ground.
I met 4 Chinese on the way up. They were in a tour group. The trip costs their employer 5000 dollar or so. Of course I don’t suppose it would be a private company. They pretty much go everywhere on one bus, which saves a lot of money for the organizer.
I took some pictures along the way and used my mini tripod again. Also took one picture of where I put it. People must think I was crazy to take picture on that ugly pole.
After coming down the hill, it's around 4:00 pm and I was hungry, so went to fish market. The food looks inviting, although they are all code. I bought a burger with ???
(小龙虾) for 25nok, 1/2 kg shrimp (very fresh) for 35, and a stuffed crab meat for 49. And then there I was, facing the harbor, started eating them with hand. It was pretty messy, kept thinking that my American friends would be horrified to see this scene:)
I enjoyed the food, but I feel too cold to finish the shrimp and had to throw away 1/3 of it.
And then had to find something hot. Luckily there was a McDonald which has promotional price for everything, the normal price for a big mac was 60-65 nok, a burger
for 50nok, I got a burger for 20 and a coffe for 10 (later I found that price was everywhere in these 3 countries). And that was the end of a big meal.
I walked a bit more and walked back to train station around 6:00pm. My train was 11:00pm and I took advantage of this time sorting through the expense details and wrote some notes. To my great suprise, it seemed that the cash I took was just about enough for
this whole trip in Norway, including tomorrow's expense. I paid everything in cash and still have 350 nok left out of that 3000. It's a miracle how it came so close.
The Bergen station didn't have any outlet to recharge battery and neither did the train.
It's also cold in the waiting room but it was not too bad. It would be a problem if the weather is colder.
I bought some banana, a big soft drink and a croissant for 40nok at a super market, preparing for tomorrow’s breakfast. At 11:00 pm, got on the train, very small cabins with 3 beds, a Korean, a Norwegian sharing it with me. Compared with last night, at least the bed was firm and linen was provided. Still haven't got over with jet lag, only slept few hours, and started feel tired and was glad that I didn't go to Alesund.
10/19 day 5
The train arrived Oslo at 6:26am. I checked my luggage into the locker room for 30nok and stayed at station because it was cold and nothing was open yet.
I will take train tonight from here to Malmo and then to Copenhagen tomorrow.
With this kind back-to-back night train arrangement you need to find place to recharge battery if the train does not have an outlet. And you don't have any place to take a rest after 6:00am, the train arrives around that time. But the benefit is that you’d save money for accommodation,
So far during my trip, the first day was not a smooth start by any means, but it was great since then and I truly enjoyed it.
On the 4th day of my trip, I really enjoyed writing this journal at Internet Cafes, although expensive. This way I can record it when it's still fresh in my memory and when I have time.
I finally got to visit the famous Use It office, there are only 5 offices in Europe, one in Norway. Their hours are from 11:00 to 5:00 on weekdays, which could contribute to their wonderful service(shorter hours, better service).
The gentleman who greeted me was very nice and gave me Copenhagen guide when learned that I am going there. I also got their guide. Internet access is free and I am writing this email using their computer (half hour is recommended) as long as there is a idle computer. He said you could even make free calls within Norway. This is awesome. I highly recommend one to arrange your trip so that you can visit them. He also mentioned that it's hard to find good weather in Bergen and I was lucky that I got all nice weather during these days (it turned cloudy and cold today). I could've called from US to get some answers too. Now he is helping another foreign young man to find a room and maybe a job (he plans to find a job here). Everything is free here because they are funded by the city municipality. It simply feels so good with a service like this.
I started waling around Oslo and took a big nap at the national gallery because the sofa is comfortable (bad!),Took some pictures, the weather was cloudy and colder than before. I was grateful for all the good weather I had in the last few days. That's the most important factor of the trip. Stayed at Oslo train station for 5 hours while waiting for the train, Ate some simple food, still have a little bit of cash left.
I followed Rick’s recommendation and had a decent lunch for 118 nok.
There were 4 people in the cottage on the night train to Malmo. 2 Nepalese guys kept talking until I calmly and politely told them to shut up. After getting up I talked with a quite nice Korean student in the same cabin. He made the money for this trip himself on 2 part-time jobs in London as a student and was going back to Korea soon.