InMiami

My partner and I will be flying Stockholm to Oslo July 13 and flying from Bergen to Copenhagen July 20. Unless we decide to decrease our days(4) in Stockholm or Copenhagen that leaves us with 6 full days and 7 nights in Norway.

We love it all, architecture, nature, museums, history. We travel to Europe yearly and always rent a car but I am tired (I am the driver) of that chore so please no car.

I am thinking of 3 nights in Oslo with 2 full days of sightseeing, 2 nights in Flan to breakup the Nutshell tour, and 2 nights in Bergen with one full day to visit. I can expand the time in Norway but will have to reduce time in Stockholm or Copenhagen. Your learned suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Viajero2

You are in for a treat! Norway is a fabulous, beautiful, cultured, unique country. Your itinerary looks good, to be honest a car while touring the Sognesfjord area is a must, but if you are going the NIN route, it is a reasonable alternative. I loved Flam, but it was driving the fjords roads to the small towns that blew my mind; Vik, Undredal, Borgund...oh my!

Norway is very expensive; I am sure you heard this already. So, my advice would be to try to get an apartment either in Oslo and/or Bergen so that you can cook meals because food is very expensive.

Have fun! You will have a fabulous time!

HappyTrvlr

Your plan for Norway sounds perfect. The new opera house in Oslo is a must for anyone interested in architecture. Do not take any time away from Stockholm,a beautiful walkable city.ANd Sweden will seem reasonable after Norway too.

InMiami

Viajero2, I have read about the prices of meals in Norway and have been looking at the Clarion Collection hotels in Oslo and Bergen as a way to cut costs. Do you know anything about the Clarion Collection Hotel Folketeateretrion or the Clarion Collection Hotel Bastion? They are the two choices in Oslo.

Happytrvir, now I am thinking of reducing the nights in Stockholm to 4 with three full days, thus expanding the stay in Bergen to 3 nights with 2 full days to explore. Would you recommend against this? Also would you recommend staying in Flam or Aurland during our Nutshell tour?

tower

inmiami:

We have stayed and enjoyed the Gabelshus...which is now a Clarion property. Elegant old place, ivy-covered...walking distance everywhere in town...or tram..quiet Embassy District.
Don't know current rates, but here's their web...

Your wise to take three days in Bergen..world class. Be sure to take in the Grieg house/museum (Troldhaugen), enchanting surroundings..fairly short bus ride south of town..nice walk from the bus stop. In Bergen, lunch at the famous outdoor fish market is quite reasonable (crab sandwiches).
stu

http://www.gabelshus.no/

Marija

Here's another routing possibility. Take the train from Oslo to Bergen, spend a night or two in Bergen. Take a bus/ferry combo to the Hardangerfjord and spend a night on the Hardangerfjord. From there take the bus to Myrdal and do NIN, spending a night at the Stalheim. From the Stalheim you can take a bus/ferry combo to Ulvik and spend a night there, returning by ferry the next day to Bergen. It's easy to get around Norway using public transportation. The buses, trains and ferries all wait for another to make sure you make your connection.

tower

should have specified the Gabelshus is in Oslo...

Marija

Correction: take a bus/ferry combo from the Stalheim to Balestrand on the Sognefjord. Ulvik is on the Hardangerfjord.

ms_go

We stayed at the Clarion Hotel Bastion for a night in July. There's a little information in our trip report, in case this is useful:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...copenhagen.cfm

cambe

I envy you! Your plan sounds perfect. In Oslo get the Oslo card which gets you access to all museums. In Bergen make sure you take the funicular to the Floyen.

HappyTrvlr

We stayed in Bergen two nights and it was enough..of course, it poured almost the whole time which does influence my thinking.We only had five or six days in Stockholm and wished we had more time.We plan to rent an apartment there for a longer stay in the future. Whatever you decide, you'll have a wonderful experience visiting Scandinavia.Can't go wrong.

Viajero2

I have to second the Bergen funicular to the Floyen. I added a hike once at the top and that was fantastic; many Norwegian families on the trails and that was really enjoyable. We stayed three days at the Sandviken Apartments, there is a laundry facility nearby where you just drop your laundry and pick it up within 4 hours all clean and folded . BTW, take a windbreaker with you. I was there the first week of July and evenings are definitely on the cool side. We used as route marker the towns with Stave Churches and it was an amazing way to see Norway. Then again, we rented a car and would not give away that flexibility in a country like Norway for anything!

InMiami

Ok, so I am leaning towards spending 3 nights in Oslo, 2 nights in Flam and 3 nights in Bergen.

This does mean Stockholm will drop from 5 nights to 4 nights.

The one problem is that the hotels in Bergen and Flam are so expensive. Stockholm seems like a relative bargain compared to Norway. Ouch!

cambe

InMiami, I stayed in a small B&B in Bergen (Skensen Pensjonat) and highly recommend it. It is not a hotel and does not have en-suite bathrooms but it is spotlessly clean and they provide lovely bathrobes for your use when using the various bathrooms which are kept very clean. It is also central and has brilliant views of Bergen. Not everyone's taste but it is cheap for very expensive Norway.

www.skansen-pensjonat.no/

Marija

I'm sure you realize that Flam is a very tiny town with nothing to do there.

tower

A Bergen pension where we stayed once is well located, ten minute walk to center of town.<b>Park Hotel</b>...uphill walk from the train station (tip: taxis are nowhere to be found when you walk out of the front of the station...they are "hidden" around the corner to your right...took us a while to figure that out...duh!)

Don't know curent rates, but they were about $100 three years ago. Ask for front room with nice views of the city below.


http://www.scantours.com/romantik_ho...rk_pension.htm

Stu

tower

InMiamiDining in Bergen without mortgaging your children)
P.S. we followed a reco from the much-maligned, trashed, ignored, laughed-at Rick (call me Ricky)Stieves. He came up with a good one for any budget-conscious Norway travelers...and it turned out to be a winner...Vangbunnen's Family Resto...I recall having salmon steak done to perfection. Prices were stateside moderate! It's off King Oskar Gate on the way to the floibanen. There is also a unique-looking MacDonald's across from the floibannen entrance...no golden arches, subdued sign, reindeer burgers...also the fish market is one of your best bets in Bergen.
On the main pedestrian street in downtown, you may come across the peripatetic Russian Folk group in full regalia. Being an old (very old)time student of Russian folk music, I sang along and they asked me to join them in a few classics...but they didn't let me share in the "take"...

The trails available on the top end of the floibannen are very scenic, but for a shorter walk, just follow the paved road back down to town, rather than round trip on the bannen.

Please remember my suggestion to see Grieg's Troldhaugen mentioned in my posts above. Well worth the rather short bus ride.

HappyTrvlr

Stockholm..the Scandic Hotels offer discounts when yu stay over a weekend.Look at Hasselbacken and Park.

tower

InMiami...here is the McDonalds I mentioned...I'm in no way advocating the place..but good in a pinch.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartto...38542734196594

need a guide? Here's my bonafide recommendation:

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartto...32827011598018

InMiami

Thanks for all for your cost cutting suggestions. My partner insists on an en-suite bathroom so the Skensen is out. The Park Hotel Bergen looks inviting but when I E-mailed the rate was over $200/night for a room in July.

The Vangbunnen's Family Restaurant sounds interesting and we are certainly not above a meal or two at McDonalds.

I'm thinking I should bite the bullet and just get a room at the Clarion Collection in Bergen. It is $255/night but includes breakfast, afternoon waffles and "light evening buffet". I have already reserved a Clarion Collection hotel In Oslo to bring down the cost of meals.

cambe, I want to spend time in the fjords and Flam or
Aurland would be a convenient stop on the Nutshell. In Flam I thought we could take the train up the mountain and ride a bike down. Also, perhaps a boat ride on the fjords. Do you have a better suggestion on how to expand the Nutshell tour? Should I take a day from Olso and/or Bergen to expand this entire portion of our trip. We both love nature and don't want to shortchange this Norway experience.