J_A

We will spend one night in Oslo before the Norway in a Nutshell tour, so looking for suggestions on absolute must sees.

We will have 2 nights in Bergen before heading to Sognefjord so time is a bit more flexible there.

Also, has anyone walked the glacier at Jostedal?

Thanks for any tips!

blackduff

Oslo is a very expensive city but the food is good, so take lots of money.

The park with the statues is great. I can't remember the name but it's certainly noted on any plan of the ville. The Viking Museum is worth viewing, in my opinion. The Kon Tiki raft is there and a few Viking ships. I can't remember if the Raj raft is there too. If you've read books about the travels of Thor Hyerdahl (sp??)with the rafts.

The skate winner, Sonja Hennie (sp??) is a little visit but there's a lovely walk along the water back to the city. It was a great walk area, since I had a Labrador. He loved the walk too.

In Bergen I walked all over the city. It's very lovely but I can't remember the major items. There's a cable car lift to a high hill above Bergen. There were some nice fisherman houses, which are worth viewing. The port is good and there's a nice market from time to time. Overall the food was great but it was expensive like Oslo. If you want some English pocketbooks, they're avavilable.

Breakfast often has the brown cheese and pickled herring. Yummmmy!

Blackduff

wasleys

J_A,

This may be of interest:

http://homepage.mac.com/wasleys/norw.../04bergen.html

Michael

Debs

JA - Depending on how much time you will actually have in Oslo before starting your Nutshell tour (which is awesome by the way), you might want to consider a trip to Vigeland's Park (this is where the statues are), the Viking Ship Museum (very interesting and informative) and allow time for a stroll along Karl Johans Gate, which is considered 'main street', where you'll find lots of interesting shops and numerous places to eat. I would also include a visit to Akershus Fortress if you have time left over. IMHO, this is my short list of must sees! Enjoy!

abram

Oslo:
http://www.visitoslo.com
Vigeland Sculpture Park
Viking Ship Museum
Kon-Tiki Museum
Fram Polar Explorer Museum
Akershus Complex
Resistance Museum

Bergen:
http://www.bergen-guide.com
Funicular
Fish Market
Bryggen
Hanseatic Assembly
Haakon's Hall

gard

Hi

The Vigeland park is beautiful and it is absolutely worth a visit. Check out my short trip report on http://gardkarlsen.com/oslo_vigeland_park.htm

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

HunterGatherer

The glacier at Jostedal is very big, and there are several possibilities to walk on it. I did a tree-hour walk two years ago with this tour operator:

http://www.bfl.no/eng-nigardsbreen.htm
(and here's the local tourist info about the same thing:
http://www.lustertourist.com/eng-brevandring.htm)

I really enjoyed it, but all was not perfect (maybe I'm just difficult to please?):

- fairly expensive
- too slow (am in fairly good shape)
- happened to have an old joker as a guide who was way too eccentric

Good things:
- easy way to experience walking on a glacier
- incredible scenery
- great fun

So, as always when travelling with a group, it's a bit of a trade-off. On one hand you get an easy and proportionally cheaper way to experience something, on the other hand you are bound to the group, in this case literally.

As it's difficult to experience walking on a glacier on your own since you need equipment and knowledge, an organized tour is great.

USNR

The park with all the interesting statues in Oslo is Frogner Park. The statues were created by a sculptor named Peter Vigeland, and his home/studio is nearby.

TupeloHoney

This post is probably long dead, but I just stumbled across it.

In Oslo I have two things I love to do. First, stroll up and down Karl Johan's Gate. Walk up to the palace. Sit on the grass in front of Parliament. Go into the shops. People watch. Stop at a Narvesen (or 7-11) and buy three boller with raisins. Yum! Go to the Freia store, buy chocolate! I love the stores Husfliden and Heimen Husfliden. They're not right on Karl Johan's, but not far.

My other favorite thing to do is to go down to Akerbrygge and wander about. Walk along Akerbrygge, walk toward Raadhuset (city hall), look at the boats, people watch. Stop at a restaurant and have a beer and some shrimp (I don't eat meat anymore, but meat eaters should't miss this). Get a Movenpick ice cream cone. If you get a chance go up to Akershusfestning.

I love Oslo.

I also love Bergen, but I've only been there once. I remember wandering around the pier area and loving that. We went up on Flaam (is that what it's called?) the tram up the hill. It was an unusually clear and beautiful day and we had a fabulous view. I also took a trip into the fjords from Bergen. I went to Lofthus for the day. That was amazing.

wasleys

TupeloHoney,

<i>We went up on Flaam (is that what it's called)</i>

I think you mean Fl&oslash;ien, which is the mountain behind Bergen with the funicular. Fl&oslash;ien is not only a good viewpoint you can do some good walking up there, some of it quite strenuous if you wish.

Fl&aring;m (or Flaam) is at the foot of the Fl&aring;m Railway, which many people visit on the Norway in a Nutshell trip.

Michael

PrincessOfPenguins

Argh... sure, fine, take a stroll along Karl Johansg. or Aker Brygge and check out the scene. But restaurants and bars/pubs there are very overrated and overpriced with mediocre (at best) food.

For ice cream, get &quot;KulinarIs&quot; (from the trailers scattered throughout the city (I know of one at Youngstorget and one at Olaf Ryes Plass) and in some shops (don't know/remember which ones)) - the ice cream is locally made and very good.

If the weather is good, check out the Botanical Gardens, right by the Munch Museum.

TupeloHoney

Yes, of course, Fl&oslash;ien. Can you tell it's been about 13 years since I was in Bergen?!

Yes, I agree, the restaurants along Karl Johan's and Akerbrygge are not that great, and cost a small fortune. But I love the atmosphere. I've been to Norway three times, and each time I've been on a very strict budget (not easy in Norway!). So I didn't eat that much in restaurants. I mostly ate out of Rimi or Rema 1000. And I've had unbeleivably good falafel sandwiches in Oslo. I lived in Oslo for a summer back in 1993 and I would just love to spend my afternoons down on Karl Johan's or Akerbrygge. I just liked to sit in the grass and people watch. I've been back several times, and that's still my favorite. So if I'm in Oslo for a day, that's what I want to do.

But if I have more time, I like to go to the National Gallery, the Munch Museum, Vigelands Parken, I like to go up to the University, and Sognsvann, out to the Viking Museum, etc. There's so much in Oslo.

Oslo_City

I think you should go sightseeing the Oslo Fjord. There are sightseeing boats with departure from the harbor every day.

Check this out:
http://www.vikingsaga.no/sightseeing_oslo.shtml
I recommend it. The boat goes all the way out to the Oscarsborg Fortress.

You can taste whale meat on the boat. Pretty cool!

wasleys

Idon't know about whale meat, but suddenly there's a strong smell of spam!

Wilbur

Our favorite thing in Bergen was the fishmarket. It was the best food we had in all of Norway. We had some kind of fish burger, fried right at the market. I think it was cod, mixed with egg, spices, breadcrumbs ??? served on a crusty roll with mayo and &quot;salad&quot; (lettuce). Yum.

We also loved the fruit at the market. We were there during berry season. The raspberries and strawberries were the best I have ever eaten.