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PLEASE~Critique my Norway Intinerary, Bjorn are you out there?

PLEASE~Critique my Norway Intinerary, Bjorn are you out there?

Old Apr 18th, 2004, 06:25 AM
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PLEASE~Critique my Norway Intinerary, Bjorn are you out there?

Hi everyone. I have read almost every itinerary on this board for Norway, but I still need some advice on mine. Bjorn, your advice is priceless,please tell me what you think. I will be traveling to Norway with 4 adults in July, staying with my cousins in Oslo and Tonsberg. We also want to visit Bergen and Kristiansand (family there). Okay, here it goes:

Thursday: Arrive Oslo Late morning
Spend the rest of the day in Oslo

Friday: Take the Norway in a Nutshell Tour (What time does it Leave)
I was planning in getting first class tickets when I arrive in Oslo. The round trip Oslo-Voss-bergen-Oslo. What do you think??

Arrive in Bergen Friday night (what time?). Spend 2 nights in Bergen, at a little place I found "Little House" an apartment in the town center.

Sunday depart Bergen, head back to Oslo. (Thats where our luggage will be left with family.)
From Oslo head to Tonsberg. Spend a few days there with family.
From Tonsberg, take a 5 hour train ride to Kristiansand. Probably a one night stay there.

My concern is the train travel. I am confused about the Nutshell tour. Can I stop in Bergen and spend 2 nights there, and then hop back on a train 2 days later to finish the tour?? Also, do I need to spend 2 nights in bergen, or just one?? What are the MUST SEES in Bergen?? Should I get the tickets now via "Rail Europe" or should I wait?? How do I find out where the train drops us off in bergen in relation to where this "apartment" is that I booked?? Has anyone ever stayed in this "Little House" ?? I know, too many questions!! I am planning this trip for my Mom, and I want to make sure I do a good job!!!! I thank you all in advance for your response~`Ladybug
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Old Apr 18th, 2004, 08:22 AM
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I'm not Bjorn, but I'll try to answer the Nutshell tour part. The Signatur train leaves Oslo at 8:11 a.m.. You then take it to Myrdal and take a second train down to Flam. It stops at a giant waterfall on the way down. Then you catch a boat that takes you along the Sognefjord to Gudvangen. From there, a bus takes you back up the mountain, sometimes stopping at the Stalhein (sp?) hotel, and onto Voss. From Voss, you take the train to Bergen. It arrives in Bergen around 8:30 p.m. In other words, it takes about 12 hours.

You can then stay in Bergen for the 2 nights. Just so you know, the "nutshell" part is really the side trip from Myrdal to Voss, so stopping off in Bergen, you aren't getting back on the train to "finish the tour"; you've already done it!

You will want to go back to Oslo the direct route, from Bergen to Oslo, which takes 8 hours.

On trains: note that the Signatur train leaving Oslo has 1st and 2nd class seating. After that, no, because by the time you reach Voss, if you take the next train, it's one class only. It leaves at 7:15 p.m. and arrives, as stated above, at 8:35. If you really wanted that first class train (not worth it unless it's a REALLY hot day), the next Signatur train depart from Voss until 9:30 p.m., so you wouldn't get to Bergen until 10:30 p.m.

There's several options by train getting back to Oslo. The one class train leaves Bergen at 10:30 a.m. or 3 p.m. The Signatur trains leave Bergen at 7:58 a.m. and 3:58 p.m. If you are going to do this day long trip back to Oslo, I strongly suggest taking the Signatur train, because the comfort level is VASTLY different, especially if it's warm when you are there.

Alternatively, you can take the night train, leaving around 11 p.m. and arriving around 7 a.m. the next morning. Although the sleeping compartments are one class, they are fine. The only part of the scenery you will miss is between Voss and Myrdal (the rest of the scenery you will have seen going from Oslo to Bergen). You will, of course, have missed the Voss-Myrdal scenery, because you departed the train at Myrdal for the Nutshell part of the tour.

For things to do in Bergen, we were only there the night and morning, but strolling around Bryggen was great, going to the fish market right there was smelly, but fun, and high on your priority (especially if the weather is good) is taking the funicular to Floien.
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Old Apr 18th, 2004, 10:39 AM
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Thank you surfergirl!! I appreciate all of your input~
Can I purchase the tickets for the "tour" in the Oslo airport?? Do I buy the roudtrip then? I think that we will want to take the night train back to Oslo, do I have to purchase a special ticket for the sleeper car?? Thank you for your reply~ladybug
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Old Apr 18th, 2004, 07:04 PM
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Bjorn can probably answer that better than me, since I haven't been to the airport there. I do know you can purchase your tickets at any train station (I purchased mine in Trondheim smack in the middle of summer, 2 days before departure). The sleeping compartments ARE extra, but, if course, you purchase them at the same time.

When we were there, we had rail passes, but the nutshell tour was extra, as were sleeping compartments.

Ladybug, you are going to have so much fun! Hope the weather is with you -- for anywhere other than Bergen, the July weather is generally spectacular, with long, long days, and late nights never really dark (a gorgeous shade of blue). Bergen is reknowned for its wet weather; we were lucky and were there during a heat wave.
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Old Apr 18th, 2004, 11:36 PM
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When you arrive at the Oslo airport there is a stall where you buy tickets for the Airport express train which is run by NSB (the rail company), I'm suppose they can seel you tickets to the Nutshell trip, but I at the same time pretty sure they are not the most competent on the different options on the nutshell, so unless you get picked up at the station I would take the Airport express from the airport to Oslo S (Oslo Sentralstasjon = Oslo Central station) and THERE I can guarantee you will have no problem buying the tickets or finding someone that really knows what they are talking about either All this assumes you are using the "real" Oslo airport OSL-gardermoen not not TORP that ryanair uses (then you need to take the bus to the bussterminal and then walk the 200m from there to Oslo S.

Cobos
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Old Apr 19th, 2004, 04:29 AM
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I too, will be doing the Nutshell tour this summer and I've tried to find out, but could not, the answer to these questions. Can anyone help?
1. If we spend the night at the Stalheim Hotel, can we continue our journey to Bergen the next morning, or do we have to wait till afternoon?
2. If we spend the night in Balestrand, can we continue by boat to Bergen in the morning?
3. Balestrand (Kviknes Hotel) or Stalheim for the night?

Thanks for any help.
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Old Apr 19th, 2004, 04:26 PM
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Barb19,
We are doing a similar itinerary as you this July. I've emailed the Stalheim Hotel and posed the same question about transportation from there to Bergen. Apparently there is an express bus that runs 8 times a day. It stops at the train station in Voss if you want to train it the rest of the way. Takes about 2 hours. Why don't you email the hotel with any further questions. I'm so looking forward to staying there overnight and enjoying the views and relaxing. I expect to leave 11:00 or noonish for Bergen.
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