24 Hours in Norway? No Way
- ajdsvendsen
- Apr 5, 2019
- 3 min read
Updated: May 6, 2019
13-14 January 2018 | Airfare: £20 RT - Ryanair - 2h | Hotel: Citybox Oslo
BEFORE I start this post, allow me to take a moment to explain how this trip was booked as it was a MUCH different experience than my other trips. First of all, this was my second (and most recent) journey departing from London's Stansted Airport (STN), and that...was a mistake. See, I try my best to avoid the budget airlines due to their lack of basic human respect. You can read my spiel about Ryanair in the 'Transport' tab, but prepare to be herded onto the aircraft only to be shoved on a bus with a dividing rope segregating the passengers who paid the extra £6 for 'speedy-boarding'...fun. They must surprise themselves whenever a flight successfully lands, because they play a celebratory jingle over the speakers - preceding the round of applause from passengers for touching down. The best part is that while these flights are stupidly cheap - you'll easily pay double to get to/from the airport in your departure and arrival city. See the image below for a visual of the transport required to reach STN from my area of London. I live in southwest London (Green pin), and Stansted (Red pin) takes an hour and a half to get to on a seamless journey...which, of course, we Londoners know that there is NO such thing as a seamless journey on our beloved TFL. It also costs £30 for a (non-railcard holder) return ticket to Stansted...so £10 more than the round-trip flight total.
Story time! The £9.99 each-way fare drove me to visit the lovely, nordic...country of Norway in January with temperatures ranging from 5 to -30°C (COLD). That, and also learned that trainers were not the smartest choice of footwear for snowy roads and icy pavements (learned that one the hard way a few times). Not only was I that loser tourist slipping in trainers, but I felt like a missed the memo - there were more people on skis than people walking. They...were smart - I was not. I just slipped every few seconds in envy of their skis (It's fine, I'm fine). On the bright side, snow and ice everywhere just made the city look magical.
The city of Oslo has a great public transportation system, with busses, a metro system, and trams that cover the city and neighbouring areas. Getting into the city centre from OSL (Oslo Lufthavn (Airport) Gardermoen) is relatively easy. There's the Flytoget express train to Oslo Central Station that takes about 20 minutes, and costs roughly £35/$50 for a round-trip ticket, or £17/$25 for students (being a student in Europe has MAJOR perks). Once I arrived into central station, I got a 24 hour transport ticket for 105kr (roughly £10 / $15), which isn't a terrible price. I'd definitely recommend getting the multi-day pass as a single ticket for a one-way journey is about £3/$5. Quite frankly, the metro system is so efficient that I hardly spent any time travelling - and the city is quite manageable by foot.
What to see! Well…first, I don’t recommend trying to explore on a Sunday as many shops and attractions are closed. With the limited time I had, I was able to visit Aker Brygge, where there’s a decent sized shopping area with luxury stores and varied restaurants (one being Burgerhouse, with Kona “Big Wave” IPA on tap – all the way from Hawaii!) along with the National Opera House (famous for its’ unique architecture), the Royal Palace of Oslo, and the Akershus Fortress. I unfortunately didn't get to go inside the National Opera House (because Europe just shuts down on Sundays - bad timing on my part), but the outside was beautiful!
Despite the flights being cheaper than a cheeky Nando’s, Norway has a VERY high cost of living. Just an example: a meal for one at a standard cafe was about £20 (around $30) for a beer & pizza! So, that’s something to be mindful of while shopping and eating out. The pizza was worth it though, it’s not every day that you see “Reindeer pizza” on a menu! The £7 ($10) beer wasn't anything special, just a pint of the local brew, but worth maybe £1.20 at Sainsbury’s. At least the waiter was nice, we had a chat about how expensive it was to live in Oslo and how he enjoyed the UK! I also was edgy and sat outside (alone of course) on the patio covered in heating lamps and fluffy blankets, so I wasn't exactly suffering.
All in all, Norway was beautiful, next time I return I definitely plan to visit the fjords and maybe try and see the Northern Lights (basic, I know). I'd also return to Oslo for longer, and would try to avoid the Sunday closures and frigid atmosphere.
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