We had a lot of travel credit to use up on Air Canada from our cancelled India itinerary, so used about 2/3 of it to book this trip. To fly on Air Canada, it was best to fly to Toronto first and start the itinerary from there. We caught a United flight from Denver to Toronto and had about 3 hours to spend in the lounge before boarding our business class flights from Toronto to Frankfurt and then on to Oslo (actually on Lufthansa but Air Canada codeshare). We had a bit of a delay in Toronto but they were able to make up some time on the way to Frankfurt, which only made our overnight shorter, not good when trying to get some rest! It's funny how in business class we're happier with a 12-15 hour flight than a 6 hour flight.

In Oslo, we had a separate ticket on SAS airline to Bergen. We had first considered renting the campervan roundtrip from Oslo, but soon realized that would entail a 6-7 hour drive both there and back to the main area we wanted to visit. Our current itinerary has us renting the van in Bergen and then returning it in Trondheim, skipping the long drives back and forth from Oslo. We rented from Indie Campers, which we have previously used in Iceland. The sprinter style van sleeps 2 comfortably or 4 a bit more uncomfortably (using the roof pop up). Our biggest issue with Indie Campers is that you often start out thinking the price sounds good but then they upcharge you for a lot of things - one way fee, pickups outside of their ideal times, bedding, chair and tables, dishes kit, propane, etc. After adding some of those plus insurance, it seemed like a lot. But then we compared it to the cost of renting a car and staying in hotels, and for some reason rental cars were astronomical! So we stuck with the original plan.

We took a $60 taxi to the pickup center, checked in and got our campervan. The check-in took a while and we soon discovered that almost all of the grocery stores close before 6pm on a Saturday and they are not open at all on Sunday! After frantically stopping by 2 closed stores, where Google maps misled us on the time, we lucked into finding one that was still open. It was a madhouse! A tiny store with people filling every aisle doing their late Saturday shopping. It was super overwhelming but we got what we needed and were on our way. FYI the government run beer and wine stores are also closed early on Saturday and don't reopen until Tuesday!! We discovered a couple small stores can sell low alcohol beer (0 - 2,4%) and got some of that. For the grocery problem, we recommend not arriving late on a Saturday and definitely not on a Sunday!

We got on the road and drove to our camping destination. It turned out to be better for people wanting to tent camp, as the parking lot area led to a walking trail through the forest where you could get to the really good camping along the water. We thought about trying to go somewhere else but it was already late so we took a nice walk down the path and explored the waterfront and then returned to our van to camp in the parking lot overnight. We made salad and pasta for dinner and went to bed.

Sunndal - Bondhusvatnet Hike

We found this hike along our route using AllTrails and didn't realize it was actually a very popular hike! There is a big parking lot with paid parking (about $12), with room for a lot of campervans and cars. It had been raining off and on all day and we suited up for our first hike in Norway, happy to have just purchased new rain pants to bring with us on the trip. The hike takes you up a gravel path and is about 3 miles roundtrip with maybe 500ft elevation gain (different from AllTrails which said it be 1000 foot gain). It was definitely not hard and ended with a rewarding view of the mountains and small glacier on a lake. We got super lucky and the rain stopped and the sun even came out for a little bit while we were at the lake. There is an additional part of the path that goes along the lake, which we explored part of and then turned around. We definitely recommend this quick hike!

Van camping near Odda

Odda has only one main campground near the town, which we planned to to stay at, but after arriving there late in the afternoon, it was already full. We quickly searched online for a few other choices, but decided to check out the parking that's just alongside the road on the lake. There is a website that our camper rental company had told us about where you can find out where to park the van including roadside and campgrounds. We drove over to the roadside spot, and while not ideal, it had such a beautiful view across the lake that we could enjoy from our side door. There is a bit of road noise and no services. We decided to make some food that we had on hand instead of going back into town for dinner since there was only room for about 3 campervans by the road. The website to find van parking is called park4night.com. We worked on the computer and made dinner while enjoying the view, and then got ready for our first long hike tomorrow morning.

Today we had our longest hike in Norway, what a way to start things off! Read below to see the specifics for completing the hike to Trolltunga, the Troll's tongue. You should be a moderatley experienced hiker to do this, mostly because of the length and because it will take most of the day. After the hike, we had planned a local hotel in town, the Tyssedal Hotel, very near to the end of the hike, which turned out to be great and we really appreciated the nice bed vs our hard campervan bed. The hotel looked out over the water with amazing views, and you could tell it had been an establishment in town for quite some time. It also included a new addition of a modern sauna and hot tub with deck area that was nice for recovering from the long hike. We also had a dinner reservation at local restaurant in Odda, only about a 10 min drive from the hotel. The Ferskvaren Restaurant looked like one of the nicest in town and plated their food quite fancily while still having a laid back attitude. We had to try the fish soup, which seemed to be a favorite amongst guests. It was indeed very good, along with the local fish and beef tenderloin! The dishes were all prepared with seasonal fresh veggies.

Trolltunga - The hike to the Troll's Tongue

Prepare for an all day adventure on this amazing hike! There are several ways to start the hike, but most everyone starts from the upper dropoff (P3) or the second to last parking lot (P2). Since we had a campervan, they are not allowed on the road from the first parking lot (P1) to P2, so we could either take the shuttle from the town of Odda, or park in P1 and take the shuttle from there. We opted for parking in P1 so we could head straight to the hotel afterward, which was only a half mile away. Expect to pay at each step of the way to get to this hike and back - $30 parking fee at P1, $20 roundtrip per person P1 to P2 shuttle, $15 per person P2 to P3 and $10 per person on the way back P3 to P2. This may sound like a lot, but trust me, you do NOT want to hike up the steep blacktop switchback road for an additional 3.5km (or back down, after completing the hike)!

The hike itself starts from the P3 shuttle drop off (no facilities, just drop off at the trail). It's roughly 12.5 miles roundtrip. We started the hike in a slight drizzle but it wasn't bad enough to put on our rain pants, just coat. After an initial short incline, the hike flattens out and winds around a rocky valley with some cabins. After that you start the real incline for about 1000 ft elevation gain of steps and sloped rock. Near the top of that we noticed the rain had changed to a very light snow, which we agreed was better. We weren't cold at all from all the hiking, so it was fine. After the big uphill, the rest of the hike will consist of both ups, downs and flat sections. All of them with views, if you have them. At first we were kind of surrounded by clouds and fog, but we knew the weather was supposed to clear up, and luckily it did!

As the clouds gave way, we could see the snow capped mountains across the fjord, with the bright blue water below and waterfalls pouring down. After the amazing views, there was a bit more to go on more of an exposed rocky flat area before finally reaching Trolltunga! Upon arriving, we found a sheltered place to have a little lunch and ended up putting on every layer we had, as the wind was quite cold when not moving. Puffy coat, fleece, hat and gloves, rain coat and rain paints for wind (luckily for us, no more rain that day!). We waited in line to take pictures where you can walk out on the tongue and have a buddy take a picture of you from a good viewpoint. We actually ended up waiting in line 3 times, once individual and once together. We were lucky that the line wasn't as long as it could be on a warm summer day! The hike back went fairly quick and we enjoyed seeing more of the view since the clouds had cleared up. All in all, we loved this hike and recommend it as one of the top places to experience in Norway, if your fitness level allows for a 12 mile hike.

We covered a lot of ground today, all the way from Tyssedal, through Voss, Vikoyri, Vangsnes and up to Olden where we would camp for the night. It was roughly a 6 hour drive but with stops along the way, a bit more, making for a long day. We did sleep in a little bit and had breakfast at the hotel before departing. On the way, the first stop was an incredible waterfall that we found along the route, just off the main road, called Skjervsfossen. It was worth the visit with viewpoints from below and above. We also were able to stop at a proper grocery store that was OPEN! We shopped for some more dinner food and snacks. In Voss, we stopped at the Vinmonopolet, the government run liquor store monopoly, which is apparently few and far between. Being Tuesday, it was finally open and we were able to buy a few bottles of wine to stock up.

We drove along side the fjords for much of the drive, which can sometimes be slow going, as the roads are really narrow. You have to slow down a lot of times to let other vehicles pass especially large trucks. We also have found there are so many tunnels, sometimes as long as 8-11km each, which we were really surprised by. A few times, inside the tunnel, there have even been elaborate roundabouts, with choices of different directions to go off into the tunnel. On our route, we also had one ferry crossing, again pay on board ~$7. We waited about 20 minutes for it to come but took advantage of the time by making lunch.

We had to stop at several other amazing waterfalls to take some pictures, as well as a stave church off in the distance that we had to track down the best picture of. Stave churches are unique to North-western Europe and have a very dark wood medieval look. Very differnt from traditional churches. We also pulled over to see a herd of sheep grazing in front of some traditional looking farm buildings complete with sod roofs, of course right in front of another waterfall. We drove over several mountain passes with their remaining snow patches, and past a huge glacier. We had originally planned to stop at the nearby Glacier Museum, but it was getting really late and opted to skip it in order to get to our campground before 8pm! We also passed by a small sauna called Fyrig Sauna, that would be been nice to stop at, but didn't have time.

Finally, we arrived at our campground, Loken Camping, without a reservation, but scored one of the last campervan spots. The campground overlooks a very scenic lake with mountains on each side. It includes electric and has bathrooms with shower available for use. We made our planned dinner of fresh Norwegian salmon (only $8 for our 2 pieces), couscous and fresh salad. It was probably the best salmon we've ever had, cooked in this little campervan! We are sold on Norwegian salmon now and plan to have it again.

After looking at the weather, we decided to take our time getting to Geiranger, our next town destination, where we would do another epic hike. The weather in the morning looked a bit iffy, but later in the day it was likely to clear up. So we took our time making breakfast and sandwiches for lunch before leaving the campground. We also had to make a couple stops to get gas and AdBlue for the diesel camper, since it was calling for it. Another stop at the grocery store to get stuff for dinner tonight, as we did not want to have to take time later after the hike. We plan to have the same dinner as last night, to make things easy and we made BLT sandwiches for our packed lunch as well as egg sandwiches for breakfast.

On the way to Geiranger, we stopped a few times because there was so much to see. Scenic waterfalls one after another, huge mountain passes, where it was actually snowing at the very top! We went through so many tunnels, and the funny part about them was often times the weather will be very different on one side or the other so you never know what to expect. We had to stop and fly the drone a few times too as this country is just too beautiful not to stop! Finally we made it to Geiranger and drove to our chosen campground, Geirangerfjorden Feriesenter. Off to the side of town, it had amazing views of the fjord and mountains. We secured our spot in the 2nd row, for $47 with electric and wifi. Access to showers etc. We left out our table and chairs to save the spot and drove to the town parking lot, paying roughly $20 to park there while we headed out for the hike. Read more about the hike below!

Skagefla Farm Hike and back to Geiranger

There are a couple ways to do this hike, depending on how much you want to hike and walk and how much you are willing to pay. For example, you can walk from town and do the hike for free, walking both there and back, which will add up to about 3000 ft elevation gain and perhaps about 8 miles round trip (could be a bit more). Or you could get a ride to the start of the hike (maybe 5ish miles RT, same elevation), or you can choose to pay for the speed boat either to drop you off at the hike or bring you back, or both. Since we knew the boat only stopped there once an hour, and your seats weren't guaranteed, we decided to take the boat on the way there and then walk all the way back to town after the hike. The RIB Geiranger company will add you on to the beginning of their fjord tour and drop you at the first stop, the bottom of the cliff leading up to the farm, for about $30pp (steep price, we think, but part of the experience).

The boat ride only takes about 10-15 minutes, you get out and you're headed straight up a steep steps and cliffside trail for 800 ft elevation gain in about 3/4 mile. To be fair, with amazing views out over the fjord, all of this uphill is worth it, especially when you arrive at Skagefla Farm. The farm is still privately owned but not in operation anymore, since roughly 1920. The sign tells that in good times, the farm had over 100 goats, as well as some cows and horses. After walking to and from this farm from both sides, we're not sure how they ever got cows or horses there! The farm sits on a flat piece of land overlooking the cliff and has excellent views of the Seven Sisters waterfall across the way. We spent a bit of time enjoying the view in full sunshine (glad we waited til later in the day!). The farm has several buildings and is really beautiful, worth the effort to get there!

After the farm, if you hike back to town, you unfortunately need to make another 1000 ft climb up similar rocky cliff terrain making your way up to the top of the cliff above the farm. This part was pretty exhausting and we counted down each 100 ft gained to celebrate when we got to the top. The views along the way and at the top were spectacular. After the top, you come across another couple of farm buildings owned by a different family, and then you start to make your way back down all the way to sea level. We were hurrying along this part, as we had timed parking back in town that we were getting close on. Finally at mile 4, we reached the bottom but still had another mile plus to walk back into town. Speedwalking, we made it just in time for our parking to run out at 7:15pm! If you get the chance to do this incredible, challenging yet rewarding hike, do it!

We've been trying to look up info on the ridge hike that we wanted to do tomorrow, and still unable to find solid evidence that the hike is open. Opting for the safer plan, we don't think taking a taxi to the start of the hike tomorrow will be a good idea, and so today took our itinerary a bit slower and added in some extra time in the beautiful town of Geiranger that we were already in. After getting some sleep and using the campground showers, emptying the van tanks and filling with water, we drove and parked in town. There are quite a few tourist shops in town so we checked some of those out and then walked up to the town waterfall that flows right through the center of town. You can walk up stairs and continue on a hike even further if you want.

After that, we headed out of town up the winding road over the pass and through some more mountains, and then down to take another ferry across. We visited the grocery store and had lunch by the fjord. Today was our hottest and sunniest weather yet! We checked out the Trollstigen Road viewpoint, and thought about camping in that area but decided to head another hour back towards our next destination Andalsnes. We found a camping spot right on the fjord about a half hour before town.

Trollstigen Road Viewpoint

Driving up to and down the Trollstigen Road is one of the iconic things to do when driving around Norway. However, this year, there were some major rockfalls that caused the road to not be able to open on time. While it would normally be open by early June, it is not set to open until mid July because of the construction efforts to fix the road. We weren't sure if we would be able to drive up and see the road from the visitor center or not, as online information was conflicting. So we decided we would drive up there and just see what happened. As we drove up, we were again surrounded by mountain peaks, waterfalls and crystal clear running rivers coming off the snowmelt. We kept our eye out for campsites on the way up, and there were many suitable places to just pull off the road and camp if we wanted to.

As we made it to the top of the road, we saw that the visitor center parking lot was open and people were out walking around. We decided to check it out and it turned out that all of the paved trails around the visitor center lookout were still open. You just could not drive past that point. From the walking paths, you can get a good vantage point of the road as it winds down the other side of the pass. This is the famous view with the road curves going down into the valley. There are several enormous waterfalls on both sides of the road. We spent some time taking pictures from the viewpoints and flying the drone to get some great footage of the area. You could see below where about 80% of the road was fine, but a couple switchbacks had been taken out by falling rocks and landslide. It's too bad because we could see our destination town just down the valley from the road, and since it is closed, we'll have to make a 2 hour detour all around to the other side!

We woke up to the most beautiful sunny day today! We were able to enjoy our breakfast outside while looking over the fjord and mountains. Our camper van neighbors sighted some dolphins swimming through the fjord! We got on the road and only had about 40 mintues to drive to get to our next town. We were there in no time and showed up at our selected campground, Mjelva Camping, only a few minutes drive from town. We were able to secure a spot overlooking the mountains (saved with our table and chairs) and then we left to go park in town for the day. Even though we had heard the ridge hike was still closed, we decided we would approach it from the town side and just see how far we could get. More about the hike below! After the hike, we found a Thai restaurant to have dinner at before heading back to our campground to enjoy the beautiful night and view!

Romsdalseggen Ridge Hike

We are about a week too early to get the shuttle bus to the start of the hike. The locals we asked in town said the hike could be risky, and isn't open yet, so we had to go with plan B, which was to take the hike from town instead of starting it the traditional way. Normally in the summer, you can take the shuttle bus to parking lot Vengedalen, where you begin a 1 way hike back to Åndalsnes. That hike is roughly 3000 ft elevation and 6.6 miles long. We were a bit worried about getting a taxi and being dropped off there if it wasn't open yet, so we went into Åndalsnes and parked (FYI you need to park on the far side of town if you expect to stay for more than 2-3 hours).

Once parked, we walked over to the gondola and bought roundtrip tickets to get us up the first mountain to the restaurant / visitor area. This saved us about 2,000 foot elevation up and down. But don't worry, we still got our workout in because we started out on the ridge hike from this direction, not knowing what to expect, but got everything we had hoped for. We were ready to just see how far we could get before hitting snow or something impassable. The hike took us up some rocky terrain, which turned in to more of a ridge and then a bit of snow. Not too much to worry us, so we kept going. Each time we would reach a new summit, we decided to do one more. We started to see a few people coming from the other direction and finally we asked one of them if they came from the other direction. The answer was yes! We were a little disappointed that we had perhaps got the more conservative advice, but honestly, with the views we were seeing, we knew we were getting just as good of an experience. We were able to continue on until the highest peak, where a few people coming from the other side were celebrating reaching. We had also gained about 2,000 ft elevation, so still quite the hike. We walked down to a lookout at the peak and relaxed for a bit enjoying a beer and flying the drone. All around us were white capped peaks, with the valley in between and the fjord out by town. It has to make you wonder how any hike can have a better view than this.

Being 3 miles in, it was time for us to turn around and we made our way back to the gondola where we used our roundtrip ticket to get back to town. Having experienced 3 of the epic hikes in Norway now, between this, Trolltunga and the Skagefla farm, we rate each as highly as the other, unable to choose a favorite because they are all that amazing!

We slept in today, enjoying our campground and view, getting trash and recycle out of the campervan and making a slow breakfast. It was already so hot this morning, another beautiful day! We did a little shopping in town before heading out. We had less than a 2 hour drive to get to where we thought we might stop but once we got there, we decided to drive a little further. This would help us not have to drive as far tomorrow to our final campervan destination and dropoff in Trondheim. Along the way, we did a planned waterfall hike and and unplanned stop at a special lookout and scenic road. Read more below to find out the details! We were able to find a camping spot along the road with views of waterfalls on both sides.

Mardalsfossen Hike

We have come to expect the unexpected in Norway, with insane views of the mountains and waterfalls again on our drive in to Eikesdalen. With steep cliffs on one side, the lake on another side, and peaks and valleys ahead, this was certainly a surprise. We had originally planned on stopping here but both of the campgrounds seemed not as nice as you would expect, with a lot of semi-permanent trailer living and very little if any campervans. We continued on to our planned hike at the Mardalsfossen waterfall. The waterfall trailhead is down a $5 toll road which you can go online to pay. The waterfall hike itself follows a raging river for much of the gravel path. We soon discovered that AllTrails had misled us again on the elevation gain. It stated that we would only have 100 ft gain to do the 2.7 miles roundtrip. However, it ended up being more like 800 ft in the 2.7 miles. It was fine, except our legs were tired from yesterday. The path was easy though and soon we were at the double waterfall (also other equally good waterfalls all around)! We took pictures and flew the drone before heading back to the van. This is a nice side trip if you happen to be in the area, although you won't have any shortage of waterfall views if you don't want to hike a bit!

Toll road to Aurstaupet and down to Sunndalsora

We met a random German guy in the parking lot in Eikesdalen, who stopped us and started speaking German (our campervan has Germany plates, so this is common). He spoke very little English but he was so excited to tell us about this place he had just come from. We got the idea that it was a lookout with a really good view, got the name, and the fact that there was a dark tunnel with a small road. Sounded good to us and it would still take us in the right direction, just a little bit longer. We headed up the valley and discovered that this road is actually a toll road ($10) and also a dirt road. A bit of a surprise but we were up for the adventure. Up, up the road went, a winding dirt road with steep sides and incredible views. Soon we got to the tunnel he had talked about and it was indeed very dark. A dirt road in a carved tunnel with no lights at all, and pretty much just one lane but you hope no one else is coming. Lucky for us, we didn't see anyone else in the tunnel. After heading up some more switchbacks, we made it to what was the top, and found the sign the German man had told us about.

We pulled off the road at the Aurstaupet sign and headed down a path that stated 0.4 km. The path led to a ledge overlooking immediate thousand foot droppoffs. A sign described how this is a popular place for basejumpers to jump off the cliff. It was a little unnerving to be this close to the edge but the views of the valley, mountains and waterfall across the way made this stop totally worth it and we could see why our German friend was so excited to tell us about it! After the stop, we wandered through the upper more desolate mountain terrain. We passed a really large reservior, a lot of little cabin houses, and continued on the dirt road for much further than we would have expected. We finally headed down the valley toward the town of Sunndalsora, where we found a roadside camping spot for the night next to a large waterfall.

We had one last hike planned today, not far from where we were camping for the night, then a couple hours drive into Trondheim, our final campervan stop. We were both happy to not have the 5 hours drive that we might have had if we hadn't continued on yesterday! Overall, our campervan experience in Norway has been positive and seems like the way to go if you're traveling in Norway and want to stay flexible on schedule. We were both sad that it was time to stop exploring and look forward to a future trip to see more of Norway, in particular, a bit further North. Our campground was just outside of town and we got a prime spot right on the waterfront. We enjoyed some time outside and even got a bit of a sunset (even though the sun didn't actually set). For dinner, we stopped by a local Indian restaurant, which had really good reviews, but turned out to be just okay (compared to India of course).

Innerdalen to Renndolsetra Hike

On our last planned hike, we showed up at the trailhead just before 10am, paid for parking (common here at major trailheads - $7), and got ready to go. This roundtrip hike would be just less than 5 miles, and about 1000 ft elevation gain. Our legs were feeling the 30+ miles we'd already hiked this week, but the trail was basically just a gravel road. Although steep in some areas, we did most of the elevation gain in the first mile and then enjoyed the views as we walked down into the valley. The destination is a small farm where you can rent beds to stay overnight, or camp. They are popular for serving delicious waffles while you're sitting at their picnic tables, surrounded by the beautiful views and sheep grazing all around you. The area is popular as a backpacking destination, as there are many more trails that lead off in different directions from here. We wished that we had more time to explore this area.

Sadly, when we arrived at the farm, we discovered that they weren't opening for another week! No waffles for us. We spent some time exploring the property, listening to the sounds of the sheep and their bells, soaking in our last hike in Norway. You feel like you are in some sort of fairyland when in this valley, it's just so beautiful! We highly recommend this hike because although there is still some elevation gain, it's only on a gravel road and should be doable for most fitness levels.

Trondheim City Center

After driving a few hours, we approached Trondheim and could already feel the difference in leaving the country roads behind. It was more highway, more traffic and more of the notorious European speed cameras. We saw a police car for the first time in the entire trip. We have noticed and almost zero police or enforcement presence in Nowary, which we believe it due to their trusting of citizens and very low crime rate. Being Sunday, almost eveything in the city seemed closed, even shops and stores that we thought people would want to shop in. There were a lot of people out walking around with not much to do! We parked the campervan and designed a walking tour for ourselves to see the highlights of the city.

Trondheim is the 3rd largest city in Norway, behind Oslo and Bergen. It is an old city founded during viking times. Today, we walked around the city for 2.5 miles, making a loop to see most of the sights. It was a very pleasant and sunny day, again so lucky to be having this weather. Our loop took us past the boat marina area, across a bridge into a trendy outdoor restaurant / bar area. Just past that, you can walk down the river that is lined with older style colorful storehouses. Around the corner from there is the sidewalk cafe neighborhood of Bakklandet. With cute older style homes and a lot of restaurants and cafes. We crossed over the old town bridge and up to the Nidaros Cathedral, a gothic cathedral built starting in the 11th century. After taking in the cathedral, we circled back to the campervan.

This morning we woke up early to pack up the campervan and go through the checklist of things we needed to do before returning it. Fill up gas, empty the toilet and sink water, fill up the fresh water, put the bedding and dishes back in their bins, clean out all food and trash, etc. We had a 15 minute drive to the Indie camper return and were able to check out fairly quickly. We had to call an Uber to bring us the 6 minutes to the airport, which cost $24! Transportation is definitely not cheap in Norway. The Trondheim airport is quite small and soon we were waiting at our gate. After a short flight over to Oslo, we took the express train FlyToGet ($25pp each way) to the city, which is the quickest way to get there. It's only a 20 minute train ride vs a 40 minute taxi for just as much money or more. In Oslo, we checked in to our hotel the Clarion Hub, very centrally located and right across from the train station. From there, we found a quick lunch of pizza at Baltazar, set in a quiet outdoor garden, the pizza was very good! We walked to our bike tour (more about that below) and had dinner at Salmon restauant where almost all of the dishes served are fresh Norwegian salmon. We sampled a trio of smoked salmon, some sashimi and sushi rolls, all were quite good. After our bike tour, we were tired of biking and walking so made use of the Bolt app to use their scooters around town. Very popular and pretty easy since there is not a lot of car traffic in the main part of the city.

After a busy day in Oslo, we felt like we had seen a decent amount of the city. Our impressions were positive and Oslo seemed like a popular and fun destination. There was a lot of shopping and people were out and about doing a lot of things. We weren't able to spend any time on the fjord but there are a lot of couple hour cruises you can take, and ferries to the nearby island where there are some viking ship museums to see. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to take the ferry over to see the one that was open.

Back at the hotel, we had a short night of sleep, after realizing we needed to get up at 5am to catch the train to the airport for our 7:15am flight. We flew to Munich and then Toronto on Lufthansa and Air Canada, and then on to Denver, arriving home that same evening.

Oslo Bike Tour

We signed up for the 3 hour Oslo Highlights bike tour at Viking Biking and Hiking company ($50pp) ahead of our trip to Norway, hoping for nice weather. We lucked out with a hot and sunny day in Oslo! We met our tour near the cruise terminal and joined a group of about 10 people with our local tour guide. This tour takes you on a journey to almost all of the main highlights of the city. First we biked along the fjord to the Akershus Castle and Fortress, built in the middle ages to protect the city and serve as residence for royalty. There is still a large military presence at the fortress but because of Norway's philosophy of Allemannsretten, or every man's right to freedom to roam, the public can access spaces that perhaps would be restricted in other countries. We have experienced and enjoyed the freedom to roam, with the ability to pull off on the side of the road in the campervan for the night, as long as you are 150 meters from someone's house. We never came that close to anyone's house, as you really didn't need to!

The biking tour then took us over to city hall, a unique building on the seaside. We were able to go in for a few minutes to enjoy the many murals. After that, we biked up to the Royal Palace. Then on to Frogner Park, the largest park in Oslo center, covering 80 acres. The park is well known for its 212 sculptures by artist Gustav Vigeland. We had about 20 mintues here to walk around and enjoy the scuptures, which depict men and women in everyday poses, naked, in order for people to relate to them from all times. After the park, we made our way back to the waterfront area, where our tour guide and Bryan both jumped into the fjord! Nevermind the jellyfish we saw all around after they jumped in... We returned the bikes and were pleased with the tour and all that we got to see. If we had tried to walk this, it would have been a very long day indeed. After the tour, we also visited the Opera House where you can walk up its sloped roof to enjoy views over the fjord. We would recommend doing this in the evening, as the sun is lower in the sky. It was a good way to end the day.