Norway 3-Day Trip (1)
A Side Note
Because one of my teammates is Norwegian, we often heard him talk about Norway, which made me quite curious about the country. After touring around Norway this time, I found it really is beautiful: in winter you can ski, and in summer you can take in all kinds of scenery, especially the fjords. Norway is known as the land of fjords, and rivers wind through the landscape, often circling around mountains and disappearing into deep valleys. On top of that, in Norway you can also see all kinds of artworks, especially oil paintings.
Itinerary
Day one: spend a day in Oslo. Day two: join the Norway in a Nutshell tour. Day three: wander around Bergen. Day four: fly to Sweden. Oslo has many great exhibition halls that we didn’t have time to finish, which was a bit of a shame.
Tips
- Once you arrive in Oslo, you can take the train to the central station, then go to the tourist information desk to buy either an Oslo Pass or an Oslo transit card. While you’re there, you can also grab a copy of the Oslo travel guide.
- For Norway in a Nutshell, you can buy it directly on Taobao or Mafengwo; prices are about the same. After purchasing, you get an e-ticket that you can print out or save on your phone, and tickets are checked at various points along the way. Once at Oslo central station, find the platform for the Bergen train on the big screen (usually at 8:25 in the morning).
- Bergen: Bergen is said to be the most beautiful city in Norway, and it really is worth a casual stroll.
There are plenty of attractions in Oslo that we didn’t get to. I’d suggest spending an extra two days in this city to really take it in.
Oslo
The Oslo travel guide lists many recommended things to do. If you’re staying in Oslo for more than a day or two, I recommend reading through it and picking out some good options.
Because by the time we checked into the hotel and got back out it was already 3 p.m., there honestly wasn’t much we could finish.
Still, we did manage to get to a few places. I highly recommend Vigeland Sculpture Park. It’s gorgeous; even without Vigeland’s sculptures the whole park is beautiful, and many Norwegians come here to run and stroll. Vigeland’s sculptures elevate it beyond an ordinary park into one with its own unique meaning and reflections.
Here’s a bit of background:
Vigeland Sculpture Park, also known as Frogner Park, is a sculpture-themed park that displays 212 works by the Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland. The sculptures focus on the theme of human “life and death,” from a baby’s birth through childhood, adolescence, youth, adulthood, and old age, all the way to death, reflecting the full course of life and giving plenty to ponder. The most famous of the many sculptures are “Sinnataggen” (the Angry Boy) and The Monolith. The giant column is very striking, standing a full 14 meters tall and carved with 121 figures. As for “the Angry Boy,” it sits on the left side of the small bridge leading to the Monolith and is easy to miss if you’re not paying attention.
First, a panorama.
Here are a few of the more interesting ones.
Vigeland Park at sunset, with the red glow falling on the sculptures like a thin veil of red.
After touring the park, we took the tram and wandered around. First we went to the Viking museum, but it was too late and it had already closed, so we took the tram back into the city center and stopped first at the University of Oslo.
Since the Norwegian royal palace was nearby, we dropped by as well. The Norwegian royal palace is the plainest and most approachable palace in Europe.
At a Michelin restaurant on the Oslo waterfront, we enjoyed a Western meal. Here I ate raw oysters for the first time, something I’d never dared to try back home. With a bit of sauce added, they tasted wonderfully fresh.
After the meal, having eaten too much, we strolled along the waterfront. In the distance you could clearly see Akershus Fortress, so we decided to walk a full loop around it. Because it was too late in the day, we couldn’t buy tickets to go inside, but walking around it still counted as fulfilling a little wish.
After circling the fortress, I was so tired I could barely lift my legs, so we hurried back to the hotel to sleep. Luckily the hotel wasn’t far, and after pushing on for another 10 minutes we made it back.