Norway
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Travel Tips
The National Gallery in Oslo is no longer open on Monday: Monday: closed. Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday: 10.00-18.00. Thursday:
10.00-20.00. Saturday and Sunday: 10.00-17.00
James Foster, USA (Sep 05)
The tourist office of Stavanger is now located on Domkirkeplassen 3 (near the cathedral). Opening hours have also changed: Mon-Fri 9-16 (9-20 in Jun-Aug) and Sat 9-14. Closed on public holidays.
Sietse Snel, Netherlands (Sep 05)
Bringing one's own sheets, towels and pillowcases can save a traveler quite a bit of money. There were many opportunities where I could have saved money if I had brought these items.
Hank Raymond, USA (Oct 02)
Methylated spirits for trangia stoves is known as Rodsprit in Norway. You need to ask for it since it is usually hidden away (at 60 kr its still cheaper than wine!) and is easier to get from paint stores than camping shops or petrol stations. After four days searching we nearly gave up until a local let us in on this.
Sarah Dyer, UK (Oct 02)
Camping along the lake and the Svartisen glacier can be very inspiring. It is a lovely place to camp a few days. During the day when the weather is fine you can hike from the camping site up to the Svartisen glacier crossing streams, forest and lake views. Reaching the end of the walk you are surrounded by copper-coloured mountains captured with ice from the glacier. There is even a big hole in the mountain where the big ice chunks are carried trough by the river. Notice that these ice blocks are aprox. 1 metre! When I returned from the walk in the late evening I was so thirsty I bought a soda at the camping kiosk. When sitting in front of my tent, drinking my soda and watching over the lake and dark evening sky, I saw little ice-cubes floating in the lake. There were perfect cubes like coming out a refrigerator. These cubes where the melted version of the giant blocks carried 4km by the river in to the lake! Just picked an ice cube and put it in to my soda. What an end to the day after a great hike!
Geert De Coninck, Belgium (Sep 02 )
Toll-free numbers cost 5 crowns every 15 minutes from payphones in Norway. So, they're not really toll free. Nearly all Norwegian phones accept coins, so a phone card is not really needed. The Bodo information office has moved: it's now located inside the bus terminal.
Michele Bertrame (Aug 02)
We picked up a very useful booklet which had ferry, bus and train timetables. We got the 'Norsk Reiseinformasjon AS' guide (NRI) free from the Norwegian Consulate in Edinburgh, so it may be available at other consulates and embassies.
Sophie Dyson, Australia (Apr 01)
Moving About
The Olso-Bergen train (at least during the day in the summer) stops for some time (about 10 minutes) at the most interesting stations (ie: Finse), so one can have a look and take some photographs of the incredible scenery.
Michele Beltrame (Aug 02)
Booking trains - if you book 5 days ahead you can get a 'mini pris' on tickets which are more than 50% cheaper than the full price.
Jean Stanyon, UK (Jul 02)
When trying to by the train ticket to go from Oslo to Flam and from Andalsnes to Trondheim at Oslo Central Station, I was informed that the student discount was only valid for students going to school in Norway!!!
Karinna C Damo, UK (Jun 02)
Gems, Highlights & Attractions
We rode up the Flåm railway, then walked back down. The route is about 18 km, almost all down hill, so it is easy. The way starts rocky and ends paved. It does not follow the railroad track so the views are different. That walk was one of the high points of our three weeks in Norway. Absolutely gorgeous. Another alternative would be to rent a bike from the concession near the station at the bottom, put it on the train for the trip up, then ride it down. We saw many people riding down, but few riding up.
Trygve Anderson, USA (Apr 05)
I recommend people stop and visit the viking museum in Borg which is out in Lofoton. One can take a bus to it. If passing by, you can get off there and catch the next bus either northbound or southbound. Here they have excavated an old viking chieftain's house and built a reconstruction of what was there. Very interesting. Also a replica of a viking ship is in the lake nearby and people can go out in it and row around if there are enough people interested.
Hank Raymond, USA (Oct 02)
In the eastern most part of Norway, there is a deserted little town called Hamningsberg. It´s a great spot on the edge of the world and they even have a small cafe plus some great WW2 caves on the nearby mountain.
Tatu Myöhänen, Finland (Jul 02)
If you travel by train from Sweden to Norway, you'll get to a town called Fredrikstad, about 1½ hours before your train arrives in Oslo. My advice is to get off the train and spend a day or two in this town, the hometown of movie director Harald Zwart (One Night at McCools). Fredrikstad is the 6th biggest city in Norway, but has a charming small-town atmosphere to it. It is situated by the sea and is definitely most beautiful between May and September. On the west side of the river, Glomma, you'll find the main city-centre with lots of restaurants, pubs and nightclubs situated on the river-walk and nearby. On the east-side you'll find Gamlebyen, one of the best restored middle-age towns in Northern Europe, settled in the 16th Century. Here you can have a guided tour or just wander around and visit the galleries, arts and craft-shops, cafes and restaurants. I would especially recommend the pizza-place Peppe's Pizza down by the river, or to just buy some food from the old-fashioned bakery and have a picnic on one of the green hills that surround the town. West of Fredrikstad you'll find the summer paradise of Hvaler, that has a lot of nice beaches to offer. North- east you'll find Oldtidsveien, which has lots of sites from the stone-age, for example runes. This is a good trip for bikers, its very flat and the distances aren't too long. For accommodation, there are hotels both in the main town-centre and in Gamlebyen, and about 500m east of Gamlebyen, close to the castle, there's a hostel and a caravan park.
Kristin Wilhelmsen, Norway (Feb 02)
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