I’ve always had an affinity for colder climates, so visiting Norway in the middle of March was a natural choice. Although many tourists avoid this time of year due to the harsh winters, March is actually a great time to view the northern lights. Visit too late (i.e. during the summer), and the auroras will be overpowered by the midnight sun. I flew out of Dulles on Friday March 16th, and returned a week later on the 23rd. Here is a brief outline of the trip:
Day 1: IAD -> CLT -> LHR -> OSL -> Oslo
Day 2: Oslo
Day 3: OSL -> LKN -> Lofoten Islands
Day 4: Lofoten Islands
Day 5: LKN -> BOO -> BGO -> Bergen
Day 6: BGO -> TRF -> Oslo
Day 7: OSL -> HEL -> LHR -> IAD
Day 1: Oslo, a frozen city
Sat. 17 March, 2018
After a long, sleepless flight, I arrived in Oslo Lufthavn, the Norwegian capital’s main airport. Though a bit pricey, the Flytoget, a high-speed train, took me to Oslo sentralstasjon (Oslo Central Station, or Oslo S) in less than thirty minutes. Upon leaving the station I was greeted by the crisp freezing air. Although the sidewalks were shoveled for the most part, some paths had clearly been deemed beyond cleaning and the snow compacted into ice by countless pedestrians. The sun set shortly after I started walking around, and as I searched for food I was amazed at all the patrons dining in outdoor seating in this sub-freezing weather. Where I’m from, people refuse to eat outside if it’s below 60F.
Bustling downtown Oslo.
Day 2: Oslo
Sun. 18 March, 2018
Oslo is the largest city in Norway. It has a population of over 670,000, which happens to be in the ballpark of Baltimore’s population. It even has a similar-sized harbor, with new buildings sprouting up along the waterfront. But of course, it is different in just about every other way. There is a lot of older European architecture (alongside modern buildings), and there is very little crime. After a refreshing night’s rest, I spent the day wandering around pretty much aimlessly, because I realized that a lot of the main attractions are all within walking distance.
Taken en route to the Royal Palace.
The Royal Palace can be seen in the distance. It’s where the current Norwegian monarch butterfly resides.
Next I headed south to the Aker Brygge neighborhood, which I’ve inferred to be the SODOSOPA of Oslo. This neighborhood was full of shiny, modern buildings, but lacked the character that other parts of the city had.
The new juxtaposed with the old, somewhere en route to Aker Brygge.
The Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art.
Backtracking and walking along the harbor towards the east leads you to Akershus Fortress, which used to be a prison. I highly recommend the museum, which includes exhibits on some of Norway’s infamous criminals.
The clock tower on the Akershus Fortress.
The Forsvarsmuseet (Norwegian Armed Forces Museum) is a short walk away. It is actually a fairly large museum, with exhibits on the history of the military as well as their current involvement in world affairs. Unfortunately, a lot of the content is only in Norwegian, but it is still well worth the visit. After all, it is free, and there is an old tank just outside of the museum.
In my infinite wisdom I didn’t take any pictures of the museum, so here’s some random building that was nearby.
Farther east along the harbor is the Barcode Project, which is a neighborhood where they’re building up with high rises. It will be interesting to see how the city looks in a few years.
See why they call it the Barcode Project?
I saw these SKANSKA signs everywhere. The city must be growing, because there was a ton of construction going on.
One thing I really liked about Oslo’s harbor is that you can walk across it on the pedestrian bridge. A short walk takes you to the Old Town neighborhood. I ended up having dinner and some drinks at a pub here. Norwegians speak very good English, but the bartender here could not understand a word I was saying. I chatted with an older man from Bergen, who didn’t recognize Baltimore until I mentioned The Wire.
A man paddle boarding in the harbor.
Taking a picture of a person taking a picture of a person taking a picture of the sunset.
Old Town may be old, but you can charge your electric car here.
Old Town is on the way to Valhallveien, which is a road that goes up a hill overlooking downtown Oslo. The walk was actually more of a hike than I’d expected, but the view was definitely worth it.
With the sun going down, I headed down to the Oslo Opera House. You can actually walk on top of it, though much of the surface is covered in compacted snow and requires care to navigate. I stayed out here way later than I’m willing to admit in hopes of catching the northern lights (nothing happened).
Oslo Opera House.
I assume this sculpture is supposed to represent an iceberg.
Day 3: Reine and Å
Mon. 19 March, 2018
I departed Oslo for Leknes, a small town in the northern part of Norway. In fact, at 68 degrees north, this was the farthest north I’d ever been (my planned trip to Abisko, Sweden in May 2019 will take me slightly farther north). The inspiration for this trip was this 360 image of the Lofoten islands. This has to be one of the most beautiful places on Earth. While the season and conditions weren’t ideal for hiking when I visited, the winter landscapes and auroras were incredible.
Approaching LKN.
Leknes is a mere 35 miles from my Airbnb in Reine, but between the snow and the occasional stops to admire the views, it took me about two hours to make the journey. I got a shiny new Mazda 3 to drive, and the studded snow tires made driving easy. Or easier, at least, given the mercurial weather. At times I could barely see ten feet in front of me. The locals seemed utterly unfazed by the road conditions. I would recommend not pulling over just anywhere along the road, because you may find that what you believed to be the shoulder was actually a 4ft deep ditch. (I saw a poor fellow having his camper fished out of one.)
The E10 between Leknes and Reine is truly a breathtaking drive.
Conditions changed rapidly, dramatically, and frequently.
I took this at a “rest stop” (it’s basically a parking lot) near Flakstad.
To me, the steep, sharp mountains piercing through the ocean waters makes Lofoten a truly unique sight. What’s more amazing is that people actually thrived in this seemingly inhospitable environment and created permanent settlements.
I eventually arrived in Reine, a small fishing village near the southern tip of the Lofoten archipelago. My hosts Tomas and Ingrid were extremely welcoming and provided a comfortable home base from which to explore the area.
Even my room had an incredible view.
Reine, nestled between giant rocks.
One of the locals told me that the cold climate is ideal for drying stockfish, as there are no insects to spoil the meat.
These photos do not do justice to the size of these mountains.
Another storm approaching during my walk around Reine.
After exploring Reine (it did not take long), I drove half an hour down to the village of Å (yes, it is one letter) to catch the sunset. Å is the southernmost settlement on the archipelago that’s accessible by road. Apparently, there are many places in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark with the same name. It means “river” in Norwegian.
Something about this structure’s foundation gives me anxiety.
It appeared as though the snow would abate in time for the sunset…
… but a new wave of snow quickly arrived and nearly wrecked my camera.
Having missed my chance at a sunset photo in Å, I headed back to Reine after the storm died out. The aurora forecast for the evening looked promising, but the weather forecast predicted partly clear skies for just about thirty minutes shortly after midnight. I ended up standing outside in a blizzard for about an hour, and thankfully the snow stopped and the clouds started to break up maybe half past midnight! At first I saw some gray patches moving in the sky, which I initially mistook for clouds. Soon, these “clouds” turned into a curtain of green and blue dancing in the sky! I was awestruck. My second experience with the northern lights was no less magical than the first. While the poor weather dissuaded me from traveling to a more remote location for this light show, I still managed to capture some decent shots despite the significant light pollution.
Northern lights in Reine.
Day 4: A day best spent indoors
Tue. 20 March, 2018
Most of my plans for this day fell through due to heavy snow. I headed north to Ramberg for lunch, about halfway between Leknes and Reine. The Ramberg Tourist Information Center had a nice gift shop, where I bought a cutting board and some Norwegian snacks. I especially liked their dried arctic cod, which reminded me of the dried fish we would have in Japan.
Somewhere near the Kvalvika beach trail head.
KVIKK LUNSJ is basically Norwegian KitKat.
Following one of the employees’ recommendation, I enjoyed a delicious lunch at Ramberg Gjestegård. It normally has a nice view of the ocean, but I didn’t bother trying to get a seat there because I could not see anything. The food was excellent.
That’s an interesting sculpture.
The weather seemed to be getting a little better, so I headed over to Nusfjord, which is supposed to have some stunning views of the fjords. That didn’t quite work out as planned. By the time I made it to Storvatnet (literally “big lake”), the sky was already turning ominously dark. I pulled over to get some photos of the lake. The wind started picking up, and gray waves of snow started pummeling my car as I waited helplessly inside for several minutes. Then, just as quickly as it started, the blizzard relented somewhat, and I limped into the village of Nusfjord before giving up and heading home. The normally 40-minute trip back to Reine took over two hours because at times I could not even see ten feet in front of me. The crazy part was that I still saw plenty of traffic coming from the opposite direction!
Storvatnet.
There’s a storm coming!
I ended my night with a nice dinner at Gammelbua in Reine.
Local beer, locally made bread.
As expected, Norwegians really do seafood well.
The Lofoten-themed plates added a nice final touch to the excellent food.
Day 5: Bergen
Wed. 21 March, 2018
I left behind the small fishing villages of Lofoten in the morning, and after a short layover at Bodø I arrived in Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. It is a beautiful city surrounded by mountains, and I was drawn to the iconic views from Mt. Floyen, as well as the UNESCO Heritage Site of Bryggen, which is a street with old houses and buildings along the water. My taxi driver gave me a history lesson on the founding of Bergen as a trading settlement, and how German merchants influenced the development of Bergen.
Bryggen.
Bergen is a really hilly town.
After dinner at Harbour Cafe, the snow stopped and I caught a night shot of Bryggen.
Bryggen is on the eastern side of the Vågen harbor.
Even the McDonalds here look nice. (No, I did not go inside.)
Conveniently, Bergen has a funicular that takes you up Mt. Floyen. A local suggested that I go up in the evening when the skies are clear, as I would not see anything during the day with all the snow. The view of the city at night was amazing.
Day 6: Bergen and last impressions of Oslo
Thu. 22 March, 2018
I spent the morning walking around Bergen before heading back to Oslo. Despite being a city of nearly 300,000 people, Bergen felt surprisingly calm.
The cobblestone pattern resembles interfering ripples on a pond.
Instead of flying directly to OSL, I ended up flying into TRF and then taking a train back to Oslo. This saved me some money, but it was probably not worth the hassle, and I would not recommend it. However, I did pass through Tønsberg, which is the current World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen’s hometown. I spent the rest of the evening walking around Oslo one last time.
I was pleased to see Takoyaki being sold here, though I did not try it.
Everyone’s worst nightmare.
I think there is something for everyone in Norway. Oslo is a vibrant, young city with a lot of history and culture. While the downtown area very much looks like a modern city, the surrounding neighborhoods have retained their older roots and aged well. Bergen is slightly smaller and situated between mountains. One of the locals called it the gateway to the Norwegian fjords. It is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve seen so far.
I am also happy that I ventured outside the cities to experience the mountainous landscapes of the north. The views are stunning, and unlike anything one would see in the United States (except maybe Alaska!). March is an ideal time for viewing the northern lights, and the Lofoten islands are a great place to see them. I would love to revisit Norway one day, perhaps during the early summer to enjoy hiking in the mountains.