Oslo, Norway
I arrived in Oslo Sunday (25 June) night and checked into my hostel around 11 pm. The sun still hadn't set yet. The others in my room were loud (some stayed up late, others snored horribly) so after trying unsuccessfully Monday morning to find a different hostel (a smaller hostel was mentioned in my book but its now closed) I returned and requested a different room. The new room and roommates were much better.
So after sleeping late and the hostel shuffling, I spent most of the rest of Monday (26 June) trying to finalize plans/transportation for my trip to Jotunheimen National Park. So I spent a good portion of the day running between the bus station, train station, DNT office (think 'Ranger Station'), and the library. I did manage to wonder by the Royal Palace and see a little of Oslo at one point. After a long search for quick and cheap dinner I went back to the hostel and met my roommates then went down to the common area to watch a soccer match. I had hopes of seeing more of Oslo on Tuesday.
Tuesday (27 June) I woke up to rain. There goes my plans of taking a ferry to one of the near by islands for a little beach time. But I needed to do some errands for my trip anyways, namely buying groceries, fuel, and maps. Which all turned out to be very time consuming. I went to several 'gear' shops looking for a couple of dehydrated meals and pricing out the cost of fuel. An 8 oz canister of fuel cost nearly $10. It would cost $4-5 back home. Maps are also very expensive at $20 so I decided to wait and buy a used one off of some body at the hut. Shopping for food for hiking trips is a lot more difficult when you can't read the packaging.....
After the errands and a trip to the library to get caught up on emails (which I wasn't expecting to have to do) I decided to brave the rain and go explore some of the city. I walked around the harbor area and the nearby medieval fortress, Akershus Festning. I also wondered through a cool area called Aker Brygge which has a lot of new modern condos, restaurants, shops, etc. There are some really cool buildings and sculptures there. On my way to find some dinner I stumbled upon this 'festival' where they had some free food and music. So I ate dinner and listened to music in the rain for free for a little while. Then it was back to the hostel where I watched another soccer match. I must say soccer is much more interesting than baseball or basketball to me.
I also decided on Tuesday to stay one more day in Oslo hoping for better weather Wednesday. Well Wednesday (28 June) is here and the skies are cloudy, but at least its not raining.
So after sleeping late and the hostel shuffling, I spent most of the rest of Monday (26 June) trying to finalize plans/transportation for my trip to Jotunheimen National Park. So I spent a good portion of the day running between the bus station, train station, DNT office (think 'Ranger Station'), and the library. I did manage to wonder by the Royal Palace and see a little of Oslo at one point. After a long search for quick and cheap dinner I went back to the hostel and met my roommates then went down to the common area to watch a soccer match. I had hopes of seeing more of Oslo on Tuesday.
Tuesday (27 June) I woke up to rain. There goes my plans of taking a ferry to one of the near by islands for a little beach time. But I needed to do some errands for my trip anyways, namely buying groceries, fuel, and maps. Which all turned out to be very time consuming. I went to several 'gear' shops looking for a couple of dehydrated meals and pricing out the cost of fuel. An 8 oz canister of fuel cost nearly $10. It would cost $4-5 back home. Maps are also very expensive at $20 so I decided to wait and buy a used one off of some body at the hut. Shopping for food for hiking trips is a lot more difficult when you can't read the packaging.....
After the errands and a trip to the library to get caught up on emails (which I wasn't expecting to have to do) I decided to brave the rain and go explore some of the city. I walked around the harbor area and the nearby medieval fortress, Akershus Festning. I also wondered through a cool area called Aker Brygge which has a lot of new modern condos, restaurants, shops, etc. There are some really cool buildings and sculptures there. On my way to find some dinner I stumbled upon this 'festival' where they had some free food and music. So I ate dinner and listened to music in the rain for free for a little while. Then it was back to the hostel where I watched another soccer match. I must say soccer is much more interesting than baseball or basketball to me.
I also decided on Tuesday to stay one more day in Oslo hoping for better weather Wednesday. Well Wednesday (28 June) is here and the skies are cloudy, but at least its not raining.
posted by Dustin at 2:06 AM
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