Entries about trains

Our very early train arrived into Oslo five and a half hours later, giving us time to chill out in our most spacious AirBnB yet, before heading into the city centre.

Oslo is pretty compact and it felt like they were building something new on every street, but it has a nice buzz to it and is on the edge of a beautiful harbour. There is a pretty river running down into the centre and the modern opera House is very photogenic. We went to the Nobel Peace Center (only the Peace Prize is decided on and awarded in Norway, the rest are in Sweden), a really nice museum with info about the prize and every laureate. The only downside to Oslo is the ridiculous prize of drinks... Like £10 pints....

The Viking Ship Museum is just outside the centre and has three boats, all over 1000 years old, two of which have been carefully reconstructed. The boats and the incredibly decorative items found with them were buried as part of the Viking funeral tradition.

Our next step was the Oslo-Bergen train, which is supposed to be one of Europe's most scenic. Although we did have to get a rail replacement coach for the final hour... the views really were pretty great; snowy mountains, fjords etc. We went straight to pick up our hire car (turns out Mike can't drive an automatic) and got jerkily started on our way into the fjords.

We were staying in a cosy cabin with beautiful views of Sørfjorden and a short drive away from a brilliant hike up to the edge of Norway's 3rd largest glacier, Folgefonna, part of a national park of the same name. Parts of the walk were pretty steep, so ropes were provided to haul yourself up and down for added adventure. The views back down the valley to the fjord were incredible. The cabin was very comfy and great for Carcassonne.

We drove back to Bergen and found our slightly odd smelling apartment, that made up for the smell with a huge balcony and views. The big attraction here is the Bryggen area on the waterfront, a collection of colourful, wooden buildings that were originally used by traders as warehouses and venues for big meals! The funicular up Mt Fløyen was also worth doing, allowing massive views of the surrounding mountains and water. This was sadly where our travel pals left us to fly back home and we got ready for a night train back to Sweden.