Norway Help

OSL to Oslo. Best way from Gardermoen (OSL) to Oslo depends on your Oslo destination. Choices are the SAS Flybussen (coach bus with under floor luggage compartments), Flytogget (express train), or the local NSB train. The SAS Flybussen has several stops in Oslo with the final stop at the Oslo bus station. The Flytogget and local NSB terminate at the Oslo S train station. The NSB train is the cheapest. The SAS Flybussen has a lower return trip price. Both the Flybussen and NSB have limited luggage space. If your hotel is very close to the Oslo S station, then the trains may be a shorter walk from the Oslo S to your hotel. The SAS Flybussen has several stops in the downtown area. As a by the way, Oslo is served by several airports. You would most likley want to fly into Gardermoen (OSL). Some cheap flight websites will also display Sandeford (TRF) as an Oslo airport. TRF is farther from Oslo and would likely require a local bus to the coach pick-up. Re what to do/see in Oslo and Bergen. Rick Steve's Scandinavia guide book is a good bet for what to see in a limited amount of time.

If you only have one day in Oslo, I would divide my time between the folk museum on Bygdøy and Frogner Park. Have dinner at one of the restaurants along Stranden, and enjoy the people watching.

In Bergen, walking along the waterfront of the Bryggen was the highlight. There is an excellent tour of the Bryggen given several times a day. Buy your tickets at the Bryygen museum. It's a neat look into the history of the buildings and the harbor. We had a university student guiding our group and she was excellent. Enjoy your trip!

I agree with the other replies. Have a look at Rick's Scandinavia book for details, including LOTS of details about the Norway In A Nutshell. The one thing that was a great disappointment to me was the Bryggen tour. Rick loves it (and Tara, above, also had a good experience), but in 2003 when I was there, I got as a guide the only person in Norway who didn't speak fluent English. For example, she said that a building was recently "restorated," and what she was saying was not always easy to follow. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed the tour with a better guide, either, as I just didn't find it that interesting or pretty when I walked around on my own. However, despite this, I loved Bergen. The fish market was fun (the vendors love to talk, and come from all over). I enjoyed just walking around, particularly the area between Ole Bulls Plass and the aquarium, which had beautiful and picturesque homes. And I took the Fløibanen around 11 PM, and watched the light slowly diminish and the town lights start to come on (it was still not dark when I left, at 11:45 PM so as to not miss the last lift down). I actually preferred Bergen to Oslo. For Oslo, I'll second the museums on Bygdøy; again, I wasn't as taken with Frogner Park as most are, but it's certainly unique.

Thank you for your help. I have read and reread Rick's book on Norway and with your help hopefully our trip will go well.