We started off our trip with a direct flight on Norwegian Air from Orlando to Oslo. It was an overnight flight, and I assumed that we'd all get more sleep on the plane than we actually did! The good news is that I hadn't really planned anything for the first day, so it was OK that we were completely exhausted. Getting from the airport to downtown Oslo was a piece of cake, and there were extremely helpful train employees both working the information windows and standing by the self-serve kiosks. We took the train to the Nationaltheatre station, which was just a short walk to Cochs Pension. We had a quad room with four twin beds, a private bathroom with shower, and a kitchenette - mini fridge, sink, two hot plates. The room was huge and gave us plenty of room to spread out. I'd definitely stay here again in the future! We checked in, got settled, rested for a bit, then headed across the street to Lorry for dinner. The prices were reasonable (for Oslo, anyway), the food was fresh, and the portions were large. The prawns were particularly fresh, and the portion was HUGE! We enjoyed eating here so much that we returned on our last night.
We were in Oslo three full days and took advantage of the Oslo Pass, which saved us about $50 per person over paying for museums and transportation individually. Trip highlights included:
- Munch Museum (everyone's favorite!)
- Botanical Gardens
- Open Air Norsk Folk Museum
- Viking Ship Museum (cool, but extremely crowded)
- Two hour ferry trip around the Oslo fjord
- Akerhaus
- Resistance Museum (very moving)
- Astrup modern art museum
- Lunch at Rorbua, where my son got the traditional Norwegian sampler platter
- Quick, cheap lunch/snacks from the convenience store ( bacon wrapped hot dogs for the guys, and paninis for the girls)
Three days was the perfect length to explore Oslo, but I'd like to go back for a longer stay sometime and get out of the city and into the fjords. We flew from Oslo to Paris early on our fourth morning. Getting to the airport and checking in when extremely well (we took a 5:45am train to the airport), and the flight was uneventful. We had about an hour layover is Stockholm, so I guess we "technically" visited seven countries! Time to get up and get my day going - I'll share my thoughts on Paris later!