We knew we were trying to jam in too much, but our window was short and we really wanted to see these beautiful places. We went the last week of August through the first few days of September.
Oslo:
We stayed in the centrally-located Hotel Christiania Teater, right across from the National Theater. It's a beautiful, mid-size hotel, modern and spacious on the inside. We went for a deluxe room at $175/night. It was large and quiet - facing the rear. The breakfast was massive... really wanted to stay there all day. Loved this hotel - terrific staff. A little above our usual price range, but very much worth it. We were on vacation, dammit! Did I mention how great the breakfast was?
Loved walking through the Gronelokka area: old wooden ginger-bready houses, the Aker river, university area. Great place to stroll along the river and then explore the shops, restaurants and flea markets. Caught a music rehearsal in the cathedral. The newly-developed harborfront seems to go on forever. Plenty of good food options.
Norway in a Nutshell:
That was a long day but so very worth it. The train ride from Oslo to Bergen was gorgeous and the fjord ride was jaw-dropping beautiful. All the connections were well-timed. We pulled into Bergen at 9pm.
Bergen:
Two enthusiastic thumbs up for Hotel Park Bergen. This is where the hygge really kicks in. A boutique hotel, cozily furnished, up the hill from the train and bus stations - just a little removed from the downtown area and next to the university. Great location, and we had a corner room. They make a lot of their breakfast foods: granolas, jams, crispbreads, brownies (always available). Expensive though - $255/night.
Loved the size of this picturesque and very manageable city. The walk around the back alleys of the old harbor shops was cool. Enjoyed the funicular and view up on Mt. Floyen. The bus/tour/concert to Grieg's house was worth the time - especially the piano concert given by a recent winner (Ah Ruem Ahn) of the annual Grieg competition. She gave this very interesting demonstration of why Grieg chose the particular key he composed some of the Peer Gynt music in - trying the piece in different keys so that we could hear why he made the choices he made.
Liked the take-out food at the small chain Baker Brun, and had a really unique, delicious dinner at Pygmalion.
Copenhagen:
Paris and Amsterdam have to shove over and make a little room for Copenhagen as a favorite city. So many wonderful things happening here: architecture, terrific shopping, lots of harbor, funky neighborhoods (Christiania)... always something going on. Rosenborg Castle and adjacent park/gardens were a highlight - they do a pretty nice crown jewels display. Too many great museums - National Museum, especially. Other faves: university area, Tivoli (natch), free early music concert at Holmens church. Rosskilde was an easy side trip and Viking Museum was excellent. They were doing a brisk business taking people out in the harbor in the replica ships.
We opted for an apartment - Ascot Apartments next to hotel of the same name. The apartment was large enough and was a cost-conscious choice. But while we were conveniently located close to Tivoli and the train station, we were across the street (Studiestraede) from a music club. There was about a night and a half that were pretty intolerable, even with earplugs.
But the overall favorite thing about Copenhagen, and Denmark and Norway in general is their open, permissive, safe, generous society. It was easy to see why these two countries generally come in first and second in world's happiest country polls.