Trip Report: Oslo, Norway

You try explaining this one!

Ooooh, I'm so frustrated! I wrote a super comprehensive trip report for my recent trip to Oslo and Copenhagen and then I lost it via some goofy Blogger bug. Flat out disappeared on me. Damn you Blogger! So, I'm going to rewrite this in two parts...one for each city. First up is Oslo.

Trip Summary: Oslo is freaking expensive quirky goodness!!

The Travel Pirates Beer Index:

• A pint of local draft and a local bar ranged from $10-$12 (mega-ouch!)
  

Trip Logistics:

• Arrived via Delta Air Lines (Copenhagen)
  
• Other than a bitchy flight attendant it was a great flight
  
• Rented car (Avis) and drove from Copenhagen to Fredrikstad Norway on Day 1
  
• Rental fee was about $100/day taking into account all taxes and fees
• Hated the $50-ish toll to enter Sweden from Denmark. Also hated the $20 toll to enter Norway from Sweden. We knew there were tolls, we just never thought they'd be $70 of tolls....
• 6 hour driving trip - mostly through Sweden - quite uneventful. Saw a few IKEAs!
  
• I would recommend that if you have the time you instead take the overnight ferry/cruise between Copenhagen and Denmark. It was booked and the times didn't work for us, and the train schedule between the cities is not very good. So we drove!
• If you really want to know, gas was around $10/gallon (diesel)
• Stayed at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Fredrikstad. It was awesome, especially the top floor super modern bar
• Stayed at the Thon Hotel (the budget one) in Oslo. Great accommodation for the price paid and the room ended up being super huge

Trip Diary:

• Day One: We ended up staying in Fredrikstad on the first day as we couldn't find a hotel room in Oslo! But it ended up being a super cool little town about 1 hour outside of Norway's capital. I liked the size and feel of Fredrikstad and it's worth a few hours or an overnight visit.
• Day Two: We drove the last hour to Oslo early and after paying yet another toll or two checked into our hotel. We then hit the streets with items of note including:
1. Took the boat taxi from Central Oslo to Bygdoy. Nice trip, but very rainy. No, I don't know how to pronounce Bygdoy. But I did learn that if you buy your tickets in advance at the 7-11s (yes, 7-11s are all over the place), you can save a few krones.
   
2. Viking Ship Museum - we got into the Nordic culture and learned all about Vikings and their ships. Vast, amazing crafts that I find hard to believe navigated the harsh Northern seas!
3. Viegland Sculpture Park (aka Crazy Naked Statue Park) - what a trip this place is! An absolute must see if you ever get to Oslo. It's about 15 minutes by bus from central Oslo and well worth the journey. Gustav Viegland sculptued over 200 naked statues - men, women, children, babies, old people, you name it. While not necessarily sexual in nature they are totally odd. I found it quite ironic that the statue they have of the artist is clothed - he should have been naked too! We also found it odd that the men are fully detailed - if you know what I mean (and I know you do), but the women were not. Do Norwegian women not have vah-jay-jays? I really think they must......
4. Scream at The Scream - we went to the National Gallery of Norway to Edvard Munch's The Scream. For some reason people like to steal this painting. There are are several copies and this particular one was stolen back in 1994 and recovered a few months later. It's under heavy glass and there is a guard around making sure you don't snap a photo of it (but you are free to photograph anything else). The museum is free and has other fine works.
5. Walked and walked around rainy Oslo. It's really a beautiful city and really fine for walking - even in the pouring rain. We saw some ceremony at the university (graduation perhaps?) and did a lot of people watching.
6. Okay, we also did some drinking...at one of our drinking spots we ran into a very nice American living in the city who asked us what the heck we were doing there? I think she was referring to the cost...at least I hope! I had no idea Oslo was pretty much the world's most expensive city (supposedly after Moscow).
   

• Day Three: started our trek back to Copenhagen, stopping at several Norwegian fort cities along the way.
  

More trip details when we I write-up the Copenhagen side. Yes it was a very quick trip and I wish I would have had one more day in Oslo. That would have been perfect, but I really don't think you need more than that...

Finally, if you are like the travel pirates and like to get your drink on, think seriously about buying a bottle of what you like at Duty Free Shop before your Europe flight. Buy some mixers when you arrive and have a drink or two in your room before heading out for the night.

Think of it this way, we paid $16 for a large bottle of rum at the Atlanta airport and $12 for a single beer in Oslo. Even a dog can do the math on that one...

Just sayin...