European vacations

Review Topic: Sights & Attractions

I hadn’t been on skis since 1974, so why did I decide to check out the Holmenkollen ski jump? Guidebooks talk about the incredible view, and I wanted to see it.

Holmenkollen is a famous Olympic ski jump tower and has been the center of Norwegian ski sport for over 100 years. About a 35-minute train ride from Oslo, it was the site of the first annual ski jump competition in 1892. The jump has been rebuilt several times over the years. In 1952, permanent spectator stands and referee boxes were built for the Winter Olympics. 150,000 spectators - a longstanding record - watched in person that year.

Our odyssey continued as our KLM flight deposited us at Norway”s Gardermoen airport. The Oslo segment of our northern European adventure was about to begin.

[This is the fourth in a series of postings on our Scandinavian holiday and sequentially follows my July 25th posting, “Our 2001 Sea Odyssey - Days 4 and 5 - Norway”. That posting can be found at http://www.epinions.com/content_33132351108/tk_~CB003.1.2.]

Last year I was lucky enough to get to go to Bergen for a week. I immediately fell in love with Bergen and I spent most of my days just trying to catch all the sites that were in Bergen, but unfortunately time stopped me from seeing everything.

About a month ago a very good friend of mine asked me if I wanted to come and stay with him a few weeks this summer; I immediately said “Yes”. Why not say yes to one of the most beautiful cities in the world?

“Hello this is XXX speaking, I am the captain of your train, and we will be departing shortly. We will be cruising at an altitude of approximately zero feet, and our scheduled arrival time in Morden is 3:15pm. The temperature in Morden is approximately 15 degrees Celsius, and Morden is in the same time zone as Mill Hill East, so there’s no need to adjust your watches”. Driver Northern Line

After leaving our friends in Oslo, we joined our tour group. The company that we traveled with was Bennett Tours. They did a terrific job and I would highly recommend this company. Our guide, Peter, and our bus driver, Stieg, were very knowledgeable and kept it interesting with their trivia and stories. The size of the group was 16 which was perfect!

We arrived at the train station in Olso after a long trip from Stockholm and were surprised at the tremendous diversity of the people. Maybe it was my preconceived notion of Oslo, being way up North (which it really isn’t) and whatnot. I imagined a community similar to Stockholm. I could not have been more wrong. Our hotel (Christiana right across from the train station) was well situated for brief jaunts around the City. I was particularly struck by, and enjoyed, the street musicians and vendors who had a great South American flair. It added to the atmosphere of a cosmopolitan nature generally reserved for New York City (in a positive way). The waterfront walk in Olso was really special, with skateboard tracks mixing nicely with boats of all sorts. I admit to spending some of my time in Olso trying to figure out how to get over to Bergen and the coastline, so I feel we missed the full flavor of this interesting and magnetic community. We spent enough time in the City to know it is a place that truly deserves more time on the next trip to Scandanavia, as two days was not enough.

Review Topic: Sights & Attractions

I know some of you probably thought (hoped?) I had fallen off the end of the earth since I haven’t written an epinion in over a month. Au contraire! In reality, I spent two weeks in the most beautiful place on earth. No, I’m not referring to Tijuana… I’m talking about Norway! My best friend lives in Norway, having moved there from the states four years ago, and this was my second trip there (I spent 6 weeks there in 1998).

Stockholm is a beautiful city - situated on a number of islands on the east coast of Sweden. The city is pretty large, but for a tourist, unless you are spending a long time there, there isn’t much need for you to leave the central part of the city - that is where all the action is.

Review Topic: Sights & Attractions

If others write about wonderful places to visit in Oslo, I will write about good eating places I have experienced. Norway is not a heaven for your taste buds like Singapore, but with eagle eyes and living experience in Oslo, one can spot few good eating places. These two places do not offer fantastic restaurant atmosphere. They are in fact a small busy friendly sushi bar and a pattiserie. But their food quality is beyond those expensive restaurants.

TAMPOPO SUSHI BAR

Heaven really is on earth and it is in a place called Norway. Norway is perhaps one of the most beautiful places you could ever want to visit. If you are looking for untamed wilderness this is the place for you. You can hike on any types of terrain from thick forests to rocky coast lines. In the north during the summer months there is the Midnight Sun. It is during this time when it is sunny all day and during the winter it is night all day but the advantage is that you can easily see the Northern Lights. If outdoor activities are not your thing there is still plenty to do. Oslo, its capital and largest city, offers a wide range of activities. I could go on but there is only so much that can be said about a place. The best way is to just go and experience it. I guarantee you will not regret it!