London, some Nordics, and Japan

[cwd]

We started this trip just over a month ago, but figured, better late than never? I’m currently writing this from a ski resort in Hokkaido, Japan, after a day of skiing.

This trip has been a while in the making. We were talking to some friends at a pub last year, and they mentioned a great deal they’d booked at a ski resort on Japan (more on that later). We have a friend in Stockholm we keep meaning to visit again, so this sounded like a job for the great AY J fares. So off I went to @madrooster to see what was possible. Oh, and I must have mentioned the northern lights to Mrscwd at some point.

We looked at heading to Lisbon, but AY unhelpfully exclude that from the sale fare, and various other options would have us moving about a bit too much for my liking.


In the end, the trip became:


(BNE-MEL to make use of a free flight and stopover after a trip to BNE)

MEL-SIN-HEL-LHR (QF then AY)

LHR-HEL-ARN (AY)

ARN-BGO (SK)

OSL-TOS (SK)

TOS-HEL (AY, operated by Wideroe)

HEL-KIX (AY)

HIJ-CTS (JL)

CTS-KIJ (JL/J-Air)

NRT-MEL (QF)


These were booked over 8 tickets in the end, over 5 PNRs, and 39 days.

The plan being to spend 4 nights in London, catch up with some friends and have a good time. Then off to visit a friend in Stockholm, followed by the “Norway in a Nutshell” trip from Bergen to Oslo (via Flam). Then a trip further north in the hope of seeing the Northern Lights in Tromso, a night in Helsinki, then almost 3 weeks in Japan.

I hadn’t bothered taking many photos of hotels, lounges, or flights, so it’ll be mostly pictures of what we came to see.

 

[cwd]

Given Mrscwd and I both hold QF WP status, off we head to the airport hoping we can check in a touch early for QF37. Sure enough, not a word was said about us checking in at the F check in 3 hours and 15 minutes before the flight.

Heading through security, the fancy new x-ray setup at MEL has decided to send everyone in the express queue’s bags off for further inspection, causing the entire conveyor belt to be full. The well intended system of multiple stations for people to get their stuff into the bins then becomes a joke, with the station at the end getting their bins into the queue, and everyone else wondering what on earth is going on as they fail to find a gap to push their bins into. Fortunately the system decides to stop playing up just as my bag goes through, and off I head to TRS for a nice GST refund on a new lens (a nice ultra wide angle, tempting fate that we’ll have bad luck in Tromso).

TRS is the usual fun. I have my QR code all ready to go, and incredibly, make it straight to a counter. 1 minute later I’m done, while the person on my left is still having it explained that only part of the invoice is eligible, and the person on my right having it explained that they need to present their goods for inspection. Every...single….time, I’m processed before everyone who was already being processed when I started. It’s not hard, people! Ok, rant over.

Off to the F lounge we go. A surprisingly modest amount of champagne and food are consumed. My memory is nevertheless a bit hazy. While seated in the restaurant area, a QF 787-9 pulled up at the gate ready to become QF9, leaving slightly before our flight. Then before we know it, it’s boarding time.

An uneventful QF37 has us arriving in SIN a little early, improving our odds of a shower at the lounge. We turn up to the lounge to find it almost empty (a Wednesday night at about 10:30). A shower and some Laksa, and off we head to wait for our next flight, AY132.

With the threat of a hangover looming, we both decide to pass on anything alcoholic. A bit of a sleep later, and we’re landing in Helsinki. We’re delivered straight into the non-schengen sterile area, meaning it’s just a short walk to the lounge. I was aware the premium lounge would be shut, but fortunately the standard non-schengen lounge wasn’t too busy, and at 6am my needs are basic, though a shower would have been nice.

A few more hours of waiting, and off to board AY1331 to London. As it happens, our plane from AY132 became our plane for this flight. I boarded the flight with the intention of also avoiding any alcohol, but the flight attendant had other ideas. A suggestion that champagne could be provided as a PDB was turned down (it wasn’t on the tray), but with it being suggested twice more before meal service, I gave in, convincing myself it might help be get a bit more sleep.

Landing in LHR at T3, I can’t help but notice a QF 787-9 parked at a gate. The damn thing beat us there (not surprising really).

Off on Rfl rail to Paddington, to catch the tube to our hotel….

 

[cwd]

We stayed at QBIC Hotel London City. The price was too good to pass on, but we did pay extra for a larger room, as the standard rooms sound extremely small. Ours wasn’t exactly big. I think ours was called a “Fun Room”. The bathroom is this modular thing in a box, a bit like a small shipping container. A bit odd, but it did the job. No photos….sorry. It’s located near Brick Lane, though we failed to try any curries while we were there. Oops!

London was mostly spent catching up with friends, a number of gins and pints, and visiting a few sights either of us have missed visiting over the years. The weather was great, with lots of blue sky, and not too cold.

Some assorted photos:

From the Tower of London:







This seems like quite the title!




London as seen from the Tate Modern:



A Saturday market in Brick Lane:



Brunch at the nearby Ottolenghi (it was properly delicious):



A pub we ran across in Belgravia after getting a bit thirsty on our way to the Serpentine Gallery:

 

[cwd]

After 4 nights in London, it was time to head to Stockholm. This was done as a side trip from a 2 week stopover in Helsinki, with a separate ticket, but through checked from London.

Curiously this was the first time I've been asked how long I've spent in the Schengen area in the last 6 months (sadly the answer was 0 days) when checking in. We then made our way to the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge in T3 of LHR. It's quite small, but does have a separate dining area, and self serve alcohol (I gather the business lounge has a staffed bar).



The drinks side of the breakfast menu.



The won ton noodles. A pretty small serving, and I didn't find them particularly amazing. The other non-western option was Dandan Mien.


Some of the alcohol on offer in the main area.

Our flight to HEL was delayed somewhat, I think over 30 minutes. We were then lucky enough to get a bus gate in Helsinki, though thankfully we again avoided transit security, coming from an EU country (not for long...maybe!).

Does anyone know why the immigration officers at Helsinki are particularly thorough? They seem to always want lots of details on your plans, compared with Germany and Spain where I'm lucky to have a word said to me.

Here's a photo of a plane in a somewhat snowy Helsinki in mid February:



I always find the Finnair Schengen lounge in Helsinki to be quite reasonable, certainly in comparison to other lounges in Europe. Hot food, multiple beer taps, showers, and just enough space.

From there we boarded our half empty flight to Stockholm. We got a OWE welcome, which consisted of an offer of a newspaper. I didn't bother asking for a Champagne, which is possibly enough possible benefit.

Arriving in Stockholm, we headed for the Arlanda Express, to take us to our hotel located across the road at the other end. Unfortunately, there was an issue with the signals, and the train didn't leave the platform for about 30 minutes. They were advising that we might want to catch a taxi or the commuter train, but we waited it out, which turned out to be the right thing to do.

Our hotel was the Nordic Light Hotel. The location is fantastic, right next to the Arlanda Express entrance/exit, and an easy walk to anywhere in the city centre, as well as Gamla Stan, the old town. I wasn't overly impressed with the hotel, it had a very dark feel (solid black doors). There's a nice restaurant downstairs, where we had a drink and some nibbles after we arrived. As we kept being reminded, everything's expensive, except the seafood (ok sometimes that is too).

 

[craven morehead]

Jumping on board for the ride

 

[craven morehead]

"I always find the Finnair Schengen lounge in Helsinki to be quite reasonable, certainly in comparison to other lounges in Europe. Hot food, multiple beer taps, showers, and just enough space"

I agree, I reckon it's a great lounge. Hectic in the mornings but clears out pretty quickly

 

[cwd]

Don't have a whole lot to post from Stockholm. We had a good time catching up with a friend, which was the point of the visit. There wasn't much snow around, and the weather varied between -1 and sunny, and 8 and cloudy (consecutive days...beat that, Melbourne).

We did visit the Vasa museum, which was fascinating. It's an old Swedish warship, which sank almost immediately on its maiden voyage. 333 years later it was raised in a very well preserved condition, thanks to the toxic water it was found in (yay, pollution!). Housed in a specially constructed building, research and preservation efforts are still ongoing.




The Vasa Museum. Definitely worth a visit when in Stockholm.

A few snaps from an overcast and miserable Stockholm:

 

[cwd]

From Stockholm it was on to Bergen, Norway. This was on a direct SAS flight, booked with AMEX using some travel credit I had. We went for a 'SAS Plus' ticket, which is a very slightly upgraded economy. It includes airport fast track, priority boarding, lounge access, a seat towards the front, and drinks and a snack on-board. Would I book it again? Probably...if it's just for the occasional flight like this.



The view of ARN not long after take-off.

Flight time is about 1 hour, and includes views of a lot of snow. As I later learnt, I could have asked for a beer, but went with a soft drink and the included panini-like thing in plastic.

Upon arrival in Bergen it's onto the airport bus, which gives us our first taste of the many Norwegian tunnels we're going to be passing through over the next week.



In Bergen we stayed at the Hotel Bergen Børs. At the point of writing this, it's probably been the highlight of our hotels so far. Friendly staff, and on arrival we were given a choice of a room with large windows and a view, or a larger room with smaller windows. We went for the latter, and had no regrets. The hotel is conveniently located near public transport options, and the centre of the city. Oh, and it was also booked with some AMEX travel credit.

As has become standard in Scandinavian countries (for me), I withdrew some cash, only to not spend any of it.

 

[cwd]

We had a great time in Bergen. Apparently a city blessed with a lot of rain, it mostly kept away while we were there.



I did attempt a run up a mountain behind Bergen on the night we got there. Probably a bit beyond my abilities after a week and a half of no exercise. The next day we took the funicular up Fløyen, one of the mountains surrounding Bergen.



The view from the top's not bad at all. It's also a great walk from the top back down to the city.



There's a lovely small lake at the top, Skomakerdiket.



Yes, that's ice in the foreground.




Didn't have a tripod with me, just a steady hand, it seems.



From there we started the walk down, at each stage wondering just how much further we had to go. In the end it wasn't too far. About 2.5km I think.

 

[cwd]

Bergen continued....

Dinner was a hot dog from an apparently well known hot dog stand franchise.



Google tells me this is Ludvig Holberg. It's an exercise for the reader to look him up.

More of Bergen at night:



This is the view often seen of Bergen during the day. The buildings are real, despite looking otherwise in this photo. It was also really quiet while we were there. I gather there are normally tables and seats out the front of these.

The next day we took the light rail to Troldhaugen, the Grieg Museum.


Grieg's house. Getting inside requires taking a tour.



Apparently they had so many house guests that he had this hut built to use for composing.



There's not much to give a sense of scale here, but apparently Grieg was rather a short man.



A view on the walk back to the light rail from the museum.

We also visited the Kode galleries. One ticket gives entry into all of them, though at least one of them seemed to mysteriously contain no exhibitions. Worth a visit though. We don't tend to linger in galleries/museums, and this was no exception.

 

[cwd]

Norway in a Nutshell, Part 1

We did the Norway in a Nutshell tour in the opposite direction to what seems to be the usual. We started in Bergen, took a train, bus and ferry to Flam, where we spent a night, then continued by train to Oslo the following day.

To ease the burden of carrying our suitcases, we decided to send them ahead with Porterservice, who collected our bags from the hotel at 6:45 the morning we left, and we found them at our hotel in Oslo when we arrived the following afternoon. It would certainly be possible to take large suitcases on the trip, but it sure is easier without them, given the 5 different vehicles you have to travel on.

The trip can be booked online (just search for Norway in a Nutshell), but I ended up doing a DIY version, which allowed me to select the seats on the final (long) train trip, and choose the slightly fancier carriage.

To start, we caught a train from Bergen to Voss, at which point half the train got off and walked towards a number of buses that were waiting. These are nominally local buses, with a route number and everything, but the sign at the front did say 'Norway in a Nutshell', and the driver gave some commentary along the way.

Here's how Google remembers the day:



Following the bus, which takes us to Gudvangen, there's a roughly one hour wait until the ferry leaves to take us to Flam.



Our ferry to Flam.

It's an electric boat, and I overheard someone being told that it charges at 2.4MW. In fact, the lower part you can see in the photo is the charger, which is a whole load of batteries. 2.4MW would put quite a strain on the grid each time it docks, so these batteries are charged more slowly over the day, and then used to quickly charge the boat while it's there. You can see the connection in the middle where a pole column rises up.

It sure was a peaceful trip through first Nærøyfjord, then Aurlandsfjord. It's a spectacular trip, so here are some photos:

 

[OZDUCK]

Lovely photos, really like the Norwegian ones. (And I also found the Helsinki Immigration very interested in our travel plans. In complete contrast to CDG & Barcelona.)

 

[cwd]

We had booked in for a snow shoe hike which lined up nicely with our time in Flam. This involves a drive past the nearby town of Aurland (which we passed on the ferry) and up the mountain. After putting on the snow shoes, off we set.





They said that this year the snow's started disappearing much earlier than normal, so we had to drive further up than they usually would in February.



This is the fjord the ferry brought us in on. I can't remember how wide they said it was down there, but it was quoted in kilometres.



A view down on some buildings we passed on the way. Almost visible in this photo is the water coming out of a hydro power plant, into the fjord.


A snazzy viewpoint which protrudes out over the side of the mountain, giving us one last view at the fjord.



The colours (and white balance) are a bit all over the place in some of these. Will have to spend more time on them later.

 

[cwd]

Norway in a Nutshell, Part 2

We also booked a Viking dinner at the pub (a brewery, actually) attached to our hotel. I'd recommend the snowshoe hike, but could take or leave the dinner. That said, I don't think there are a huge number of choices for dinner in Flam in February.


The tasting meal with matching beers (from the brewery). It wasn't bad, I guess I just expected more for AUD80.

The hotel we stayed at is Flåmsbrygga, and the room was perfect for our needs. As usual in Scandinavia, the wifi was super quick, despite being in what seems like a pretty remote location.

The next day we caught the first Flam railway service of the day to Myrdal. It does potentially have a few stops along the way, but in our case just one, at what I assume is sometimes some kind of waterfall, but in our case was just a gap between two tunnels, with some rocks and ice.

Not long after we arrived at Myrdal, where we had a fairly short connection to a train from Myrdal to Oslo. There's not really a whole lot in Myrdal. It seems to be mostly a train station.


The view towards Bergen


The view towards Oslo



The Flam Railway train we arrived on.

The train journey from Myrdal to Oslo took about 5 hours. The seats are comfortable, with free coffee provided in a nearby machine (in the Komfort carriage we were in).

I don't have too many photos from the train or Oslo, but here's one, representative of the first third of the journey:



We arrived mid afternoon at Thon Hotel Opera, where handily our room was ready, and our bags visible behind the reception desk.

As I said, not many photos from Oslo, and not much to report. Caught up with some friends who'd been on exchange at uni at home, and went to the Fram museum, which covers polar exploration, and told some fascinating stories. here's the only vaguely interesting photo I got;



It's a sculpture (I think?) off to the side near the entrance to the Fram museum.

From Oslo we head to Tromso, to hopefully see the Northern Lights (would it be a spoiler to mention that we got seriously lucky?). But that will have to wait until another day.

 

[cwd]

On to Tromsø...

Our Hotel in Oslo, Hotel Thon Opera, is right across from Oslo station, making it extremely convenient both for Norway in a Nutshell, and getting to/from the airport, as that's also where trains to the airport go from.

As it happens, I did have a couple of photos from near there on my phone:



Here's one looking down from near the top of the Opera House (you can walk over the building):




From Oslo, we took one of the trains to the airport, and again had an SAS Plus ticket. The lounge in Oslo, unsurprisingly, is quite decent. The flight to Tromso is just under 2 hours, and they seem to be quite frequent.

In Tromso, we stayed at the Clarion Collection Hotel WIth. No complaints from me about it, though with hindsight I'd probably have gone with one of their newer hotels. Our booking included, breakfast, waffles in the afternoon, and a 'light meal' in the evening. We only managed to have the evening meal once, as were booked on Northern Lights tours that left when the meal started the other two nights.

Before leaving Melbourne, I'd booked our first Northern Lights tour, for the night we arrived in Tromso. Leaving at 6:30, we turned up at the meeting point at 6:10 to find no one there. Eventually our guide and the rest of the tour arrived. This tour was fully booked, 8 of us plus our guide, Daniel.

Some of our group had been on the same tour the previous night, which had involved a 3 hour drive to Finland due to the poor weather they'd been having for the past week in Tromso. Fortunately, it had cleared up the day we arrived, so we were only driving for about an hour, to the Northernmost point in the map below.



As a side-note, Tromso has an amazing network of road tunnels, complete with underground roundabouts, due to the middle of the island being a mountain, and the airport being on the opposite side to the city.

After driving for an hour or so, we pulled over to the side of the road, and set up with chairs and a fire:



Looking back down the hill we were on:


At this point it was still quite cloudy, and windy, but the forecast had things improving by 9.

9pm passed, with no sign of anything other than clouds, let alone the Northern Lights. With not much to see, we started heading back towards Tromso, where the weather was meant to improve. Then at around 11, and about a third of the way back, it started to clear:





Arriving back at about 1am, we were fairly happy with the tour. One woman on our tour said she'd been to 3 different countries over many years to try to see it, and this was the first time she had. So we considered ourselves lucky.

In the days leading up to this, I'd booked another tour, for our 3rd and final night in Tromso. Tonight's show, it turns out, was just a warm up for what our last night would deliver.

With that said, it turned out to have been an extremely valuable lesson doing this first tour. I quickly realised I hadn't spent much time figuring out how best to focus the lens to infinity (and it was a new lens I hadn't really used before), and had great trouble getting the quick release plate to hold firmly on my camera without coming loose. These two issues seriously hampered my ability to get a decent photo, though the ones above are fairly indicative of what we saw. In fact, it's absolutely the truth that the camera sees the lights far better than our eyes. On this night, most of what we saw had little colour, and just looked white.

 

[amaroo]

Some nice memories of Bergen and Tromso .... we really enjoyed our time in Norway.

 

[tgh]

A fortuitous and very interesting ta for us as we will be in Norway in July.

 

[cwd]

We decided to take it easy for our 2nd day in Tromso, and didn't book a tour for the night. Did go for a bit of a walk though.



Our hotel


Looking across to the mainland from the island of Tromsøya, where the city is.



Ishavskatedralen, or the Arctic Cathedral, which is a ~20 minute walk across the bridge from the centre of Tromso.



Another view of the Cathedral.

Looking back towards Tromso, with our hotel just near the centre


Being such a small island, you can see the planes landing at the airport on the other side. Here's an SAS 737 just like the one we arrived on.

Sunset was just after 4:30, so we had the light meal at the hotel, which was more than enough for dinner. We were relaxing in our room, which has a view of the water, when we noticed a crowd gathered below. Here's why:



The display didn't last long (maybe 20 minutes), but it was more interesting than the previous night's!

It was so strong that even my phone got a representative picture:

 

[cwd]

A fortuitous and very interesting ta for us as we will be in Norway in July.

We had a wonderful time in Norway. I really liked the feel of the parts we visited. Everything's very efficient and reliable too, which I appreciate. The Norway in a Nutshell trip is well worth doing.

We were aware that it's an expensive place, but were still constantly shocked at just how expensive everything was. It makes Finland look cheap.

 

[cwd]

On our third and final night in Tromso, we had booked a Northern Lights tour with another company, 'The Green Adventure'. Ultimately the tour was just us and another couple, also in their 30s, living in Singapore. It was their first night in Tromso.

Tonight's drive was shorter than the first night's:



We arrived at a beautiful spot just outside a small town where the road ends, and as soon as we stepped outside, the lights were putting on a show. There's not really much more to say, but here are some photos. Apologies for not being able to cut it down more




It went on from about 7:30 until midnight, when we decided it was time to head back. Meanwhile the other couple had spent most of the night in the van (due to the cold), not realising just how special the night had been. They had a few more nights in Tromso, so I hope they came more prepared and the conditions remained good!