Polar night and polar bear island - a Norwegian winter adventure

[Justinf]

There was a bit of a sameness about the scenery and it became very apparent that this was definitely also a commuter service.
Again, not to harp on the Alaska Railroad that was very much a scenic trip, although you could flag down the train from the side of the track, there weren’t a lot of passengers taking too much notice.

 

[Justinf]

I obviously didn’t learn from my mistake in Alaska, where I was constantly on the search for that perfect photo.
In the end I put the phone away and just decided to relax and take it in with my eyes.
So that’s what I did.
Once we were coming down from the mountains, there wasn’t a whole lot to see, but once I’d relaxed and just stretched out and accepted what it was, so was able to appreciate it more.

 

[Justinf]

Truth is I was done about five hours in of this seven hour trip.
The last couple of hours were going through a bit of suburbia and then when we hit the satellite cities of Drammen and Sandvika, I knew we were close.
And sure enough, right on 3.05pm we pulled into Oslo station.
It felt a lot quicker than a seven-hour flight.
So, did I enjoy it?
You’re probably thinking no.
But I did.
It was just completely unexpected than what I thought it would be.
It was certainly heaps better than taking a one-hour flight and I would absolutely recommend it.

 

[Justinf]

I am staying at Comfort Hotel Grand Central, but it was a bit tricky to find even though it was right there.
It was frighteningly cold. About -7 with a ‘real feel’ of -13.

 

[Justinf]

Checked in and it was what I expected. Nothing flash at all.

 

[Justinf]

The view out my window was of the bottom level of the train station, which is also a giant shopping mall.
Is that a Gastropub sign I see?

 

[Justinf]

Happy days.
I was pretty exhausted after a very early start and the fact that I didn’t need to rug up and brave -7 outside was an absolute bonus.
I went to said gastropub and it was humming. Packed to the brim, but I found a stool and a table.
My obligatory two beers cost $47 and I grabbed Burger King for dinner.
Tomorrow I have a walking city tour at 10am which leaves right outside where I am staying.
After that I booked a boat cruise through the Oslo fjord and although I’m not expecting much, it will be a good way to fill the penultimate day of my trip.
On the final day I plan to visit the fortress and the Viking Museum.
I also booked the midnight layover tour of Doha during my eight-hour transit, which will still hopefully give me enough time for a shower at the Qatar lounge.