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.
However, as a few have suggested way earlier in this thread, perhaps the best option is to go as far as Myrdal and do the Flåm detour trip. And then it’s up to you if you head back to Bergen or continue on to Oslo.

 

[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. I learned from Bergen to do the walking tour first.
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.

 

[VPS]

Those photos looked great to me and I am trying to imagine myself as being cold which is a bit foreign in Adelaide at the moment

 

[Justinf]

By the time I get home I will be 90 SCs away from Gold.
I have a return flight from MEL-HBA for the footy booked just before my year expires which will take it up to 630 SCs and also the one QF flight I need.
That leaves me with an awkward 70 SCs to get to grab Gold.
I’ll qualify for Silver, but that 70 is a tricky one as MEL-OOL in J is 60 SCs.

 

[Aeryn]

Green Tier could add another 50SCs. Are you close to loyalty bonus (first one kicks in at 500SCs from QF coded flights).

Or one domestic J return flight (i.e. SYD-MEL or MEL-ADL) will net you 80SCs.

 

[jastel]

The Fram Museum and Kon-tiki Museums are near to the Viking one...they are worth a look.

I did know the A Ha statue in Bergen...because I saw it last year.
It was about 15 degrees, people were wearing bikinis and sunbaking.
Your pix are a bit different.