Polar night and polar bear island - a Norwegian winter adventure

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After that it had actually warmed up noticeably. It was still probably -5, but with the forecast of snow tonight, perhaps the moisture returned to the air and it wasn’t as bad
I needed my fourth, and last, fridge magnet for the four places I have been and I eventually found it.
Back to the room at 4.15pm and then headed out around 6.30pm.
When I say out, there was no need to step foot outside.
I stayed within the confines of the train station and went to the Sentralpuben, which was ok but a few dodgy characters and there is a sports bar opposite that looked ok but was dead.

 

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I left after one and went back to the Gastropub that I was at last night and although it was busy, it wasn’t as heaving as last night.
I’ll find some dinner soon. Something half decent I think.
There’s a Japanese place upstairs and I saw a Chinese place as well.
And I see that they have dropped episode 4 of Knight of the Seven Kingdoms early so I’ll head up and watch that and I still have almost a full bottle of Italian chianti left.
Tomorrow is my last full day.
My knee is really hurting.
I’m determined to at least walk to the fortress for a better look although the Viking Museum is closed until March. The interactive museum is open but I’m not sure that’s my thing.
I won’t spend the entire day inside, but I’m also not fussed if I don’t do much either.
My flight to Helsinki on Sunday morning is at 8.35am so I will catch the train, conveniently located indoors so I won’t have to walk outside.
Unfortunately I have a five-hour layover there.
I have been to Helsinki before and loved it although I wasn’t a huge fan of the lounge so I’m wondering if I have enough time to go into the city for a while?
I take it the Oslo to Helsinki route will be domestic as it’s within the Schengen zone so will have to clear passport control at Helsinki.
I’m also presuming my bag will be tagged all the way through but I can’t be sure whether I’ll have to grab my bag and check in again at Helsinki.

 

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I need to lay off the burgers and beers when I get back (see the sign at the top of the photo).
No wonder my jeans were tighter yesterday.


I woke up at 8.45am and I must have really needed it.
It had snowed overnight and there was still a light flurry going on.





My right knee is swollen and hurts.
Spurs are playing Man U at 1.30pm today and there is a sports bar within the complex that is showing it, but I don’t really want to spend my final afternoon drinking $23 beers and watching football.
I’ve taken some ibuprofen and am determined to at least get out and try to have a walk around the fortress and I want to take a pic of the finger sculpture at Kvadraturen you find the square Christiania torv, known for its fountain with a sculpture of a hand pointing to the ground. After the big town fire in 1624, the Danish-Norwegian King Christian IV decided to rebuild the town in this area and name it after himself. He supposedly pointed to this spot and said: "The new town will lie here!"
It’s really weird. I’m kind of looking forward to heading back home, but I think that’s because I have the midnight city tour of Doha, so I have something to look forward to other than just travel. In other words, my holiday still hasn’t finished until I get back to Hamad International after the private tour, which will involve just me and my driver/guide.