This is the first blog on the series written on my travels through the Scandinavian and Baltic countries in the summer of 2019. Norway was the first country we hitchhiked through. You can read the subsequent blogs here.
The highlight of the year was the trip through the Scandinavian and Baltic countries in July-August 2019. Though I had many other outings during the year, the experience of this unique trip was absolutely different. It was not a conventional package tour but was a backpacking trip, personalized with homestays and considerable interaction with locals. There were many who cautioned against undertaking such a trip at this stage in life…..but both Harsh and myself thought we would take up the challenge!
During my visit to Lucknow in April 2019, over a drink one evening with Harsh, the possibility of making a 5-week 7-nation trip to the Scandinavian and Baltic countries cropped up. It sounded more than just ambitious – from where will one be able to muster the money for such a grand undertaking? After all, we were both now living off our pensions. It had been a long-time dream to visit those exotic countries about which one had only read. We thought of making the attempt tentatively in July. Since costs were a major factor, we discussed ways to keep it under tight control. Harsh’s novel suggestion made the dream more of a possibility. Why not try the Couchsurfing way to explore new destinations! A new concept, especially for us of the “older” generation, we thought of giving it a try.
Harsh was a member of Couchsurfing (CS) and said he would try getting places to stay through that network, which would reduce a major portion of our lodging expenses. I also registered on the platform and started trying my luck. But as those who have used this network know, it is not easy for a fresher with no references to be accepted into the homes of strangers! Hope wasn’t lost, efforts continued and finally in between the sheaf of rejection messages, the “maybe” appeared. Not yet confirmed. Some wanted more information; some were curious why two retired Army-men were looking at CouchSurfing! The first confirmation I received was from a bachelor in his mid-20s. I am sure it was more out of curiosity than anything else.
Using CS also involved detailed planning in advance to fix our itinerary, places and dates before contacting CS members for each city. Side-by-side we also needed to make firm air/ferry/bus bookings so that we could apply for visas. Things slowly started falling in place piece by piece. In most places, we were accepted, and where it did not work out, we booked hotels. A flurry of last-minute activities and we were finally on the flight for Oslo on 01 July! It was an early morning flight via Istanbul and to celebrate, Harsh and myself celebrated the successful completion of the first part of the venture with a beer at 6:00 am! I was looking forward to this unique backpacking experience.
Oslo was a week-long halt – I hadn’t realized that it was also amongst the costliest cities in the world! The reason was that for getting a Schengen visa, we had to apply to the country where we would be staying the longest. To make things simple, we made Norway our first halt and also the longest stay.
We had a CouchSurfer tied up at Oslo and arrival at 5:00 pm gave us adequate time to find the place during daylight. We needn’t have worried about darkness – it remained dark for only about 4 hours at night! Finding our way around is never an easy task in any new place, especially where the language is a barrier. Luckily we found an Indian origin person selling the metro tickets at the airport and so got rough directions on how to reach our destination, which required one change. The change from the Airport Metro to the city metro was a bit complicated and after a few hits and misses lugging around my check-in baggage, a backpack and a bulky camera bag, we finally discovered the line a few levels underground! At the final station, no one seemed to know the address of the house we were looking for. Finally, the metro information office staff looked through Google Maps to point out the rough direction to us. Off we went for a kilometre-long walk along the city streets till, more by instinct, we spotted the road sign mentioned in the address – in many cities, we visited during the next month we reached our destination more “by instinct” than by Google Maps!
Bimal Agarwal was our host for the first three days of our stay. Indian, single, IT professional and gracious host! He was home when we reached so it was easy to reach his 4th-floor studio apartment. Having no lift, lugging the luggage up was the final task for the day. A nice bachelors pad, there was one couch and one carpet available for us – I choose the carpet! Bimal turned out to be an excellent cook and cooked up a sumptuous dish of kabuli chana with fresh garnishing and spices, while we chatted in the kitchen. He was from Rajasthan and had come to do higher studies, and stayed on to work. Higher studies, incidentally, is free in Norway. A Japanese friend turned up during dinner and we walked down to the famous Frogner Park after dinner. Frogner Park contains, in its present centre, the well-known Vigeland installation, a permanent sculpture installation created by Gustav Vigeland between 1924 and 1943. The sculptures have numerous depictions about human life and life cycles. It is the largest in Oslo and the largest in the world, made by one artist.
We slept late the next morning and were out of the house only by 11:00 am. Bimal had already left for work and had left the house keys for us. We walked down to the Royal Palace, about 2 km through picturesque streets. We found a grocery store along the way, run by a young Pakistani woman. At least she was able to assist us in finding a vegetarian sandwich for Harsh from amongst the myriad selection, marked in intelligible Norwegian. We picked up our breakfast, which we ate along the way.
The Palace was located in a huge green belt but we deferred going inside as timings were fixed for tours and a long line was already there. After clicking some touristy photos we walked down the Karl Johans Gate (Road), the main street of the city and named after King Charles XIV John. It connected the Palace to Central Station. It was a pedestrian-only zone, lined with many famous tourist attractions. In addition to the Royal Palace, Central Station and Stortinget (The Parliament), there are the National Theatre, the old University Buildings, the Palace Park and the pond along the way.
We strolled down the cobbled avenue, bustling with tourists in the sunny summer weather. Packed cafes lined the street providing a picturesque sight.
A visit to the National Museum, partly under renovation and the Viking exhibits inside were unbelievable. Seeing artifacts from that period like swords, helmets, pennants, inscriptions etc was a treat. There were also ethnographic exhibits showcasing the ancient heritage and dresses of the inhabitants.
The Langeid sword is a unique exhibit of a Viking sword with intricate inlay work of gold and the hilt decorated with symbols. It was found in a grave dated to early 11th century. It has been restored painstakingly.
The walk along the Karl Johans Gate was a pleasant experience. We passed by the grand University building and the National Theatre, which has sculptures of many famed artists dotting the gardens around the classical architecture of the building. Crowds of tourists thronged the streets, enjoying the warm sunny weather.
We walked along the central vista past the Stortinget and other iconic buildings lining the route. The Parliament was closed and we could only see it from the outside. We had a 4:00 pm meeting with Joachim, Harsh’s friend from Nigeria days. At the appointed time, we met in front of the majestic Royal Hotel. He turned out to be a warm person, very unorthodox and having done a variety of jobs during his eventful career. Presently he was pursuing his PhD in Physics – when Harsh had last met him, he had been working as a carpenter! We sat on the open terrace Bar of the hotel while the buddies exchanged notes from a past era!
The balance days of our Oslo stay we spent with Joachim at his home. He was a maverick who had been an artist, carpenter, rebel and now studying for a Doctorate in Physics! We moved into his palatial apartment and were greeted warmly by the family. A party with their local friends for us was organized on the first night and then a barbecue at his summer house, located on one of the islands in the bay.
We went for a two-hour ride across the Oslo bay in Joachim’s motorboat on the way to his summer house, which was on an island. The scenery was breathtaking, with summer houses of the rich and powerful lining the shore all along. We couldn’t have asked for a better outing to see the city from another viewpoint!
Our longish stay let us explore the city thoroughly.
The fjords of Norway are legendary for their beauty, and it was impossible not to visit them. It was an overnight train journey, and the overall budget for the outing was not cheap……but then it was something we couldn’t miss. We caught the train, a seating coach and the journey was not very comfortable. But we managed. We reached at 4:00 am and it was raining heavily. We had been warned that Bergen had one of the worst weathers of any city in the world…we hoped we could break that jinx or the trip to the fjords would be a waste.
The train reaches Bergen 
Bergen Station
The heritage town and cruise were worth the effort (and expense!) though it left us exhausted with two nights on the train with limited sleep. The half-day ferry tour took us to the small Kommune of Modalen, which was at the end of the fjord we explored.
The fjords were amazing, as each inlet we sailed into had a magnificent view!
Modalen kommune had one of the most picturesque settings I have even seen for a village. The ferry turned around at this place for the return journey.
On the cruise we made friends with a couple, both turned out to be in the US Army on a vacation. Their small boy kept us entertained throughout.
The fjords are startling 
New friends
The Captain took the boat right under one of the waterfalls, close enough to reach out to collect the water and drink it. Mineral fresh!
The waterfront had large number of food stalls offering a variety of choices for tourists. I chose whale meat for lunch – a local delicacy. Of course, I had to close my eyes at the price column in the menu while ordering!
Bergen’s old town – Bryggen – is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with the trademark quaint brightly painted wooden houses lining the waterfront. Bryggen is the historic harbour district in Bergen, one of North Europe’s oldest port cities on the west coast of Norway, which was established as a centre for trade in the 12th century.
We had the afternoon and evening to pass as the return train was in the night. So we walked up the surrounding hills and explored the town.
Oslo was a beautiful place, and one of the highlights was the visit to the Viking Ship Museum where few original Viking ships have been recovered, painstakingly restored and displayed. Probably the only such exhibit anywhere in the world. The 21-meter long Oseberg Ship built around 800 CE was the best preserved. It was used for the burial of a chieftain’s wife. There was also a 23-meter long Gokstand Ship, a sea-going vessel. There were many other artefacts, but the ships were amazing!
We made many trips around town, some accompanied by Joachim. He took us to the Akershus Fortress along the seashore and we spent a night pubbing with his friends and tasting the local brews and food.
During the days we mostly made our own way. Once we came to know that metro was concessional for senior citizens, it was well used and economical on the pocket! We visited the famous Oslo Cathedral, a 1697 CE monument renowned for the ceiling paintings by H.L. Mohr.
A walk along the Aker Brygge is another must. Built around an abandoned shipyard, it has stunning architecture. Joachin’s motorboat was moored here, which took us to the bay tour. Not to forget the modernistic architecture of the Norwegian National Opera Theater on the shoreline. We also made the trip to see the Stortinget from inside since the Parliament was currently not in session.
All good things must come at an end. and so did our stay in Norway. It had been a lovely time spent in the company of new-found friends, Bimal and Joachim, who embraced us with open arms in their families. The country itself is spectacular and we did find time to see some of the unique places. A once in a lifetime visit!
Norway is a must-see country and those who can must plan for including it in their itinerary.
To read the next leg of our adventure in Sweden, check out the next blog here.
The links to all the blogs in the series are listed below:-
- Sweden – https://collectingmoments.in/fascinating-sweden/
- Finland – https://collectingmoments.in/stunning-finland/
- Estonia – https://collectingmoments.in/exploring-estonia/
- Latvia – https://collectingmoments.in/latvia/
- Lithuania – https://collectingmoments.in/lithuania-the-land-of-a-forgotten-past-and-the-romuva/
- Poland – https://collectingmoments.in/poland-the-phoenix-which-rose-from-dust/
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