boberonicus

Hi,

I will be in Oslo soon, but my work ends after 6pm on Dec. 11th. I then have two full days, and fly out of Oslo on the morning of the 14th.

I was thinking of flying to Tromsø on the 11th, and hanging out for a couple of days, taking a bus to out of town to see the Northern Lights. But then I thought, what will I do during the (brief) daylight hours? I do enjoy hiking (could I see fjords?) and cross country skiiing.

I'm not dedicated to Norway, but I'd like to be within a two hour (or so) flight from Oslo. I'd love to hear any suggestions or see any links.

Thanks,

Robert

Amexpat

I'd budget at least one full free day for Oslo - there's a lot to see here. If you want to see the fjords, you could do the Norway in a nutshell trip from Oslo to Bergen in a long day. It'll include a 2-hour boat trip on the fjord.

Chris C

At the moment there are no daylight hours in Tromsø just a sort of twilight around lunchtime. There's also not too much snow up there at the moment and none forecast although I presume there will be more if you venture in land

You could check with these guys http://villmarkssenter.no/ or these http://arcticholidays.org/

Here's a site that will give you an aurora forecast http://www.gi.alaska.edu/AuroraForecast

And because it's no good havning a great aurora if it's cloudy, the weather http://www.yr.no/place/Norway/Troms/...8/Troms%C3%B8/

The downhill ski slopes opened at Tryvann in Oslo today as a recent cold snap allowed tons of snow to be made (it's -10C downtown at the moment) so if you fancy taking the Metro to go skiing, you could do that instead

boberonicus

Thanks for the excellent links and the up-to-date snow information. I'm thinking I'd be better off staying in Oslo for the entire two extra days. Tour the city one day, ski the next. A friend of mine noted that there could be a fantastic meteor shower on Thursday night (12/12/12) before I depart on Friday morning. Where (near Oslo) could I get away from the light pollution of Oslo?

Chris C

I'm not sure where the best place is, the only place I can think of where you can get away from any light pollution but is easy to get to is Sognsvann which has a Metro station. I'll make some inquiries...

robyng

To the OP - I once did a dogsled ride somewhere in the US on a ski trip. It is a back-breaking experience. I wouldn't recommend it. Robyn

boberonicus

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread. I ended up walking all over Oslo, visiting museums, and eating good food at outrageous prices. My favorite meal was at the Swedish "Food Story" in Grünerløkka. Friendly service, a nice dry Riesling, well prepared mussels, and "The Soundtrack of Our Lives" playing in the background.

I went to the Nobel Peace Prize concert (cried as Laleh sang "Some Die Young"), met the Right Honorable Gordon Brown, took a cold beautiful walk through Vigeland park and had a long talk in a bar with a Norwegian guy who wanted to move his wife and two teenage kids to the U.S. I tried to discourage him (no free university that you've been paying the gov't for, no free health care, crime, two weeks vacation, busy people with no social life, etc.) and he kept bringing up stuff like Route 66 and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Hopefully his wife will help him understand all of the benefits that Norwegian society conveys. I could see living there someday, but I would need a fourth coat, as wearing three coats was not sufficient.

Robert