Who's been to Oslo,Norway

Sporadically? So then obviously you've been there before?

Oslo is great. Not a lot of "sights", but a cool, relaxed vibe. To get out of the city and see the countryside, you can take a train (light rail) to hiking trails a bit northwest of the city. It's about a 30 min ride, if I recall, and then you can walk to some nice trails.

In Oslo itself, the waterfront area is nice. There's a pretty cool boat that's been converted to a bar that's a great spot for a evening drink in the summer. Other than that, it's pretty much just about enjoying the super-long days (if you're there this time of the year).

How can you "sporadically" book a flight?

Go to Bergen

SWEDES wrote:

Sporadically? So then obviously you've been there before?

Well, its a lot easier when your in Europe for the summer to book a flight to somewhere else in Europe...think outside the box. And no I've never been there.

I think sporadically booking a flight consists of sitting around with your mates and just going on ryanair and say, "Hey, lets find the cheapest flight for next week and take it." Which is what we did.

Of course you could have a different definition of sporadic. I don't book flights to Scandinavian countries regularly.

Anyway thanks for the advice. Right now all that is set in stone is the flight - trying to figure the rest out.

OMG is this the real Ken Kesey!? I can't believe it!

And I think you mean spontaneous. But the idea is still awesome. I completely support spontaneous travel. I've not been to Norway but i just got back from copenhagen and it was great. Have a great time!

Oslo is a great city. The Viking Ship and Kon-Tiki museums are both worth seeing if you're into that kind of stuff. Also, belive it or not, the hippest bar that we found downtown was actually a Fridays (TGIF). I didn't belive it either, but that's where everyone was hanging out. Everything is expensive, people are generally very nice, and the women are beautiful. Have fun!

Expensive, but not as expensive as Helsinki. Nice clean folks. The city is very clean compared to other places in Europe like Paris, London, Berlin which are filthy with pet excrement all over the sidewalks and poor personal hygiene. Scandinavians have very good personal habits.

I would agree with the person who also said go to Bergen. And actually go as far north as you can, all the way to Nordkapp if possible. The sun never sets there in summer.

I find it amusing that someone who's presumably an American sees it fit to rip on the personal hygiene of other people.

I don't care what Americans' shower frequency is, when many of them are so damn fat that they break a foul sweat as soon as they have to get out of their air-conditioned GMC truck.

don't take it personal. europeans stink, especially on the tube in the summer, whew !

Sporadically. No offense, but how do you confuse that with spontaneously? And I thought the education system in the U.S. sucked.

Sorry, it's Letsrun, I just had to take a shot at you.

I have been there, you will love it since there are so many homosexuals there.

leave the brother alone as he said;

"Of course you could have a different definition of sporadic."

one persons sporadic is another persons spontaneous. Don't be bound by 'other' peoples definitions and rules create your own reality.

half pie wrote:

leave the brother alone as he said;

"Of course you could have a different definition of sporadic."

one persons sporadic is another persons spontaneous. Don't be bound by 'other' peoples definitions and rules create your own reality.

Hey man, pass that spliff over here. Be spontaneous with it, not sporadic!

if you want to explore and don't mind paying high gas prices, rent a car - it's really easy to drive around norway, and the backroads are actually quicker to drive (and much more scenic) than the highways which have slower speed limits (ie 40-55mph tops) and cameras that take your pix at random places if you're speeding

if you want to do some hiking - 2 really cool mtn ranges are within 5-6 hours north of oslo - the rondane mtns in the central lower east part of the country was the first national park and is less than 30 years old is really open, kind of like a mtnous wyoming feel (not the tetons per se). not a super-big park, and mtns gain 2-3000 feet and have cool rivers and flatter long runs, too

the highest peaks in scandinavia are the jotunheimen chain which is in the lower central part of the state - peaks are between 4800-6000 feet high with some snow at top, but trails are runnable (i ran up the highest peak in less than 1 1/2 hours, and at the hut at the top they had a free imac where you could send an email with a picture of yourself for free from the top of scandinavia).

not too far away is the fairly spectacular gerainger fjord, while there are some other famous fjords on the other side of the country by bergen on the west coast. the train going from the east part of the country from oslo to the west coast bergen is supposedly really scenic, but didn't take it. if you're goigg to the fjords - the trains will take more time

cool thing about this time of year is it stays brighter later, so you can be running on trails and still have remaining bits of dusk light at 10 or even 10:30p at night.

you can also check out lillehammer which is 2-2 1/2 hours north of oslo where they had the olympics. it's a easy accessible, small scenic mountain tourist town with an olympic museum, but nothing super special to check out that would require more than a day.

when you arrive at the oslo train station, there's a really good outfitter store i think called 'dng' - kind of like rei or eastern mountain sports in the usa - which is maybe 7-8 blocks away, so go to the info desk at the station and they can probably point you to it (although it might close at 6 pm on weekdays, so don't expect it to be open at night). is is the best place for hiking maps if you want to go to the wilderness

overall, the natural scenery is a lot like the pacific northwest / cascade mtns, and you're able to pretty much camp anywhere you like as long as you're not within 50-100 feet of someone's home. oslo felt a lot like portland, oregon - outdoors, hip, cool modern architecture, very livable/walkable/bike ridable (ie not intimidatingly big)

have fun !

Gullible Foxnewser wrote:

I find it amusing that someone who's presumably an American sees it fit to rip on the personal hygiene of other people.

I don't care what Americans' shower frequency is, when many of them are so damn fat that they break a foul sweat as soon as they have to get out of their air-conditioned GMC truck.

You have obviously never been on a crowded Paris metro on a hot summer day or walked around eastern European side streets.

Seriously, is that funny to you? SOMEONE WHO'S AN AMERICAN RIPPING ON OTHER PEOPLE'S HYGIENE. HAHAHAH. Holy Shit I am such a funny little European I must be the next Raymond Devos! Or maybe you are a self-hating American...

Oh wait...you are just smelly and not funny. Well I guess that's kind of funny, in a way.

I also find it amusing that you rip on Americans being "fat" when probably 98% of Americans on this board are skinny or at least on the lean side.

And I was in Paris less than a week ago, let me tell you there is dog crap everywhere. And don't get me started on those damn pigeons!

Seriously, I love Europe, but the big cities there are far from what I'd call "sanitary" (Scandinavia probably excepted, since I've never been there).

The last time i was in Milan I just gave up trying to dodge the dog crap COVERING the sidewalk and walked in the street. Scandinavian Cities are much cleaner than most in Europe, However Oslo has developed quite a drug habit the last few years and crime has increased dramatically.

Bergen would be a nicer place to visit, Stockholm is a short flight and well worth it.