July 2024: Oslo, Bergen, Flam
Oslo
- The kids had a blast at the playgrounds.
- We noticed that it was really setup for kids.
- I had fun going on morning adventures on the electric scooters. I learned how to do jumps off of curbs!
- I fell in love with the Volkswagen ID.Buzz, their new electric Volkswagen Bus. They were everywhere in Norway, but not quite available yet in the US
- Akershus fortress was pretty cool from different angles
- The City Hall was under construction when we went, so couldn’t see all of the front
- The ferry across to the Fram Museum on Bygdøy peninsula was really nice, and fun for kids
- The girls had a blast upstairs at the Norwegian Maritime Museum. They became friends with a British girl and didn’t want to leave
- There was a picture of a Penguin pooping on the door in the bathroom stall. Love that Norwegian human
- The Dugout Canoe was in the basement of the Maritime Museum, and it was 2200 years old. Lisa wanted to see “some boat” that was in the basement, then walked right past it to some other boat they were building 🤣
- I took a scooter and saw Edward Munch’s grave one morning
- Got to see people swimming off the docks and small beaches in downtown Oslo
- We got lucky and got to see Scream and a bunch of other famous paintings by Edward Munch
- One morning when I walked out, there was some homeless dude with giant headphones on, screaming, singing and dancing right outside our hotel. Drugs are a hellava drug!
Bergen
- The train from Oslo to Bergen (Bergen Railway) was pretty cool, especially the stop in Finse above the timberline
- I really like Bergen, it had a quaint feel, reminded me of Geneva, Lake Como, and Lugano
- Poor Mary got sick, so I spent a descent amount of time with Freya exploring
- I met a lot of people from Spain visiting, and even living in Norway
- People thought I was Norwegian and would blast me with Norwegian language, especially with 1-2 little blond daughters in tow 🤣
- The play area in front of our hotel was pretty cool. It was a mix of a play area, a rock garden, and a public piece of art. Lisa didn’t like Freya and Mary playing on it. I did actually catch Freya one time when she could have bit it pretty hard. Norway’s way of raising children violates the sensibilities of over-protective American parents 🤣
Flam
- The Flam Railway was another level from the Bergen Railway. It was truly impressive. If there’s one thing you have to do in Norway, it’s the Flam Railway
- The electric boat from Gludvangen to Flam was a runner up to the Flam Railway. The way the boat was designed with inclined walkways up each side was really cool. It was totally electric, so it didn’t have the vibration you normally feel on a ferry, though you could still feel the propellers in the water
- Flam had one of the most epic playground backgrounds ever
