It’s said, ‘A pretty gal brings out the poet in you’
On very similar lines if I may add ‘A pretty destination brings out the blogger in you’
Yes….That’s precisely what Norway has done to me.
Background/History:
June 2018: Daughter is almost 5. We start shortlisting destinations for our next trip abroad:
Canada/NZ: Have been on the list for long. But daughter is still small for long flight journeys, layovers, and longer duration trips
Singapore: Perfect for kids, but been there so can plan sometime later
Seychelles/Maldives: Excellent water destinations. We needed to significantly improve on our swimming, to fully enjoy the water activities on offer.
After some more thinking, finally back to my favourite: The EU!!! (Relatively shorter flight journey than Canada/NZ, lesser no. of days and fits within budget as well)
Very impressed with Switzerland (2012), I wanted a similar world-class destination. It didn’t take long to figure it out finally: NORWAY
Called up a friend who had been there. He said it’s perfect for you. Immediately called up another friend based in Sweden to understand her pending tenure in Scandinavia and plans for Norway. She said she is going there in few days. I thanked her for giving me a handy itinerary in advance.
So after that, the usual online research began: Google search, Tripadvisor forums, Rick Steves, Norway tourism site, Team BHP etc.
July 2018: I drafted 2 different itineraries (1 as a backup) and finally booked tickets (BOM – AMS – OSLO – AMS – BOM, Jet Airways + KLM combo) for the 3 of us.
I had given myself sufficient time to figure out the places which would appeal to me. Researched well on the subject.
October 2018: Train fares for 2019 came out. Almost a 20% hike over 2018 fares. I was never too sure of self-drive in a foreign country, but the big hike in rail fares contemplated me to re-think. Plus, with all the mountainous terrain, car would have anyways been better option. (Post the trip, it turned out that despite having one of the highest petrol rates in the world, the per km cost in Norway was actually cheaper than that in India. More on that later)
Our final self-drive itinerary:
Jan-Feb 2019: Made accommodation bookings through AirBnB + Sognefjord cruise
Mar 2019: International travel insurance taken. Hertz car booked for the journey. Paid visa fees and submitted all relevant documents at VFS Global Mumbai office.
April 2019: Visa cleared within 5 working days. All set to go. And then the Jet Airways fiasco…!!!
Slowly and surely, Jet Airways was cancelling all domestic routes. Then came the turn of international ones…1st London…then Paris…and finally the one I didn’t wish…AMS route also cancelled. Jet operations halted.
So I was left with no option but either to reschedule the flights through some other airline or to cancel the entire trip. Few days later, luckily we managed to find a deal and rescheduled tickets for 2 of us. (Mumbai-Dubai-Oslo by Emirates; Oslo-Amsterdam by KLM and Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi-Mumbai by Etihad)
Day 1: 10 June 2019:
Today’s travel: Oslo Airport – Geilo
I was just thinking of the difficult day ahead since I had a 7 hour+ flight from Dubai to Oslo and a prior 7 hour+ layover at Dubai airport. Immediately after landing at Oslo, was a ~240 km drive to Geilo (That too on right side of the road!!!)
Our scheduled time of arrival at Oslo (capital of Norway) was 12.30 pm. Then, this 1st view of Norway, just 5 mins before landing at Oslo:
Finally landed at Oslo. Unbelievable views, for a capital city of a country. Immigration took some time. We had lunch outside the airport and then headed to Hertz car rental. I was expecting a long queue and some formalities which may take some time, but surprisingly the entire process took less than a minute. Done with my questions about driving rules in Norway, we finally proceeded to take our car. It was an automatic Toyota Auris.
Driving an automatic car on the superb roads of Norway was a breeze. The ‘No honking’ culture was another welcome. Immediately after exiting the airport, I started hitting 100-110 kmph!!! We did lose our way for a while; but we were already prepared for the same. Saw some beautiful homes in Oslo and nice views all the way to Geilo. Throughout my drive, we saw only 2 colours: Blue (Sky + Water) and Green (Trees). Yet another welcoming part was lack of population. (~5 Mn for the full country, and backed by the world’s biggest sovereign fund having assets of over USD 1 Trillion!!!)
Landed at Geilo well past 9 pm.
Days are really long in summers. There is proper sunlight for 20-21 hours of the day (Winters are equally cruel). There was fair daylight at 1 am and even 4 am.
Day 2: 11 June 2019
Fresh after a good sleep, we were ready to go to Voss from Geilo (~150 kms drive).
Today we pass through the national tourist route Hardangervidda. It runs between Haugastøl and Eidfjord and is 67 km long (road 7). The road crosses the largest & highest mountain plateau in Northern Europe.
For most part of our journey, we found such empty roads:
Being a famous ski destination in Norway, it’s easy to find snow all year round in Geilo:
Finally we reach our Voss apartment. Meet the landlady (A senior, very fair and independent Norwegian), who gives some inputs on the place and her beautiful country. We enquire for biking option to Lake Vangsvatnet, which is around 3 kms away. She readily obliges with 2 bikes.
(Its Nordic counterparts Finland and Denmark are at No. 1 and No. 2 respectively)
Day 3: 12 June 2019: Voss to Balestrand (Voss-Vangsnes drive of ~80 kms, Vangsnes-Dragsvik by ferry and finally Dragsvik-Balestrand drive of ~10 kms)
Today, we drive north to a small place called Balestrand. On the way from Voss to Vangsnes, we get treated to some excellent views and also Icelandic landscapes:
There is a ferry for transfer from Vangsnes to Dragsvik. The ferries are large enough to take several cars.
We arrive at Balestrand in the evening. After video calls to our families in Mumbai, we proceed to see Balestrand by foot.
Day 4: 13 June 2019: Balestrand to Aurland (Balestrand-Dragsvik drive, Dragsik-Hella ferry, Hella-Kaupenger drive of ~50 kms, Kaupenger-Gudvanger cruise from 3-5.30 pm, Gudvangen-Aurland drive of ~25 mins)
Monday and Thursday mornings are the cheapest to fill your car tank. We do the same before we leave for Aurland.
We arrive at Kaupenger well before our scheduled cruise time of 3 pm. The Sognefjord cruise takes us from Kaupenger to Gudvangen. Treated to some excellent views:
After landing at Gudvangen, we proceed to meet a cousin and family (Originally from Kolkata and also touring Norway like us). Great feeling to meet our close ones at such a remote place. Exchanged notes about our experiences so far. Had great dinner and as a part of advance birthday celebrations, we treated him to ‘Aam ras’ from Malad.
Day 5: 14 June 2019: Ahead of longer travels on following days, we kept a relaxing day at Aurland.
Stegastian Viewpoint – This structure juts out 30 metres from the mountainside, 650 metres above the fjord:
Day 6: 15 June 2019: Today we move north from Aurland to Nordfjordeid. ~200 kms of driving and 2 ferries.
We pass through the Lærdal tunnel. It stretches for almost 25 kms, and is the longest tunnel in the world. Speed limit is 80 kms. Crossed the same in less than 20 mins!!!
We then get treated to yet another brilliant view:
We finally reach our apartment at Nordfjordeid. Easily the biggest (and cheapest) of all the apartments we have stayed in. Can accommodate upto 12 people. It cost us Rs. 4k for the night stay.
Day 7: 16 June 2019
The penultimate day in Norway. Big day of cricket as well. India – Pakistan world cup match. Today’s journey goes from Nordfjordeid to Tretten (300 kms+) – A very long journey even by Norway’s standards.
We pass through some interesting places like Stryn and Loen, but because of rains, can’t go out. Wanted to pass through road 258 (Gamle Strynefjellsvegen), but the GPS doesn’t specifically capture. Spent some time in locating the same, but it was worth it. This is a 27 km national tourist route running between Videsaeter and Grotli. Treated to brilliant views:
The above pic is outside ‘Coop’ departmental store. The store was closed, but we get wifi. During our lunch time, Pakistan fell from 117-1 to 129-5. Upon seeing my excitement, Norwegians and few Germans who were around seemed amused. I had to explain to them what is cricket, that cricket is more like a religion than just a sport in India and nothing still gets bigger and better than an Indian victory against Pakistan in a world cup !!!
With our victory now assured, we proceed to our apartment at Tretten.
Day 8: 17 June 2019 (Tretten-Oslo Airport drive of ~175 kms)
We leave for Oslo around 8.30 am. We enjoy our last drive on the Norwegian roads on the 4-lane expressway E6 (Speed limits 90-110 kmph). We arrive at Oslo Airport well in advance of our scheduled departure time. Returned the car to Hertz and proceeded for departure to Mumbai.
We can’t agree more with Quora which wonderfully sums it up on Norway: ‘If you breathe it in for too long, Norway becomes like a lover you meet many times in your life; sometimes you argue and sometimes just go through the world together in tranquility, but you miss her when away and the heart skips a beat seeing her again. She is full of secrets and complicated, but will lie to you and tell you she is just a simple girl from the countryside. Take the time to get to know her, and she will teach you a hell of a lot about yourself.’
Goodbye Norway. It out-lived my expectations. Many visa stamps still pending on my passport, but we definitely wish to see you again !!!
General Notes:
- Norway, located in Northern Europe, is one of the most prosperous nations in the world. It enjoys a very high ranking across several parameters like quality of life, governance, education, healthcare, safety, per capita income etc. Total area is around 1/10th of India and population (~5 Mn) stands at ~1/4th of Mumbai.
- It became the 1st country in the world to ban deforestation. With a continuous and relentless focus on green energy and electric vehicles, it remains the biggest market for electric vehicle giant Tesla. The Tesla cars in Norway are VAT-free, can be driven in bus lanes, are exempt from tolls and enjoy free parking in the cities.
- The ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ tour is the most famous tour of the country. It has a combination of train, bus and ferry routes.
From Oslo, one takes a train journey to Myrdal (on the Oslo-Bergen railway). From Myrdal, one has to change train to Flam. The 2 hour Nærøyfjord cruise (Flam – Gudvangen) passes through Norway’s beautiful fjords (Sognefjord and Nærøyfjord). From the small village of Gudvangen (located in innermost part of Nærøyfjorden), the journey goes through bus to Voss (located on the Oslo-Bergen railway route). Finally from Voss, a train journey can be taken to complete the tour to Bergen or back to Oslo.
4. Ranging from Rs. 125-135/litre, the petrol cost remains one of the highest in the world. With the automatic car giving a mileage of over 20 kmpl, our per km cost turned out to be ~Rs. 6.25, which is cheaper than several manual cars here in India.
5. Cashless Economy: Norway, alongwith its neighbours Denmark and Sweden, tops the adoption of cashless payments globally. At groceries, departmental stores, malls, petrol pumps etc., practically everyone is happy to accept credit cards (Visa/MasterCard/Amex can be freely used anywhere and everywhere)
6. Flights taken:
Emirates: Mumbai-Dubai (9th June 2019) and Dubai-Oslo (10th June 2019)
Very comfortable seats, very good leg space (81 cm), great in-flight entertainment, great service and good food as well.
(Official flying time was ~3 hours from Mumbai-Dubai, but we landed 40 mins earlier at Dubai airport.)
Aircraft: Boeing 777-300 ER
Key features: WiFi, Food, IFE, In-seat power & USB outlets, On-demand video, 3-4-3 layout
Baggage allowance: 25 kg (check-in) + 7 kg (cabin)
KLM: Oslo-Amsterdam (17th June 2019)
Relatively small leg space (as compared to Emirates and Etihad, but fine for us as it was only a 2 hour journey). It left quite late from Oslo
Aircraft: Boeing 737-800
Key features: 76 cms leg space, Food, In-seat USB outlet, 3-3 layout
Baggage allowance: 30 kg (check-in) + 7 kg (cabin)
Etihad: Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi (17th June 2019)
Aircraft: Boeing 777
Key features: 79 cms leg space, WiFi, Food, IFE, In-seat power & USB outlets, On-demand video, 3-4-3 layout
Baggage allowance: 30 kg (check-in) + 7 kg (cabin)
Etihad: Abu Dhabi-Mumbai (18th June 2019)
Aircraft: Airbus A320
Key features: 81 cms leg space, food, In-seat USB outlet, 3-3 layout
Baggage allowance: 30 kg (check-in) + 7 kg (cabin)
Similar to Emirates, our experience in Etihad was extremely satisfactory on all fronts.
7. Credit cards/FX cards/Lounge access cards used:
a. Yes First Exclusive credit card: One of the cheapest for foreign exchange transactions (Currently 1.75% mark-up + GST). It uses the MasterCard platform.
b. HDFC Regalia credit card: Wanted to carry a Visa card variant as well, as a back-up. Hence, I had taken the HDFC Regalia with me.
c. HDFC MMT Forex card: Carrying some cash (Norwegian Kroner) (NOK) would always prove handy. But given the fact that NOK’s not as liquid a currency for exchange in India (like the USD/GBP/EUR etc.) as well as high conversion cost for NOK, I had taken the HDFC MMT Forex Card, loaded NOK online and then withdrew cash at an ATM at the Oslo Airport using this card. The currency conversion + withdrawal cost (at the ATM) was far less than obtaining (cash) NOK in India. The 10x bonus points on Smartbuy platform of HDFC further reduced my FX costs.
d. Priority Pass: Issued free of cost to holders of Yes First Exclusive and HDFC Infinia credit cards (amongst others). Even the add-on/secondary card holders can avail of the free priority pass; and enjoy unlimited lounge access at several airports.
e. Dragon Pass: Issued free of cost to Jet Airways Platinum members holding ICICI Jet Airways Sapphiro cards. The Dragon Pass allows for 2 SPA visits and 2 lounge visits in a calendar year. Most lounges globally accept the Priority pass, but not the case with OSL Lounge at Oslo Airport. Dragon Pass was accepted at OSL Lounge, hence I had availed the Dragon Pass prior to my trip.
8. Lounges & Spas accessed:
Mumbai T2 International Airport: Heaven on Earth Spa (using the Dragon Pass); Loyalty Lounge (using the Yes First Exclusive credit card)
Dubai T3: Marhaba Lounge (Concourse C) (using Priority Pass)
Oslo: OSL Lounge (using the Dragon Pass)
Amsterdam: Aspire Lounge (using Priority Pass)
Abu Dhabi T1: Al Dhabi Lounge (using Priority Pass)
Hope you have enjoyed reading my Norway blog. Please feel free to share your comments below
Harshal Ajmera 
Reading was as if l was traveling.
At the end it made me feel so relaxed, as if l was traveling and experienced it all myself.
Some mention of food and good eatries would have additionally left me with a tummy full feeling.
Look forward to your next travel so that l can experience the fun of those destinations too.
Best Wishes
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Mathur Sir, thanks a lot for your comments and encouragement.
Being Jains, we do not eat potatoes, onions, garlic, eggs etc. Getting food in Norway (and several countries abroad) without all this is practically impossible. So we had taken ready-to-eat packets from Mumbai itself, for our entire tour. We had only fruits there.
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Harshal, brilliant recount of your trip…absolutely great destination and even greater representation. Loved every bit of your details. Would wait for more in future…
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Thank you Amit
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