Here we are at the very (?!) awaited report of our trip to the North! And when I say North I mean over the polar articc circle which crosses Norway. I tried to write a report which explains in detail where we've been and what we've done, giving also the most useful informations for those who'd like to do a similar trip. Of course I also tried to talk about local culture and traditions. Before starting, here some notes:
- The national currency is the norwegian crown (nok). Today one euro is 8.01..nok. If you have problem, you can google "100 nok to euro" to have the daily conversion.
- all the prices refer to one-way tickets and student price, except where specified.
- ATM = automated teller machine, these machines let you withdraw money in local currency paying a fixed fee which changes according to your credit/prepaid card.
- kiosks: In Norway you can find some famous shops which sell food, sweets, hot meals, but also magazines, newspapers, and tickets. The most famous are Narveseen, 7eleven, Deli De Luca. I'll call "kiosks" all these kind of shops.
I'll publish a report for every day of the trip, once at time, in the next weeks, to let you read in a relaxed way. I'll soon link the image gallery with all the photos. Buon viaggio! (Have a nice trip!)
Day 1 (18 february 2010) - Kristiansand - Oslo - Bodø
The silent and comfortable norwegian train which brings me from Kristiansand to Oslo in 4.40 hours is by now a pleasant custom for me. A taste of norwegian landscape from the train, in winter.
By traveling in Norway, and not only, one learns to get used to long travel. If before coming you thought that a trip which takes you 2-3 hours was a loong trip, well, now it will become a normal and even short. For those who doesn't know Norway yet, in the next map we can start to have a geographical overlook. Kristiansand is point A, and Oslo point B. Our north destination is still not visible.
Temperature in Oslo is usually colder than in the South. That day was not an exception, and so I just decided to have a quick walk in the center while waiting for my two friends. I've already been in Oslo many times and with a warm and very good weather, so it hasn't been a priority for me.
The other two members of the Lofoten Arctic Team come in the afternoon at 15:35 landing to the little airport in Rygge from Milan. Rygge is located south of Oslo, and it's almost only served by Ryanair. From Rygge to Oslo (and viceversa) you have two options:
a) you can take the free shuttle from the airport to the small Rygge train station. It's very small and you'll only find an automatic machine of NSB (norwegian railway) and a train shelter to sit and protect from the wind, if there is wind! Trains are quite frequent, and the trip takes around 50 minutes. Ticket costs 104 nok for student, and 136 for adults.
b) you can take a direct bus from the airport, Rygge ekspressen which will bring you behind Oslo main train station in around one hour. It's slighlt more expensive than the train.
Oslo main station is fantastic, full of every kind of shop, and located in the middle of the center. To be obliged to spend some hours in Oslo means to be free to have a walk in the main street to the Royal Palace (less than one hours round-trip); it means to eat something in the kiosks or simply stop at one of the many souvenirs' shop. You must not forget the wonderful tourist office, located outside the train station in a glass tower.
The plane which will fly us to the polar circle will land from Oslo main airport, Gardermoen. To go there is very easy, you can take a train (Flytoget) every 10 minutes daily, it costs 85 nok. This is for sure the most comfortable, cheap and fast option.
Well, before going on, I have to clarify the situation about Oslo airports, which always causes disorientation. Oslo has only a city airport, called Oslo gardermoen. Then there are other two minor airports: one is Oslo Rygge, southern of Oslo on the east cost of Oslofjord, one hour distant. Secondo is Oslo Torp sandefjord, 1 hour and half south-west Oslo. Both are served by Ryanair and are connected with Oslo by trains and buses.
At the Gardermoen airport, after the security check and a difficult research of an ATM, our wait becomes longer because of a delay; an announcement explains the reasons fot ir, but my norwegian is still insufficient to let me understand what they say. Maybe the cause is the ice? It could be. I didn't know this but hereabouts they "wash" the plane's wings before leaving. Just have a look.
The company we're using is Norwegian, a low cost company which flies all over Europe with interesting prices. Our fligh is from Bodø, thr main city in the region of Nordland, on the cost in front of Lofoten islands. We take off, in delay, at 20:30.......and after 1 hour and 30 minutes of flight, we land: we are at 67 degree, 18 minutes and 0 seconds N, 14° 32' East, beyond the artic polar circle! You can feel it: wind is strong and cutting. We'll then find out lately that probably the perceived temperature on that day was around -26 °C. Bodø airport is almost in the city center, just 3km away from it,and this is very useful when you arrive late and cannot find a bus. In our case, we didn't have this problem because some friendly students I contacted before (thanks to Vladimir at the ISU Agder!) picked up us at the airport and gave us hospitality. In retun, we made spaghetti with home-made american recipe tomato sauce! The result, in spite of the absence of the essential colander, has been good! Bodø doesn't have an University, but an Høgskolen (a kind of college), which is almost the same thing. The students are almost all americans, and the question is: what are americans doing in Bodø? :)
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