Excuse Me, Miss, You Booked a One Way Ticket to the Wrong Airport

 May 20, 2026

We had breakfast at our hotel and it was a really great deal- there were hot items like eggs, waffles, crepes, sausages and bacon, as well as yogurt and granola, deli meat and cheese, hardboiled eggs, avocado, fruit, pastries, cereals, coffees, teas and juices. After, we had a quick walk to the airport train. We made it to the airport in about 40 minutes and when we arrived there was 1 security check for everyone. While the line was long it moved quickly. When we got through security and looked at the board for our gate I noticed that there were gates that said Oslo, while ours said Sandefjord. Hmmm... that was odd. We were going to Oslo, weren't we? I looked at the ticket and it said Oslo Sandefjord. Maybe there are two airports in Oslo, kind of like Ohare and Midway? Evan googled it. Nope. Oslo and Sandefjord were two separate places, about a 2 hour train ride between the two. I couldn't believe I had booked a flight to the wrong airport I felt so dumb. After traveling for 15 hours from Oslo to Bergen, the trip back was supposed to be a quick 1 hour flight. Now we had to fly to Sandefjord, take a 4 minute bus to the train station, wait at the train station for 1 hour and then take a 2 hour train ride back to Oslo. There was a flight leaving for Oslo so we asked the gate agent if there were any open seats. She told us that the airport moved away from paper ticket sales to online only so even if there were seats she couldn't sell them to me. I asked if I could check online but she says the tickets stop being sold 1 hour prior to the flight So... we sat at our gate and waited for the journey ahead. I heard not 1, not 2 but 3 other people talking about how they had made the same mistake I did. One of the locals was saying she wasn't sure why they added the Oslo in front of Sandefjord but that it got people all the time. I felt validated. Slightly.

After landing in Sandefjord we got on bus that dropped us at a train platform. Not a station, just a platform, in the middle of nowhere, with 3 seats under an overhang. We sat outside for an hour waiting for our train and once it arrived we started our journey back to Oslo. 

I slept   while Evan read. We arrived in Oslo at 220 and grabbed sandwiches from Oslo Central Station to take back to our hotel. We checked in, ate a quick lunch and put on our suits for the sauna.

Evan loves the sauna/cold plunge back home and he always asks me to do it with him. I am very afraid of saunas (since childhood I've had an irrational fear of getting locked inside and melting to death) and I'm not a fan of being cold. However, since we were on vacation and this was a Norwegian cultural activity I acquiesced and told him I would do it with him. He booked a sauna on the water in Oslo. We walked over and immediately saw tons of tiny sauna huts clustered together with docks on the water. We were able to choose any of them and after sitting in the heat we could step out onto the deck and jump straight into the lake. The sauna was very hot and the lake was very cold, but I did both multiple times. I don't think I ever felt the relaxation that Evan did (I was constantly planning how I might escape if the door sealed shut) but I am glad I tried it. I will say returning to the sauna after jumping in the lake is much easier than sitting in the sauna for the first time. Evan's sell is that he gets the best sleep of his life after sauna-ing and while I write this he is currently passed out. I on the other hand am wide awake. We will see if tonight I sleep well and then maybe, just maybe I will think about going to the sauna again.

After Evan's nap we took showers and walked 20 minutes across town to Mathallen, a food hall with cuisines from all over, including Italy, Budapest, China, France, Norway and Greece, to name a few. We decided to stick to Norwrgian cuisine since it's our last night here. We shared the traditional fish soup which was LOADED with fish--it even came with fish roe on top! We really loved it. I had Norwegian oysters because I really loved the ones from the other day and Evan had mussels (because he's been wanting to get some while here). We both agreed that Norway's food scene was better than expected and that the local dishes should receive more hype. One of the most famous sweets in Norway is a cinnamon bun so after dinner I bought the last one from a stall in Mathallen while Evan enjoyed a scoop of Gelato. 

We walked to the opera house that's on the water so that we could sit on the roof and look out at the city (it's a very common thing to do here) and we saw lots of people coming and going while we were up there. We didn't quite make sunset (it's 10pm and the sun still hasn't set) but we did enjoy a late evening view before heading back to pack for our early flight to London.

After packing I treated Evan and I to the cinnamon bun I had bought earlier- it was very tasty

Fish, Fjords and a Flight of Aquavit

 May 19, 2026

It was our first night waking up and not having to leave to travel to somewhere new. We had a relaxing morning and headed out around 830 to Klee Kafe to grab breakfast. For a coffee shop the hot breakfast was surprisingly delicious- Evan had a traditional mushroom hashbrown and I had a slice of quiche. Both were very fresh and the perfect start to our day. 

Then we took the Fløibanen funicular (which has been operating since 1918!) to the top of Mt. Floyen. The trip to the top takes only about six minutes (the walk down takes much longer!)

The views of the city below are breathtaking and it was an absolutely gorgeous day so Evan and I spent some time taking in the views before wandering through the troll park, and trying the monkey bars to see if we can still do them. Spoiler alert- they're harder than we remember, but we both did them. 

We walked down the mountain, which took us about 45 minutes. There were many downed trees and it was amazing to see the sheer size of the roots pulled straight out of the ground. 

When we got to the bottom we wandered through the wharf town of Bryggen (a UNESCO world heritage site). It's really cute with rainbow row houses (that actually used to be medieval trading posts), a crooked street like San Fran, and a lots of tiny shops along cobblestone alleys. We wandered into an antique shop that was unlike anything we'd ever seen before. IT WAS SO CROWDED!!

 The fish market was highly recommended so we walked through there and saw vendors with HUGE catches of the day- tanks with crabs bigger than our heads, fish longer than my armspan with their mouths pried open, spiny sea urchin and massive shrimp with eyes. We ate lunch in one of the tents facing the water. We tried whale tatake (which is basically raw whale), Norwegian oysters (which I loved!) and a smoked meat plate- it included smoked whale (this tasted like roasted beef), salmon with a Mexican-ish seasoning, salmon with a dry rub and plain salmon. I also tried a special beer that was brewed specifically for the fish market. The alcohol laws in the fish market are really strict so this was a low alcohol content (2%) ale. It was actually really tasty. Something to note- Norway is one of the few countries that still allows whaling- it's considered part of their cultural heritage and a staple of their way of life. While Norway sells many different dried whale options, some neighboring countries don't let you fly in with it so we couldn't bring any home for our loved ones to try. 

We walked to a coffee shop after lunch so Evan could have a coffee but the line was quite long so we ended up abandoning it and heading to the dock for the boat. Little did we know that "arrive 30 minutes early" didnt actually mean to arrive 30 minutes early. It was just a buffer for the late comers. We did not board the boat until 215 which would have given us plenty of time for coffee. Oh well. Hindsight.

 It was a cold, rainy blustery day so Evan and I chose to sit inside the boat. We sat right next to a window on the starboard side so we could see out perfectly. While we enjoyed the cruise through the fjords, 3.5 hours was a bit long for us. I discovered on the trip that I didn't really have a full understanding of what a fjord was-- I thought we would be going through caves or coves along the waterways. Nope. Fjords are just the type of waterway. We learned many things on the boat, including about these little towns along the water that couldn't be farther apart than one day's sailing from one another so that fisherman had places to stop when they were on long journeys. We saw a tiny little school that was in operation from 1903-1973 that had a dock off the back because many students traveled to school by boat. There was also a very talkative guide on our boat who came to our table and told us about Norwegian culture. She specifically recommended fish soup- she said it's a dish every family makes and every family says theirs is the best. She also said that at the end of a meal, when Norwegians are feeling very content, you'll see them sip a shot of aquavit, a local liquor made from potatoes. 

When we got off the boat we watched a person run through the docks- we thought they were trying to catch a bus or boat- and then the police came running after. Next thing we knew a police van pulled up and three officers jumped out running. The van drove to the end of the street to block it off. The police ended up catching the runner and were going through the bag they confiscated. It was a wild scene to watch. 

Next, Evan and I did some window shopping along the water, stopping in outerwear and jacket shops, trinkets shops (they love trolls here!), and fur shops. Did you know you can buy a reindeer fur as a throw blanket? 

We went to Bryggeloftet and Steune- the oldest run family restaurant in Bergen- operating since 1910 but there was no space because of the service industry strike that was currently happening. We pivoted and went to Bryggen Tractursted, which was established in 1708 and is one of the oldest wooden houses in Bryggen. The interior and exterior were so charming and there were animal furs on every seat. They brewed many of their own beers and Evan found a raspberry ginger beer of theirs he really liked. The restaurant is known for making traditional dishes with a twist. They were hosting a party that night so couldn't seat us right away but Evan and I played dice and enjoyed a beer while waiting. 

We started with reindeer tartare (I had been wanting to try reindeer the whole trip and this DID NOT DISAPPOINT) and the fish soup- it's cream based and it reminded us of the coconut milk based soup from Thailand. We both loved it! Then we had the baccala which neither of us preferred. I've had this fish in Italy and liked it MUCH better there. It was odd because this restaurant said they are only 1 of 2 restaurants in all of Norway allowed to serve the baccala, a traditional Italian dish. Maybe Italy hasn't audited them in awhile? We also tried spiced pickled herring that was wrapped in a crepe with mashed potatoes and red onion- this had such a great combination of flavors because of the warm cinnamon and clove from the spice and the acidity from the pickling. We also tried a stockfish dip with onions and bacon because this restaurant is one of the only ones in town that always has stockfish (a very traditional Norwegian food) on the menu. We didn't love the dip, but we were glad to have tried the stockfish. Then we had a brown cheese tart for dessert, because we kept seeing this type of cheese everywhere and were intrigued by it. Our server told us it is very popular in desserts because it has a carmel-y flavor. We really liked it and were glad we can say we've tried it. 

And finally, because we were content, we ordered a flight of Aquavit- 4 modern flavors to sip. One was salted popcorn, one was herbal, one was dill and one was Christmas spice. Evan and I looked like we were sipping alcohol for the first time in our lives when we tried them! While we appreciate the tradition, after we each sampled a sip of each aquavit, we shot the rest quickly to finish them off. Cross your fingers no one saw.

One of the other servers came to our table to ask how we liked the aquavit- he was maybe 19? He told us all about how the traditional flavors are all basically made the same way, they're just aged for different amounts of time. He said the modern ones are newer (shocker). When I asked if each family had their own recipe, much like the raki makers in Albania, he said no. It's illegal to make your own alcohol in Norway and making the aquavit is a really difficult process. He also told us that once you graduate high school it's tradition to pimp out a bus with all of your friends and decorate it, add speakers and alcohol and then throw a week long party. The buses used to move from place to place over the week but now the buses stay in one spot for safety. Then the kids leave for university and try to sell the bus to the group of kids one year below them. What an interesting tradition.

After leaving the restaurant we came across a pub with a guitarist/singer so we listened to some live music (one of my most favorite things to do!) before heading home for the evening. 

How Many Trains Does It Take To Get From Oslo To Bergen?

 May 18, 2026

Today was our Norway in a Nutshell Tour (The tour is a popular travel route that combines trains, buses and a fjord cruise to take travelers through some of Norway’s most spectacular scenery in a single day. You're basically traveling from one side of Norway to the other- in our case, from West to East) 

We left our luggage at the front desk at 6am because there was a courier coming to pick it up for us. We walked to the train station and went into the grocer- We got yogurt, bananas and croissants for the train. It was a 5.5 hour ride from Oslo to Voss. The train was very comfortable and the route was incredibly scenic with waterfalls, mountains, rolling green hills and snow along the way! The route took us through some of Norway's dramatic mountain landscape and across the Hardangervidda, Northern Europe's largest mountain plateau. The Bergen Railway is considered one of Norway's most spectacular rail journeys, crossing nearly 500 kilometers between Oslo and Bergen and moving through some pretty incredible changes in landscape along the way. 

Eventually we arrived in Voss, a mountain town known as something of an adventure capital in Norway. From the train station we took the Voss Gondol about ten minutes up Mount Hanguren, climbing to around 820 meters above sea level. The gondol ride was beautiful and REALLY HIGH.

We enjoyed the beautiful views of the town and when we headed down we had enough time to walk to the town church and take a photo before waiting for the bus that would take us to Gudvangen. 

Unfortunately we waited, and waited, and waited until 40 minutes later when we were eventually picked up. Our driver told us there was lots of construction along the route and he was not wrong. It took us 1 hour to go a few miles. At multiple points we were at a complete standstill so the driver put the bus in park and was walking around talking to the passengers. For the next leg of our journey, we were supposed to board a boat in Gudvangen and take a 2 hour cruise through the fjords.

Gudvangen sits at the end of the Nærøyfjord, one of the narrowest fjords in Europe and part of the UNESCO-listed West Norwegian Fjords. 

Unfortunately we weren't going to make it because of the bad traffic. 

 In fact, we ended up being so late that our driver dropped us at another bus station where we were picked up by a driver who took us the rest of the way to Gudvangen and then ushered us onto another bus that took us to Flam. 

The little village sits at the end of the Aurlandsfjord, surrounded by steep mountains, waterfalls and fjord scenery. It's also the terminus of the famous Flåm Railway, so despite its tiny size, it gets quite a bit of attention from travelers.

We had exactly 1 hour in Flam which was such a bummer because the town was SO CUTE. We both agreed we would love to go back and that it is highly worth a visit. There are tons of vendors (food and trinkets) and this really cool brewery that's themed like Gaston's beer hall in Beauty and the Beast. It's so cozy and has the perfect vibes for a cold winter day. The food was 10/10 and they were quick because at this point we only had 40 minutes before we had to get on our train. Evan had sausages with lingonberries and I had tomato soup with salmon chunks and homemade crusty bread. We shared a beet, cauliflower and microgreens spread that was so hearty and delicious and because it was a brewery we each tried a hefeweizen. I ate in record time- less than 20 minutes- which is a feat for me. 

We snapped a few pics, marveled at the landscape and hopped on the old fashioned Flam railway.

The Flåm Railway is only about 20 kilometers long, but it climbs dramatically between Flåm and Myrdal, passing waterfalls, steep mountainsides and 20 tunnels along the way. It's also one of the steepest standard-gauge railway lines in the world, with much of the route running at a 5.5% gradient. 

It was like something straight out of the 70s with orange fabric covered wooden seats that looked out the windows. The railway was very scenic and had informative clips throughout the hour long ride. 

At one point, the train stopped and we were allowed to get out for a photo opportunity at Kjosfossen waterfall, a massive 93-meter waterfall that is one of the highlights of the route.

And then something very mysterious happened. The woman of the mountain appeared. According to the legend, the huldra is a seductive forest spirit from Scandinavian folklore who can lure men into the wilderness. She danced for us as we all looked on in wonder. Then, just as mysteriously, she vanished. 

We continued on our journey and eventually arrived at Myrdal, a tiny mountain station with no road access. Myrdal is essentially a railway junction in the mountains where the Flåm Railway connects with the Bergen Railway. At one time Myrdal had 110 inhabitants but now has none. We waited in the tiny station for our final train of the day. 

This final 2.5 hour train will deliver us to Bergen at 915pm, about 15 hours after our journey began this morning. Cross your fingers our luggage is waiting for us when we arrive.

The train ride to Bergen was beautiful, too. We traveled through mountains and tunnels, with much of the route following the water. It was one of those rides where we kept looking out the window even though we'd already been traveling for hours because the scenery was just too good to ignore.

When we arrived we were a quick 10 minute walk to our hotel. Check in was quick and our bags were waiting for us- score!
After almost 16 hours of travel (how is the sun still shining at 10pm?!) we were ready to find a bite to eat. We found a kebab place right down the street, and it was exactly what we needed: quick, filling and delicious. 

On our walk back from dinner the sun was finally setting (at 1045pm!) so we crawled into bed to sleep after our long day of travel.