Christmas in Norway. What to do on Christmas here

Christmas time is here so I decided to give a little info what can you do/see/taste here on Christmas. 
As Norway is big on wintersports even without the permanent snow  there are a lot of places with fake snow where you can go skying near Oslo or take a trip to Geilo or Beitostølen where there are mountains for the real deal. If you're into iceskating then there are several places to go.  In te city center here in Oslo there is a free skating place, that is if you have your own skates but you can rent them and the price is not that expensive. 

Besides sports you can enjoy many Christmas markets not only to shop but also taste some local food and bavarages.
Speaking about Norwegian Christmas food -there are many different ways and places you can try the local Christmas food. I've asked Norwegians to tell me about their number 1 Christmas food and the answer always was Pinnekjøtt-a traditional dish made out of  smoked and dried  lamb meat mostly typical to Western and Northern Norway but gaining it's popularity through out the country. You can get it at any local grocery store or some of the local restaurants. This is usually served with traditional mandelpoteter- a type of boiled potatoes and kålrabistappe- mashed swede puree.  

Besides that pork ribs are also a traditional Christmas food.  Besides that there is the tradititonal  Lutefisk -fermented fish. This is something more traditional to Sweden and I can't say I've heard a lot of Norwegians actually eat this but this is also available in any grocery store. Now on to the drinks. In Norway I was surprised to find out that  Glühwein is not that popular and not really available in stores here but Norway has a variety of Christmas beers which are actually  quite good. Of course that depends on your taste but as I am from Latvia and we favour darker ale type beers these are pretty nice.  There is also the tradititonal Glögg which is a warm alcoholic or non alcoholic beverage -it comes in different variations . This is usually made  out of mulled wine and coniac or brandy ,heated up with honey and some fruits. All the spices are available in the grocery store as well.
The tradition in Bergen is to make a Gingerbread city  so you can also check that out. Bergen is a gorgeous place to be at Christmas.

There are also many concert and charity events you can attend and just enjoy the atmosphere here.
If you ask me what to do on Christmas in Norway here is what I would say- rent a cabin in the more mountainess area , get some food and stuff , get a Christmas tree and spend the time there. Offline. Just you and your friends  and family and I guarantee you will have the best time ever

Travelling around. The things you need to know

Norway is a beautiful country to see, but it is also not very densely populated and there can be great distances between cities and nature so there can be a lot of moving arround involved.
Usually plain tickets are quite cheap but when it comes to bus or train, it can get very expensive. You can also come to Norway by personal car with a ferry, but there are things to take into consideration. Any technical help in Norway is expensive,  so you need to have a great insurance but also be very sure that your car is up to technical challenge of driving in different terrains specially winter which is october in the more mountainess areas.
Which is why my suggestion is that you get here by a plane and rent a car. It is not as expensive as going arround with a public transport if you are more than one person and  it is much safer than going with your own car as these companies usually have better local ensurance and cover service expenses. There is also a considerable amount of electrical wehicles avaliable for rent but I would not advise them other than getting around the city because  mountains are a challange for them . As I hears from my freinds, the car lost about 20% charge by just going up the hill . So they are a good option in the city but not in the country side. If youare more fitness driven you can travel by bike. There are great routes around country and people are very tolerant torwards cycling.
The other thing is where to stay . Hotels in Norway are fabulous but also can cost a bit.  Another thing is that if you are not opting for McDonald's eating at restaurants can also be quite costly. That is why  if you are not staying in the city I suggest  mountain cabins called Hytta in Norwegian. They are usually cheaper than hotels and can accommodate more people, and they have a kitchen so you can cook for yourself.  You can book one through official sites like booking.com or others but I  suggest trying airbnb this time. Norwegians usually own a cabin themselves so you can get one for a cheaper price and better equipped. a cabin can usually cost from 50 to 100 euros and can usually accommodate 4-7 people. It depends.  If you stay in the city that can get tricky. But there are options. I recommend a Scandic hotels- they are great and have a wonderful breakfast option which can save you some money . It is also a bit cheaper to book it from their website . They have great location usually in more than one location in the city. Other than that a hotel room in Oslo for example will be about 100 euros for night, depending on where you are staying. Yet again Airbnb vil probably have cheaper options. 
If you ask me I suggest you start in one city , check it out for one or two days and then rent a car and drive up to another city, soaking up as much nature as possible. For example from Oslo to Bergen or Oslo to Ålesund. Rent cabins for an authentic Norwegian experience and also to save a bit of money.

Over Norwegian mountains- Geilo-Hardangervidda-Eidsfjod-Odda

This is quite the route but it is possible to do it in one day. As usual  we start from Oslo and I suggest you start early specially in the fall because the day is too short to see anything in the evening.  one stop you should make on your way to Geilo as we did is the Torpo stave church. This church is constructed as far as 1160. The church is very small and that is way there is a newer , bigger church built right next to it, leaving this as a tourist attraction. It is only opened in summer but church is pretty impressive all throughout the year. The best part about it for me  is the portal - the carvings are just magnificent. Hard to believe but in fact  this use to be the religious center of the region including the much bigger Ål town. This is only stavechurch that is preserved from middle ages in this region so it is most definitely worth stopping,
Next stop is just above Geilo, the Hallingskarvet mountain. Here is one of the best hiking places I have come across in Norway. There a 2000 steps built to the top of a 1600 m tall mountain where you can choose how you come down from it or whether you want to continue to a bit higher mountain. The rock steps where built by sherpas from Nepal and the hike is actually really easy and doable within 2 hours (round trip). What should be taken into consideration is that the steps can get very icy so you should have the right kind of shoes  to climb this. In a clear sunny day you are able to see Hardangervidda from the top of it.

From here we decided to go further from Geilo to Hardangervidda tourist route. As I have written about it before (check here) I won`t  focus on it here. 

Crossing Hardangervidda we come to Eidsfjord and this is one of the branches of Hardanger. Hardanger is also known as the fruit basket of Norway as most of the fruits are grown here. That is something you will see quite a lot here , people having fruitgardens. Of course that is when you will not be looking around at the breathtaking views. The tall walls of Hardanger , the blue waters of fjord are just gorgeous .  

Continuing on the road 7 we come to town Odda where the Trolltunga is located. If you have a second day to see it , do it but be sure to not do it in winter if you are not experienced enough and do take in consideration that the hike in total may take 8 hours so  if the day is shorter than that I do not recommend it. For full hike click here. 

If you do the one day trip you and the daylight is still there you can check the other Hardanger tourist route and see the waterfalls near Odda on your way to Oslo. If you don't turn back and do a round trip via Drammen you can check out the Heddal stavechurch- the biggest in Norway, which is lid up so it is possible to see it in winter as well.  Also take into consideration, the temperatures in the mountains are much lower and wintertires may be needed in the beginning of October.

The full route you will find here.

Norwegian mountains -Rondane national park

This october we did a two day trip to Rondane national park. As we live in Oslo , we started on saturday from Oslo and took the E6 road and through Lillehammer  went 300 km upwards to Otta town.  From here we drove to Rondavatnet which is the heart of Rondane national park. We wanted to hike one of the easiest  2000 m mountains in Norway  - Veslesmeden. The road to Rondavatnet was blocked approximately 6 km before  Rondavatnet . So we had to park our car and walk up to there. After that we walk those 6 km there was still 6 km hike to the top waiting for us. But the day is nice , the sky is so clear that you can actually see Jotunheim from here -the largest mountain Plato in Norway.

Rondane is Norway's oldest National park dating back from 1960ties . The name comes from Rondavatnet - the lake in the middle of these mountains. There are several tops to choose from for hiking over 2000 m . Even if you do not want to hike , you may still ho see the mountains , enjoy a nice walk and the stunning scenery and maybe even see wild reindeer.

We choose to do the hike. As expected, it was very time consuming and tiring but the view on the top is fantastic -you can see the whole Rondane. Technically the hike isnt that demanding as the path doesn't get that steep  that you have to use hands but be sure to get some hiking boots before that and be very careful with the rocks on the top as there are some loose stones where you may het hurt. I used running shoes and slipped  on a rock spraining one ankle and jamming the stone into the other .

The golden rule is that you get down from the mountain before 6 o'clock which we manage but beraly and the walk back to parking is done completely in dark.  The whole hike was about 26 km .

From there we go to our cabin in Skåbu hyttegrend - a traditional norwegian cabin for a great price and a very nice owner. There we rest for the night.

Next morning  we travel further north to Snøhetta utsiktspunkt in Dovre. This is a little viewpoint located in Hjerkinn.  Here you have to walk upwards the path 1 km . On your way there is some information given about reindeers in Norway as this lookout is supposed to be a place to safely watch reindeer.  The lookout is made by world-renowned Snøhetta desigh company - the same people to design Oslo opera house and Barcode buildings in Oslo. They got their name from Dovre Plato mountain Snøhetta. The view is fantastic and the lookout is very modern -all and all a great place to visit.

From here we travel to Rondane national tourist road. The road goes along side the Rondane mountains and offers wonderful views . The route is equipped with couple of modern viewpoints to enjoy the scenery. You can also visit an old watermill on the road. With a beautiful waterfall.

From her we travel through mountains to see  the wooden  Ringebo Stavechurch.  Parts of this church date back to 13th century and it is surrounded by a cemetery . Finding it may be a bit tricky if you come from Rondane, because it is not located in the center of Ringebo but a bit further on the way to Lillehammer.

From here we leave to see Lillehammer ,particularly the Olympic center. This is the town that people remember for different things- to some it is the place where Winter Olympics '94 took place, for me it is more about the Norwegian show Lillehammer - great  comedy show.
The town it self is not too big and located on the coast of the biggest Norwegian lake - Mjøsa.
Surrounded by mountains this was a great place to host the Olympics and there was a ski-jump trampoline built for this which rises right above the town, so some great views a guaranteed here.
Due to the lack of daylight and general tiredness we travel back to Oslo.
What you need to know taking this route is that the E6 is a great road from Oslo but the first few kilometers there will be quite a lot of toll stations and may round up to 300 nok fro a roundtrip. Rondane is not a road that closes in winter so this route is possible during the winter as well but keep in mind that for a beginner the mountains can be too dangerous to climb so do not risk it if you are not experienced in this.
  

Directions  and the route you can find here

A three day trip to Sognefjord-Hardangervidda-Jostedal

This weekend we took a tour around the biggest fjord in Norway as well as the longest in the world- Sognefjord. Located more than 300 km from Oslo in the municipality of Sogn and Fjordane , this place has the most breathtaking scenes to offer. 

We started on friday . There is a long way to go as Norwegian mountain roads do not allow to go fast as it is dangerous and the days in November are short so in order to be able to get the most out of daylight we decided to spend the night as close to our first sightseeing object as possible, So we traveled to Sogndal and got a nice cabin  50 km away from the  Nigard glacier. After  5 hours in  the car, we finally reached our destination. We spent the night in a nice traditional Norwegian cabin.

The next day we got up at seven and went to the  nearby Nigards glacier. The glacier is a part of the bigger Jostedals glacier, which is located over the mountain-es area and covers over 487 square km and reaches the height of 1600 m above sea level and at it's thickest reaches about 600 m . The branch we chose to visit is called Nigardsbreen which is located next to Gjerde town and is easily accessible by car. When entering the area you can choose to leave the car and walk for 5 km or pay 40 nok and drive up  to the parking spot  where it is only 2 km walk to the glacier.

Upon arrival you can see the impressive size and majestic coloring of the glacier from  far away . It seems to be much closer than it actually is. From the parking  you will have to hike to the glacier, but it is not a demanding hike, rocks can only get a bit slippery . When you finally reach the glacier, you will be surprised by the color of it - it is a beautiful shade of blue. This color is due to the weight and the pressure. Ice normally contains a lot of air bubbles in it, but the pressure in the glacier squeezes it out of it so it is more dense an thus blue. As it is raining the ice is slippery so we do not try climbing on it. 

Without proper equipment I would not suggest to do that. The size and the massiveness of this place is just breathtaking.  This place reminds of the processes that formed fjords, when giant glaciers carving fjords from mountains.

After that we leave for the Aurlandsfjellet national tourist road. The road is 47 km long , narrow path over the mountain plato and reaches up to 1300 m in height. The road is dangerous during winter so it closes in November because of the snow. We were unfortunate and the road was closed already. However parts of it are still accessible during winter such as the Stegastein lookout point. So we reach the closed part from one side of the road, then go down to the Lærdal Tunnel- the worlds longest road tunnel.

The design is unique - in order to help drivers with the 20 min drive and have them not falling asleep there are 3 cave-like stops  designed to resemble sunrise and split the road in to 4 sections so drivers can have a rest and continue the drive.  The tunnel is 24,5 km long and was designed in the 90'ies . Before that there were to ways to reach Oslo from Bergen- in the summer  you could use the Aurlandsfjellet road or take a ferry to Skjolden and then drive to Oslo from there.

After that we  went to Stegastein look out point. This  construction hovers over 30 m into air over 650 m height and offers a view over  Aurlandsfjord- a part of  the Sognefjord.

  After that ,the daylight is almost over and we leave for our cabin at Gudvangen.

From there the next morning we leave for Tindefoss next to Voss. The cascade is a magnificent staircase of waterfalls easily accessible from the e16 road.

We take a trun and cross over Hardangervidda- another National tourist route over mountains starting from Eidfjord and going up to a 1200 km plato ending at Ustaoset. On the way you can see the one of the most well known waterfalls in Norway- Vøringsfoss . This is one of the most  visited sites in Norway due to the amazing view from the cliffs that surround Måbødalen. The waterfall is located on Bjoreio river. The flow here is regulated by the the Sysendalen waterdamp located not that far from the waterfall.   There are 3 look out points to see the view-2min, 5 min and 20 min walk from parking. You should be extremely careful here as there are several people who have fallen to their death from the cliffs.

As mentioned before a bit further you can see the Sysendalen  dam with power plant. Also an impressive view to see. This damn was built in 1977 and is located 880 m above sea level.

from there we  finished the tourist route and went back  to Oslo. Due to the time limit and the short day time in November we did not have as much time but if we would do the same route in  august or July I would add the Sognefjellet route and Hardanger route but as it was the trip was great. There were many great sites and impressions to soak in.

Bergen: the lesser known Bergen: Toftøy power plant

Bergen is truly a wonderful city , with a lot of world- known  places tourists are eager to visit every year, such as, Brygge, Fisketorg and Fløibanen. But there are some  places how beautiful they may be yet slipped under the radar of common knowledge. Bergen has a rich history and there are a lot of things left by to remember it.
I want to start with the Toftøy power plant. This power plant was an experiment with wave power and was owned by two different  companies and had two turbines. The plant was built in  the 80`s  and destroyed by winter storms in 1988-1989. The waves were strong enough to destroy the bridge and rip a piece out of it to through it 5 m part from the bridge itself.

The destroyed bridge.

There are two sites where the turbines originally placed - one under the bridge and the other  right next to the cliff facing the ocean. Both of the turbines where removed. The site itself is an interesting, haunting place to visit, but be aware of  safety here.

Do get here you can take a bus from the center of Bergen to Øygarden right til the Toftøy stop. Make sure to check the schedule beforehand as the last bus back to the city is about 8 o`clock. To get to the location after that you should just take the Bølgekraftvegen right up til the plant. If you are coming here by car, you are going to need to park right next to this road because it is closed for cars,

resurses:

Bølgekraftverkene i Øygarden

Tur til Bølgekraftverket på Toftøy

Ocean wave plant destroyed by winter storm

Throughout Oslo- Akerselva

Right in the middle of Oslo lies the lays the main artery of industrial  Oslo- Akerselva. Where there no longer is active  manifacturing taking place, the historical sights are still there.
The river suffered from a lot of polution when in 1970ies authorities decided enough is enough and cleaned the river. Now this is a place where you can see a lot of parks and cafe's and there has even bee made a tourist route from Grønland all the way up to Maridalsvannet.
The track is about 10 km long and is a very nice place for a longer Sunday walk. There are numerous whaterfalls and parks throughout  the track as well as historic sights and bridges. The rivers flows through a neighbourhood called Grünerløkka which is noted to be a hipster area with small vintage stores and designer stores as well as cafe's.
Once a year there is also a festival dedicated to the river called Elvelangs and it is an art and light installation festival where there are numerous art installations al the way from Nydalen down torwards center. This festival usually takes place in September.

Hidden jams of Oslo -Ekebergpark

View from Ekeberg.

Located close to the Bar-code buildings thee 200 m high Ekeberg hill offers some pretty great views  as well as great examples of modern day art. Yet sometimes it feels like this park is overlooked by tourists, though locals seem to enjoy it as a nice recreational spot.
The park it self is about two km walk from Bjørvik. You can get to the park by bus number 70 or  with the 18th tram line.
This is a nice place to enjoy a walk any time but I'd recommend it at the sunset because that is when the view is most fantastic. Besides modern day art there is an ancient cemetery from bronze age , not yet excavated so you can see the historic stone fence going trough the park, looking  something otu of an enchanted forest.
I strongly suggest visiting this place just for the nice views and interesting art work it has to offer.
You can read more about the artwork here :http://ekebergparken.com/nb

                                                  

Oslo -the vibrant capital of Norway

Oslo is the capital of Norway and the biggest city as well as urban area with its suburbs in Norway as well.This is a truly vibrant city with its modern architecture with the feel of the old world, which makes it a pearl of the northern Europe.
Oslo has grown significantly during the last decade. For me that is the most special part of Oslo. It is a modern city and it proves that modern jams of architecture can be just as interesting as the old ones. This is not to say that the older parts of this city are not engaging, Oslo has many different flavors to offer. It would be a crime to describe all of it in only one post so I will dissect it part by part in a series of different articles-where to go ,the hidden jams of the city, best routes through out the city and near it.

Introduction

So there it is ! I've spent the last 9 years of my 24 year long life learning and exploring this country , the language, the culture and the land itself and I have decided to share my experience with you :) This will be my tips , my stories from Norway , different parts of it , different ways to explore this amazing country and I hope you'll enjoy it.