I just took this photo at the Oslo Opera House on Saturday at sunset after a backstage tour (seeing the costume and set pieces for upcoming productions) and being blown away by an Oslo Philharmonic performance of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 with a powerful choir that gave me full body goosebumps. The public can walk on the roof, and you can see all the people at the very top of the building. Oslo's welcoming waterfront here is a beautiful stroll from the opera house to the Ferris wheel in front of the new Munch Museum. There's even a small sandy beach where people were swimming in Oslofjord.
I flew home in eight hours from Oslo nonstop to Newark on SAS (which just switched to the SkyTeam alliance on September 1st). Oslo is probably where your own explorations of Norway will begin or end, and since you've been hearing all about the Arctic region (under two hours flight time between Oslo and airports in the Arctic), here's some information on how to explore Norway's other exciting regions. One of my preferred partners in Norway is 50 Degrees North, and they've custom designed some great Norwegian itineraries for my clients. They also offer small group mini-coach tours often highlighting harder to reach locations where you might not want to try driving yourself. And when you book a trip with them through Nine Muses Travel, you receive extra amenities by being my VIP client!
Excerpt below from 2/15/2022 article produced by Virtuoso with 50 Degrees North can found here.
Is travel about the journey or the destination? In Norway, it’s not an either-or proposition – both are profoundly beautiful. Home to peaceful cities with alpine peaks and crystalline fjords, the Scandinavian nation claims a slew of scenic driving routes that wind through wilderness, leading to hidden villages where the air is heavenly, and the food has always been farm-to-table.
Though many travelers enjoy the company’s self-drive itineraries, road trips abroad can be unsettling, especially in Scandinavia’s most-mountainous country. Particular routes – Trollstigen for instance – can traverse 11 hairpin turns, while Sognefjellet crosses the region’s highest pass. Enter 50 Degrees North’s premium tours. Having an expert to navigate (and pronounce) those routes is a huge plus and leaves guests free to focus on the views.
Accessing hard-to-reach, off-the-beaten-path locales is also key. 50 Degrees itineraries introduce travelers to Norway’s less-touristed destinations, with accommodations in eco-friendly boutique hotels and dining at locavore restaurants to help sustain both Norway’s natural environment and its small business community.
Ready for a classic Norwegian biltur (road trip) with the occasional ferry and train ride? Weeklong tours from 50 Degrees North follow four routes in the height of Norway’s summer (late May through mid-September), when days are long and mountain passes are snow-free. Choose your favorite, or combine all four for an extended Scandinavian adventure.
Oslo to Bergen: Norway’s Tallest Peak, Oldest Church, and Tastiest Cinnamon Twists
Superlatives surround this western route connecting Norway’s capital to the coast. After free time in Oslo and Lillehammer, a drive to the remote village of Lom swaps summer crowds for hiking in Jotunheimen National Park and on Norway’s tallest peak, Galdhopiggen. Viewpoints and photo ops punctuate Sognefjellet, Scandinavia’s highest mountain pass. Snow-capped peaks and lush valleys surround the keyhole-shaped platform at Vegaskjelet, while Mefjellet showcases a cubist stone sculpture by local artist Knut Wold against Fanaraken glacier. A quick stop in Ornes reveals the twelfth-century Urnes Stave Church, Norway’s oldest.
Overnights in villages such as Lom and Aurland, rather than more-frequented Flam, help curb overtourism while letting travelers sample super-local cuisine – and meet its producers. Try Lom Bakery for some of Norway’s best wood-fired baguettes and cinnamon twists, and experience a fjord-side mountain farm, family-run Vangsgaarden Gjestgiveri, in Aurland. Plan an extra day before the road trip begins to visit Oslo Opera House’s rooftop terrace, and finish your adventure with a Sognefjord
ferry ride to coastal Bergen, where the Floibanen Funicular whisks visitors to the top of Mount Floyen.
Bergen to Alesund: Friluftsliv, Fjord Country, and Resurrected Viking Culture
Four hours north of Bergen by ferry, the coastal fishing village of Kalvag provides an ideal place to contemplate the word friluftsliv, which encapsulates Norwegians’ love of both the outdoors and the renewal that comes from spending time in remote locations. Rarely visited by international travelers, Kalvag is blessed with views of the Froysjoen strait and a historic waterfront.
A drive through fjord country dips into Norway’s past with stops at both the Nordfjord Folk Museum and Sagastad, a Viking center housing a 100-foot-long, reconstructed ship. Continuing inland, the village of Loen offers access to hikes along Jostedal Glacier or a cable-car ride to lunch atop Mount Hoven. The waterfall-rich Sunnfjord district brightens the northwest drive toward the port town of Alesund. Let a local driver handle Trollstigen’s twists and turns while you enjoy the view.
Alesund to Trondheim: Classic Routes, Family-Style Dining, and the Right to Roam
Travelers can focus on the Stigfossen waterfall and surrounding peaks as an experienced driver navigates serpentine turns along Trollstigen road. Farther north, a series of bridges twist and turn along the coastal Atlantic Road, while Eldhusoya’s elevated walkways offer uninterrupted views across the Norwegian Sea and help to protect the fragile marshlands.
Hiking is so embedded in Norwegians’ DNA that allemannsretten, or the “right to roam” law, guarantees people’s ability to explore the outdoors – so long as they tread lightly. Travelers can embrace this idea with guided hikes through farmland in Valldal and along the Rauma River in Andalsnes, traversing fjords, mountains, and waterfalls along the way. The small city of Trondheim marks both the tour’s ending point and the beginning of a nine-day Arctic Circle Traverse that culminates in Stockholm, Sweden, for anyone compelled to continue roaming.
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Danielle Dybiec
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