CFT Northern Lights - Oslo to Bergen

Tuesday 6 March

Up early, breakfast, collect lunch box and off to the Oslo Central Station to catch our train for the morning. The Platform is not sheltered and became quite freezing cold with the temperature at -5 C. Once aboard the heated train we all had to shed quite a few layers. We travelled through a number of towns, passed farms and some fantastic scenery. The higher we got the more white there was with snow falling and an entirely black and white colour scheme. The snow was very deep in some places.

We changed trains at Myrdal to board the Flam train, an extremely steep ride down to the village of Flam. More spectacular scenery with lots of frozen waterfalls.

Flam is a pretty little village at the head of a fjord. There we caught a ferry down stream to Gudvangen. Yet more spectacular snowy scenery with huge mountains on either side and occasional tiny villages dotted along the shores.

When we arrived in port we boarded a bus that drove us through stunning snowy farmland, countryside and towns eventually arriving in Bergen and our hotel (Clarion Connections) after dark.

Ice falls along the roadside

Wednesday 7 March

We had a free morning today so I was able to catch up on a bit of blog. We found the tower in the hotel and had some beautiful views of the town.

At midday we joined the group to walk to our lunch restaurant enjoying a delicious creamy fish soup followed by reindeer patties with brussel sprouts and potatoes.

Although we had been told we'd be having a bus tour of Bergen we were then taken on a walking tour. Thank goodness I had thrown in my ski pants which I then had to awkwardly put on in the street. I'm glad I did as I had only dressed in Sydney slacks for the bus trip.

We walked along the dock then up through the Hanseatic area - a maze of old (or replica) protected wooden buildings.

Then a short walk of a few blocks took us to the funicular railway to a lookout over Bergen. There we enjoyed the snow and the incredible views.

Photo courtesy CFT

Once we came back down on the railway we boarded the bus and were taken to the Stavkirk. This is a replica that is privately owned, the original having been bought by a man when it was demolished and sold for firewood. He and volunteers reconstructed it but vandals burnt it down. Hence the present replica built with original techniques.

Back on the bus to drive to the dock and board the Hurtigruten ship MS Nordnorge.

Dinner on board then a wander to orient ourselves followed by an introductory talk. We both collapsed into bed at the end of another long day.

CFT Northern Lights - Oslo

Monday 5 March

Unfortunately during the night Barbara was quite ill with a stomach bug so she had a disturbed night.

I enjoyed by breakfast looking out as daylight slowly broke, watching the small snow flurries drifting down. Barbara decided to skip breakfast and the day's activities so I waited in the foyer for the group to meet and had some time to catch up on diary and a bit of reading.

Onto the bus taking care not to slip on the icy street. We were taken on a bus tour of Oslo city.

Off then through suburbs and fields for more snowy scenes. We then stopped at the Viking Ship Museum. The three ships in the museum were built around 800 AD and found in burial mounds with the owners, other significant people and grave goods that included carts, cooking utensils, and other stuff.

On then to the Fram Museum which houses a large ship from the C19 used in arctic and antarctic exploration.

We drove back towards the city and stopped for a walk in the snow in Vigeland Sculpture Park where there are dozens of statues of people of all ages in all sorts of poses and pursuits. It was a magic experience to be walking in a winter wonderland but slipping on the ice is a real possibility. I used my new poles to help and they certainly added a bit of security.

Back on the bus to drive back through even heavier snow up the mountains of north Oslo to see the ski slopes and suburbs and the highest ski jump in the world. Even further up we stopped at Soria Moria for a delicious smorgasbord lunch with lots of Norwegian dishes as well as more familiar ones.

On our way back down the mountain we stopped at the Ski Museum under the tall ski jump. I did not think I'd find anything interesting there but some of the animal exhibits were quite good as they gave an excellent idea of scale.

Back to the hotel to find Barbara a little better and to pack ready for a quick getaway in the morning. I almost fell asleep over dinner again and missed dessert in favour of bed. Barbara slept all through dinner but at least she was in bed.

CFT Northern Lights - Dubai to Oslo

Sunday 4 March

A wake up call at 4 am gave us just time for dressing, final packing and down to pick up our breakfast box and head to the airport again.

After a long long walk the length of Dubai airport we arrived at the overcrowded waiting area for our flight where there was floor space only for waiting. I used it effectively. A long wait then on to our 7 hour daytime flight to Oslo. We had amazing glimpses of first the desert then the snow. Anthea and Lyle who had window seats took photos for Karen and I who were sitting in the centre section watching it on the aircraft cameras when we could. I watched two great movies - Paddington 2 and Wonder.

We arrived in Oslo at about midday and were met by our Norwegian guides. We were taken to the hotel and met again for a short walk with one of the guides learning lots about slippery patches of ice and the indoor winter culture built into the apartment buildings.

Back to the hotel for short devotions, dinner and bed for a long sleep.

CFT Northern Lights - Sydney to Dubai

Friday 2 March

I think this was on of the longest days I've ever had! I arrived at the airport over an hour early to a warm welcome by Nancie and then to proceed through checkin and customs to await the arrival of my fellow travellers.

A long wait with a few snacks and drinks saw us board the A380 after 8 pm and eventually take off around 10 pm. Of course it was midnight before we were given dinner and I was so hungry I'd have eaten anything. The 14 hour flight was dotted with snippets of sleep, a snack somewhere over the Indian Ocean, breakfast near India then eventually landing in Dubai around 5 am their time.

Saturday 3 March

After fluffing around the airport we met the Brisbane group (including Barbara) and were taken to our hotel (the Marriott) arriving at about 7 am. Barbara and I had a shower then went down to second breakfast (or was it brunch?) and thoroughly enjoyed our buffet of fresh fruit, various Arabian delights and an incredible seed bread. It was lovely to have tiny tastes of many different foods. Back to our room then to snooze until it was time to leave for our tour of Dubai at 12:30 pm.

The tour took us in seeming circles around the same sets of buildings - hotels, offices, apartment blocks and palaces. At one palace we stopped for photos. It had amazing gardens, lawns and wide promenades just leading to the entry which was a replica of the Brandenburg Gate.

Photo courtesy CFT

On then to one of the older villages. This was amazing with traditional building styles of mud rendered coral rock. I loved the "air conditioning" towers used prior to electricity and the drainage channels for the flat roofs.

Our next experience was a water taxi to the gold and spice markets. Although we are unable to buy the spices it was interesting finding out a little about each of the bundles of colour and scent. 

Photo courtesy CFT

There were amazingly huge displays of saffron in many of the shops.

Barbara loved all the gold too although I am not keen on yellow gold. There were some other pieces of jewelery that were quite stunning.

We met up with the bus again and drove out in quite heavy traffic to the beach. It was amazing to see families of burqua clad women wandering along the sand. The weather is quite mild with a cool breeze but even so no-one was in the water.

Back to the tallest building in the world and the biggest shopping mall in the world. We had a brisk walk through the crowds to our restaurant overlooking the pool and half hourly water and light displays. Our dinner was a Lebanese feast with far too much food. It was a real pity to see the waste but then Dubai seems to be built on extravagance with power, money, resources, energy and everything else. I hope when we return through Dubai that we are able to see a bit beyond the glitz and glamour of the city into the desert on which it is built. We did have small glimpses on some of the building sites and in a cemetery we passed.

Eventually, exhausted we were walked back through the mall to the bus and drove to the hotel. After packing our bags ready for an early start in the morning we collapsed into our beds.