Tag Archives: Norway
Funniest travel moments of 2019
Oh 2019, you were a silly end to a hilarious decade. As usual, I saw a lot of funny signs this year. Best love hotel name, ever. Also, extra points for the subtlety of the logo. On second thought, this taco joint wins the award for subtlety of both name and logo. I made too […]
You can have the Viking art, I’ll be over here with the stave church
Vikings are popular these days, but please don’t invite me to that party. As far as I’m concerned, being a fan of Vikings is akin to being a fan of Isis. Like Isis, Vikings destroyed priceless works of cultural heritage (and yeah, they killed a lot of people too). I’m taking the side of the […]
How we ate cheap in Norway
When we got back from Norway several people asked me “How was the food?” and I answered “I don’t know.” That’s because, instead of seeking out local specialties and eating in restaurants, we just bought basic groceries from supermarkets and prepared the food ourselves. That’s not a romantic way to eat and it doesn’t make […]
Enough room to swing a hundred babies in Oslo’s Frogner Park
Norwegians seem to be constantly coming from, going to, or actively engaged in robust outdoor activities. Oslo is a sea of bouncing ponytails (from the almost comical amount of joggers.) The trains are full of cross-country ski shleppers. Women in their seventies are hiking with backpacks and bedrolls. There’s a national obsession with cabins (one […]
The chin-chin hairs on the rock drawings in Hell
Before we went to Norway I did a bit of research and then I emailed a tourist information office who forwarded me to someone at a museum… ….who scanned me a hand drawn map… …which directed us to a train station called Hell…. …and a short walk through a moss covered forest… …where we found […]
A slacker pilgrim’s guide to Nidaros cathedral in Trondheim
Did you know Norway has a pilgrimage? Well, I didn’t until we stumbled on it. The pilgrimage is called St. Olav Ways—“ways” because you can choose one of several routes, as long as you end up at Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim. Here I am at Old Aker church in Olso next to kilometer marker 639 (that […]
A walking tour of Ålesund’s window eyebrows for you, my fellow off-season tourists
Norway’s tourist season is mid-June through mid-August, meaning that’s when most attractions outside of Oslo (besides ski hills) are open. Traveling here in April has been a relief after over-touristed Portugal, but you should know about the challenges too, particularly in Ålesund. Our main reason for visiting Ålesund, a windy town in the western fjords, is […]
“Full Fart Forover” in Røros, Norway
Oh hey, we’re in Norway. I know, I know, why would cheapskates like us be traveling in one of the world’s most expensive countries? What happened was, I was looking at airfares online and I saw flights to Norway for $333 round-trip from Chicago. How could I resist? So I bought two tickets to Oslo with […]
Picnic at the Cathedral 