Day 16 - Stockholm

After some much needed rest, we got up and were ready to explore Stockholm. After a nice breakfast in the hotel with mom and Bruce, we discussed what we would get up to on our last day with all of us together.  Brian and Erik were flying out early the next morning and mom, Bruce and Robert were flying out to Tallinn early.  We would meet up with them the following day but today was it for all of us together.

The other decision that we made was that we would not be staying another night in the current hotel...it was just too far away from the city.  I found an okay deal at a beautiful hotel downtown.  It was a very busy weekend in Stockholm with a number of conferences...so it was not easy to find availability or an affordable rate...but we figured we would save on taxis and trains etc.

So we packed up all of our stuff and Dave, Bruce and Cadence took all the luggage to our new hotel.  The rest of us took the bus to meet them.

Just as we were walking up to the hotel, the changing of the guard was happening.  This was really neat.  The girls loved it as they marched by.  Robert caught this on video for those interested at www.foggytravels.com.

Once we were nicely checked into our new hotel "Hotel Diplomat" we took to the streets and headed for the old town section of Stockholm called Gamlastan.  Now that we were downtown, everything was a manageable walk, and the weather was nice today...a little cooler so perfect for strolling.  We walked past the Royal Palace, which was really beautiful.  There was a guard on duty that we mused about how to make him crack his grim face and stock still posture :o).  We strolled through the narrow lanes and old world buildings, popping in and out of shops.  It is a great experience.

After the old town we took the ferry across to Djurgarden and walked PAST the amusement park and instead went to the VASA Museum...which was great!  The best part was that as travel agents you received free admission, so that was 4 of us, and then Erik and the girls were free...so only 2 of 9 had to pay!  What a deal for such a large group of travelers.

The museum is really well down even though it is in fact glorifying Sweden's gigantic failure as ship builders.  The story goes that this beautiful ship sank 20 minutes into her maiden voyage in 1628 when a breeze caught the sails and blew her over.  It stayed at the bottom of the harbour for 333 years and was then resurrected with the help of archaeologists.  The museum has done an amazing job of this attraction and it was well worth a stop....even if we had had to pay!





After the VASA we headed back across the bridge to Ostermalm and went looking for somewhere for a cool beverage and a snack before we headed for dinner.

After several long walks up and back looking for the perfect spot...we settled on a nice pub style place for our last supper.  Mom was getting a little sad about our last supper together. Brian would be heading back east to Hamilton as soon as he got home, and Robert was carrying on after the trip to travel the world.

We had a nice supper together and then we headed back to our hotel to pick up the Fougner luggage.  They were staying out at the airport due to their early flights out the next morning.

We wished Erik and Brian a safe trip home and said our bigger goodbyes to Brian as we won't see him until Christmas. We then headed up to our room and tried desperately to put our children to bed.

It had been a really nice day and we were looking forward to another day to explore Stockholm before heading to Tallinn ourselves.

Hotel Diplomat

 

boys will be boys...

Narrowest street

Day 15 - Linkoping to Stockholm

Definitely behind on the posts now, but want to get this up to date as its nice to have a travel record for the future!

Today, I have to admit, was another not so great day.  It started out okay with breakfast at the hotel and then we got packed up and on the road to try to make it to Stockholm by 2pm.  Just as we got in the car it started to downpour! I've never seen rain like that.  Rob has a video of it which I hope he puts up on his blog: www.foggytravels.com.

We got on the highway and headed north.  Everyone was a bit cranky today because our sleeping habits have not been great. The drive was uneventful, but we were running late.  We figured the best thing to do was get to our hotel and drop the luggage and then drive to the rental car place and then make our way back to the hotel.  The trouble was that we didn't know how far the rental car place was from our hotel!

We arrived at the Radisson Blu Royal Park at 10 mins to 2pm.  We got unloaded and because we were in such a hurry, we just put our luggage into the storage and told the desk clerk that we were here and could he please try to find us a room with one large bed instead of 2 twins.  The Fougner car had stopped at the airport to get the lost bag so we told the guy that they were enroute too.

When we typed in the address for the rental car drop off, it was close...thank goodness.  Off we zoomed and with a fluke wrong turn we ended up in the right place for the car return, which was in the underground parking area of the Sheraton Hotel.  We dropped off the keys at the Sheraton front desk and then headed to the concierge to get some help with finding our hotel.

Unfortunately, it turns out that our hotel is a long long way from downtown.  It was not on any of the maps of the area so finding our way back was going to be a challenge...and we had 2 kids, the stroller and the car seats to contend with.

A taxi seemed excessive, so the very nice concierge guy gave us transit directions.  It turns out that we had to take the commuter train to a certain stop, and then the bus from there.

The commuter train only leaves so often as well, and the tickets were not cheap.  We finally make our way onto the train and arrive at the station where we are to catch the bus.  Apparently the walk wasn't too long, but with no map, we didn't want to risk getting lost.

As we exit the train station, we see our bus go by...and its really hot out I should mention, so everyone is hot and tired and cranky at this stage.

We wait for a long time and don't see another bus, so finally we catch a taxi and get dropped off at the hotel.  It has now been over 2 hours to just drop off the darn rental car...the girls are going a little bonkers...and I'm at my limit too.

We go to check in and the guy tells me that they have no rooms with 1 large bed...after he gives me a lesson on the widths of the twin beds in europe (after which I felt like clawing his eyes out) and tells me basically that we are not as important as his group arriving tomorrow (after which I felt like wringing his neck), we head to our room and discover no air conditioning and a hot room.

We were to go for dinner this night with relatives on my mom's side who live just north of Stockholm.  When we get in touch with mom, we are told that we have about 20 mins to get ready before heading out again.  I have to admit, we were just all at the limit by this stage.  After showering and dressing 4 people, in a hotel room that is scorching hot...we are not really a happy group.

Eventually the stress of it all and the rush to catch the bus (which we were not excited about getting on after spending the last 2 hours commuting out of downtown), I finally lose my cool and pull the plug.  The girls have not napped, we have not napped...its a recipe for disaster.  The Fougner clan head out for dinner and we go back to the room to chill out and have some much needed down time.

After a couple of hours of trying to nap, we finally give up and decide to head out for dinner.  We decide to take a cab, not wanting to face transit again.  This was a big mistake.  Its hugely expensive and we are a long way out.  The cabbie also takes a wrong turn and has to back track, and then in the end he charges us extra for the kids seats that he forced us to use.  I gave him a piece of my mind much to Dave's chagrin!

Our dinner was lovely, it was the best part of the day...its just too bad that it was so hot.  We ate at VAPIANO which is this great pizza/pasta restaurant.  You get a card as you enter, and you go up and order from all the various bars...and then you charge it to your card.  When you're finished, you take your card to the check out and pay.  The food was amazing...and it definitely seemed to be a hot spot for young people and families too.

After dinner we decide to brave the train again, we arrive just before one is leaving, so the timing is good...when we arrive at our stop, we head up to the bus stop and its not too long before one comes along.  After what seems like forever, the bus stops and the driver tells us all to get out.  Dave and I look at each other and then back at the driver in dismay.  "Where are we?" I ask.  We are nowhere near our hotel from what we can tell.  Apparently the train station attendant had given us the wrong instructions and we had taken the bus in the other direction.  We couldn't believe it!  The next driver coming on was nice enough not to kick us off and let us ride in the other direction to our hotel.  I think it was after 11pm by the time we got back.

What a day...we decide that we have to find another hotel as staying this far out and commuting in and out just want work for us.

After this incredibly long and arduous day we head up to our scorching hot room and go to bed....after rearranging all the furniture to suit us and the children!

Day 14 - Kalmar to Linkoping

A bit of a late start today...we had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel before getting packed up and ready to go...today was glassworks day.

We headed east towards Vaxjo and started stopping into the glass shops along the way.  We stopped at Orrefors and Kosta Boda, and then a number of smaller ones too.

I had hoped to find something really neat in this area as I had found one in Italy that I loved and that is now is in our living room.  To be honest though, nothing really struck us.  There were lots of beautiful pieces, and lots of beautiful glassware...and there was lots of very strange things too (glass vaginas and dildos! that was a strange shop!), but nothing that Dave and I loved enough to bring home unfortunately. 

When we stopped at Kosta Boda, we decided that Dave would take the girls to the Moose Museum nearby instead.  We thought this would be a neat thing for them as there are millions of Moose in Sweden and they say that the Swedes have a love hate relationship towards them...the hunters love them and drivers hate them.  Apparently on average 80 of them get hit a day on the roads.  Made for some white knuckle driving for us as they are big animals.  So Dave takes them to this museum and Rob went along with them.  Apparently it was quite the sight.  Not only were there moose to see live, but they had a number of stuffed displays too...one of them being a moose that was hit by a car.  I don't have the picture, Rob does, of this stuffed moose of the hood of a car...anyways, poor Cadence, it was all she could talk about..."mommy, there was this dead moose that had been hit by a car"...it took us some time to get her to agree that it had not been real.  yikes! For the record, Dave and Rob both liked it and the girls did like seeing the moose, so it was a worthwhile stop in the end and definitely good for a laugh and for some photos ops.

We had a fair ways to drive today too, but after the late stop and the glass stops its was getting close to 5pm. The area between Kalmar and Vaxjo is where the majority of the glass shops are and its only about a 30km drive between the two, so we had really made not progress driving wise.  We had to get to Stockholm by 2pm tomorrow to drop off are car and in order to break up the drive, we were trying to make it to Linkoping tonight and it was over 200km.

It was a nice drive for sure, but for some reason the main highway was alluding us so we were often stuck behind people for long stretches of time on this 2 lane highway.

We arrived in Linkoping around 7:30-8ish and had a heck of a time trying to find our hotel...firstly it was in a car free zone (but finally we figured out that you just ignored those signs) and the other thing was that we had booked at the Radisson, but just that day it had switched to Elite Hotels so the sign was gone making it even harder to find!

The Elite Stora Hotel was right ont he main square though, and it was beautiful. It was a little tired for sure, but amazingly grand. The lady was nice enough to upgrade Dave and I to a business class room and so we had a huge bedroom suite.

We decompressed a little before hitting up the square.  The main squares here are electric...they are full of huge sections of tables and chairs with large umbrellas over them, they have heaters and blankets and are always packed with people.  It is really a neat way to enjoy the city and the outdoors.  Vancouver could really step it up on the number of outdoor eating opportunities.

We at at a tandoori restaurant and I swear it was the best meal that I've had in ages let alone on the trip....it was abslutely fantastic.  A number of us had the tandoori chicken with bulgar...yum!

The other interesting thing about this town was that there were thousands of birds on the roofs and then all of a sudden, they would all take off and swoop and sail around the square the roof tops before settling down again and starting the process all over again.  It was beautifula and spooky at the same time.  The girls were absolutely fascinated by it.

After dinner I took the girls to bed as my back has been giving me some trouble, we watched some tinkerbell before going to sleep. Not sure what time Dave crawled in from being out with the boys...don't want to know really!

Day 13 - Stockholm to Kalmar

We got up early this morning and got packed up.  We are not getting enough sleep these days and what we do get is not great as we normally have a child draped all over us or kicking us in the face.

We wanted to take the 7:10am shuttle to the airport to give us enough time to check in for our flight at 8:30am to Kalmar.  Kalmar is in the southern part of Sweden and is home to the glassworks area which mom and I really wanted to sea.  It also has great beaches and so we had convinced the boys that this would be fun.


We landed early and picked up our rental cars.  Mom and I went to get some information on where to go in town and where to find a hotel as we had not pre-booked anything in for this night.  As the bags were loaded into the car it was relized that mom's suitcase has been left at the Stockholm airport. Soooo...we had to track that down before we could get going.  The police had seized it of course, but they had it...so off we went.

We tried to follow each other into the centrum, but the Fougner car followed a similar vehicle to a supermarket so we ended up getting seperating...not a good start to this day!

Dave and I decided to go to the centrum and find them there, it didn't seem like that big of a city...then if we needed to we could find wi-fi and facebook them or something.

Luckily as we had pulled over to check out a hotel, I saw them drive by and starting honking...reunited hooray!

Kalmar is a lovely city, we had a nice time walking around, we stopped at a nice place for coffees and danishes and wi-fi.  We found another hotel and so the Fougner car went off to check it out.  Dave and I and the girls strolled around some more and checked out some stores.

We ended up staying at a nice big hotel right one of the main pedestrian streets.  The other place that was out of the core was actually cheaper to start, but was more of a hostel, and once you rented sheets and everything else, the hotel was cheaper.

It was a big old hotel and it was nice to be in the centre of things.  With the hotel sorted out we strolled through town a little.  We went to the old town to check out the castle and then walked over the the gardens that was listed in the book.  Everything was really beautiful.

We then headed to the Island of Oland which is east of Kalmar.  Its a quick drive over a very long bridge.  We found a nice place to have lunch and Dave ordered this neat dish that was surprisingly good...it was a Pyppa Salad with hashbrowns and ham and egg and beets....really yum.

After lunch we headed to the beach.  Today was a rare sunny day and so a good opportunity to dig out our bathings suits and sunscreen.  Mom and Bruce napped while the rest of us went for a swim and sat in the sand.  The boys actually found this crazy trampoline thing and had wars on it while Avery enjoyed the freedom from her diaper by first peeing on the grass and then a very short while after on the sand.  Fantastic! 

Cadence was very brave and waded right out into the water with her dad and uncles. Her start at the beach hadn't been great as she had walked through stinging nettle somewhere on the way to the sand...but after getting that cleaned and ointment put on, she was happy to play in the water with the little fish.

After the beach it was back to the hotel to have a quick nap before getting cleaned up and ready for dinner.  We headed to the central square and found a great spot outside to eat.  Dinner was great and mom and Bruce very generously took the girls back to bed for us so that we could stay out with Robert and Brian for a drink. 

The main square was really hopping, we couldn't believe all the people out.  We didn't stay out too late but enjoyed a couple good beers before heading back to our hotel.

Day 12 - Flam to Stockholm (via Bergen, Norway)

Mom, Bruce and the boys all left around 6:30am this morning...we didn't even hear them go.  We slept in and then had some breakfast.  After packing and tidying up we got on the road towards Bergen (west on the coast).  We wanted to get there early enough to walk around a little before our flight left that evening.

The drive was beautiful but fairly uneventful.  We passed lots of watefalls, and went through countless tunnels.  We might have been in tunnels more than we were out of them.  Dave and I couldn't believe the amount of money that must have gone into this type of infrastructure.  Not only do they bore right through for highways, but they also have a whole series of tunnels for the train system.

We had lost the gps when the Fougner car went off to Odda, so we were navigating on our own at this stage.  We had no trouble following the signs for "Centrum" in to the heart of Bergen but as we entered the city...the heavens opened and it started to pour.  We pulled off and found a parking spot and had a quick lunch in the car. 

We had left our raincoats out, but this rain was crazy!  We didn't want to miss out on the opportunity to see this place, so we ventured out.  We strolled around and dashed in and out of shops to stay dry...to no avail!  We ended up having to buy some umbrellas to help keep us dry.  Eventually after some gruelling time fighting off hoards of tourist and the weather, we successfully hunted down a coffee shop, Kaffemisjonen, with AMAZING coffee.  We had a nice hot drink and some snacks and took some time to regroup.

When we re-emerged the rain had subsided slightly, we visited some more shops and there was really some nice stuff.  The Norwegian sweaters were lovely and the home stores had some really neat stuff.  I wish I had more room and more money!!

We figuredit was time to start heading to the airport, we made one last quick stop and a shop (ZUMM Design) that we had seen on the way from the car...it was a store with handmade clothing for kids and women...she had the most adorable children's coats and fleeces, and the women's wool coats were stunning!  We couldn't resist buying a little treat for the girls for Fall.

We then hiked back to our car and attempted to head to the airport.  Not an easy feat with road closures and no map or gps!  After many failed attempts we did manage to get directions and get out of town and to the airport.  Unfortunately we were now cutting it a bit close.  We pulled up to the aiport just before 5:30pm and got checked in and our luggage dropped.  We didn't have time to fill the car or take it to where it needed to go, but they seemed okay with it thank goodness!

The line for security at the aiport was extremely long...Bergen appears to have outgrown its aiport in a major way.  It was mayhem and disorganized at every turn.

After getting through security, we had more chaos at the gate with a very rude lady from our airline, it was so bad it was borderline comical...she was so stressed she was being mean to everyone on our flight! This airport has some work to do on customer service and perhaps expansion.  Did I mention that the security line was all the way down the main stairs and across the whole lobby...luckily with children you can bump the line! I think I did mention it...but its worth mentioning again!

We landed in Stockholm Arlandia and took the shuttle to the our hotel at the airport.  We were flying out early the next morning so we didn't think it would make sense to trek all the way into Stockholm and back for one night.

We had a very late dinner in the hotel restaurant and then put the kids to bed.  Erik was nice enough to watch the girls for us so that we could have a drink with mom and Bruce....then it was our turn to head to bed.

Day 11 - Lom to Flam

Sorry for the delay in getting up a posting!  We have been in remote areas and then just really busy!

Day 11 was an amazing day!  This part of Norway is absolutely spectacular.  I'm so glad that we made it up to this part of the country.  We woke up in Lom...it didn't even get dark last night by our calculations.  We have had a significant amount of daylight on this whole trip which has really thrown us all off in terms of eating and sleeping schedules!

When Dave and I went to bed at close to 1am last night...it was not dark, I actually think it was getting light already!

We woke up in Lom and had a nice breakfast in our cabin.  Dave went out and got coffees, and a little later Bruce went out and bought some delicious danishes from "the best bakery in norway" Bakeriet i Lom.  Super yummy!  I'm sure the bread is amazing too.

We then got packed up and headed up to look at the Stave Church. It is one of the largest and most beautiful stave Church's of Norway according to "Visit Norway".

"The church dates to approximately second part of 12th century, but was rebuilt into a cruciform church during the 17th century. The chancel was decorated in 1608, and the nave was enlarged towards west in 1634. The cross section was added in 1663, but this was made in stave like frame work. A complete restoration took also place in 1933, and a smaller one in 1973. This stave church is actually one of just a very few stave churches of which the original medieval crest with a dragon head still survives."

It was beautiful and the surrounding cemetary was really  neat to walk through.

After the church we headed over to the grocery store to stock up on lunch and snack food for the day...then we hit the road.

The first part of the drive was really mountainous yet green, and was filled with waterfalls.  As we climbed upward, the terrain started to shift somewhat to more baren and rocky with snow and glaciers.  The road we were on closes from mid Fall to Spring and you can see why...the water that we passed was still mostly frozen in June.

After we reached what appeared to be the summit, we started to come down into a very lush and almost tropical area. It was humid and felt like a rainforest.  It was amazing how quickly the terrain had changed. 

The vistas were absolutely stunning the whole way along...the only damper on the whole thing was that the weather was not really in our favour.  We can only imagine how much MORE beautiful it would have been if it had been a clear day.  Unfortunately the rain followed us from Lom all the way to Flam...it wasn't consistent, sort of rain and mist all day :o(

After the descent, we headed into what is known as the fjords.  Again, slightly different terrain again...and also what was amazing was the number of tunnels that we came across.  They just bored right through the rock to make the highway run its course. 

I completely lost track of how many tunnels we went through.  The most fascinating one for us was the 26km tunnel right before we reached flam.  We took a short ferry ride and then very quickly came across the Laerdal Tunnel.  It claims to be theworld's longest road tunnel.  It was amazing.  It was strange to be underground for so long in the dark.  They do break up the drive with a few large opening with bright coloured lights.  The girls love the colours, but it caused them to ask if there were colours in every single tunnel thereafter...which was lots!

We reached what we think was Flamsbana at around 6:00pm and Bruce whipped us up some yummy pasta for dinner as we were staying in an apartment above a souvenir shop.  This little town is small, but very nice and is where the railway from Myrdal ends and the boat excursion starts for the well known "Norway in a Nutshell" tour.  We had looked at this option but decided that driving the way ourselves was the way to go.

We stayed at the Flam Ferdaminne which was a little pricey but was lovely and spacious for the 9 of us...so overall good value. It came well equipped for cooking and had a few nice eateries nearby.  After dinner Dave and I and the boys headed to this amazing pub for a beer.  It was designed to look like a Stave Church and it was absolutely stunning.  It had a large internal fireplace with sunken seating and beautifull carved chairs.  It could be picked up and dropped in Whistler...it would be perfect there!

After the beer we headed back and headed to bed.  The boys had an early start as they were driving south to visit Odda where Bruce's grandfather had been from.  We were headed to Bergen directly to do some sightseeing.

Day 10 - Oslo to Lom (via Lillehammer)

Unfortunately today's start was very frustrating. We had to pick up our rental car and the plan was to drive to Lillehammer for lunch and then complete the rest of the drive North to Lom in the afternoon.

The car rental places open at 9am. We had one car booked at the downtown office and our car was booked at the airport. Unfortunately the airport in Oslo is about 49km north of the city.

Bruce and Dave left at around 8:30am to get the car from the downtown Europcar office, with the plan of then driving to the airport together to pick up the other one. The first car pickup went fine...no issues...no passport required.

They then drove out to the aiport...it is a long drive and the traffic was heavy. We got a call from them at around 10:30am telling us that they were insisting on seeing Dave's passport. It had taken them so long to get there that driving back to the hotel and back out again would have taken hours, so they figured that the best way to deal with it was to fax a copy.

We faxed a copy to the Radisson Blu at the airport (who were being very helpful) as we were unable to send the fax through to the Europcar office. I then called Europcar directly to tell them that their fax was not going through, the lady gave me an email address. Rob and I took a picture of his passport and emailed it to her.

Well, it turns out that the email address she gave us was wrong, and the fax that we had sent was "not good enough"!

So we had her send us an email, and we replied to them with the picture...well they couldn't open that!

Finally they let them go after much pleading from Dave. They finally got back to the hotel to pick us up at close to 1:30pm...so unfortunately our whole morning had been shot by their strange insistence on seeing a passport. Dave has learned his lesson about always carrying his passport...but what is weird is that we hadn't had to show one in Copenhagen and the Europcar office downtown hadn't insisted on seeing one that same morning.

We are finally out on the road, the traffic is horrendous on the way out of town as their was lots of construction and congestion.

It opens up after the airport...again...and about and hour or so out we stop at a nice picnic spot on the side of the road for lunch. The weather had turned to rain again unfortuntely, but it holds off slightly for us while we eat.

We finally reach Lillehammer at around 4pm. Lillehammer is a really nice place. It is sort of like an Aspen Resort. The prices here are very high, but they have really nice boutiques with beautiful goods in them. We grabbed coffees and walked around for awhile.

We then headed up to the Olympic Park to have a look at the ski jump area and arena. It was pretty neat.

We phoned the hotel in Lom and told them that we would not be in by their requested 6pm, and then we got back on the road headed for Lom.

The drive north is really pretty. It is very reminiscent of BC. We were on the E6 all the way until Otta, and then we started heading West on the 15 to Lom. We were staying at the Nordal Turistsentre in Lom and it was really neat. They have a hotel and also a selection of cabins that you can rent. We had rented a 3 bedroom cabin and it was fantastic. A bit expensive at $400/night including sheets and towels, but it was neat to all be under one roof. The cabin was neat and clean and all wood like a log cabin. It was really great.

Lom is a lovely place. It is small and remote and so lush. The water rushes through the town at an amazing speed and there is a cute little bridge and dyke to stroll along.

In the backdrop is the Stave Church, a very impressive structure that we would have a closer look at in the morning.

After settling into our rooms, we headed up to the Kafeteria at the hotel and had a delicious dinner of traditional fare. It was artery clogging, but the meatballs with gravy, and creamy cabbage were amazing!

After dinner we did some emailing before heading back to the cabin. We stayed up reading and drinking beer. Despite the bad start, it was a nice ending to the day.

Day 9 - Oslo

We got up a little late today...had a nice sleep in and headed down for a great breakfast in the hotel.  The breakfast that is included here is great.  Full spread of everything!

After eating breakfast, we packed up our stuff for the day and headed to the metro (T) station.  The transit system here is great.  There are trams, buses and the metro to get you where you need to go.  Although it does get you anywhere...it does take some figuring out and a large section of the metro was shut down while we were there, which made it tricky to naviage around.

Our first stop was Frogner Park and the Vigeland Sculpture Garden.  It was amazing!  An absolutely beautiful park, and the scuplture were incredible. 

Vigeland Sculpture Park covers 80 acres (320,000 m2) and features 212 bronze and granite sculptures all designed by Gustav Vigeland. In 1940 the Bridge was the first part of the Sculpture Park to be opened to the public. 58 of the park's sculptures reside along the Bridge, a 100 metre (328 ft) long, 15 metre (49 ft) wide connection between the Main Gate and the Fountain. All are clad in bronze and contribute to the Human Condition theme of the park.

 

 After the sculpture garden we took the tram downtown and took a stroll along Aker Brygge.  This was a really neat area.  This was our first really warm day and we sat down and had a nice cool drink at the waters edge.  The buildings in this area were really interesting architecturally.

After Aker Brygge, it was time to head to the Opera House.  Erik's flip flops had unfortunately come to the end of their life, so it was a very long walk!  We strolled along the water and had some yummy polish hot dogs wrapped in bacon (the specialty here I gather as you can get them anywhere...they are delicious!).

As we neared the Opera House, it was really awe inspiring.  It is truly an amazing building.  The angles on it are fantastic.  From every vantage point you get a different view of the building and it constantly changes...really cool.  We headed over to get inside and really have a good look.  It was truly impressive and worth the visit for sure.

After the Opera House we had to head back to the restaurant from last night to get Avery's raincoat, then the girl's were getting really sleepy so we had to head back to the hotel to give them a nap.  It was around 5pm by this point, and Dave and I figured that this was now our only opportunity to go get some laundry done.  It was starting to get a bit dire by this point as we have been travelling for sometime now and kids are messy...let's face it!

Online I found what looked like a really neat place to do our bags of laundry.  It was called Cafe Laundromat and it was supposed to be a neat restaurant with books and beer and meals.  So Dave and I loaded up all of our laundry and hopped on the bus in search of the cafe.

When we got there we thought we had made a huge mistake and that maybe it was just a cafe with laundromat in its name.  After some stealth searching, we found a series of machines tucked into the very back of the cafe.

The concept was really awesome. You can eat and drink and read books and surf the net, all while doing your laundry.  Dave and I had a couple of beers, we shared a pizza early on during the wash cycles, and then a delicious turkey burger later during the dryer run.  We just read and surfed the net and chatted, had a really nice time actually, and I just ran back from time to time to check on the cycles, and switch over the loads or fold things.

Cafe Laundromat is open seven days a week (7am to 1am M-F & 10am to 1am SA-SU).  They don't sell soap unfortunately, and the machines only take 10kr coins.  So you don't have to bother the bar too much it would be good to bring both.  We were there on a Sunday and had no soap, so luckily someone had left some behind as stores are closed on Sundays.  Anyways, we would recommend this place whether you have to do laundry or not...the food was great at the atmosphere was really chill...kind of a bit bohemian.





We finished up and were back to the hotel at around 9pm.  As we got there the girls were just finishing dinner outside with grandma and grandpa.  We headed up to our room with them and watched some tv and hung out before heading to bed.

After our full day in Oslo, we've re-evaluated slightly and have decided that its actually a pretty great city overall.  It has some wonderful neighbourhoods that we truly enjoyed exploring.

Day 8 - Kristiansand to Oslo, Norway

It was another early start after our long ship ordeal the night before.  We had stayed at the YESS Hotel in Kristiansand which was perfect because it was more of a hostel than a hotel and it included breakfast...seeing as we were only there for around 6 hours.  It was just a double bed with a single bunk above and a washroom. Very clean and nice.

We had to catch the train at 9:10am to Oslo.  The train station was just across the street it was a beautiful day.  All of us were extremely tired still, but we got up and dressed and fed and strolled over to the train station.  I had booked us into the family car on the Norwegian Train line http://www.nsb.no/.  It was perfect, there was a kids play area which occupied the kids for the 5 hour trip to Oslo. 

Train Kristiansand to Oslo

Upon arrival into Oslo, we headed to the tourist information centre to get directions to our hotel.  Ourinitial impression of the city was perhaps not great, and perhaps not a fair assumption this early on.  The city seemed very dirty, but there was lots under construction near the main train station.  The people also seemed a little rough around the edges....there was an edge to the city and the people for sure.  Our hotel was north of the City by quite a ways at the Radisson Blu Nydalen.  It was a really nice part of town, quiet and easy access to downtown via bus or metro (T).

We arrived at the hotel by 3pm and got settled in and had a nap.  No one really napped on the train up except Dave who has the uncanny ability to sleep anywhere!

We had checked to see if Mom, Bruce and the boys had checked in when we arrived, but they had not.  Just as we were getting up and ready to go for dinner, they gave us a call...they had arrived!

We all headed out for dinner.  We had found a neat restaurant in our Wallpaper Guide and took the metro and then walked quite a ways on the hunt for this neat restaurant.  Unfortunately it was closed, and so we continued walking and walking trying to find someplace that could take all 9 of us.  Finally just off of the pedestrian route we found a restaurant called the Mona Lisa.  It was pasta and pizza etc.  Nothing to exciting...but fine enough.  The food here is extremely expensive...actually the whole trip has been quite expensive. Meals here are between $25-30 per person.  Beer in restaurants is around $10-15 per glass.  So not cheap. 

After dinner we headed back to the hotel.  The boys headed out on the town...and weren't seen again until the wee hours!