Norway - A winter wonderland! ❤

After our trip to Iceland we were looking for the next destination to match the natural beauty of Iceland. I came across some pictures from Norway & started looking into the possible places to cover and things to do. Norway looked promising with not just natural beauty but also many new activities for us to do. The summer and winter activities were quite different. I am drawn more to the cold snowy places after living in western India most of my life. So, after experiencing the mid-night sun in Iceland in summer we got ready to face the polar nights of the Arctic Norway in winter.

This trip was before the covid chaos and regulations so it was a good time to travel. We visited three cities - 

• Tromsø
• Bergen
• Oslo

Tromsø

We began our trip from Tromsø in the north of Norway on 23rd December. It is located in the arctic circle and one of the best places to witness the magnificent northern lights.

The weather was stormy and the temperature was -10°C on the day we landed. Nevertheless, I was excited to brave the cold and walk around the city centre for a bit. 

One of the highlights of Tromsø city is the Arctic Cathedral seen at a distance in the above picture.

While walking around the city I was most surprised by the lack of snow on footpaths. 

I read later that throughout Scandinavia, many city governments have installed electric elements in sidewalks to keep them ice- and snow-free. 

Next day morning we left early for the pre-booked husky safari🐕. The huskies are well trained and it was an awesome fun group activity. My husband and I took turns in being the 'driver' of the sled. 

The same night we went on the tour to experience the northern lights. We fully recommend the Polar adventures tours. They arranged for the transport, had an excellent guide and made us comfortable while waiting for the 'green lady' as the guide often referred to the northern lights. 

Luckily, we even saw fast moving northern lights which appear to be dancing in the sky for a few minutes. It was one of the best experiences of our trip.

In our packed schedule, next was a tour to experience reindeer sledding and Sami culture. This activity was way less adventurous but totally worth the time and money. It was the first time we saw reindeers up close and also got a chance to feed and pet them. It was quite an experience to be surrounded by wilderness in snow and spend time at a reindeer camp.

After spending time with the reindeers, we got the chance to hear about the Sami culture & relish hot vegetarian stew with bread while others had reindeer stew 🦌. The Sami are the descendants of nomadic peoples who had inhabited northern Scandinavia for thousands of years. They are reindeer herders. It was a very cosy atmosphere with a small group of people gathered around fire and listening to the stories from the guide. The Sami guide also sang a joik which is a traditional form of song in Sámi music.

Our last tour in Tromsø was a whale watching tour. It was also with Polar adventures tours. The sea was rough but they managed to take us to a place in sea where we were literally surrounded by whales. 

Here is a photo from that adventurous trip. 

Bergen

Bergen is a city on Norway’s southwestern coast. It's surrounded by mountains and fjords (Thanks Google 😁). From Tromsø we reached Bergen via Oslo. From Oslo we had booked 'Norway in a nutshell tour' - with the famous Flam Railway (link below) which took us through a scenic route with stop at a waterfall called Kjosfossen.

This link gives all the required information about the tour https://www.norwaynutshell.com/norway-in-a-nutshell-winter-tour/oslo/.

This tour from Oslo to Bergen involves three modes of transport. After the train ride we had to take a beautiful fjord cruise to the next stop. We loved the views from the cruise ship. 

Finally, the third leg of the tour was a bus ride through the beautiful winter scenery to reach Bergen.

Bryggen (Bergen in English) is on the UNESCO list for World Cultural Heritage sites.

Next morning, we started our day by first visiting the tourist information centre to get some brochures & additional information. Then we took the funicular to Mount Floyen.

On top of Mount Floyen we found ourselves surrounded by tall trees covered in snow & very less tourists as we were amongst the first to take the funicular. Mount Floyen had transformed into a winter wonderland straight out of movies. We walked around a frozen lake, clicked a lot of photos & looked at the city view from the top. 

Next, we wanted to spend some time indoors as it was quite cold. We found the perfect place back in the city. There was a temporary exhibition of gingerbread houses. We had never seen anything like that before. Especially the level of detail was quite interesting.

We left Bergen with the memory of the lingering sweet smell of the gingerbread houses 💓.

Oslo

After spending amazing time in nature at Tromsø & Bergen we were back to the capital of Norway, Oslo with a direct flight😄. As it was Christmas time, we found a Christmas market called Winter Wonderland in the city centre. However, exploring the city and reaching from one place to another was perilous as most of the surfaces in the city were quite slippery and I did slip a couple of times. 

Next on our list were some interesting museums. Normally we avoid museums but these sounded different & also had some exhibits outside. First was the Viking Ship Museum. It has three wooden, 9th-century Viking ships on display, plus some artifacts.

Next, we visited the Fram museum and the Norwegian Maritime museum. 

Being the capital city Oslo has many interesting looking buildings (the barcode project), restaurants & even a place called Icebar where everything is made of ice including the seats and glasses to drink. 

With our hearts full of new memories, it was time to go home and back to the routine of everyday life. 

Norway enriched us with new experiences, new vocabulary, new culture & ability to handle the extreme cold better (with layers & foot warmers 😄).

We fell in love with Norway's scenery and would love to visit it again some day in summer to explore the hiking trails & experience the midnight sun in Norway 💖.