Exploring beautiful Norway comes with a hefty price tag

If Norway wasn't so expensive, it might have been my favourite country on my Spar world trip. 

I nearly choked on my cappuccino of 38 Norwegian krone (more or less R50) when I saw the food prices at the airport in Oslo. Two slices of pizza and a beer at a restaurant: R130. A takeaway hamburger and chips: R110. A ready-made salad that would probably cost you about R35 at a South African supermarket: R100.

Nice meeting you Norway, but how on earth can anyone survive here on a backpacker’s budget? As I started writing this, I was looking at a poster advertising a bottle of mineral water and a nut-and-fruit bar for R63. Appetising, isn’t it?

It’s a pity that many travellers will probably never lay eyes on this beautiful country, simply because it’s too pricey. To share a dorm with seven other people in a lousy, loud, smelly backpackers in Oslo cost me R400 per night. On top of that I had to rent linen at an additional R80.

But what Norway lacks in affordability, it makes up for in picturesque scenery. Darren, Beja and Paulo, fellow Spar travel reporters, and I decided to stretch our budgets by travelling together while in Norway. We rented a car and headed to a village called Vossestrand, about 400 km northwest of Oslo.

We drove up and down mountain passes for hours: at first everything around us was green and luscious and then suddenly we found ourselves in a desolate landscape in different shades of burnt orange, brown and red, surrounded by mountains with patches of snow on top. We jumped out of the car like little children, shouting, laughing and running around, despite a sudden freezing wind cutting through our skins.

The next day we went on one of my most memorable train trips ever - from Flåm to Myrdal. Climbing almost 900 m over a distance of 20,2 km, the Flåm Railway is one of the world's steepest railway lines on normal gauge (www.visitflam.com/flam-railway/).

The train ride starts at the Aurlandsfjord at the foot of the mountains. Once the train starts climbing - with several twists and turns - the most dramatic scenery unfolds, with an "oh-my-word-I've-never-seen-something-like-this-before" moment every time it exits one of the 20 tunnels along the route. 

A single trip takes 55 minutes and leads you through and over majestic mountains, past winding rivers, thundering waterfalls and through quaint little towns - definitely something to put on your bucket list. 


On the roof of the Oslo opera house.
  

In the Buskerud county, the first stop on our road trip. 

 A road I'm glad I've travelled.
    

Cold, but happy as can be. In Sletto. 

   

At the Kjosfossen waterfall, one of the stops on the Flåm Railway.
   

 We couldn't not stop to take this photo in Lavisberget.

     

A part of the Aurlandsfjord in Undredal.
   

Want to see the spectacular sights along the Flåm Railway? Then watch this video.
   

Norway's Vigeland sculpture park not for art lovers only

“I was a sculptor before I was born. There was no other path, and no matter how hard I might have tried to find one, I would have been forced back.” – Gustav Vigeland.


If there's only one thing I'd do while in Oslo, visiting the Vigeland sculpture park would be it. I made this decision the moment I first saw pictures of Gustav Vigeland's sculptures on the web.

Vigelandsparken was mostly completed between 1939 and 1949. It's the world's largest sculpture park by a single artist and, according to the Vigeland Museum's website, the park boasts more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and wrought iron.

I headed for the park on a cold, rainy morning and spent about two hours there, but if I had the time I could probably have spent the entire day. 

I’ve never been as touched by any piece of art in my life. I could recognise myself, people I love, people I know, what we feel, and what we have felt, in almost every single sculpture in the park. I would look at a sculpture, walk away and look at several others, turn around, and then look at the same sculpture(s) over and over again. Every single time I would see something I haven’t noticed before – the concern on a father’s face, the love in a woman’s eyes, an elderly man’s frailty, the joy in a mother’s smile. 

I must admit, my knowledge of art is limited to the few quick lessons my housemate (who studied art history) gave me when I wanted to impress an art teacher I dated a few years ago. That said, I do have a deep appreciation for art and loved, for example, seeing some of Vincent Van Gogh’s and Gustav Klimt’s works in Amsterdam and Vienna. But never, ever have I appreciated art as much as I did Vigeland's sculptures.

Whether you’re an art lover or not, a visit to Vigelandsparken should be on any Oslo visitor's to-do list. 

A stamp in your passport doesn't make you a traveller

I believe travelling is not only about ticking off destinations on a list; it’s about experiencing these destinations, learning about their history, getting to know the locals, sharing stories with other travellers and, most importantly, taking time to enjoy it.

Totally against this belief, I jumped at the opportunity to go to Copenhagen for only a day and a half a few months ago. According to the initial See the World with Spar itinerary I would have spent a week in Denmark, but one of my visa applications took longer than expected and I couldn’t leave the UK without a passport.

When I finally received my visa, there were two days left before I was supposed to be in Norway. So I chose to go to Copenhagen and then fly to Oslo instead of spending another two days in London.

Yes, I can say I’ve been to Denmark. And yes, I learnt a bit about the history, I saw a few impressive buildings on a walking tour (in pouring rain may I add), I now know that you’ll have to break the bank if you want to go there for longer than one day, and I can even say I’ve sung karaoke in an overpriced backpackers in Copenhagen.

But sadly, I cannot tell you whether I liked the city’s atmosphere, I cannot tell you anything about Danish people’s habits, what they do for fun, whether I‘d like to live or work there. I also only realised how beautiful the city is as I was leaving, sitting in a window seat of the plane to Oslo.

Since I might not get the opportunity again, I won't really say that I regret going to Denmark. But if I plan an overseas trip again, I won't spent only one day in a big city. A new stamp in your passport does not mean that you’ve travelled in the true sense of the word.

The colourful Copenhagen harbour.

Leaving Copenhagen. My stay was way too short.

Finding Nessie, the Loch Ness monster

I couldn't believe my luck when I saw Nessie, the Loch Ness monster, on my Spar world trip. Watch the video if you want to see what she looks like.

Snaps of London

Soon after arriving in London I understood why so many people I know loved staying there. To be honest, I can't pinpoint a reason for liking the city as soon as I set foot in it, but I did. Maybe it's the diversity of the people, maybe it's the ease of getting around or the busy vibe, or maybe a combination of it all. 

Big Ben with its head in the clouds.

Parliament. 

A late afternoon in London.

Blue skies. Blue water. Perfect.

Facing the scary stairs

Just like I'm scared of heights, my sister's scared of stairs (yes, we're one scared family). She decided she wanted a certificate showing she is fighting her fears, so we have to climb the stairs up the London Monument (as you can see, we're one brave family too).  

The London Monument was built in commemoration of the great London fire in 1666 and to celebrate the rebuilding of the city. It's 61 metres high, the exact distance between the monument and the baker's house in Pudding Lane where the fire began.

The fire began on Sunday 2 September 1966 and was finally extinguished on 5 September, three days later. Although there was little loss of life, the fire severely damaged thousands of houses (mostly built with wood), hundreds of streets, the city's gates, public buildings, churches and St Paul's Cathedral.

It costs 3 pounds to climb the stairs to the viewing platform at the top of the tower - something I would certainly recommend.



The London Monument



Climbing the stairs. 

I think my sister Hanri feels safer on the window sill than on the stairs. 

The view.