Monday, February 13, 2006
I'm Back From The Land Of The Ice And Snow
I'm back from Norway, plan was, cheap flights and cheap accomodation makes a cheap holiday, well, it didn't quite work. The fact that two shots of Jägermeister set me back 148 NOK (£12.50, for the benifit of British listeners) made this sink in quickly, and the cheapest beer we found was a mere 59 NOK (£5), and even then is wasn't that nice (Ringnes, the traditional Oslo beer).
My travel companions expensive tastes didn't help me either, he decided we should spend the last night in the Radisson SAS Plaza Hotel. Now five star hotels really aren't my thing, instead prefarring smaller places where you can talk with other travellers, but man, I loved the sauna, had a great view of the sunrise.
One of my missions for the weekend was to eat something cute, posibly reindeer, or even whale or seal since Norway is one of the few places it is avaliable. But going back to Mr. Expensive Tastes, we had lobster, perhaps the most over-rated, posh crap food in the world. It's like big expensive shrimp. A saving grace was that I got to have a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale with it, but in that strange land of Norway, it came in tiny 330ml bottles...
Also on the booze front I discovered Norway has a good stock of Tuborg, the Danish classic, enjoyed by many at the Roskilde Festival, and by me in Ireland. Drink is impossible to obtain on Sundays, and the only state spirit / wine store (The Vinmonopolet) we could find, in central station, never seemed to be open. Duty Free coming back however, is amazing, the only down side being the limit of one litre. A litre of Jagermiester was a mere 100 NOK, less than the cost of two shots, and I got some Finlandia Vodka chocolates, a most enjoyable of snacks, and the sure made the flight back memorable.
Of course, not everything about Norway was drink related, I mean, I had my first go at skiing and discovered that it is a cheap and enjoyable way to pass a day, costing about £20 for ski and boot hire. If you take the T1 line West out to Voksenkollen you can hire skis, toboggans, snowboards and clothing for really low rices, and they're yours until 6 PM. I took a weekend of from descion making, so it was decided that we'd attempt cross country skiing, which I enjoyed although I found it neer impossible to manage the up hill sections. Downhill was still bloody fun, and even though I nearly broke my leg, I'll try it again some time, only while travelling with insurance. It's also cheap to get out there, a 24 hour ticket only cost 60 NOK, you can use it on the bus, train and tram system and you need to stamp it yourself in order to start it. However, I never noticed a single ticket inspector all weekend, and I'm sure the ignorant touist defense would help it making one ticket last all weekend if you claim you didn't know about the stamping orange box (Very trusting people those Norweignes), although it makes you a liar as I just told you about it.
The Lonely Planet Guide gave us a few good pointers, leading us out the the cheaper area of town, Grunerlokka where we enjoyed very authentic tandoori chicken at Punjab Tandoori and perhaps teh best kebab I have ever tasted at the Oslo Kebab and Pizzahus. The meat was first rate, the sauce brought everything to a whole new level, and we also got good pizza, which was cut into squares for some reason. While roaming the area we also found the Stargate bar, cheap beer and a wicker jukebox, I Am The Ressurection got the mandatory play, and for reasons beyond me, it also had the Adam & Joe football song. The pub also had an atmosphere slightly friendlier than the weather, the local aren't as friendly as other places in Europe and we ended up talking to / being talked at by some Afghani guy who felt he had to keep spelling out words for us.
In terms of culture it's worth going to Norway jsut to see the Vigeland Park, filled with countless lifesize granite sculptures and an immense 46 foot monolith. A massive bonus for out visit was thw two foot of snow, it was bloody brilliant! The whole city of Oslo is covered with sculptures and an art fan would be in paridise. Also worth a look is the Nasjonalgalleriet, from where Munch's "The Scream" was famously stolen by someone who jumped in through the window (Very trusting people those Norweignens). After visting Norwway I think I understand the picture somewhat better, and I believe the panic and dread the picture depicts is connected to the extortionate drink prices.
All in all, I defintly recommend Norway for a relaxing break away. The tourist infomation office outside the main station can get fantastic ratees for even luxary hotels, and days can be filled cheaply with skiing, and as for drink, just fill up on duty free and Finlandia vodka sweets.
One of my missions for the weekend was to eat something cute, posibly reindeer, or even whale or seal since Norway is one of the few places it is avaliable. But going back to Mr. Expensive Tastes, we had lobster, perhaps the most over-rated, posh crap food in the world. It's like big expensive shrimp. A saving grace was that I got to have a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale with it, but in that strange land of Norway, it came in tiny 330ml bottles...
Also on the booze front I discovered Norway has a good stock of Tuborg, the Danish classic, enjoyed by many at the Roskilde Festival, and by me in Ireland. Drink is impossible to obtain on Sundays, and the only state spirit / wine store (The Vinmonopolet) we could find, in central station, never seemed to be open. Duty Free coming back however, is amazing, the only down side being the limit of one litre. A litre of Jagermiester was a mere 100 NOK, less than the cost of two shots, and I got some Finlandia Vodka chocolates, a most enjoyable of snacks, and the sure made the flight back memorable.
Of course, not everything about Norway was drink related, I mean, I had my first go at skiing and discovered that it is a cheap and enjoyable way to pass a day, costing about £20 for ski and boot hire. If you take the T1 line West out to Voksenkollen you can hire skis, toboggans, snowboards and clothing for really low rices, and they're yours until 6 PM. I took a weekend of from descion making, so it was decided that we'd attempt cross country skiing, which I enjoyed although I found it neer impossible to manage the up hill sections. Downhill was still bloody fun, and even though I nearly broke my leg, I'll try it again some time, only while travelling with insurance. It's also cheap to get out there, a 24 hour ticket only cost 60 NOK, you can use it on the bus, train and tram system and you need to stamp it yourself in order to start it. However, I never noticed a single ticket inspector all weekend, and I'm sure the ignorant touist defense would help it making one ticket last all weekend if you claim you didn't know about the stamping orange box (Very trusting people those Norweignes), although it makes you a liar as I just told you about it.The Lonely Planet Guide gave us a few good pointers, leading us out the the cheaper area of town, Grunerlokka where we enjoyed very authentic tandoori chicken at Punjab Tandoori and perhaps teh best kebab I have ever tasted at the Oslo Kebab and Pizzahus. The meat was first rate, the sauce brought everything to a whole new level, and we also got good pizza, which was cut into squares for some reason. While roaming the area we also found the Stargate bar, cheap beer and a wicker jukebox, I Am The Ressurection got the mandatory play, and for reasons beyond me, it also had the Adam & Joe football song. The pub also had an atmosphere slightly friendlier than the weather, the local aren't as friendly as other places in Europe and we ended up talking to / being talked at by some Afghani guy who felt he had to keep spelling out words for us.
In terms of culture it's worth going to Norway jsut to see the Vigeland Park, filled with countless lifesize granite sculptures and an immense 46 foot monolith. A massive bonus for out visit was thw two foot of snow, it was bloody brilliant! The whole city of Oslo is covered with sculptures and an art fan would be in paridise. Also worth a look is the Nasjonalgalleriet, from where Munch's "The Scream" was famously stolen by someone who jumped in through the window (Very trusting people those Norweignens). After visting Norwway I think I understand the picture somewhat better, and I believe the panic and dread the picture depicts is connected to the extortionate drink prices.All in all, I defintly recommend Norway for a relaxing break away. The tourist infomation office outside the main station can get fantastic ratees for even luxary hotels, and days can be filled cheaply with skiing, and as for drink, just fill up on duty free and Finlandia vodka sweets.
