Still high off his recent trip to Norway, guest blogger Evan Byrd would gladly travel back
to one of the happiest places on the planet!

Reeling, I sit with my airplane seat back up and tray table locked, absorbing swelling forest green hills gutted by long rivers passing through on all sides. I’m arriving in Oslo, Norway on an $800 roundtrip ticket from Newark that I had booked 5 months out. The airport is small in comparison to most but surprisingly inviting. It only takes a short while to figure out the many affordable transit options leading directly to city center.

Oslo is impeccably travel-efficient, offering various tram/bus/subway/ferry routes that rival the convenience of New York City’s subway lines. “Day” or “Multi-Day” passes provide access to all three of the aforementioned modes of transportation (save ferry, which is separate). Depending on your zeal for tourism, the Oslo pass is actually a good idea, as it allows for an all-day pass to popular tourist attractions & transportation.  Although don’t get caught without a card by one of the “tram ticket ferries,” because if I wasn’t such a good “stupid American” I would probably have gotten a ticket. Thankfully, 99% of the time, Norwegians speak English and are excited to practice with you. So don’t be afraid to ask questions!

For anyone travelling on a budget, Thon Hotel properties are affordable and have an absolutely delicious buffet style breakfast, with fresh fruit, warm pastries, omelets, salmon, and lots of other good stuff. Complimentary for guests, it alleviates the pain of having to remember to budget in your breakfast in a city that truly makes New York City look like a dollar store. My friend Ulrik once said, “Norwegians don’t care about paying high taxes but to the rest of the world we look like the Norwegian mafia!” And it’s not only my blood that the city’s too rich for, most locals I spoke with shared their preference for cooking at home and finding their own free activities (hiking being #1, which they do relentlessly).

Because of their accommodating transportation system, it is possible to be an efficient turbo tourist in Oslo. Many of the stops correspond to the actual attractions. For instance:

• Vigelandsparken (Vigeland Sculpture Park): An absolute must for art enthusiasts, bicyclists, and lazy bodies looking to picnic for the day. The sculptures are serene and the park is symmetrically appealing and clean.
• Nationaltheatretr: Near the Royal Palace and the Theatre. Also a more commercial area east of the theatre where the American footprint is clearly visible. Steer clear of the food options, ain’t nobody trying to eat at TGIFridays in Oslo!
• Bygdøynes Bus Stop: Takes you directly to the more rural and affluent Bygdøy Peninsula on the #30 bus. History buffs will enjoy the Kon Tiki museum and learning about the original discovery of Easter Island!
• Operagata Tram Stop: If not just to walk up the side wall of the Opera House, it’s an architectural masterpiece worth seeing the sunset from.

Now, I’m not one to be constrained to a city for all of my fun, nor should you given the expansive countryside Norway boasts to the west. The National State Railways offer daily rail trips for affordable rates. After Oslo, I visited my friend Ulrik and his family in Molde (mole-dee), a small town on the Western coast. The NSB took me to a town called Åndalsnes (6 hours from Oslo) and Ulrik scooped me up from the station. An hour and a half, two ferry rides, a couple of marshmallow treats, and several wondrous vistas later, we reached his home.

The Rauma Railway is the chosen route when traveling to this part of the country and it’s a spectacular ride. Norway has made a conscious effort to intertwine its railway system through, over, and alongside the mountain ranges. If you don’t have time to head into the heartland, at the very least travel to Åndalsnes located at the crossroads of the many impressive vantage points in Norway. Fjords are more prevalent here and reality quickly takes a back seat to the fruits of Mother Nature’s long and patient assemblage of Norway’s outstanding terrain.

For example, a fjord (fee-yord) is a mountain pass and bears the markings of steep stone walls and crystal turquoise water. The fjords are a result of melted glaciers which have carved the valleys of the fjords and then replaced the rivers with salt water from the Atlantic. Around Åndalsnes, with the help of a rental car or tour group, you can travel to:

• Trollstigen (Trolls Road): Impossibly engineered mountainside road curving its way like a snake nearly 3,000 feet above sea level. The view from the top is staggering.
• Trollveggen (Troll Wall): Another crowd pleaser and the tallest vertical rock face in Europe (3,600 feet). It’s dark, mysterious, and imposing mountain face looms over you as you peer up from a nearby vantage point on the lawn.
• Geirangerfjord, Eagle Road, & Flydalsjuvet: Geirangerfjord is a stunning fjord. The famous Seven Sisters waterfall is easily seen from the precipice of the Eagle Road or more commonly known, Ørnevegen, within the Geirangerfjord. Flydalsjuvet can be reached by travelling down the Eagle Road and up again past the hotel area where onlookers can actually step out, if they dare, onto a very picturesque yet precarious overhang (I was brave!)

Prepare yourself for hardy fare in Norway. It’s basically a comfort food menu and there’s nothing wrong with that! Try Kjøttkaker if you have an opportunity (with peas, which I was told is crucial by my Norwegian hosts). They’re Norway’s version of meatballs and compare similarly to Sweden’s famous creations. Be sure to hike plenty to work some of it off!

The food, culture, people, scenery, and experience all serve to envelope your mind, breath, and taste to the point of disbelief. I found myself asking Norwegians, “How in the name of Norsk Gods and Goddesses is your countryside even possible?”

So deserving is Norway for all travelers to indulge in a country rich in wildlife, meals cooked in traditional styles, monuments of international praise (Nobel Peace Center & Kon Tiki Museum), and a unified population serving each other before themselves. Ulrik once said, “We don’t think about paying taxes, we just do, it’s for the greater good.”

The happiest cities on the planet are said to be in Scandinavia where you can be greeted by an excited, “Hi, Hi!” or an afternoon invitation to scale a sizeable mountain. Hence, lending to the Norwegian’s good nature; a sense of belonging resonates within you.

With its tremendous surroundings, gushing ice-cold waterfalls, ancient stones lifted to insurmountable height, or just good company, you may keep your faculties wandering within forest green memories long after Norway fades behind jet black streams.