The day began, dear reader, as days used to, back when we worked, with an alarm waking us. Unattractive to say the least. One of the best things about retirement is waking up. I mean without an alarm. I'm not that old. I still expect to wake up.
Spoiler, most of the photos are from on board the train.
It was sort of light at 7:30am as we checked out. The best news was that Freyr, the Norse god of rain (among other things) had decided to grant us safe (dry) passage to Central Station. We also managed every pedestrian light. What a positive beginning to our almost 7 hour train journey.
But first, some observations on Bergen:
- We saw puppy school one evening and criss-crossed paths with them for a while. They were out walking in the park in formation. Except the Great Dane puppy. He was in disgrace and had to wait behind. Later, he disappeared from the class entirely. I hope it wasn't racial.
- The whole of Norway jogs. First observed everywhere in Bergen. Since confirmed everywhere in Oslo, even on icy roads and pathways.
- Hotel room doors open outwards. Be careful as you wander those Norwegian corridors.
- Norwegian TV has a lot of foreign US/UK shows with Norwegian subtitles. That in itself is not notable. What caught our attention was the breaks in the shows which run 30 ads back to back before the show resumes. Seriously, you can have a shower and make a cup of tea and not miss a minute of the actual programme.
- Don't drink wine unless you have bought it at a bottle shop. The bar, restaurant and hotel markups on wine are eye-watering! Also be prepared since shops (including bottle shops) all close on Saturday afternoon and don't reopen till Monday morning.
- Also, it rained. Did I mention that?
At the station the train was waiting, but we were made to queue at the gate. In true European style, people looked at the line of waiting passengers and went, yeah, nah, I'll just walk to the front. Or stand to the side and wait for the line to move and then muscle in.
The gates opened about 15 minutes before scheduled departure and the crowd flooded through. Happily, there was ample storage for our large suitcase and the smaller bags went into the overhead rack. We settled in for one of the more remarkable rail journeys.
Our more than comfortable seats had adjustable tables and spacious legroom. A pity we didn't find the power point beneath the seat until we were coming into Oslo. The computer battery had died well before that. The vista as we crossed Norway was, cliché, picture postcard. The snow began not long out of Bergen and continued for most of the way to Oslo. Early on, the view was interrupted by tunnels and later the photo ops were ruined by snow on the window. Seriously, it was just amazing.
 |
| Ice on the water, not smoke, and that is not fire in the sky. |
We stopped at Myrdal where those wishing to enjoy the mountain views of Flåm were required to change trains. Announcements, helpfully, were in Norwegian and English. The Flåm train was waiting on the opposite platform, the drifts of snow covering the area in between. Apparently that is one of the most picturesque rides. Not sure how it will be today in the white out.
 |
| Myrdal. It was snowing. |
There are not a lot of pictures because the window was covered in snow. However, the scenes of houses buried up to their eaves in snow, baby prams with skis at the front instead of wheels, frozen lakes and rivers, fir trees with frosted boughs and major snow falls along the way will live me forever. It is a world so foreign to my Australian life.
We arrived dead on time at Oslo Sentrum, something with which most Australians would be unfamiliar. A train arriving on time? Who knew that could be possible.
Freyr had deserted us and the Norwegian drizzle had recommenced. So, it was a damp 25 minute drag of the bags to our hotel, the Hotel Continental. Another American Express hotel. Good work Amex. This time we scored a room upgrade, free breakfasts and $100US to spend at the hotel. Also once again, it is an excellent location in the theatre district near the water.
After unpacking, sort of, we researched dinner. While the hotel is 5 star, so are the prices and dining options and we wanted something more casual after a day in transit. Prima Fila, an Italian restaurant was 5 minutes walk. We booked. Fortunately. Norway is weird, everyone seems eat early, like we do. This is a curiosity at home. These are our people. Except it restricts our food choices.
The restaurant was crowded. The service, after being shown to our table, was slow, but that was ok. Eventually we ordered. The waiter was, well, a wanker. He knew one Italian word (let's get into the one word or two argument), buongiorno, and threw it around liberally everytime he approached a table of young girls. Given he should have said buonasera, I thought he was a dick.
Dinner was fine. Bruschetta, pasta and pizza, to share. Not a complex issue, one would think. Not so. The pizza arrived unsliced and had to be sent back to the kitchen because we didn't have a knife sharp enough to cut it. The pasta arrived with the pizza. Interesting for a shared meal. No extra plate, even for the mussel shells from the seafood pasta dish, but hey, we can deal with that.
 |
| They are houses. |
No dessert, but I asked for a glass of house red after the meal. It had aged well by the time it arrived and was almost dropped in front of me, accompanied by a muttered "Cabernet sauvignon," as he then boomingly 'buongiornoed' his way to the nearby table of girls.
The restaurant had emptied significantly by this time and there were several vacant tables. It had been interesting to watch the comings and goings. A booth in the level above where we were seated, arrived to much fanfare from staff. They were all dressed to kill, suits and pearls. Flowers were produced from somewhere. We had no idea who they were and really didn't care. However, their presence clearly mattered to others.
 |
| A frozen lake. |
We also observed a patron in a wheelchair discover that the access toilet was up two steps, requiring him to have assistance from a friend and a waiter (not ours) to reach and return from the bathroom. All it would have required was a short ramp to solve the problem. Unfortunately, our own previous experience with disability access in Europe matched this. Not really hard to alleviate a lot of stress for people who are simply trying to live life.
 |
| Our bed beneath a 'monstrance'. Felt like I was sleeping on an altar. |
We called for the bill which arrived without so much as a buongiorno. Disappointing. The auto pay devices in Norway require you to input the total cost of the bill, which had been presented to Jayne. She went to push the button and the waiter was finally interested in us. "Would you like to leave a tip?" he asked. "No," Jayne replied. "Not even a little one?" he enquired. "No," said Jayne again. "Ok, bye bye." And he scrunched up our receipt, plonked it on the table, turned and flounced off.
Although I'm not a fan of tipping to cover staff who are underpaid, as in America, I'm happy to provide a tip if the food and/or service warrants it. The food was good tonight, not great, but the service was, at best, average. I should have asked why he thought he deserved a tip. He was gone before I could say buonasera.
And that was pretty much our first day in Oslo. Tomorrow snow is predicted. A lot of snow. Hence today's title, 15 Feet of Pure White Snow by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds from 2001. Enjoy.
Until next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment