Norway in the Summer

Situated in a quiet but central spot in Oslo, the KNA is a very suitable hotel for exploring Oslo. The KNA offers fairly standard, if a tad small, European-style rooms for a decent price. The rooms were nice and neat, and the service was great. Other offerings at the hotel include a pretty nice little gym and sauna, as well as a quite tasty restaurant and bar off the main lobby.

The best part is the location, just a few blocks from the Aker Brygge, a few from the embassy area, and a few from the royal palace. It's also only a few steps from mass transit, making it easy to hit other parts of town.

Norway in a Nutshell is a great way to see a lot of Norway in a single day. N-in-a-N offers a variety of tour options. We went one way Oslo-Bergen, the round trip might not be worth it both ways (seeing the same sights). The trip wanders through central Norway by train. In a high mountain area called Myrdal, the train stops and the tour switches to a different train. This train runs down to a fjord town, called Flam. In Flam, a ferry takes you through the fjords to Gudvangen. From there, a bus takes the tour up the mountain (STRAIGHT up it seems), so Voss. In Voss, another train takes you on to Bergen.

The tour gives you great shots of valleys, fjords and waterfalls. High mountain passes and small towns. Quite a trip and worth every penny. Plus, it's a great way to get from Oslo to Bergen.

www.norwaynutshell.com

The Norwegian Olympic Museum focuses on three tasks and does them all quite well. The Lillehammer Olympics gets a good amount of time, so you can learn a lot about putting on "the show." Norwegian Olympic heroes also get some time, showcasing the biggest winners from Norway over the years. The best part of the exhibits was probably the chronological review of all of the Olympics to date, with a historical context, important events from each game, and memorabilia from each. The site was the site of the hockey tournament from the 1994 games, so you can see what it looked like at the time (we got some aerobics thrown in!). The ski jump from the games looms over the site up on a hill and is also accessible. It does not require a long visit but is worth hopping off the highway for.

Aalesund is a unique corner of Norway. Set in a little peninsula about halfway up the coast, it makes for a nice spot to start exploring the fjord country.