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Trip Start
Nov 05, 2006
1
30
48
Trip End
Ongoing
Oslo,
Norway
Saturday, August 23, 2008
After arriving at my accommodation at around midday, I was told I couldn't check in for an hour while the got the rooms ready; so I checked out some brochures and leaflets and planned out a rough itinerary. On the coach from the airport, I had read through a guide to Oslo which I'd handily picked up at the airport, and after seeing the prices, decided to only visit free tourist attractions!
Norway is very VERY expensive. London is cheap in comparison, and who would have thought anyway would say that? Scandinavia in general is expensive but I think Norway has the edge over it's counterparts. If I want to eat, I'd better save some money somewhere
Amusing (or not) hostel signage
. When I got to my room, I fell asleep, thus ruining my carefully planned schedule.
My accommodation is Sentrum Pensjonat. While I'm never keen to plug hostels on this travel blog, as I believe that whether you rate a hostel or not depends on who you're with and what happens when you're there, I have to say this was an awesome location for me (a couple of blocks away from the train station) I'd heard rumours of it being the area that prostitutes congregate at night(!) but I didn't experience this at all. Apart from being located near to a few seedy strip joints, it was fine. Also it was free of the 'great' hostel experience - bunk beds. Luxury to have your own bed! On the minus side, one toilet to each floor? WTF? Actually each floor had two but with the signage I wasn't taking any chances. (see pics)
At around 6, I went for a wander, the main purposes of which were a) to find a supermarket, my best bet for cheap(er) food and b) to find tourist information.
I found the Rimi supermarket at the station, where I discovered this was a cheaper option than the various 7Elevens dotted around, but still, you won't find a bottle of water for less than 24NOK (around £2) Extortion.
I also found the tourist information centre, which isn't a lot of use in the way of leaflets and brochures unless you read Norwegian. However, the staff are helpful, and I booked a ridiculously expensive trip (I am dreading my bill) for Monday. I've decided to do this trip, regardless of the cost, because it's meant to be one of the most beautiful trips in the world, the photography opportunities should be stunning, and it's better to go than to miss out and regret later (another lesson I've learned from my travels) You can't visit Norway and miss out on the fjords!
