Norway. The Land of the Midnight Sun. The heart of Scandinavia. Sweden’s next door neighbor. With it’s never-ending mountains, idyllic fjords, snow-capped peaks, picturesque harbors, its maritime history and its arctic-circle towns, it is without a doubt one of the most beautiful countries in all of Europe if not the world. Recently, I had the opportunity of visiting this great country, and it cost me… NOTHING! How did it happen? Let us go back to December of 2017.
I was at an office Christmas party in Rockville Centre in Long Island for my travel agency, Great Value Vacations. As the evening wore on, my bosses announced a raffle for trips to Europe; they were for places that were offered on our company website. Naturally, I assumed that is was only open to managers or executives since I did not sign up for it not did I drop any money into a hat. That was when they announced the winner for a trip to Norway, and it was… Jared Schnabl?! I went from a silent wallflower to stunned and speechless. This officially became the second time in four years that I had won a free trip; first Australia in 2013 and now Norway in 2017?! Man, I wish I had this sort of luck in a casino!
Fast forward to May 2018 and I show up to the Norwegian Air terminal at JFK Airport on a rainy evening. It would be me my cousin and I for four fun-filled nights in Norway. As we waited patiently for our flight to board, we had an interesting encounter with a lovely young woman in our waiting area. She was heading out to Paris on Air France; she was going there for a week and then she was off to study abroad in Verona. Right away, my cousin took a liking to her because too studied abroad in Padua during her college years. I, however, couldn’t stop talking to her because she and I both shared a love of travel. Honestly, if it weren’t for the fact we were on different flights, I could have spoken to her all night. It’s just more proof that when it comes to travel, it isn’t always the journey, but the people you meet along the way. Even if it is inside terminal 1 at JFK.
After a long (and somewhat exhausting) flight, my cousin and I touched down in Copenhagen to make our connecting flight. I have to say, the airports in Europe are super nice. The ones in Scandinavia, however, are on a whole ‘nother kind of level. For one thing, they are clean, quiet, filled with high-end retail, and they smell of coffee and pastries. It’s like if Rodeo Drive, Neiman Marcus, and a French boulangerie all got together and made an airport. And because it was the Copenhagen Airport, there had to have been a LEGO store. Oh, if only I had a few more days in Denmark, I would have gone to Billund and showered myself in plastic bricks. Oh well, next time.
We took off and I got to see the Ørensund Bridge, the architectural wonder that links Copenhagen with Malmo, Sweden. It’s an amazing bridge that turns into a tunnel by entering a manmade island in the middle of the water. In less than 90 minutes, my cousin and I touched down in Oslo. We got off underneath the city at the National Theateret station where we were greeted by the locals in traditional garbs. We had arrived on May 17th which just happened to be Norway’s National Constitution Day. Everywhere we looked, everyone was dressed to the nines; suits for the men and dresses for the ladies. Things really got insane when we encountered a big folk dance troop which felt like we were being swept up in the middle of the world’s best dressed flash mob. What a cool way to welcome us into Oslo!
Our hotel was the Thon Hotel Munch on Keysergate, just a short walk from the waterfront promenade in downtown Oslo. Like most hotels in Europe, it was one of modesty; rooms were of minimalist style with almost no decor. There were two twin beds that I immediately pushed together to make a double bed. The bathroom, however, was superb. While it was small in size, it was more than accommodating; the shower was much bigger on the inside.
That evening, Jeanna and I decided to try some authentic Norwegian cuisine: pizza! Because, why not?! We found a quiet pizzeria near our hotel run by a nice, young man with Italian roots who whipped up an impressive pie made with hot sausage and hot peppers. It was definitely the eye-opener Jeanna and I needed after a long journey. Pair that with Jalla, a Norwegian version of Sprite, and it made for a memorable meal.
To cap off our evening, we headed up to Akershus, arguably the most iconic structure in all of Oslo if not all of Norway. Built in the late 13th century as a medieval fortress to protect Oslo, Akershus overlooks the harbofront of Norway’s capital and largest city. It was built by King Haakon V and was first used in battle in 1308 in a battle against Sweden; it has never once fell to foreign forces except for during WWII when it surrendered without combat to Nazi Germany in 1940 when the Norwegian Government evacuated the capital in the aftermath of the Nazi invasion of Denmark. Just hiking through this piece of Scandinavian history was so surreal; it was like taking a trip back in time. As Jeanna and I made our way to the top of Akershus and perused the panoramic vista, you almost expected viking ships with their billowing sails to come over the horizon into Oslo harbor. By the way, if the name and outer structure looks familiar to you, it is probably because that you have seen the smaller version of it at the Norway pavilion at Epcot Center.
