I made it into Norway on Tuesday (if it’s Tuesday it must be Oslo). Uneventful flight from LHR to OSL. I flew on SAS. For some reason (I have American Airlines miles, I think they may be part of Star Alliance) I was given an Exit Row seat. I didn’t ask for it. In fact, when I sat down I remember thinking ‘wow there’s a lot of leg room even though the seats aren’t very wide!’) The flight was less than 2 hours so the time went by fast.
Here’s where I waited to board in LHR:
Got to Oslo, made it through customs no problem, and met Louise on the other side. While we were planning our trip, we had decided to stay at the Radisson Blu right at the airport since we had a relatively early flight the next morning, and we were thankful we had decided to do that when we didn’t have to set our alarm to some early ungodly hour.
We got to the hotel, freshened up a bit and found a place to eat – RUST. Turns out it was rustic Italian tapas. Decent enough. Had to take a train, tram, and bus to get there – that was an adventure. Afterwards, found a close train station and caught the train all the way back to the airport.
We passed this building while walking through a park on the way to the station – apparently it is Norway’s White House. The park was really icy so it was ‘fun’ walking through.
Next morning, caught a flight from Oslo to Kirkenes. Here are some photos from that:
Oslo Airport
As it turns out, I was upgraded to SAS Plus, which essentially is like First Class. The seats are the same as coach but I got free breakfast. And, I had the row all to myself! It wasn’t that long of a flight – an hour and 50 minutes or so, but it was still nice to enjoy that nonetheless.
And we made it to Kirkenes! I haven’t deplaned directly on stairs to ground since I went to Jackson Hole, WY!
Got our bus transfer and made it to our hotel, the Scandic in ‘downtown’ Kirkenes. The population of Kirkenes is around 3,500 people, so pretty small.
We got in in the late morning, had a bite to eat and a beer and then had a dogsledging appointment for 3:45p outside the Kirkenes Ice Hotel. Keep in mind the sun sets right around 3:30p so our ride started at ‘dusk’ and ended at ‘night’ two hours later.
I didn’t take any photos on the ride – it was fast, it was cold, it was bumpy, and the way I had to sit was way uncomfortable, but it was a lot of fun and I’m glad I went! But, here is a photo after showing our dog team and me standing at the reins. Our musher, whose name escapes me, is from Slovakia.
During the ride, we each had an opportunity to drive the sled. Louise did it, but I just wasn’t feelin’ it so I relaxed while she drove for a bit. The trail we went on wound through some woods and over a fjord (ice was about 40cm thick) – Louise drove on the fjord since it was flat and straight. But, without any tree cover, man was it cold! Winds were crazy cold!
And here is Gabba the albino reindeer:
After the dog sledging we went on a tour of the Ice Hotel and bar, and had dinner there as well. I’ll save that for the next installment. There are 23 rooms, each different from one another. I didn’t take photos of all of them, but did go into them all.
And, in case you’re wondering, I’m on the Nordnorge (pronounced Nord-norga) now. Boarded yesterday morning. We’ve been doing a lot but I think I should break things up at least by day, so I’ll end for now.
Talk soon!
UPDATE: I got some photos off of Louise’s SD card, and her camera is WAY better than mine, so adding some of her relevant photos here.
Our dog sledding guide and our doggie team:
Where the dogs sleep – they eat on top of their little houses. I think there were probably at least 30 doggie duplexes! It was very noisy with all the barking – these dogs LOVE to run and when they see somebody else going for a run they all get excited and want to go too!
Me with the guide after the ride – you can see how bundled up I was. Temperature was in single digits, not even counting the wind chill! I actually was warm except for my face. Halfway thru the ride I remembered to pull up my balaclava and then my face was pretty good too.
Cabins associated with the Ice Hotel. Cozy and cute. Very modern and sleek inside.
