Part 1: how we got to Norway and then to Bergen.

Part 2: Bergen, where we got lucky and also unlucky

Part 3: The Fjords, not terribly af-fjordable, but terribly beautiful.

Part 4: Back to Oslo, for longer than expected.

I thought I’d dedicate today’s post to some of the things I saw on my own when Louie was in his conference. I’d initially planned a few more guided tours but canceled two things due to being sick and not feeling up to it/not wanting to be around people.

One of the conference days was my birthday, so I treated myself to a nice lunch sitting down at a restaurant. I went to Engebret Cafe and enjoyed a delicious shrimp sandwich: the best I had the entire trip. It was huge as well (with a price tag to match, but oh well!).

I never mind sitting alone at a cafe or restaurant if I have my kindle, at least, plus people watching can be fun.

I wandered around, either walking or taking the tram somewhere, with some days not having any specific plans. I took a tram all the way to the end of the line once, thinking I could stay on and ride back and finally realizing the driver was trying to tell me I had to get off! That was a little awkward.

I always felt comfortable walking around Oslo on my own. The only place anywhere in Oslo that we felt was a bit iffy was just around and north of the Oslo Station. Nothing terrible, just iffy.

I walked around the Fortress/Festning for a bit one day and found the Norwegian Resistance Museum. I spent about 45 minutes to an hour going through and looking at the exhibits, learning how the Nazis occupied Norway and the risks Norwegians took to fight back in a variety of ways.

I also went to the Nobel Peace Center. Most of the Nobel Prizes are given out in Stockholm, Sweden, but the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, and there’s a nice museum about it. There’s also a little gift shop with a lot of neat gifts, and (good to know) there’s a bathroom that you can get to directly from the outside, no need to go through the museum lobby. We used the bathroom another day when wandering around, and just went in and used it, though then I felt like we should shop a few minutes to act like that was our intention.

One day I had a boat trip booked. It went from Oslo to Oscarsborg Fortress with a ferry to Drobak. The boat was not at all full, so there was plenty of room on the ride to spread out and wander around, and the views were terrific.

After about 1 1/2 hours we landed on Oscarsborg Fortress, an island in the Oslofjord. There is, obviously, a Fortress there. It’s a neat place, with a museum, hotel, boating, and such.

There wasn’t much to do that I could see, so I wandered around a bit, and then caught the ferry to Drobak.

The tour I bought came with “ferry tickets” for certain times, but I will say this: the one at the end of the day would have been difficult. I came back earlier because the connection they give you is only 5 minutes and it is more than 5 minutes walk away. I saw some people getting on the boat who I believe made it, but they looked like they had run for their lives. I would recommend coming back 1 hour earlier and walking around the island more instead, even if that means less time in Drobak.

When you get off the ferry in Drobak it’s about a 10 minute to town, some of it scenic, some of it less so.

It started pouring rain when I got to Drobak, so I just went straight for lunch at a place called Det Gamle Bakeri. I got fish soup.

Drobak was very picturesque, but after wandering around a little bit, I was ready to head back. I was early for the ferry, but I thought I’d go back and sit and read. I waited a bit and then a smaller ferry showed up, and the captain offered to take me and another couple back instead of us waiting for the larger ferry. We were happy to go with him and the couple and I chatted about Norway and the United States and Sweden, where they were from. They were staying overnight at the hotel for research purposes for a travel tv show, I think.

When I got back to Oscarsborg, the sun was shining, so I walked all around the island some more and it was quite warm. And then after awhile caught the boat back to Oslo, which was pleasant after a full day.

I do recommend this tour, if you have been in Oslo awhile and want a day trip, as I did.

The last day of the conference was when we ended up having to change our flight to stay in the country longer. At the time we needed to get negative tests in order to fly home, and we didn’t think we both would, so we made an appointment with a doctor. The doctor said since we didn’t have official proof of being positive, he needed to have that proof first, and then 4 days later if we were fever free and our lungs were clear he could write a “proof of recovery” note for us. (We didn’t both need this, but one did.) Anyway, that meant changing our flight and finding new lodging.

If you are in a foreign country and want to change your flight with American Airlines, do not bother calling the 1-800 number, use the local country number. We were told an 8 hour hold with the 1-800 number, but the local number got us through right away and rebooked within 10-15 minutes. I was able to extend our stay in our AirBNB except for the last night, where we had to relocate to a nearby place.

That seems like a natural place to stop this blog post, so I’ll continue with another post soon. If you have any questions, please let me know! I love to hear from readers, otherwise I start to feel as if I am just writing into a void.