If You Decide to Go
Where to stay
◗ Sorre Hemsing
Hensasvegen 90, Vang i Valdres 011-1-47-61-36-72-70 sorrehemsing.no Rooms in centuries-old farmhouses from about $123 per night for singles and about $165 for doubles. Breakfast is included.
Where to eat
◗ Frognerseteren Holmenkollveien 200, Oslo 011-1-47-22-92-40-40 frognerseteren.no A traditional Norse restaurant that sits atop Holmenkollen and offers expansive views of Oslo, its fjord and the surrounding mountains and valleys. It has both a sit-down restaurant with table service and a cafeteria-style cafe with good wine and beer on tap. Lunch entrees from the site’s cafe include kjottkaker (Norwegian meatballs, about $20) and grillet laks (grilled salmon, about $29). Try the Eplekake (apple pie, about $7.30).
◗ Pingvinen
Vaskerelven 14, Bergen 011-1-47-55-60-46-46 pingvinen.no
A cozy, traditional Norwegian restaurant and bar with great service and wonderful beer on tap, including my personal favorite—N. O. Gjertruds Vintervarmer. Entrees include kjottkake (Norwegian meatballs with gravy and vegetables, about $24) and plokkfisk (cod fillet, potato and onions in bechamel, about $23).
◗ Vulkanfisk Seafoodbar
Vulkan 5, Oslo 011-1-47-21-39-69-58 vulkanfisk.no/en
The fish-oriented restaurant is one of about 20 small eateries in an industrial brick warehouse along the Akerselva River in Oslo. The menu changes as the catch does, although mussels are a constant. Entrees include dagens fisk (daily fish, about $37) and fisksuppe (fish soup, about $23.
What to do
◗ Floibanen
Vetrl ids all men ning en 21, Bergen 011-1-47-55-33-68-00 floyen.no/en/floibanen A cable car rising up Bergen’s dramatic northeastern ridge above the historic Bryggen neighborhood to a lookout, playground, restaurant and cross-country ski trails. Rides from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Roundtrip lift tickets cost about $12; about $6 for seniors and children 4 to 15; free for younger children.
◗ Norwegian Museum of Cultural History
Museumsveien 10, Bygdøy, Oslo 011-1-47-22-12-37-00 norskfolkemuseum.no One of the world’s oldest open-air museums, the site’s exhibits include examples of early Viking-era cottages and cooking sheds, as well as reconstructed Oslo buildings from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. Open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday, from mid-September to mid-May; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Admission costs about $16; about $5 for children 7 to 18; free for younger children. Closed certain holidays, so check ahead. Admission is free with an Oslopass (bus pass).
◗ The Viking Ship Museum
Huk Aveny 35, Oslo 011-1-47-22-13-52-80 khm.uio.no
The museum houses Viking-era longships that were uncovered and reconstructed from burial mounds. The exhibits include details of the notable Vikings buried in the ships, as well as information on how the ships were built, where they sailed and how the sailors navigated them. Open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, May through September, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily from October through April. Admission costs about $12; free for children 17 and younger. Also free for all with an Oslopass (bus pass).
◗ Skiservice Kjelkeutleie
Holmenkollveien 198, Oslo 011-1-47-22-13-95-00 skiservice.no
Skiers can rent runner sleds and helmets for the trails down the slopes below Frogneseteren. Open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, except on holidays and in certain weather. An adult’s sled-and-helmet rental costs about $19 or about $14 for a child’s version.