TRAVEL NOTES | SCANDINAVIA::DAY 2 | CHRISTMAS IN NORWAY

We landed in London at 06,22h and took the shuttle to Terminal 5. For the time it took us to get there, it seemed we were driving to a faraway city.

As we stood on the shuttle and looked outside into the darkness, my son noticed there was no snow in London as it usually seems to be this time of year.

We had four hours at Heathrow airport until our third flight to Norway. But first, we had to go through security. Something which seems pointless since we just got off the plane.

After going through security, we found corner seats at the Starbucks where we piled all of our bags and enjoyed a hazelnut crunch hot chocolate, a flat white, and a lemon poppyseed muffin.

We were exhausted and although we tried scaling down the number of items we brought, it was still too much. Particularly the snacks which my son thought he would eat. Snacks which would have eliminated one backpack that we brought.

As the hours crawled by, I thought about how to make our next trip better. The more we travel, the more we learn how to do things better.

After more than four hours, we were standing in line at gate C66. My son noticed that the gate was the same one we used for our flight from Croatia via Stockholm this past summer.

Our flight into Oslo was a short one. Less than two hours. The scenery from the airplane was stunning, with all the snow-covered landscape. I wished my phone hadn’t died during the final 10 minutes before landing, but I managed to capture a few nice photographs.

As we left the plane, my son stopped by the cockpit and got to sit in the seat next to the pilot and listened as the pilot explained the controls. We were the last ones off the plane but were in no rush as we had to wait another three hours for our flight to Bergen. Our final destination for the day.

Travelling was taking a toll on us. Especially as we waited an hour in line for the passport control and to pick up our bags. And it got even more complicated as we had to exit and reenter the airport, going through security once again.

The 50-minute flight into Bergen went by quickly. As we waited for our luggage, my son gathered guide books for Bergen in various languages. As if we needed more things to carry.

Once outside, we found the Skyss tram into Bergen city centre, which took about 25 minutes. Then we had another 15 or so minutes of walking to our flat, which would be our home for the next three nights. A light snow had started as we made our way from the bus station stop to Fosswinckels gate. The stairs were slippery, we had a difficult time finding the correct codes, and we ended up having to contact the owner for assistance.

After four flights and two days of travelling, we were finally able to breathe a little sigh of relief. However, much more travelling would await us in the next two weeks.

My son was overjoyed at the place we had. It was not a hotel, rather a two-bedroom flat on the top floor with slanted ceilings in every room. His room had two slanted roof windows and he had to be very careful not to hit his head on the ceiling. As this was a flat in Norway, we were glad to have had the bedding included with the reservation. However, my son was annoyed that we had to make our beds. A flat sheet on the mattress, two duvet covers, and two pillowcases.

It was Christmas Day. We were really hungry and so decided to walk around the city to find someplace to eat. We walked around for at least an hour, but found everything was closed. Except for a couple of pubs, a deli, and a tiny grocery store. At one of the pubs we walked into, a guy told us that Norwegians take Christmas seriously, which was why most everything was closed today and for the next day as well. What really stood out were the prices. Everything was incredibly expensive.

After almost giving up due to increasing frustration, we stopped inside a deli and bought a warmed barbeque chicken sandwich. Immediately next door, we found a tiny grocery store where we bought some bread and cheese, along with two clementines and sparkling water. Our Christmas dinner.

Once back at our warm flat, we settled in for the night and enjoyed our simple meal. Though things did not turn out as I had hoped, I was glad to be able to spend Christmas in Norway with my son.