Norway Fjords/Sweden - Day 13 - Oslo 4

And I am going back to Oslo. Yesterday when I checked the train status, I kind of felt that it might be cancelled, but I wanted to wait until today to confirm. And yes, it is cancelled and they are providing bus to take us to Oslo. 

Got up at 6 am to get ready and was out of the hotel by 6:45 am. The station is not far so no issues there. Met someone at 7:15ish who was guiding passengers towards the buses. There were three buses and they separated the passengers according to their destinations. Very good organization. My driver was a doppelganger of Carlos! Good driver. I sat in the front, thank God. The scenery for about 6 hours was amazing! It was an eight hour drive. We started on time.

Within 2 hours I started seeing snow topped mountains near Oppdal and that is how it was for the next 3 hours or so. It was also snowing in some places. Yeah, the temperature was 0oC.  The scenery was just wonderful. I can see why Donbas is on the list for people to visit. It is beautiful. There were waterfalls on the way, a mountain stream turning calm and fast was going along the road (Hwy E6). We had to make stops in different stations since the train had been cancelled so we had to drop and pick up passengers, but the bus never got completely full. At 12pm the driver stopped for 30 mins to eat lunch, that is when I had mine too. My pita bread had gotten soggy, but it was still okay.

After Lillehamer, the scenery was more like Switzerland, lakes and beautiful hills and the mountain river going along the highway. This went on for 2 hours. So beautiful. I enjoyed the drive, taking photos and listening to my podcasts.

As we neared Oslo, the highway became 4 lane. The traffic has not been that much. I still don't want to drive here alone. People are very nice here though.

Reached Oslo around 5 pm. Walked to the same Comfort Karl Johan hotel and checked in. It's like coming home! I got a nice room this time, on the 3rd floor.

Today I wanted to see the public library, so walked there. It is right next to the central station. I thought that building was an office building, but it is a 5 story library, with 2 floors in the basement. It is huge! It has stuff for everyone, even tourists like me. On the way back, went to the central station and got a slice of pizza from 7-11 and walked around the mall. I don't need anything. Part of me wants to go to Normal shop, but again, I don't really need anything! Maybe tomorrow I will go and buy a small toothpaste since mine is running out.

Walked back to the hotel and waited till dark, as I want to see what the Opera house looks like at night. Ventured out at 7 pm and took some night shots of all the glass buildings, the library, opera house and Munch. It was a nice walk. The walk towards Karl Johans Gate was not great. There is no night life.

That's it!