Family Ties

Location: Norway

Introduction:

The COVID-19 pandemic caused us to cancel our 2021 travel plans to introduce our daughter Adelaide to Europe. When we came upon an exceptional airfare deal to Norway on Norse Atlantic, we jumped on it. We’d visited Norway in 2011 as a couple. Three things were etched in our mind from that trip. First, Norway is incredibly beautiful; one of the most beautiful countries we’ve ever visited. Second, Norway was incredibly expensive. Fortunate for us, while Norway’s beauty will endure forever, the exchange rate was much more favorable this time around making Norway a much more affordable travel destination. Third, most people speak English, eliminating the language barrier challenges found in many other countries. Better yet, Elizabeth now had a cousin living and raising a family in Norway, so we wrapped our trip around a family visit.

Accommodation:

We used Airbnb for all but our last night. Our biggest challenge was adapting to the length of daylight hours. The sun rose around 4:30am and didn’t fully set until after midnight. Eye shades helped but room darkening shades would have been much better. We spent our first night in Arendal in a new basement apartment. Located at water’s edge on a secluded peninsula, we wish we had stayed longer. Adelaide had a blast on the rope swing and pedal go-karts.

We moved on to Stavanger where we spent 3 nights in a 2-story townhouse that serves as the host family’s primary residence, which they vacated for our stay. It had a cozy feel to it and overlooked the sea. A bonus was the neighborhood had several playgrounds and a nearby supermarket. We used this location as our base to visit our cousins.

Next up was a 3-night stay in a 1-bedroom ground floor condo in Kristiansand. The layout wasn’t exactly what we were expecting as the owner has several Airbnb places in this area but it worked out for us. The lesson learned is to pay closer attention to what we book to ensure it’s what we get.

Our last night was spent in a Thon Hotel near Oslo airport where we’d depart in the morning. It exceeded our expectations and offered good value. We even had dinner in the hotel’s restaurant and it was decent.

Play:

Finding fun things to do for our daughter is a top priority when we travel now. We were impressed to find cool play activities at some of the roadside stops we made.

We enjoyed two amusement parks: Kongepark and Dyreparken. We especially appreciated the latter with several fun activities that were kid-powered. There wasn’t much English spoken, but we managed just fine.

Food and Drink

Eating out is expensive and service can be slow. We also like to have a glass of wine with our dinners but the zero-tolerance for drinking and driving in Norway had our attention. So, we made full use of our kitchens, making a few meals and ordering some take-away foods. We took advantage of the duty-free shop upon our arrival to stock up on some affordable wines. Our cousins also treated us to an extensive smorgasbord that was quite a treat.

Transportation:

We used Avis to rent a Suzuki Across 4×4 that we picked up at and returned to Oslo Airport. We would have preferred to fly to Stavanger and rent one-way back to Oslo but the cost was exorbitant. The gas-powered vehicle served us well but we couldn’t help notice that many of the cars on the road were electric; leading us to the realization that the technology is truly ready for primetime. This observation definitely influenced our subsequent decision to purchase our first EV back home.

Shout-Out:

We’re most appreciative to our cousins Andy, Henrietta, Ellen and Markus for treating us so well and sharing their insights on Norwegian life and culture. Henrietta went way above and beyond by abstaining from drinking while serving us wine with dinner so that she could drive us back to our Airbnb.

For Your Amusement:

We’ve never seen an exhibit quite like this one at Kongepark. If you listen closely, you’ll hear Rich totally lose it near the end of the video.

Highlight:

What’s not to like about Norway. We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and we’re pretty sure we’ll be back again. Making a point to seek out family ties make the visit extra special.