We’re In Norway!

We decided to head out somewhere nice and cool this summer so we’re in Norway. So far so good and we have a few tales to tell. First and foremost, DO NOT TAKE A TAXI anywhere in Norway, they will rip you off! I should have done some due diligence but I figured Norway is a nice country, highly regulated, so this shouldn’t be an issue right? Wrong! We made the mistake of asking for a taxi ride a short distance and were charged $75 for the short trip. DO NOT TAKE A TAXI IN NORWAY!

The taxi situation is so bad there is an entire thread on Trip Advisor about it. The ONLY exception to the DO NOT TAKE A TAXI RULE IN NORWAY is if you can get it from a machine like the one in the picture above. There is a set rate and you know what you will be paying when you order a taxi from these terminals but the best thing to do is take an Uber, train, bus, bike, walk, crawl or hitchhike. DO NOT TAKE A TAXI!

National Museum of Norway

Our first stop was the National Museum of Norway. We were really impressed with the wide range of artists featured in the museum. Some of my favorite artists included Karel Appel, Arne Ekeland, Bendik Riis, Kai Fjell, Alf Rolfen, Teddy Rowde, Finn Faaborg, Charlotte Wankel, Thorvald Hellesen, Aage Storstein, Theodor Kittelsen, Edward Munch (see image below), Harald Sohlberg, Dirck van Baburen, Johan Christian Dahl, and Hans Gude amongst others.

GOL STAVE CHURCH

Our second stop was the Stave Church and it’s located in a large park surrounded by many different historical buildings and museums. It’s officially called Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. It’s worth a visit to take in how people from the older eras lived and experienced their day to day life.

Inside the church (image below)

Triple Museum – Fram Museum, Ship Museum, Kon-Tiki Museum

After the Stave Church we headed to the triple museums of Fram, Ship, and Kon-Tiki. Each museum showcases the naval expedition and exploration of Norwegian history.

We stopped and had lunch nearby at the Fjord Cafe (image below). The cost of that plate of salmon with egg was about $20. The total cost of the a meal for two was $50 including drink.

Norway Is Expensive

The most expensive place we have ever visited was Switzerland. The SECOND most expensive place we have now ever visited is Norway. Our hotel breakfast for two was $50 at the hotel we’re staying but it does include a buffet style breakfast with plenty of food.

Our first night we stopped at a Chicago style pizza pub place inside our hotel and the cost for one medium pizza, one beer and a coke was 464 krona ($43).

We stopped at a pharmacy to pick up Meclizine (Postafen) and it cost $28. It is $6 on Amazon back in the U.S. A coke zero at a shop at a museum with cost $5, a bottle of water $3.

We’ll be headed to Bergen tomorrow so we’ll see if that location is any cheaper than Oslo.