Islands in the sun

Post by Ella

We’d been wondering about the islands in the Oslo Fjord (which is 100 km long and runs into the North Sea), so today was the day to explore. There are ferries, run by Ruter, which is the same company that runs the busses and trams and for which we had a 7 day pass (for $16.00 if you recall).

To give you an idea of distance, the ferry ride to the first island we stopped at was 5 minutes. Pretty easy to hop a few islands in a few hours. The ferry operation is impressive. All the ferries look shiny new, inside and out. Every single ferry was promptly on time. And don’t hesitate to use the WC’s on the ferries or any of the ferry docks. They are spotless.

By the way, no one’s ticket was ever checked. The honor system is strong here.

What’s in a fjord? I had this stereotypical mental vision of a fjord as being a narrow inlet created by a glacier, with jutting vertical cliffs on either side. So, Google, what’s a fjord, technically speaking? Well, it turns out, fjords are, geologically speaking, just what I described. With further digging, I discovered that Norwegians use the term fjord to describe various types of waterways. So Oslo Fjord is not a geological fjord.

The weather was predicted to be beautiful. Sunny skies, high of 60°. The islands are largely recreational, all have areas that are nature preserves. Some have summer cottages. There are paths to walk through the forest and along the coast.

First stop: Hovedoya. Monastery ruins, some small beaches, nature preserve, walking paths (mostly unmarked). We walked through a forested area and along a coastal path.

Back at the ferry dock, we met a couple from Houston, originally from Canada. The guy is “in oil and gas” and spends many months in other countries. He was here in Norway for eight months having just finished a six month project in India. On hearing we are from New Mexico, he said he’d been in Carlsbad for a couple of months. He said that New Mexico had a lot of strict environmental rules and hoops to jump through (go us!) while just across the border in Texas, it was like the Wild West. 

Anyway, it seems he is hardly ever home, his wife comes to visit when she can and had just arrived in Oslo yesterday. He’d already been in Norway for two months. She looked in a daze and was seated 5 feet away from him on the bench. There’s a story there and it’s not just jet lag.

We had originally planned to go to Bleikyoka next but spur of the moment, we got off the ferry at…

Second stop: Gressholmen. Small beaches, walking paths, camping areas, a cafe. We took a coffee break. Undrinkable coffee but I had a delicious pain-au-chocolat. Grubb had a melt-in-your-mouth custard filled pastry. We walked through a forested area and through a small boat storage and repair yard indicating that people summered on this island. And a rack of colorful kayaks.

Third stop: Langøyene. 20 feet up a short hill from the ferry dock, there was a vast open mowed meadow. I can imagine this being packed with picnickers in the summer. Just beyond the meadow, two beach volleyball courts. Then a wide, gravel promenade near the water. One direction, the “naturist” beach (nudist). Yes, of course we did. No one there. The other direction led to camping areas and more walking paths. We went there too.