RFI: Scandinavian Travel in Summer

[rob_s]

We're headed to Norway later this summer. Have a great house on a Fjord in Southern Norway for a week and then a couple of nights in Oslo before flying home.

While someone of a unique request, I'm wondering if anyone here has any insight or advice on such a trip. We'll rent a car for the week in the house, and park in in Oslo just in case we need it.

It's me, my wife, and two girls 8 & 11.

We are hearing and seeing that temps can vary pretty widely, and for four Floridians the colder side is a bit of concern. That said, we're not looking to go buy a bunch of ArcTeryx stuff that we'll never use again, so we're trying to balance good quality with cost. I'd pay dead bird prices if we were using it all the time. I'm hearing it can be pretty rainy, so we'll pack our rain coats.

We all have sleeping masks either in hand or on order. We've got the power adapters, either in-hand or on-order.

Anyone been over there this time of year that has any advice?

[JAD]

We're headed to Norway later this summer. Have a great house on a Fjord in Southern Norway for a week and then a couple of nights in Oslo before flying home.

While someone of a unique request, I'm wondering if anyone here has any insight or advice on such a trip. We'll rent a car for the week in the house, and park in in Oslo just in case we need it.

It's me, my wife, and two girls 8 & 11.

We are hearing and seeing that temps can vary pretty widely, and for four Floridians the colder side is a bit of concern. That said, we're not looking to go buy a bunch of ArcTeryx stuff that we'll never use again, so we're trying to balance good quality with cost. I'd pay dead bird prices if we were using it all the time. I'm hearing it can be pretty rainy, so we'll pack our rain coats.

We all have sleeping masks either in hand or on order. We've got the power adapters, either in-hand or on-order.

Anyone been over there this time of year that has any advice?

I go a lot for business; I'll be there Sunday. Temps do vary quite a lot. Prepare for rain. Dress casually and be friendly; drive up the West Coast a little, ride the ferries, and see the fjords. If you have time read the Kristin Lavransdatter books by Sigrid Undset -- a lot of the geography is where you'll be, and you get a real sense of the native character. Babbel is good for picking up a few words of Norwegian, which are appreciated. Do not eat whale, it's gross. Do not pay attention to how much things cost, or you'll explode. Expect difficulty with cell service while driving across country; have a coarse idea of your route in case google maps goes to hell for a half hour. Mass is hard if you're Catholic; it's a great place to be Lutheran, or a heathen.

[Erik]

[H]ave a coarse idea of your route in case google maps goes to hell for a half hour.

Not specific to Norway but, a Garmin or similar nav device is very helpful if you're traveling somewhere cell service may be spotty.

[Grey]

We're headed to Norway later this summer. Have a great house on a Fjord in Southern Norway for a week and then a couple of nights in Oslo before flying home.

While someone of a unique request, I'm wondering if anyone here has any insight or advice on such a trip. We'll rent a car for the week in the house, and park in in Oslo just in case we need it.

It's me, my wife, and two girls 8 & 11.

We are hearing and seeing that temps can vary pretty widely, and for four Floridians the colder side is a bit of concern. That said, we're not looking to go buy a bunch of ArcTeryx stuff that we'll never use again, so we're trying to balance good quality with cost. I'd pay dead bird prices if we were using it all the time. I'm hearing it can be pretty rainy, so we'll pack our rain coats.

We all have sleeping masks either in hand or on order. We've got the power adapters, either in-hand or on-order.

Anyone been over there this time of year that has any advice?

Buy ArcTeryx gear and sell it to me when you get back...

Sounds like an amazing trip.

Edit: Closest I have been was Finland in April. Rain and snow.

[P30]

I've been to Norway with a friend in July 2011. We are from Germany.

Driving in Norway often takes longer than expected because there are mountains or fjords in between.
Hiking in Norway's nature is a wonderful experience. But at dusk, there can be lots of mosquitos.
Salmon tastes good and is healthy.

Laerdal and the area around it is very beautyful: visitnorway.com/places-to-go/fjord-norway/the-sognefjord-area/laerdal
We rode there with our motorbikes, was a great adventure. This was one of our two best "base camps" I remember from Scandinavia (the other one was in Sweden): visitnorway.com/listings/maristuen-fjellferie/4195

Enjoy your time in Norway. I think, it will be great.

[P30]

We are hearing and seeing that temps can vary pretty widely, and for four Floridians the colder side is a bit of concern.

I never felt cold in Norway in July. OK, I'm not used to Florida temps. But I'm lean and tend to feel cold quickly, when I sit around. Of course it depends on the altitude. I remember riding on the motorbike in the mountains it was sometimes a bit cooler. But we had no problem there with too cold temperatures. I don't remember the numbers, I estimate at daytime the temperature in the shadow was around 20°C = 68°F in the Laerdal area. But since it's 8 years ago and my memories are fading, this number is not for sure. Of course you can buy clothing there, but stuff in Norway is expensive.

The onion principle (layering of clothes) is your friend.