The plan: wake up at 7, walk around Oslo, take a boat ride for an hour to one of the islands, walk a self-guided tour that I had printed out, then make my way to the airport for my 4:45pm flight to Prague.
What really happened: I woke up around 4am. I didn't realize that there were blinds in my room and so the early sunlight combined with the time difference, I woke up after two hours of sleep. I did find the blinds and was able to at least rest for a couple more hours, but by 6 I just decided to get up. I ended up having tea and talking with my hostess, Merete, for a little while. Yesterday, she had suggested that I take a boat to one of the islands (it uses the same ticket as the metro) and that it would take about an hour. Sounds good, I thought.
Not too excited about only two hours of sleep...
But it is impossible to stay sad with a morning bedroom view such as this!
After she left for work, I finished packing, and with all my gear, headed to the metro. I bought a day pass so as to include the boat ride and headed toward the harbor. My bike ride last night really helped to orient me to certain parts of the city, and if I didn't remember, I would use my maps2go app which tracks me as I walk (very helpful if I wasn't sure if I was headed in the correct direction). Close to the harbor was a coffee shop Merete had mentioned called Espresso (aptly named I suppose), so I order my favorite European drink: a cappuccino! I also ordered a croissant with ham and cheese (warmed up) to eat for breakfast. So yum.
Walking through Oslo:
Breakfast!
And look how orderly their grocery stores are...even down to the packaging!
I asked an information booth about the boats and she mentioned something about a far island and a close island. She said it would take an hour if I didn't get off the boat. I thought it would be fun to take the boat ride even if to just get a closer look at the islands. The next one was scheduled to leave at 9:33. I had a few minutes so I walked around to find an ATM (here they call it a kiosk and it is labeled as a minibank) to get some kroner.
Th spelling of "two" as "to" may have caused a little distress in my writing teacher mind :)
Once on the boat, I was enjoying the view from the deck when a young, friendly crew member came up to me and asked where I was going. He told me that there wasn't much on this island, but most tourists go on another boat to the furthest island called Drøbak. He said it is very beautiful, historic, and rural. I told him I had a flight to catch later, but was interested, so I asked what time he thought I would be back. He mentioned noonish. I figured I had enough time, so I exited the boat on the first island to wait for the next boat to keep going.
While waiting to board, I talked to a lady who was enthusiastic about going and thought we'd be back by 1:30. Cutting it close for me, but I still had enough time. While boarding I asked a worker and they weren't sure. Once I had boarded and we were already sailing, I found out that the soonest I could return was 2:05. Yikes! Still doable, but it meant not walking around Oslo more, and I had a feeling it would be more of a crunch this time.
The boat ride was beautiful as promised (for some reason, I love boat rides through channels and around islands). We reached the island at 11:30 and the boat was departing at 12:40, giving me about an hour to explore. The town was very cute, quaint, and quite lovely. Several of the houses had the cutest little yards and some of the most beautiful gardens!
After roaming the streets awhile, I headed up the hill to see if I could find a good lookout spot. I was following a street, so my view was often blocked by buildings or trees, but I eventually found a nice little spot. It happened to be at someone's house, and of course they got home as soon as I was in their driveway. But they were very friendly and told me to go onto their back porch for a good shot. :)
On my way back I decided to pay a visit to the bakery that someone had recommended. She hadn't known the name but just told me to ask for "the good bakery." Thinking a local would know best, I asked a lady walking her dog and she recommended one around the corner. I don't think it was the good bakery. Wanting something for lunch, I chose a pizza and took it with me. I found the real "good bakery" and decided to get something for dessert. When I asked what something was, she called it Blovenhöt (actually, I just made that up...I have no idea what she said). But whatever it was, it was delicious. The pizza, however, was not. Oh well.
The ride back to Oslo was quick...probably because I napped for most of it. :)
We disembarked at 2:10 which meant I had a little over two hours to get TO the airport, check in, go through security, and find my gate. Yikes. (Yet how familiar the dilemma... :) ). I felt pressured, but not too doubtful that I'd miss my flight.
First step: Get to the airport. On the boat, I had mapped my route to the closest station. Using my ever handy app, I was able to do this quickly. Now to preface this next part, you must know that there are two ways to get to the airport. The Express Train takes you there quickly, but for a large sum of money. The metro will also take you there, but not as quickly, which is a medium sum of money. Having already purchased the metro option in the morning, I followed the signs with airplanes on them and ended up at a station where the Express Train was leaving from. As it arrived, I debated just hopping on...but knew that since I hadn't bought the pass yet, I could get ticketed. So I waited for the slower metro to come. One reason this was a slower route is that it stopped several times along the way, and because this line wasn't direct, I also had to change trains. At the end of the current line, I disembarked and was left dismayed. After looking at the train schedule, the next train coming in the direction of the airport wasn't for quite awhile...and time was not something I had. In fact, it was nearly 3:30, and I still had to get through the airport and to my gate by 4:45 at the very very latest. BUT the Express train was going to be stopping by in just ten minutes. I made the hard yet necessary decision to pay for the Express ticket, knowing that every minute now was precious. It's not easy to wait for ten minutes...especially with no one or nothing to distract you (A watched pot never boils!)
Will I make it?! A little craziness setting in! :)
The Express train did its job and got me quickly to the station. But it was now 3:50 and my flight DEPARTED at 4:45.
Second step: Check-In
The line to check in for Norwegian Air was quite long so I headed for the self-check in kiosks. Problem- In order to check in:
*I needed to have either the credit card used to purchase it....but that was the one credit card I left at home. :(
*I needed my reference number...I had the booking number but without internet I couldn't pull up the reference number from my emails. :((
*or a third option that I forget, but I didn't have it either. :(((!
So, with little time to spare, I headed for the big, long line. I told an attendant my dilemma because it was now minutes before 4:00 and I had to be ON the plane by 4:45!!
She said that as long as I had 45 minutes, I should be ok. Ok....but there was a problem. For the next 10 minutes, I moved a few feet forward in the line, and that was it. It's REALLY hard to wait in that scenario!
Fortunately, the line began moving quickly. Again, I was glad to just have a carry-on (hand baggage as they call it) because my check-in was quick. It was then 4:15, the time I could start boarding, so the lady told me to go straight there. Ummm...I was thinking of shopping first? Ya right! :)
Third Step: Security
The line moved quickly, which was great. But as soon as I walked through the security scanner, I was pulled aside to be randomly checked. Really?!! Of course. I told them my flight was leaving soon, so they quickly checked, and I hurriedly grabbed my belongings and rushed to my Gate.
Fourth Step: Find my Gate.
My ticket said Gate 48, which was obviously allllll they way at the end. Fortunately, it was just before a second security check (for those flying to the US or UK). I walked into the room labeled 48, but there was no one there!!! I ran back to Gate 47 and asked them where Gate 48 was. They pointed to the room I had just emerged from! Dismayed, I told them no one was there. They told me to check the screen outside and sure enough, it had been moved to Gate 45. Phew! I could see the line and was able to join it. I had made it. :)
Sweaty and tired, it was nice to sit down, but that is when the exhaustion also hit. I was in the middle of the row, so I snoozed as best I could sitting up.
Once we landed safely in Prague, my new objective was to find our airbnb apartment for the night. I had printed the directions the hostess sent us and my first job was to find the Airport Express bus into the city. Easy. But I did just miss it, so I had to wait for the next one.
Then I was supposed to get off at the first stop.
Problem: when it stopped, I got up to get my belongings, but the doors immediately closed and the bus kept moving.
Ok...Plan B.
Umm...there was no plan B!
I was prepared to exit immediately at the next stop and then looked at the directions the hostess had written. Unfortunately they were very vague and never said street names or even which way to turn down streets (it read something like: cross the main street, go around the second corner, and almost at the next corner is our apartment). A bigger problem with the vague directions was that I wasn't even starting from the right point. But God is good, and I suddenly remembered that in my detailed itinerary that I had printed before leaving was the address for that night. AND I had also previously downloaded the map of Prague in my citymaps2go app (whoever created this app has my greatest and deepest appreciation!!!) I plugged in the address and was able to walk there in a few minutes.
My favorite part of the day was when I climbed the flight of stairs to the room, and there stood Anya and Whitney!!!! It was SO great to see them and be with friends again!
We chatted a little to catch up, then decided where to go for dinner. Dinner at 9..how European of us! :) We chose a local place called Lokal (see what I did there?). It was delicious...and so nice to catch up!
Afterwards, we walked back, and since Anya and I are pretty jet-lagged, we decided it was bedtime.
Here's to hoping for a FULL night's rest! :)
