MYA will be exploring Norway at the perfect time to get in some city vibes, spa bliss Scandinavian style, catching the lights dancing across the skies, and cross-country skiing on beautifully groomed trails (or snowshoeing). We’ll have accommodations in Oslo and further afield to take in the countryside, enjoy having a vegetarian cook, MJ, whipping up delicious meals, and of course daily yoga with Holly. Crossing our fingers for late March snow!
Our first three eves will be spent in a luxury apartment in the embassy district in the heart of Frogner; beautiful placement to explore the city of Oslo. Large windows bring in lots of light into the apartment and the floor heating in all rooms will keep us warm during the chillier days.
Adventurers will have plenty of relaxation space with two lovely living rooms, two fireplaces, two balconies, 2.5 bathrooms, three bedrooms and one office (or small bedroom). The apartment is in a well-kept traditional building from 1910 yet fully modernized; the height and ornamentations of the ceilings pay tribute to the original style of the apartment.
MJ will make full use of the modern, fully equipped kitchen (including a built-in coffee machine). In a short walk we can find restaurants, local food shops (cheese!), the famous Vigeland Park with over 200 sculptures, and public transportation. Within 15-20 minutes walk you reach the castle and the main street Karl Johan. The bus will bring us to the center of Oslo in few minutes.
So much to do in our three eves in the city! We will hit the Oslo Fjord Sauna for sure and decide if we’d like to partake in the Thief Spa or Salt Spa right in the city. Or, we may decide to hop a train for an hour to The Well spa experience (not included in price: $50-$60 plus price of hr long trainride) with 11 different pools, 15 different saunas and steam baths, waterfalls, Japanese bathhouse with onsen, oriental hamam, and rhassoul.
Adventurers will go strolling, visiting the Munch museum, sculpture viewing, sauna drop ins, perhaps skiing, sledding, and park snowga if the weather is right. Let’s hope for SNOW! We’ll soak up all the goodness & fabulousness from Oslo.
Following the city excitement, adventurers will take the train to Lillehammer (incl in cost) to enjoy strolling and lunch. We’ll then switch over to two cars to make the drive, about a 1/2 hr, to the countryside. We’ll have our private dreamy cabin at Natrudstilen, Sjusjøen with fabulous views towards both Jotunheimen and Norefjell, and most importantly, a hot tub!
We can truly enjoy the paradise outdoors knowing that we have plenty of indoor relaxation spaces, another well-equipped kitchen, living room, dining room, and sleeping areas. The cabin is perfectly located for skiing in/out to the alpine slope and to the famous nordic trail network in Sjusjøen; just a short walk away is the ski center where we can get our rentals (skis or snowshoes).
We can explore the little town and the trails alongside the lake; also not far from the cabin is dogsledding! This is another experience along with skiing that will be up to adventurers, MYA can book the dogsledding (about $165 per person) once we have our numbers.
Let’s hope we get three wonderful eves of clear skies with the northern lights dancing just above us! More snowga with lots of soaking in between. All will definitely delight in more yummy hot meals from MJ after we come in from all the fun we can have in the great outdoors.
On Sunday, we’ll leave our cabin behind and head to one more locale that is sure to be unique and cozy. We’ll let our cars go, have another ride on the train to head a little north of Oslo to spend the night in two micro-houses on a historic property with the magistrate’s residence from 1921. The micro-houses of which there are four were designed by architect Benedicte Sund-Matisen, SUMA arkitektur, in Nordic contemporary architectural style. It is green throughout with local labor and the materials used such as green sedum mats on the roof. There is also a sauna on the property that MYA will get access to, yay!
