Trip to Norway

For the last few years, we’ve been planning to visit Norway but for some reason, hindi kami natutuloy. Aside from budget, we also need to consider the vacation leave of my husband and my mom. It is not practical to go to Europe if we will only stay for one week. My mom needs to file for vacation leave too so she can pick us up at the airport and tour us around even just for a few days.

Last year, my mom asked me if I wanted to visit Norway this summer, I got excited pero slight lang because I knew I needed to apply for a visa. Baka madeny kami at madisappoint ako. Hehehe! So after we got our visas and plane tickets, we started counting the days for our summer vacation trip.

Read: How to Apply for Schengen Visa via VFS Global Norway

Traveling to Norway is not easy because you need patience. When we first went here, our flight + layover was 36 hours, hindi pa kasama diyan ang paghihintay namin sa NAIA at travel from Trondheim to my mom’s place. We rode 4 airplanes + 1 Ferry Boat.

Manila Philippines to Bangkok Thailand
Bangkok Thailand to Frankfurt Germany 
Frankfurt Germany to Oslo Norway 
Oslo Norway to Trondheim Norway
Ferry Boat from Trondheim to Ørland  

After so many years, things changed so now we only rode 3 airplanes + 1 Ferry Boat. Our flight + layover was down to 22 hours. I was having a hard time looking for cheap airfare because there was no more seat sale when we got the visas. My mom will take the KLM flight but the fare is so expensive so I checked other airlines. Good thing, I remember to check Thai Airways and we got a cheaper airfare compared to other airlines. We also took Thai Airways during our first trip to Norway.

Fast forward to our trip, sa sobrang excited namin, we were in NAIA 1 six hours before our flight so the long waiting started. After check-in, we stayed at Miascor Lounge while waiting for our boarding time.

Read: Glimpse of NAIA 1 
Glimpse of Miascor Lounge

Manila Philippines to Bangkok Thailand via Thai Airways 

The flight was at 8PM, and we were very happy when we saw the seat monitor because for the past few trips, we always rode Philippines Airlines and most of their airplanes had no seat monitor. Our sleeping time is 8PM but because of the in-flight entertainment, my son watched movies.

We had 2 2-hour and 40-minute layovers at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. Bangkok Airport is big so we immediately look for our boarding gate. We passed the security check again, where we needed to remove our shoes and gadgets from our hand-carry luggage. Free wifi at the airport but I haven't tried.

Bangkok Thailand to Oslo Norway via Thai Airways

Since this is a long-haul flight, I was expecting for travel kit but Thai Airways did not provide anything even for the kids. Bangkok Thailand to Oslo Norway is 11 hours and 30 minutes, it was my son’s first long-haul flight and I was glad that he did not have any problems. He slept through the night while I was having a problem with sleeping so I watched 5 movies. Hehehe! Aside from movies, you can listen to music or play games.

We ate twice, one dinner and one breakfast.

Oslo Norway to Trondheim Norway via Scandinavian Airlines

After almost 12 hours in the air, we’re happy that we landed safely. We had 2 hours and 45 minutes layover. We needed to pass immigration and the line was so long because they became more strict in checking because a few days before our trip, there was a terrorist attack in Stockholm Sweden.

After that, we collected our luggage and checked in again. We had a hard time in checking-in. The line was long at the check-in counter and we were running late for our connecting flight so my husband tried the self-check-in machine. We experienced that when we rode Air Asia from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. But the difference is, everything is self-service as in there are no staff that will assist you.

We put the luggage tag and we dropped our luggage at the counter. We had a problem with our luggage because it was over 23 kilos. Our baggage limit in Thai Airways is 30 kilos but when we reached Oslo, they only accept 23 kilos in self-check-in counter so we had no choice but to remove some stuff in our check-in bag. Thank God for packing cubes, hinugot ko lang at nilagay sa hand-carry. Nagkaspace kami sa hand-carry because we need to wear our jackets na. We’re freezing cold at Oslo, wala na kami sa Pilipinas.

We need to pass the security check again, there was a problem with my handcarry that they need to check it again. Ewan ko kung ano na naman nakita dun, hopia lang naman ang nandun. Hehehe! This is one thing that I don’t like in traveling, you need to pass the security check over and over again. Minsan napaparanoid ako at baka malagyan ng kung anu-ano na hindi ko naman dala.

Another dilemma in traveling is the language, we did not hear any English translation when we are waiting at the boarding gate so nung nakita namin na nagtayuan na lahat at pumila, nakipila na rin kami. We just scanned our ticket to enter the gate. Finally, last plane na ito.

I was surprised when I learned that there is no more food and drinks, so parang budget airlines na rin pala ang Scandinavian Airlines. There is a menu where you can choose foods and drinks, they accept Danish Kroner, Norwegian Kroner, and Euro. We did not order anything.

Trondheim to Brekstad 

After 1 hour, our plane landed and we collected our bags again. The travel was not yet over because we needed to ride a Ferry Boat. My stepdad fetched us at the airport and drove for 2 hours to Valset where we were going to take the boat (RORO). Travel time is 30 minutes.

Finally, after 33 hours since we left the house, we’re finally home. Our home away from home. On our way to the house, my son said: “Mommy, Wowa’s house is really far”. Yes, it is really far but Norway is worth a visit.

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