Time passes quickly and we did not notice that our two months summer vacation in Norway is already over. It also means back to school na kami and I’m not yet so ready. I’m still adjusting with my sleep and weather in the Philippines, ganun yata talaga pag tumatanda na, ang hirap mag-adjust.
Our family loves visiting Norway if airfare is not expensive mapapadalas vacation namin. Hehehe! Though we love Norway, one thing I dislike is the journey. Flying to Norway and back to the Philippines is kinda stressful because there are a lot of transfers. Halos lahat na ng mode of transportation is masasakyan mo. We rode car, ferry boat, bus and 3 planes just to go back to the Philippines.
Thursday - Ferry Boat from Ørland to Trondheim
- Bus to Trondheim Airport
- Flight from Trondheim to Oslo via SAS
- Check-in at Radisson Blu Hotel Oslo Gardermoen
Friday - Flight from Oslo Norway to Doha Qatar via Qatar Airways
Saturday - Flight from Doha Qatar to Clark Philippines via Qatar Airways
Just like our experience before, we’re traveling for three days. I booked
Clark-Oslo-Clark ticket only so I need to go back to Oslo. I mentioned before that there are several ways to go to Oslo but the fastest way is riding an airplane. There is a small airport in
Ørland, Norway so we can take a flight from Ørland to Oslo Gardermoen via
Air Leap but unfortunately, there is no flight on the day of our trip so I have no choice but to book a flight from Trondheim Airport.
Read: Oslo Central Station to Trondheim Central Station via NSB Train
My mom has no more vacation leave so I booked a flight day before our flight in Oslo. It was a holiday so the earliest ferry boat from Ørland to Trondheim is 10:30AM. Travel time is 1 hour and from the ferry boat, we went straight to Bus Station and buzzer beater kami sa 11:40AM bus departure.
My mom just dropped us at the bus station because she needs to catch the 12:10 boat departure or else 4PM na yung next trip. Bus fare is NOK180 and the bus driver said, my son is free if accompanied by 1 adult. Yey! Nakatipid ako sa fare. Travel time is more or less 30 minutes from Bus Station to Trondheim Airport.
Trondheim Airport
Trondheim is not a busy airport so check-in and security check are so fast. It only takes a few minutes and we’re ready to eat our lunch. Two years ago, we ate at Pizza Hut but we could not find the restaurant so we just ate at Ritazza which is just a few meters walk from our boarding gate We just ordered Pepperoni Pizza NOK159 and Softdrinks NOK41.
Read: Glimpse of Trondheim Airport
If in the Philippines, we need 3-4 hours allowance before our flight, here in Norway, you only need two hours before the flight. We were so early for our 4PM flight so when we went to our boarding gate, flight to Stavanger pa ang nandun but my son still waited at the gate. Nagsakayan na pasahero to Stavanger at kami lang naiwan so ang aga talaga namin.
The flight is on time and we were in Oslo Gardermoen after 55 minutes. For our past travels, SAS is always our connecting flight to Trondheim so I chose this airline when I booked our Trondheim to Oslo flight. We arrived early but the luggage was delayed, as in nag-upuan na mga tao dahil walang lumalabas na luggage. This is the reason why I decided to fly to Oslo day before our flight back to the Philippines. I don’t want delays.
Read: SAS Scandinavian Airlines Experience
After getting the luggage, my son and I went to the
Radisson Blu Hotel Oslo Gardermoen. This hotel is just in front of the airport so we did not have a hard time looking for it. We stayed in
Radisson Blu Hotel in Trondheim so in my mind, they have the same rate but I was wrong, ang mahal pala sa Radisson Blu Oslo Gardermoen but I have no choice so I booked. I will share our experience in a separate post.
Read: Radisson Blu Airport Hotel in Trondheim
Radisson Blu Hotel Oslo Gardermoen
Qatar Airways Check-in Counter
Checked-out is 12NN, so we just walked from the hotel to the airport. We’re so early for our 4:10PM flight. The check-in counter opened three hours before our flight. We took Qatar Airways on our way to Oslo Norway so I know that they are very strict with one hand-carry bag but I was surprised when the staff weighed our bag. Waah! Muntikan na ko dun, 6.9kls yung handcarry ko and we all know 7kls lang ang allowed.
Read: Qatar Airways Flight Experience
Security Check: Family Lane
Security check-in is fast too because they have a separate lane for families, you need to scan first the boarding pass of the kid before the parents. We checked the Duty-Free store and bought some pasalubong, konti lang at wala naman kami space sa bag. One thing I noticed, the Freia chocolates that they are selling in the airport is King Sized 250g for NOK35 only compared to 200g in supermarket for NOK40 to NOK45, price depends on the flavor so mas mura pala sa airport.
Immigration
At the immigration, the Immigration Officer asked me how long we stayed in Norway and I said two months and then she checked our arrival date and computed our number of days. Then she said, “Oh that is correct!”. She really checked if I overstayed, I only applied for 60 days. They are really strict now compared to my previous experiences. If you remember my
Biyaheng Europe post, mahigpit din yung IO.
Streets Eats
After the Immigration, there is a small Duty-Free shop and Food Trucks at Gate F. Two years ago, wala pa nito so we had lunch at
Pizza Wheel. Pizza is our comfort food so we always eat pizza if we don’t know what to eat. We ordered Pepperoni Pizza NOK159 and Softdrinks NOK36.
Qatar Airways Experience
Our Clark - Doha - Oslo flight was a smooth flight so I was expecting that we will have the same experience flying back home. But our Oslo - Doha - Clark was a little bit stressful because of the waiting time. On our way to Doha and Oslo, we’re just waiting at the boarding gate before our boarding time but on our way back to Clark, the boarding gate in Oslo and Doha were still closed by the time we reached the gate. They only opened it an hour before our flight and there is seating arrangement depending on your seats or zone. It is not fun to be early because you will sit on the floor while waiting for the boarding gate to be opened.
Oslo to Clark
Oslo to Doha 6 hours and 30 minutes
Layover 2 hours and 20 minutes
Doha to Clark 8 hours and 55 minutes
Oslo to Doha
From Doha to Oslo flight, my son did not receive any flight entertainment kit so I was surprised when the staff gave one on our Oslo to Doha flight. So nakalimutan siya bigyan ng flight attendant before and we failed to ask. Sayang ang souvenir. This time, they did not give flight kit, same with my husband’s experience.
They did not give a menu so when the FA informed me about the options, chicken lang naintinidihan ko sa mga sinabi niya so for our flight puro chicken meals ang napili ko. Hehehe!
When we landed, I was expecting that we will ride a bus and train but I was happy that we just walked until we reached the Security Check-In and Boarding Gate. So it was a different experience for us. I wanted to explore the Qatar Airport but my son doesn’t like to walk anymore so we went to the boarding gate only to find out that it is still closed. There is free wifi but the signal is weak, maybe it depends on the boarding gate, dulo na yata yung Gate A.
Doha to Clark
For our Doha to Clark, there is flight kit for adult and kids, entertainment kit for my son, and menu but they forgot to give the lunch box for my son. But I asked for it, I ordered Kid’s Meal so I was expecting that they will serve Kid’s meal to my son but I don’t know what happened but we did not receive it. But anyway, they fixed everything and we got our lunch box before touchdown. It is better to be late than never.
Doha to Clark Menu
Main Meal
Appetizer: Seasonal Salad
Mains: Thai Green Chicken Curry served with Jasmine Rice
Beef Strogranoff with Spatzie, Carrots and Green Beans
Egg Noodles in Chili, Ginger and Garlic Sauce with Mushroom and Tofu
Dessert: Peach Mousse Cake
Brunch
Mains: Beef Cobbler with Savoury Scone, Cheese, and Herbed Mashed Potato
Scrambled Eggs with Breakfast Sausage, Fried Potato Cubes, and Tomato Wedges
Stir Fried Egg Noodles with Mixed Vegetables
Accompaniments: Seasonal Fresh Fruit and Fruit Yogurt
Beverages
Wines: Red wine, White wine
Spirits: Gin, Whisky, Vodka
Beer: Heineken
Liqueur: Brandy, Baileys Original Irish Cream
Cold Beverages: A selection of soft drinks, ginger ale, soda water, tonic water, a selection of juices, still water
Tea and Coffee: Freshly brewed Ceylon Tea, Longjing tea, coffee
Our Qatar Airways experience varies depending on our flight, there are some flaws but overall we still enjoyed our Qatar Airways experience. I do recommend this airplane especially if you have kids in tow because they serve the kid’s meal first and they have flight entertainment kit. But don’t forget to order for your kid’s meal before your flight.
Flight and luggage were delayed so 6PM na kami nakaalis ng airport and we reached home after 3 hours and 30 minutes. Yey! We’re finally home after the long travel.
