We are flying to Oslo on Norwegian Airlines again, with a connecting flight in Gatwick (London). We had flown NA to England last September. They are considered to be a “budget” carrier, but they do offer decent reclining seats (think Lazy Z Boy) in business class and the planes are new 787’s.  Also their prices are extremely competitive; you can save a considerable amount of money flying with them. I recall my only complaint last time was that the meals served were only “average” but it was certainly a minor complaint.

Our flight left Seattle at 1:45 PM on June 14.  The flight to London was 9h 15m, followed by a nice leisurely 2h 20m layover so we could stretch our legs and grab a snack. The low cost approach is evident in that the pre-flight drinks were limited to fruit juice or water, no champagne on these flights. Furthermore the “glasses” are plastic and there were no warm mixed nuts.  The meal again was nothing special, served in a box with plastic utensils. We have not often had good luck with ordering beef on flights so we selected the chicken option which turned out to be quite tasty. Another limitation to flying Norwegian is that there is no amenity kit, not that we need them as we have a drawer full of unused ones at home. And the provided earphones are not Bose! There was a limited number of movies available so I spent my time reading a new book I brought along.

Our flight from London was delayed by about 45 minutes but it did not pose a problem to us. There were some people on board who had connecting flights once they got to Oslo and they were concerned. Not sure if they made their flights.

Norway is one of those countries that people admire for their efficiency at doing things. Well, today things did not go well when we landed in Oslo. The lines to get through immigration were very long, so much so that it took us 70 minutes of standing in line before we were cleared. This is the longest we have ever experienced in our international travels. The good news is that our luggage was already waiting for us once we got cleared  and our hotel room was immediately available once we arrived. We fell into bed for a much deserved 2 hour nap before seeking dinner, which we chose to have at the rooftop restaurant in the hotel.

Speaking about the hotel it came as a pleasant surprise. It is part of the Clarion chain, which in the USA is a “modest” (i.e. 2-3 star) level hotel. I did not expect much but the hotel really surprised me; obviously the Clarion chain in Europe is considered a 4 star hotel. It was brand new with high tech elevators where you scan your key card and it directs you to one of 5 lifts to speed up your travel. It was really cool! There are sensors in the hallways to turn on/off lighting as you walk to your room. The room decor is hip and trendy with way too many pillows, a huge (55” ) TV, and surprisingly no in-room telephone (the front desk says everyone has a cell phone so why bother paying to put phones in the room).

Normally we come in one day early, but we are here two days early because of flight constraints this time of the year. We are staying at the hotel that the tour group uses and plan to do some sightseeing before the trip officially starts on Monday. I have booked an Oslo walking tour for Sunday morning and we will wing it for the remainder of the time. We had briefly been in Oslo in 2007 while on a cruise along the Norwegian coastline so we really have not had much exposure to the city.