Maliks Kvarten Bistro

For a quick lunch, we stopped into Maliks Kvarten Bistro, located just off Karl Johans Gate in Oslo. The place, a fast casual restaurant in which a number of locals stopped in for a take out lunch or a quick, but hearty, lunch.

We ordered the wiener schnitzel, served with rice, salad and buttered corn. The meat was very good, with a crispy breading and a moist meat.

We also ordered the chicken burger. The burger was fantastic - moist with a great sauce (I've had nothing like it, a pale orange-y sauce the color of thousand island dressing that tasted like mayonnaise and Italian dressing combined) and topped with lettuce and served with a salad, buttered corn and french fries that are life changing (seriously, best fries ever).

Maliks Kvarten Bistro is very quick, with a small seating area and open for lunch and into the late night.

Aegir Bryggeri at Flamsbrygger

The Aegir Brewery, connected to the Flåmsbrygga Hotel in Flåm, seemed like a good idea - in house brewed beer, beautiful dining area, and massive burgers.

We ordered the beer tasting flight, five of the house brewed beers, which is one of the best deals on the menu. I asked if I could replace the porter (the darkest beer on the flight) with a different option, which was allowed, as long as it was on tap and not from a bottle.

We also ordered two burgers - the regular beef burger and the venison burger, both served with roasted potatoes. The burgers were good - they were massive and the two of us dining there could have shared one.

Holmenkollen Ski Jump

The Holmenkollen Ski Jump can be seen from almost anywhere in Oslo.  However, it is located about a 40 minute train ride from the center of the city.  Once you get off at the train stop for it, you'll also need to make a 20 minute walk, mostly uphill, to get to it.  That train ride and uphill hike are well worth it.  From the top, you'll get a gorgeous view of Oslo and the Oslofjord.  You'll get a great vantage point showing you how the ski jump athletes would head down the jump.  We'd highly recommend this trip, and it is free with the Oslo Pass.

Olivia, Oslo

We learned about the Oslo Harbour area after our Oslofjord sightseeing cruise. This area, which tends to have more locals enjoying dinner than you would find in the more touristy area along Karl Johans Gate.

For dinner, we chose Olivia, an Italian restaurant serving up wood fire grilled pizzas and packed to the brim with people. Indoor and outdoor seating was available, with the outdoor seating offering a few blankets for diners and perfect for people watching.

We ordered a pizza with salami, a perfect, crispy thin crust pizza with creamy, cheese and large pieces of partially crispy, partially hot and bubbly salami on top. Perfect.

We also ordered the pasta with chicken and bacon in a rosa sauce. Also amazing. The sauce was creamy, the bacon was in big chunks and fried off crispy and the chicken was seasoned perfectly.

Lillehammer Olympics Museum, Ski Jump and Wheel Bob

Lillehammer, Norway was the home of the 1994 Winter Olympics.  There are still a few spots you can see in the town that have been preserved for visitors.  The first, the wheel-bob, is located outside of town.  Here, you can ride down the Olympic bobsled course, which seemed like a fantastic, exhilarating idea.  However, be aware, you will be rocketing down extremely fast with your head bobbing everywhere.  It takes about a minute to get down, and you are driven by a professional, but all of us said afterwards it was something we wouldn't do again.  Only look to do this activity if you are truly adventurous.

The 2nd spot to hit up is the Norwegian Olympics Museum, which is contained inside the arena that held the various ice skating competitions during the Olympics.  This museum goes through both the history of Norway in the olympics, as well as of the Lillehammer '94 games.  It was definitely a very interesting exhibit.

The final spot is the Lillehammer Ski Jump.  From here, you can take the ski lift to the top and get a gorgeous view of Lillehammer and the surrounding area.  You also have the option of walking up if you truly enjoy hundreds upon hundreds of stairs.  This was definitely a great place to visit and we'd recommend it.

Flåmsbana

The most famous train ride in the world, with the steepest incline for a train ride, the Flåmsbana is an excellent experience.  Many take the train from Bergen to experience this.  However, we started from the Flåm side and did the ride late in the day to avoid all the Cruise Ship visitors.  Once on the train, make sure you get yourself a good window seat.  There's great views on both sides of the train ride, so we'd recommend being on one side of the train for the ride up, and the opposite side on the way down.

The train will make several stops along the way, as it is still usable by residents of the area.  The main stop for tourists though is next to a waterfall where a "huldra" will serenade you with her song.  This was definitely a nice touch Norway has added for visitors.

The train ride will take about an hour each way.  When you reach the end at Myrdal, there really isn't much around, so we'd recommend just taking the same train back to Flåm.

Fabian Pannekakeri, Halden

We stopped into Fabian, a "Pannekakeri" in Halden for lunch. The waiter spoke English, however, the restaurant did not have English menus. Our waiter was very kind and translated a good portion of the menu for us and helped translate items that we were interested in for lunch.

We ordered the sweet crepes, which were served with grapes, kiwi, oranges and vanilla ice cream, which were delicate and light, but, in my opinion, would make a better dessert than a lunch.

We also ordered the vegetarian plate, which was two (crepe-like) pancakes served with arugula, parmesan cheese, plum tomatoes, and green onions. This was much more hearty, but not heavy, which was perfect for a sunny summer afternoon in Norway.

Fabian did offer a few tables outside for dining or enjoying coffee. We sat indoors, which was like dining in a friend's home for brunch - cozy and warm.