Mini cruise round the Oslo fjord islands

Drive from Vollen to Sandvika and walk down to the river landing stage at Kadettangen. There the boats “M/S Rigmor” and “M/S Rigfar” leave for a 90 minute ferry boat trip with great views of the coastlines, lighthouses and islands. The ferry leaves at weekends from 18th May – 2nd September and daily except Mondays from 23rd June to 12th August at the following times: 10:30, 13:30 and 15:45. Unlike the 12:00 Mini-cruise which does not make any stops, the regular ferries stop at a number of islands to let off and fetch passengers.

12:00 Mini-cruise – Recommended for sightseeing. Does NOT stop at the islands.

Sails every Saturday and Sunday from 18. May to 2. September. Also sails on Whit Monday.
Sails daily (except Mondays) from 23rd June to 12th August.

Enjoy the Oslo fjord for an hour and a half sailing to idyllic places not visited by ordinary ferries. The captain tells something of history and facts of current interest. Beginning at Sandvika, you sail past the Nesøya island through the sound, along the Holmen fjord, through “Dinner bay” out between Gåsøya & Ostøya islands where you can see the whole inner fjord into Oslo. Then back to Sandvika about 13:30.

Ferry and Minicruise: Arrival times at the islands are approximate. Be at the landing stage at least 5 minutes early.

The ferry takes passengers to the islands but you can take the boat as a sight-seeing trip. However the Mini-cruise is recommended as this is a guided trip and does not stop at the islands. These tours take 90 minutes.

For more information about the ferry and mini-cruise departure times, consult side 2 i “Rigmor tidende”: http://www.rigmor.no/?page=16

10:30 Ferry

Sails every Saturday and Sunday from mid May to the beginning of September. Also sails on Whit Monday

Sails every day except Monday from 23rd June to 12th August: Leaves Sandvika 10.30, Borøya 10.45, Brønnøya Nord & Ostøya 10.50, Brønnøya Øst 10.55, Langåra & Brønnøya Syd 11.10, Hareholmen & Høyerholmen 11.20, Brønnøya Øst & Ostøya 11.35,
Brønnøya Nord & Borøya 11.45, arrival Sandvika 12.00

13:30 Ferry.

Sails every Saturday and Sunday from mid May to the beginning of September. Also sails on Whit Monday

Sails every day except Monday from 23rd June to 12th August

Leaves Sandvika 13.30, Borøya 13.45, Brønnøya Nord and Ostøya 13.50, Brønnøya Øst 13.55, Langåra og Brønnøya Syd 14.10, Hareholmen and Høyerholmen 14.20, Brønnøya Øst and Ostøya 14.40,
Brønnøya Nord and Borøya 14.45, arrival Sandvika 15.00

15:30 Ferry

Sails every Friday and Sunday from mid May to early September

Sails every day except Monday from 23rd June to 12th August

Leaves Sandvika 15.30, Borøya 15.45, Brønnøya Nord & Ostøya 15.50, Brønnøya Øst 15.55, Langåra & Brønnøya Syd 16.10, Hareholmen & Høyerholmen 16.20, Brønnøya Øst & Ostøya 16.35,
Brønnøya Nord & Borøya 16.45, arrival Sandvika 17.00

Hop-on Hop-off Tours of Oslo

Spend a day seeing the sights of Oslo, the oldest of the Scandinavian Capitals, from an open-top, double-decker tour bus. Your pass is valid for a full 24-hour period, and you can hop on and off at your leisure. You will enjoy 360-degree views from the open top of the bus and learn about the city’s history from your multilingual audio guides. The full loop lasts 90 minutes and frequency at the stops is every half hour. Book your ticket online

Stops include:
• Oslo City Hall
• Oslo Cruise Terminal & Akershus Fort.
• Oslo Opera House
• Oslo Central Station
• Clarion Royal Christiania Hotel
• Grand Hotel & Karl Johan Street
• Oslo Parliament & Karl Johan
• The Royal Castle & The Ibsen Museum
• Vigeland Sculpture Park
• Norwegian Museum Of Cultural History
• Viking Ship Museum
• Kon-Tiki, Fram & Norwegian Maritime Museum
• Norwegian Museum Of Cultural History
• Aker Brygge

Useful to know:

Stop 1 is at the City Hall

The bus operates from 1st April – 30th October 2019

First departure is at 10:00

Last departure is at 16:30

There will be earlier departures when cruise ships are in port

Asker Museum

Asker Museum is a fifteen minute drive from Vollen. The house was home to some of Norway’s important artists, Tilla and Otto Valstad, and Hulda and Arne Garborg. The garden is my favourite part of the museum – it is Baroque inspired and beside the many little paths there are charming animal sculptures to surprise visitors.
You’ll enjoy the Museum shop with old fashioned toys and gift articles, and I enthusiastically recommend a stop in the Kafé Gunhild for Ice-cream, waffles, yeast scones and so on. Children will also enjoy the traditional play apparatus or visiting the barn, climbing on the tractor or looking at the free range hens.

Asker museum Norway
Latitude: 59.85368 | Longitude: 10.455727

Golf

We are members at Kjekstad golf club, a 15 minute drive from Vollen. – Kjekstad has several practice putting greens, a large driving range, pitching and sand practice areas, a café and shop. The picture above was taken on 9th May 2016 when the temperature was a wonderful 24 degrees Celsius! The club has two courses – the 18 hole which is fairly demanding and also provides an amazing nature experience as you move round the forest, even glimpsing Oslo in the far distance from the highest point. The 9 hole course is my favourite – it’s a par 3 course but provides a lot of challenge. Hole 6 is shown on the introduction photo – where a few times in a season I might get a birdie and there’s always the hope of that elusive hole in one…

There are quite a number of golf clubs in the Oslo region. Depending on the weather conditions and how early or late the snow melted, the season begins in late April and ends in October.

I usually drive up Vollenveien to Heggedal and then take road 167 to join road 165. Perhaps take one route there and the other home?

The physical map shows both the 9 hole, 3-par course to the west of the Clubhouse at Kjekstad Golf Club and also the 18 hole course to the north. I’d like to mention Hole 10, which is the most northerly and has a spectacular tee-off over the lake.

Walking/jogging/skiing in the forests and on the coastal paths

There are many trails and paths in the forests and along the fjords all over Norway. In Vollen we have some very beautiful ones. Many of the most popular trails are marked at intervals with a blue stripe on a tree or stone (see the photo below)
From July until the frost arrives in October, you can enjoy picking edible wild berries such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, and also edible mushrooms. Some mushrooms are unmistakable, but you MUST be absolutely certain they are not poisonous. I have included a picture of one of the best loved below – the golden chanterelle.
You can enjoy rambling at all seasons of the year – perhaps using the Scandinavian spiked soles which can be fastened to boots if the ground is icy – and of course on cross-country skis in snowy conditions.

On top of Skaugum hill looking down on Asker county

The blue line on the map below shows our local coastal paths. Apart from the lovely walks around Vollen, where you will notice especially many “good bathing places” flags, there are other walks of especial interest. The trip around Løkeneshalvøya (Løkenes peninsula) is beautiful and you will pass one of the famous “ice-lakes” where, in the 19th century, ice was cut and exported to England – even to Queen Victoria!! The sail ships which raced across the North Sea with the frozen cargo, came into Spire bay just south of Spire Lake.
Konglungen island used to be the home of local fishermen. It is now an extremely fashionable area with many multi million villas.

Another notable walk is round Brønnøya island. This is a protected area with no vehicle access. On fine evenings all summer, and especially on the Eve of St Hans in June, the sound between Brønnøya and the next island to the east, Langåra, is a very popular place to enjoy dinner on board at an anchorage out of the wind. In fact the sound is popularly known as Middagsbukta (Dinner Bay)

Vigeland Park

View to the statue bridge

Baby waiting for birth

The Angry Boy

Monolith

Vigeland Park is the world’s largest sculpture park made by a single artist, and is one of Norway’s most popular tourist attractions. The park is open to visitors all year round. There is a large parking lot beside the park. Allow at least an hour to enjoy the various elements in the park. We suggest that you first go to the beginning of life circle of eight bronze sculptures down below the bridge – with the little baby waiting to be born in the centre. Then make your way through the park, finally arriving at the amazing monolith.

The unique sculpture park is Gustav Vigeland’s lifework with more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and wrought iron. Vigeland was also in charge of the design and architectural layout of the park. The Vigeland Park was mainly completed between 1939 and 1949.

Most of the sculptures are placed in five units along an 850 meter long axis: The Main gate, the Bridge with the Children’s playground, the Fountain, the Monolith plateau and the Wheel of Life.

Oslo citizens use the park for lots of recreational and sporting activities – skiing, jogging, walking, meeting friends, picnicking on the grass – and it is equally popular at all seasons.

You will enjoy finding your favourite statue – mine is the first on the left below!

From the Monolith, walk to the Circle of Life. After enjoying this, look over at the hills to see the iconic Holmenkollen ski jump.

Do find this first picture on the frieze of the Fountain of Life. Then walk to the left to see the entire circle of life evolve.

There are several cafes in the park. This one is close to the Monolith. They sell small copies of the “Angry Boy” as well as postcards.