And then we were two......




Final day as a threesome and a last little bit of Oslo, first goal was the win of pain au choclat at breakfast aided by an earlier eating time. But none the less this started the day off well 

Now to enjoy the botanical gardens and I think we have finally worked out why it sounds so quiet here. At times it feels like you could hear a pin drop........but today we realised the ridiculously high proportion of electric cars including spotting a porche, jaguar and more tesla s than you can shake a stick at means its like spot the noisy car.

There is a markedly lower noise pollution which makes this capital city feel and actually sound very quiet. New car sales are at a staggering 93% EV and male up over 30% of Norways total cars.....mainly because they are tax free!


Anyway we strolled to the Botanical gardens where we admired more plants and trees and herbs and different planting styles 

They had a greenhouse with these massive lily pads thats can support a baby



Weirdly the greenhouse was called the victoria house as it was in queen Victoria  reign some british dude called James designed a curculating warm water pond in order to grow the lily pads. He also redesigned greenhouses and is responsible for Crystal Palace

A coffee and a wander.to the Mathallen a food hall for lunch where we all agreed we had the bestthai ever!

A bit of skid into the airport and swift final beer as we waved Lindsey off back home and Fi and I set off for the North Pole......well 78degrees N but whats 12deg between friends! SVALBARD here we come


Our plane was full to the brim with a large Asian contingency who were whisked off to a cruise ship on arrival while the rest of us found the airport bus to our various accommodations. Its all pretty organised the buses are timed with the flights you climb aboard and then the driver comes round and charges you.

There was the usual frenzy of photo taking of the signposts (we opted for the carpark, as the view beyond was staggering) and then some good chat from the bus driver about polar bears and not petting the huskys.


We were dropped off at our accommodation the Coal miners Cabins dug into the sandwiches we had made at the Oslo breakfast bun fight and had a Svalbard brewed beer as we chuckled at the fact it was still daylight

The view down the road from our accommodation at the top end of town in Nybyen


Classic statements/question

Its still daylight.....What time is it!

How cold is it.....



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