Trysil and Oslo advice please

A snowHead

Trysil and Oslo advice please

We are booked to go over Easter. First to Oslo for a weekend, staying near the airport and heading into Oslo on Saturday/Sunday, then onto Trysil for five days. All these recent threads about cost are a bit concerning so a few questions about this, the lack of snow we can’t do anything about.

We are a family of four, self catering in Trysil. We are staying on the Høyfjellssenteret side. Think we will rent a car rather than take the bus. We have booked group lessons for kids but are waiting for confirmation of the adult class.

I have read a few threads here, notably Wildsmith’s
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=2891131&highlight=trysil#2891131
and
http://snowheads.com/ski-forum/viewtopic.php?p=2021796

But have a few questions that would appreciate some help with:

General

Are credit cards widely accepted in Norway or is a fair bit of cash required? How much cash per day would be handy (for a family of four)?

Oslo

The train to Olso from the airport looks pricey compared to renting a car for a few extra days to get into Oslo so I think we will likely drive into Oslo at least to the outskirts: is parking straightforward; do you need to pay for parking at weekends; how can you pay for on street parking (cash/credit cards).

Think there is a toll to get into/around Oslo, do the rental cars come with some device or do you need to stop to pay?

Are there reasonably priced places to eat that are central/near to the tourist attractions? I would like to get to the ship museums and the Kon-Tiki Museum on Bygdoy.

Is the Oslo pass a worthwhile thing to get?

Trysil

I assume by Easter (being mid April) the roads will be fine and easy from Olso. Also winterisation of the car need not be a concern?

If we don’t get the adult group lesson we might go for a few private classes, we have booked the lessons with Trysil Guidene but do they and Skistar still have a lock on the ski school or are private lessons provided by others, if so any recommendations would be great.

We have insurance but is there a Norwegian equivalent of Carte Neige we can/should get?

I know of a small food store near where we are staying in Trysil but is there any big supermarket (more choice, cheaper?) on the way from Gardermoen to Trysil to pick up supplies en-route.

Heard about these Scandinavian warming huts, what facilities are in these?

What about reasonable places to eat on slope and off?

Any runs to recommend? I have a few levels to cater to from beginner to fearless straight liner to my sufficient intermediate. But mostly will be skiing on my own in the mornings with lessons hopefully preoccupying the rest then with the young speed demon with his new race skis after his half day lesson.

But all tips/advice gratefully received, thanks all.

A snowHead

Didn't have any problem using cards or getting cash out of ATMs last Easter, we stayed half board and as a result only spent around £200 between me and 2 girls (12 and 16) and that included the kids increasing thei ski wardrobes in the end of season sales.
We had a transfer from the airport in Oslo but the roads were clear all the way
Insurance we just have the Austrian Alpine Club for mountain rescue cover, works summer and winter in whatever mountains you are in and costs around £45 a year for the 3 of us.
There is a medium sized supermarket, no more pricey than a typical French alpine store just above the Raddison Blue at the tourist centre side of the mountain and a few other supermarkets around 1km away at the bottom of hill and over the river from there.
Warming huts tend to have BBQ facilities.
Runs just explore, we liked the ones on the Tourist centre side best but everywhere was good.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Scandinavia is virtually cashless. I never carry cash. You can buy a stamp with a card.

Train from the airport into the city is super easy and quick. Look at www.nsb.no. For Oslo Lufthavn to Oslo S. Adult 90 NOK.

Main car park operator is Europark. To park in city centre its 40-60 NOK/hr or 360 NOK/day. I don't know about the outskirts, sorry. You can pay parking machines with a card. Some you need to put your card in to start it, and back in again when you leave (otherwise it assumes you've stayed a day).

If you are staying near the airport, you may be nearer Nordby or Jessheim stations where it could be easier/cheaper to park? https://commons.m.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oslo_Commuter_Rail_map.svg

I don't recall any congestion charge to get into Oslo by car (or the hire car company sorts that out). There are tolls on the way up to Trysil, but again I can't remember if they were automatically charged to the car hire bill at the end or I paid with a card. Ask when you pick up the car.

Roads will be fine and car will come with winter tyres. It's the law.

You need to Login to know who's really who.

Hi
-cards are fine even for a cuppa
- take wine if you like a glass we bring boxes
- take as much food as you can
- kiwi is the cheapest supermarket we found they are all over
-slope eating is extortionate except waffles which are £3-50 hot choc small £1-50 meals are £20 ahead diet coke £4 beer £7
- fantastic skiing
- wonderful people
Try economy car rentals we got a huge Lexus for £89 for the week!! Although generally weve paid £350 a week
You will live Trysil

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

For some inexpensive (in Norwegian terms only) traditional Norwegian food in Oslo try http://www.kaffistova.com

Nothing is cheap.

You'll need to Register first of course.

To try and answer a few other questions:

For supermarkets on the way, see https://coop.no. Then click on "velg butikk" in the top left and it takes you to a map of where their supermarkets are. Several on the way to Trysil.

On the mountain, warm huts "varmestue" are marked on the piste map. Usually these have microwaves in them also. So are grills, which are under a shelter normally.

Here is some information on insurance https://www.skistar.com/en/Trysil/My-page/About-your-booking1/Taking-out-insurance/

Then you can post your own questions or snow reports...

Tolls on the roads round Oslo and up towards the mountains are all automatic. There's nowhere to stop and pay, you will presumably get a bill from the hire car company afterwards.

After all it is free

Thanks all for replies. Really helpful.

Useful to know re the local Trysil supermarkets and spending.

@Themasterpiece, hoped you’d be around as I thought you might have some answers. I thought our airport hotel had a free shuttle to the airport so we could use the airport train but turns out it costs 70NOK per pax on their shuttle so we might rent the car for extra few days and use that tlo get into Oslo or find a different hotel. Found a map of on-street parking in Oslo that looks like its something like 150NOK for the day just out from the centre.

All of the big supermarkets don’t seem to be open on Sunday when I had hoped to go on the way to the resort so may have to stock up on Saturday if we have the time.

Had a look at economy car rentals, no cheap Lexus so far sadly!

Into 30 day countdown.

We'll be heading back from Trysil with a decent part of the day to use, rather than heading into Oslo then back to the airport, does anyone know of anywhere interesting/good to see on the way back between Trysil and the airport?

Found this - http://domkirkeodden.no/ but doesnt look like its open the day we head back.

*Ski* the Net with snowHeads

Hi, my first post!

As most people have mentioned, credit cards accepted everywhere, but check with your bank to see what their fees are. Maybe be more economical to take a big lump sum out then using your card every time for small items.

Supermarkets: there's a Rema 1000 supermarket on the main road before you drive up to Høyfjellssenter. It's open on Sundays (not sure about Easter Sunday)

Driving to Oslo: to save money you could drive to IKEA Furuset (30mins from Gardermoen), park there and take their free shuttle bus to the city center (every 30mins). You will avoid paying tolls into Oslo and parking fees. Just pop into IKEA and buy something small or eat there.

If you decide to take public transport, children under 16 travel for free with an adult at weekends and public holidays (www.ruter.no)

Highly recommend you download the SkiStar app and register with MySkiStar. You'll get freebies, discounts and offers depending on how much you ski.

I'll be in Trysil this weekend, if you have anymore questions, just post.

snowHeads are a friendly bunch.

@Spoon, welcome to snowHead

. Hope you have a good trip. SkiStar app is useful, not least because it flags-up any lift or piste closures (did in Are, anyway). Spoon makes a good point re credit card charges - there are many cards around that do not charge for transactions in a foreign currency (e.g. Post Office card)

snow reports

@Spoon, hi and welcome to snowheads.

Thanks for the info and tips.

I was a bit stunned at the fx charges on using our normal credit cards on our last trip so am now using the Revolut Mastercard debit card which has no charges for fx transactions and purports to use near interbank rates. Sounds perfect for Norway if its as cashless as everyone is saying.

Looks like you will have a great time with the recent snow fall then forecast for sun over the next few days. Which side do you stay?

@ster Thanks for the welcome guys.

Staying at Radisson Blu Resort (turistsenter) for one night this time. Just a short pure skiing weekend with my father in-law (have an Easter trip to Sälen with the wife and kids). Gets a bit busy around here due to the local day trippers. The queues for the lifts (T1 & T2) gets long so we normally head to Høgegga first and ride the black runs (I'm not an expert skier but find these quiet comfortable for me) and blue 35 is a nice run through the trees. After lunch we'll head to the top and ride the red runs down to Skihytta or Høyfjellssenter and then night skiing at Turistsenter until 20:00.

Stayed at Fageråsen Panorama (høyfjellsgrend) last year after Easter which was close to the end of season. It was very quiet and the slopes near empty. Apartment was simple but nice. Not much to do after the lifts closed here, but we where there only for skiing.

You know it makes sense.

@ster

Just a quick review of our trip.

We drove from home around 7am on Sunday and arrived 9:30 with a quick stop at a gas station. No traffic (think we overtook 6 cars on the E6) but expect much more traffic if you're driving up on the 9th of April or Easter Sunday. Give yourself around 3-3:30 hours from Gardermoen. There are a couple of speed cameras after you drive off the E6, one at Loten and an average speed camera after Elverum between Hernes and Trysil.

Weather was sunny with a few clouds, temp around 10c and very windy above the tree line (around 20m/s). Due to the wind, the chair lifts going above the tree line where closed both days (S1, F2 and H3) so we done no skiing in the Skihytta or Høyfjellsenteret areas.

The snow condition in Turistsenteret and Høgegga was corned and some slush in small areas. Was very hard to pick up speed unless you head straight down. I see the temps have gone down to minus again so hopefully you’ll have better snow conditions.

Hope you enjoy your trip.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Cheers for update. From what we saw of Skihytta you didn't miss anything - we were so disappointed in how it is now. We tried to find the cafe and were told the easiest way was to walk up a run for 250m. Er, no thanks.

A snowHead

@Spoon, thanks very much for the update.

We will be driving up on 9th April so those are good tips about the traffic and the cameras. Happy not to rush up and I try not to speed on roads/countries I dont know. Heading back on the Saturday before Easter Sunday so hopefully will miss the traffic, but again will leave plenty of time to get back to get our flight as probably wont ski that day.

Hopefully the conditions will be good and the snow will last until we get there, I thought I saw it was to get warmer next week as predicted on yr.no so was getting a bit worried and it seemed to lose 8cms of snow depth over one day but that could just be that they dont update it daily.

A snowHead

@ster

Good news about the snow conditions. Around 10-15cm of new snow here in Gardermoen today with forecast of minus temp for the next week in Trysil.

Just a few links with tips about driving in Norway and the "give way to the right" law. I've had a few close calls with this rule.

http://karmasotra.blogspot.no/2008/07/driving-in-norway-1-that-ridiculous.html?m=1

https://anewlifeinnorway.wordpress.com/2010/10/22/driving-in-norway-8-tips-tricks/

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

@Spoon, thanks again. Comforting on the weather front (I must stop looking as there is nothing I can do about it) and for pointing out the give way rule.

Did some research on Norway speed limits but didn't turn up this rule. Oddly I lived in NZ until recently where they had a similar give way rule (also to the right even though they drive on the left) until they got rid of it about 5 years ago. I think as they depend quite a lot on tourists that having unusual driving rules that ended up making it more likely that tourists could have accidents was not a great state of affairs.

Help!!

Trysil and Oslo advice please

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