Malmö Centralstation – Gotebörg Centralstation – Oslo Sentralstasjon – Geilo

I had a slightly more relaxed start today, and time to enjoy a really super breakfast. “Ingefårashot” (ginger shot) was a revelation, a real kick to start the day and rather wonderful. I did enjoy using the waffle machine, even if I got it wrong to start with. I could happily have spent a lot longer here!

The city was quiet. Spookily so given it was a touch before 9am on a weekday, but it was nice for photos on a pleasantly warm morning. I later discovered that it was a Bank Holiday, as Ascension Day is marked here and in much of Europe; I had no idea!

I’d left the station by the nearest exit as I arrived last night but this time entered by the main entrance and found myself in an area that was immediately familiar from my 2023 travels. I’d only spent a few minutes here but could immediately orientate myself.

Down on the platform I really enjoyed the projected artwork, which created the illusions of looking through a moving train window. What a lovely idea, and not an advertising board to be seen anywhere! Most of the sparsely populated platform was watching it.

The morning had started quite bright and for the first part of the journey remained sunny as we headed up the coast. Before long that changed and the skies turned grey and it became increasingly wet.

It was only as we arrived in Gotebörg that I noticed the end of the carriage depicted a canal lock, as I’d been facing the opposite way during the journey.

I had planned to pause a while here and explore before carrying on, but the weather had turned and I really didn’t fancy walking around in heavy rain so instead immediately got onto a train to Oslo. As we left Sweden for Norway it eased off a little. In Halden, I rather liked this bridge over the Tista River, which seems to float above its arches.

By now it was the time of day when I’m starting to think about where I’ll stay the night. Having made it across to Sweden on the ferry last night gave me the opportunity to do a special rail trip tomorrow, but that in turn meant a 6am departure if I stayed in Oslo. I started looking at the map and checking towns further down the line to see if there was anywhere that looked promising. After a few minutes I found a place that seemed to fit the bill perfectly, 250km further on, so I’d have a much more civilised 9:45 am departure. I checked that I could get there by train tonight and made a room reservation. The only catch was that I wasn’t able to reserve the train online; I’d need to do this on Oslo station as we were so close to departure time.

This station is a mix of old and new. I’ve been here once before, almost 20 years ago and didn’t recall it at all, though on that occasion there was 50cm of snow and it was -15°C, so it looked quite different.

I quickly found my way to the ticket office and asked for a reservation. I was surprised to be told that there were no seats available, but was advised to go to the platform and speak to the train manager who might let me on if there was an empty space.

I found the train manager, who was more than happy to let me join the train. Oddly my First Class carriage was almost empty. I counted four other people, so I’ve no idea what was going on there!

I know from past experience that Norwegian trains have decent food so after a time watching the scenery I made my way to the buffet/restaurant car. It would be shame not to have the meatballs when I’ve come all this way and they were actually very good; certainly more appetising than they look in the photo. The views as I was eating weren’t too bad either.

My destination was a ski resort by the name of Geilo. I’d not heard of it before, though when I sent a text to a friend of mine who skis, she immediately knew it.

The hotel I’d selected was important in the history of the town as it had opened on the day that the railway arrived here in 1880, initially as a health spa. A large white building next to the station, it looks commandingly over the whole area. A month after the end of the ski season here, there was still snow on some of the slopes.

Geilo has very few shops or other things to see. The individual ski resorts up and down the valley have their own facilities. There is a lovely group of traditional wooden buildings in the centre of the town.

I returned to the hotel, which I was keen to look around. It’s a stunning and eccentric place. Very upmarket but out of season, and with a last minute booking, I got a great deal. I found a maze of bars and restaurants. After exploring I bought a beer and sat in a big armchair in front of an open fire. All rather fun.