In a feeble attempt to save a few Krone, we decided to take the evening train from the Flåm via Myrdal to Oslo. Our train pulled into the station shortly after midnight. In our advance planning, we decided to rent an apartment in Oslo. Based on our arrival time, we also decided that it was best not to pay for accommodations for the night.

On arrival we wandered the station and settled into our seats. Just as Kevin slouched over on his backpack to snooze, the station security approached us to notify us that they were closing the central station! What? Whoops! Did not even occur to us that the central train station might close! And along with a dozen or so other patrons we made our way out of the train station and onto the main square in Oslo.

After adding an additional layer for warmth, we decided we would try and find ourselves a hotel accommodation for the evening. We searched the skyline and found a couple hotels within a block or two of the train station. Interesting, hotel #1 was fully booked…that’s odd. And then across the street at the Rica Oslo, we also found that they too were sold out for the evening. Really? Sunday night in Oslo, and both hotels are sold out? The desk clerk at the second hotel added that Green Day was in town and a hotel room would be hard to find. Really, Green Day is touring? I thought the lead singer was in rehab!  Come to think of it, we did see a lot of people wearing Green Day t-shirts.

So, we headed back to the main square to join the half dozen other folks that were trying to pass the time until the station re-opened. We definitely saw some interesting people wondering the streets. Thankfully, we were never hassled or bothered. (I kept remembering my dad telling me: “nothing good ever happens after midnight!”)

Thanks to long hours of daylight in summer, it was never fully dark outside. Around 2:30 AM the sun started to rise, and around 3:30 AM the train station re-opened. Thankfully, our night on the streets of Oslo only lasted about two and a half hours. Needless to say, I did not sleep a wink that night!

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