Took the train in and out of Oslo Sentral last week and it was a quick and easy experience. The…read morelocal commuter train from the airport took 25 minutes and it was easy. On the train out, leveraged the grocery store, restaurant on the upper level, and coffee shops before heading on my long distance train out of Oslo. The train station was orderly and uniformed staff were available to help.

The Oslo Sentralstasjon is the train station in the center of the city. If you're planning to take…read morepublic transit or travel throughout the country, with Oslo en route, you will make a stop or start or end here at Oslo Sentralstasjon. I was so impressed by this train station, reminding me that America once again lags in public transit systems. I recommend getting an accommodation walking distance to the Oslo sentralstasjon if you're visiting and planning to travel throughout the country. My experience here every time was pleasant. I first arrived to this station from the airport, taking a dedicated train service that gets you directly from the Oslo airport to here. Then I had to visit the train station again when I was traveling westward from Oslo. Make it a point to be nearby this train station for your trip planning. The train station is very clean and easy to navigate. There are signs everywhere of train departure times and locations and it's in English. There were also plenty of places to sit, relax and lots of eateries in the station and nearby. Many hotels are also next to this train station, and there's an area for car pick-up, taxis, etc. I was pleased to have this station so accessible for my Norway vacation, making it easy and pleasant to travel around.

Thank you Norwegian public transportation for making my commute from the airport to Oslo Central so…read moreeasy and stress free! Price of 101NOK = $13

NSB is the cheapest (but slowest - if you compare with the airport express train Flytoget) way to…read moreget from Oslo airport to Oslo Sentral. It's clean and if you just to make sure which train leaves first before buying the ticket - Flytoget or NSB - it can be a pretty smart choice. However, their non functioning WiFi takes away takes away any happiness you might have felt for making a good deal. You can always try to sign in to their wifi, but most likely it will just be a waste of time and won't work anyway. If you do manage, they want your e-mail, phone number, area code (come on!) and need you to create an account.

That's not my favourite station in Oslo. It has only one ticket machine, which had queues to it in…read moreoff peak times, so I can only imagine what happens during peak hours. Also, this machine is right in front of the doors, so if somebody opens then you will feel a strong draught, and there is nothing you can do if you don't want to lose a queue. Outside the station there are shops and restaurants, which is always a bonus!

Quick business trip to Oslo - I had a couple of hours free, and unfortunately, our conference hotel…read morewas located way above the town. On the plus side, we were within a 15 minute walk to the nearest train stop that took us directly down town. After navigating a terrifying slip and slide walk down a massive icy hill in the middle of a small blizzard, we had just a few minutes wait until the next train came. We bought our train tickets at the hotel, so that was convenient. And apparently using the tickets was on the honor system! We figured out that once you get on the train, there is a scanner that you flash your ticket with. But I didn't see a single person do it except a few stupid tourists like us. Kudos for making it fairly easy to navigate the system.

It's a small station with 2 platforms for 4 tracks, which makes it easy to direct yourself. Tracks…read more3 and 4 go towards Oslo S. and tracks 1 and 2 to the opposite direction. There are two entrances that bring you to different roads and can save you time from walking around the whole station. The machines to buy tickets are near the main entrance. There is a room where you can sit near the tracks to keep you from getting cold but it's quite cold also so people usually stand near the top of the stairs inside.

Similar to though not nearly as interesting or lively as Barcelona's Las Ramblas (review:…read morehttps://bit.ly/3QJkBpS), this is the primary pedestrian-only artery of Oslo, completely unavoidable if you plan to see the major sights of the city. As it so happened, our hotel (Clarion Hotel: The Hub) was just a few steps from one end of this constantly crowded thoroughfare where the foot traffic poured in and out of the Oslo Central Station. With the other end at the Royal Palace a little more than a half-mile away, we noticed the route has two distinct personalities. The palace end was a wide path surrounded by well maintained park at the beginning. Then it transitioned to a more urban promenade with greenery on one side and upscale hotels and restaurants on the other. The vibe changed considerably at Egertorget Square where we saw the prominent Freia clock up close (photo: https://bit.ly/3RQJbG2). This stretch that leads to the train station was narrower, the bars were more raucous, the eateries were more fast-food options (e.g., McDonald's, MAX Burgers), and the merchandise in the stores looked more downscale. We saw only one lonely busker in the several walks we took up and down this street (photo) but most certainly a lot of drunks. RELATED - Exploring Norway? Here's a collection of places I've visited and reviewed: bit.ly/3PEL4Fe

Karl Johans gate is a pedestrian friendly shopping street in the center of Oslo. It was a really…read morebusy place during the couple days that we were recently in Oslo. And experiencing occasional rain only added to the discomfort. Gayle and I did stop for Ice Cream and I found a sought for accessory at Fjällräven (Swedish Backpack Brand) shop. None of the other businesses looked all that interesting, except for maybe the Indian Place (Jaipur) where we enjoyed a really nice dinner. Other than that, Karl Johans gate was basically a direct means to get from one place to the Royal Palace and back.