Midsummer in Nordmarka
TRIPS TO NORDMARKA AND BEYOND
There are plenty of itineraries available as regards biking in and on the outskirts of Oslo. You can easily go south to enjoy the beaches or buy a ticket on one of the numerous ferries taking you out on the small islands in the Oslo archepilago. For that, go to the Tourist Information!
What I want to let you into here are the roads less travelled by vistitiors or no-Oslo citzens!
The following suggestions are results from my experiences with my bike north of Oslo during spring/summer. The very best part is mid-summer when the nature is all intensely green and the smell and view of wild flowers surrounding the small lakes are beyond imagination.
NORDMARKA
Oslo is not famous for monumental buildings (you must go to Sweden or Denmark to see them, we were under their jurisdiction for hundreds of years!) Oslo’s biggest assets are being surrounded by forest and sea. I know the Northern part best, and my favourite bikerides are:
ALONG THE AKERSELVA RIVER
Your trip starts in the part of town called Grønland, more precicely you will find the river right next to a somewhat dodgy pub called Stargate. From here you follow the river upwards 9.8 kilometers until you reach a small lake called Maridalsvannet. Maridalsvannet is providing Oslo with clean and fresh water in the tap (which is why this is not the place to go for a swim!). As yougo upwards you balance on the invisible boarder dividing Oslo into East and West. Beware all the people enjoying this strip of lush and green path and don't go fast! Tirsty or hungry? There are plenty of cafes and restaurants, personally I would recommend a drink at Blå - where there is also a Sunday marked or at Månefisken a little further up.
FURTHER INTO THE WOODS
I can highly recommend you to continue your trip into what citizens of Oslo see as Paradise on their doorstep. This is a vast area used by walkers and bikers in summer, and skiers in winter. It is very nice to bring your tent and sleep next to one of the lakes in June, July or August, or to cross the area in a day as I will describe in the following paragraphs.
Midnight late June
You follow Akerselva until finally (after some 7-8 kilometres) you meet the one and only traffic light, as you have now reached Frysja (see map above). Now you cross the mainroad and turn to the left for a few meters until you see a wooden bridge where you pass the river at Frysja. Follow the small road for some 200 meters (passing small villas) and turn to the left again where there is a bicycle path. You will shortly meet the main road again, and now you turn right following the road for about 3 kilometres. In front of you is Nordmarka and on your right Maridalsvannet.
At the end of Maridalsvannet, at Hammeren, you leave the main road and start pedalling on a dirtroad upwards on the right side of the river. From now on it is upwards, upwards, upwards for about 8 kilometres. After 8 kilometres (keep straight) you reach Bjørnholt - a cottage where you can buy typical Norwegian cakes. If you carry on you will find that the road is moving upwards yet some kilometers before you reach a steep downhill and the landscape flattens out. If you continue you will soon be at Kikut, a big tourist cottage where you can vine, dine and sleep! From here the whole Nordmarka is at your feet - there are paths for walkers and skiers in winter, and there are numerous cottages where you can be provided with either food, sleep or both! If you buy a map (Nordmarka sommer (summer) or Nordmarka vinter (winter) you will find it fairly easy to navigate, as the Turistforeningen (association for tourists) has put up plentyful of signposts. Red paths mean winter trails, whereas blue paths inicate summer itineraries. If you would rather like to save the money, ask whoever cross your path; here we are all friends and you will soon realize that a discrete "hello" is seen as a standard rule of behaviour. There is one thing you should be aware of, though, men in bicycle wear slightly overdosed on testosterone practising for some bikerace. In late summer they tend to use the road from Hammeren to Kikut as their main training ground (and they are fast, merciless and not very symphatetic).
