NORWAY - Europe by Eurail 2015: Touring Europe by Train - page 436

Viking Museum was found in a nearby burial mound. The ruins of a Viking castle
overlook the town.
Sandefjord (127 kilometers from Oslo): Home of the Norwegian whaling fleet.
Regardless of your opinions about this industry, there's a whaling museum in town,
and there's a spectacular whaling monument in the center of the town square. The
coastline around Sandefjord is spotted with many islands and inlets, making it very
photogenic.
Larvik (146 kilometers from Oslo): The city has its own fjord, which connects
to the Lagen River. The beautiful lake country we mentioned begins immediately
beyond its city limits. An interesting museum is housed in Herregarden, a 17th-
century manor house built for the counts of Larvik. The building is one of Norway's
best-preserved wooden structures. A world-famous mineral water, Farris, origin-
ates here. Many of the small fishing harbors along the coast are accessible by bus.
For ferry service from Larvik to Frederikshavn, Denmark, Tel: [phone].
Prior to your visit, write to the Larvik Tourist Office for interesting booklets de-
scribing the Larvik district tourist attractions. Otherwise, when in Larvik visit the
tourist office at Storgate 48, across from the rail station.
Skien (193 kilometers from Oslo): Situated where the Skien River and Lake
Hjelle meet, this city has been an active trading center since A.D. 900. Sawmills
were an important part of its industry. The first began here in the 16th century. Ski-
en is the birthplace of Henrik Ibsen (1828-1906), famous Norwegian playwright.
Ibsen's well-constructed plays dealing realistically with psychological and social
problems won him recognition as the Father of Modern Drama.
Brekke Park, which looks out over the river and the town of Skien, warrants a
visit. There you will find the Museum of Telemark and Grenland. (Skien is the
administrative center for the district of Telemark.) In the park there are a number of
old houses from different parts of the district, including a reconstruction of Ibsen's
childhood home, Venstøp. The Telemark Canal starts in Skien and stretches 105
kilometers into the country. Canal boats sail daily in the summer. For more inform-
ation contact the Skien tourist office.
Rather than return to Oslo by retracing your route back through Larvik and the
other coastal towns, you might want to return to Oslo via the main rail line run-
ning from Stavanger on the North Sea. Board train 2582, which departs from Skien
at 1603 to Nordagutu, where you'll arrive at 1631. Look around Nordagutu, then
board train EX 728 at 2045, bound for Oslo. You will arrive in the Oslo Sentral Sta-
tion promptly at 2227.