Howard and I make it to Oslo Central Station, which is located at the Jernbanetorget stop in Oslo city center. If you’re running around public transit in Oslo, this is a good name to remember (forget pronouncing it though – “j” is pronounced as a “y” in Norwegian). Howard shows me around Oslo Central Station. “I’m sure you’ll be back here and it will be good for you to know what it looks like and where you’re going.” I’m so impressed, and grateful, that Howard is taking the time to show and explain all this. I’m not sure I’m going to remember any of it, but it was incredibly nice of him.
Howard steers me toward the T-bane. He starts talking about which T-bane line I’m going to take and that I have to pay attention not only to the final destination, but also what route the T-bane is taking to get there. He says I’m taking T-bane, line 5 to “Vestli” (the final stop on line 5) “via” Tøyen. Okay, right, I’ve got the T-bane line 5 part down. What was that “via” part again, Howard? Either way, my train is coming in one minute so I need to hurry. He’s going a different direction. Howard gives me his number “in case you get lost or there is a kidnapping situation.” Duly noted, Howard. Howard and I say our goodbyes, and I give him an enormous hug. I’m not sure if that was too American of me, but he seemed okay with it. “Thank you so much, Howard! It was really nice meeting you!”
I hop down the stairs to the platform to catch the line 5. No train yet. I see Howard on the other side of the platform. We wave goodbye one last time as my train pulls alongside the platform. Being a New Yorker (and remembering at the last second that the final destination of the train is the difference between going in the right direction and the wrong one), I take another look at the train to make sure it is, in fact, the line 5 going to Vestli. I see the word “Vestli,” so I get on. The train starts pulling out of the station. I relax for a second. This is the part where that whole “via” thing Howard was trying to explain to me becomes really, really important.
After I get on the train, I locate a physical map of the entire T-bane system posted on the wall of the train car.
I figure out that the line 5 train is the green line on the system map. I know I got on the train at Jernbanetorget, and the stop I’m getting off at is called Sinsen. It takes me a minute, but I locate Jernbanetorget on the map and I see the next stop should be Grønland, followed by Tøyen. Now I’m realizing that some of the line 5 stops are on a circle line, including mine, which is on the other side of the circle. Then I see that at Carl Berners plass there are TWO directions the train could take. The line 5 train could keep going around the circle and to my stop, Sinsen, or it could split off and go in another direction, away from my stop. “Maybe that’s the “via” part Howard was talking about.” But the alarm bells haven’t gone off in my head yet.
I’m watching the digital screen at the end of the train car, which displays all kinds of information, including the next stop coming up. I compare the upcoming stops on the digital screen with the T-bane map. The digital screen says the next stop is “Grønland.” Great, that matches the direction I’m supposed to be going in. We get to Tøyen. One more stop down. Next is Carl Berners plass. I’m starting to get a little nervous now. I have no idea what this train is going to do until it pulls out of Carl Berners plass, and I realize my morning could get a whole lot longer. The train pulls into Carl Berners plass. My concerns are realized. The digital screen says the next stop is “Hasle,” and the train is veering out and away from my stop. Somewhere outside the circle. Oh boy. I’m about to have an adventure.
“Okay, I can do this,” I think to myself. “I’ll just get off at the next stop and catch the train going back to Carl Berners plass. I’ll plug Hasle in for Jernbanetorget as my new point of origin on the Ruter app and I’ll figure it out.” Yea, right, if only there weren’t so many public transit options in Oslo.
I change out Jernbanetorget for Hasle in the Ruter app. Now, Ruter says I have to take a bus to a tram and then walk another seven minutes to my hostel. That’s not what Ruter said before, at all. “Where’s the line 5 route on the T-bane? No. I’m not doing the bus to a tram thing, it’s too complicated. I’m going to stick with the T-bane. How could I even find a bus stop anyway?” Lack of sleep can do crazy things to a person’s mind.
Now on to my next problem when I got off the train at Hasle. This station is outside, there’s only one other track for me to choose from, and the station is decidedly lacking in information. I start wondering, “Are there any other T-bane lines running through this T-bane station? Are all the trains coming through Hasle line 5 trains? Do they all go back the way I came? Do some of the trains coming through Hasle go somewhere else?” My mind tells me it’s fresh out of answers, but I can keep asking the same questions over and over again if I think it will help. It doesn’t.
I start walking to the other side of the T-bane platform, hoping that the next train going in the opposite direction is the one I need. The tracks don’t mention any end stop—is it Vestli or somewhere else? Of course, I’m dithering so hard at the top of the stairs that I miss the next train. “Whatever, it’s fine. I’ll just take the next one.” I walk down to the platform. The next train isn’t coming for 13 minutes. “Supert.” I’m pretty sure it’s 22°F (-5°C) or thereabouts. I’m starting to regret my dithering, and I’m still not sure if the next train is the one I need.
I look around the platform for someone to ask. I see another woman waiting, so I go up to her and ask if this next train would take me back to Carl Berners plass. “Yes,” she says. Okay, one problem solved. Now for my fingers, which are freezing. I start to go through my backpack, looking for hats, gloves, scarves, anything I can put on to keep the cold at bay. I put everything on and resume my waiting. The train pulls into the station. I get on. “Damn, it’s hot on this train.” I take everything off again. “I wonder if all these winter add-ons will fit in my little shoulder bag. Maybe if I just fold everything really well? Do people do this here?” My thoughts roll by as the digital screen rolls on to the upcoming stop. It’s Carl Berners plass. “Oh thank god.”
I pull up Google Maps to figure out my next move. Somehow, I realized that I was going to have to change trains again at Carl Berners plass to get another line 5 train to keep going the same way I was originally going around the circle to Sinsen. But where that train was and what it was called, I had no idea. Thankfully, Carl Berners plass is an actual underground station, not just a platform outside with no information, and it has multiple track options and many digital screens and system maps. Yay!
Now, it’s time to ask myself the really hard question in life. The one I’ve been avoiding for at least 45 minutes now. Okay, here I go: “So what is this ‘via’ thing all about anyway?”
“Really, Emily? The ‘hard’ questions in life?”
“It was hard at the time, I.d. I had to find the willpower to actually answer that question.”
“It shouldn’t have been that hard, Emily, you knew there was a circle in the middle of the line 5 route, and you had to find a train going ‘via’ another stop on that circle that was also in the direction of your stop.”
“Way to make it sound easy, I.d.”
“I’m pretty sure it was easy, Emily.”
Okay, so now that I had figured out the answer to the “via” question, I had two directional options to choose from. I could pick a train going “via” Storo or “via” Tøyen. Tøyen was back towards Jernbanetorget, the way I had come. I pick via Storo. “God, I hope this is right and I don’t end up somewhere further away.” I’m not sure how to take a cab in Oslo, and I don’t want to call Howard, his number is only for emergencies. I don’t think riding the train around Oslo for hours counts as an emergency. I wait for the next line 5 train via Storo. Another ten minute wait.
“This is so cool, look at all the trains I’m riding!”
“I’m seriously concerned for your remaining brain cells, Emily.”
The next train via Storo arrives and the doors open. I hop on. “Dørene lukkes,” the female robot voice announces. Here we go. I look around for the digital screen inside the train. “What’s the next stop, what’s the next stop? Oh sweet joy, it’s SINSEN.” One small step for man, one giant leap for Emily, who’s been riding around on public transit for hours by this time.
“Next stop, my hostel! Wherever that is. What’s it called again? Am I sure it’s at Sinsen? Wasn’t it somewhere near Haralds’ shield?”
“It’s a wonder you’re not dead, Emily.”
Finally, I’m at my stop, and I get off the train. Now to tackle the walk from the train station to my hostel.
Stay tuned for next week’s blog post to find out how turning right or left can become a mind-bending experience.