How to get around in Norway , England and the Netherlands!

Dear readers,

It is time for a new post. I was thinking more in directions of how to get around in the different countries this time.

For example, what are the differences between Norway,England and the Netherlands when it comes to the public transport? What is the best way to get from A to B? Are there green options such as trains, el-busses and trams?

It may seem like a boring subject to the odd eye and to those who do not travel that much or always use cars wherever they go.

I once met 2 polish backpackers that had to catch a train in Bergen, I met them in my hometown (3 hours south of Bergen) and the only bus going that day was going on request IF there was enough people requesting it the day before! Biking was not an option because they were already late and this was the last train going that day, which they needed to get to the airport so they could catch their plane. Can you imagine their disappointment when I told them that the bus was not going because no one had requested it the day before? ! Poor souls, I think they needed to order a new flight. As they were running to the very empty and non-staffed bus-station I could not help but to think about how much easier this would have been in the Netherlands or the Uk.

Since Norway is a rather big country with less public transport possibilities then it should be in one of the richest countries in the world the best option is probably to hire a rental car at the airport and take it from there.

In the Netherlands where I live at this moment you can get anywhere with a bike because there are bike-lanes in even the most unthinkable places and it is easy to  check the routes on google. In Norway there are few if any bike-lanes (yes even in the cities where it should be!). In England or at least in London as far as I heard and seen myself the bike-route options are also not the best. The roads in England in general are in horrible conditions so it would actually be good to use public transport despite the many delays there and poor notifications and updates. I would recommend bus-services over there or trains if they are going (in weekends the train-services are almost always limited, you can check the sites of national rail to get more information (http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/).

In the Netherlands the locals complain a lot about the train service, yet to be honest I can compare it to both Norway and the UK where the situation is somewhat different (not brilliant!) and say the NS (www.ns.nl) is not that bad at all. They are quick with notifying their customers, they even have their own app! It is also easy to look for other travel options via www.9292.nl

Using the metro is also possible and you can check which routes go on the 9292 website as well.

In Norway we have the NSB ( https://www.nsb.no/en/ ) if you need or want to take the train to some of the cities where there there are actually train tracks…. (yes we are cavemen when it comes to public transport and I have no clue why so lets blame the mountains!)

Copyrights: extremetravel (2015)

To sum it up, the Dutch have more than enough alternatives and green ways of getting around the city or getting from A to B and they always work on making that better. To ride a car in the Netherlands is almost absurd because the road taxes are sky high and the rush hours are endlessly long and really bad for the environment so the best option are often train or bike though you might want to join someone with bike-experience when you go to Amsterdam (the “dammers” are utterly bonkers on their bike!). You can rent a bike or buy a cheap one for in a second hand shop (depends how long you stay of course!) http://www.rentabike.nl/.  In Norway best options is definetly car though between the bigger cities you could go by train or bus (http://www.nor-way.no/) just be sure to check if you need to reserve a bus by calling their customer service and plan ahead!

Of course the topography and mere size of the country as well as the population will reflect on the public transport quality and offers. Yet there should be more offers in certain countries where money is not an issue and we still have nature. I really think Norway as well as the UK can learn a lot from the Dutch when it comes to green energy, public transport etc.