RIB-boat tour to Oscarsborg

Ever been on a RIB-boat tour? In winter? I just did!

At work we had received an invitation from Oscarsborg Hotel & Spa, that is from the hotel located on that little island with the fortress in the Oslofjord near Drøbak where I had been to for my birthday if you remember [see blog post].

It was just Moritz and Lisa (from Authentic Scandinavia) and I (from Terra Nova) from the office who subscribed.

The programme started at 11:45 at Aker Brygge, so Moritz, Lisa and I took the trikk (the tram) to the harbour, where already some other participants were waiting.

Since the island with the hotel is located a little outside of Oslo, they organised some transport of different kind: by RIB-boat (speed boat) 1 hour from Oslo to Oscarsborg.
Because of the fog on the fjord we first thought the RIB-safari was cancelled, but then finally we saw a boat rushing into the harbour at Aker Brygge.

It was Roy, the owner of the RIB-excursion company.

He came on the pier with a big bag full of clothes and equipment for the tour through the cold. This day the temperatures reached more than -15°C. So we had to get dressed properly: over our winter jackets we put the glowing overalls, some water resistent boots over our shoes, over our gloves some thicker mittens, a fluffy trapper hat, goggles and last but not least a protecting piece of textile to cover all remaining "free/exposed" parts of our face to prevent them from freezing during the tour.

(me)

(Lisa)

(Moritz)

Do you recognise us? It's Lisa (left) and me (right)!

Before the start of the tour Roy explains the main security issues.

We are ready to start. Let's go!

(Lisa & me)

But where do we actually head to? It's so foggy, we actually don't see anything... This, however, is to be changed further out on the Oslofjord.

Some time in between, Roy stopped the boat and asked us to look out for seals which can sometimes be seen out there. We were unlicky, though, and didn't see any.

(Lisa & me)

(Moritz)

With quite a speed (40 knots, ≈ 75 km/h) we rushed over the water through the Oslofjord, in between several small islands. It became quite a tough ride and it became by then nearly impossible for Moritz to hold his camera still to take some more good pictures.

After approximately one hour flying through the fresh white winter landscape we arrived at Oscarsborg island. It was just amazing, this trip! The whole tour! A fantastic experience! Surprisingly, we were still alive and not totally frozen to a block of ice; actually I was really well dressed and covered so that I didn't really feel too cold on the boat.

 

Upon arrival we were welcomed by the staff of Oscarsborg Hotel & Spa who were the initiatiors of this day. We got rid of all the clothes from the boat tour and went straight over to the hotel to enjoy the hotel restaurant's lunch buffet.

Filled with a lot of great food, we started after lunch our visit of the hotel and its facilities...

...among others the outdoor jakuzzi.

After a walk around the fortress, we also were shown the various venues and possibilites for meetings and events.

This is definitely a unique place for business or other occasions: in the vaults of the fortress which create a very special atmosphere.

Some coffee and cake served in this special place rounded off the whole visit.

In the early afternoon, we left the fortress...

... in order to take the little ferry back to Drøbak...

... where a buss from the company Schau's Buss takes us back to Oslo.

Unfortunately, I couldn't finish my day with that fantastic experience. I still had to go to the office afterwards and caught up with some of the things that came in during the day. Despite leaving the office only at around 19:30, it was a day that will certainly remain positively in my mind.