Oslo, Norway

The first stop on a trip covering Oslo, Norway - St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia - Minsk, Belarus- Kiev, Ukraine

Dates: August 12 -15,2011

Please note that this trip took place just three weeks after the Oslo terror attacks, so, unavoidably there are some references to the attacks in this post.

Day 1:

We land in Oslo.

Norway has always been on our "must see" list. The fjords, the Bergen railway....there are so many amazing things outside of the capital. To come to this country and visit only Oslo was never exactly the plan. But....on our way from Paris to St. Petersburg we must change planes here, so we might as well see the city. We don't have enough time to see anything else. What a shame. We must come back some other time to see all the natural beauty of Norway.

During the taxi ride from the airport we get a taste of what we must be missing, as the forest is beautiful even here, so close to civilization. We also get a taste of what prices are like here. This country is expensive! Especially taxis seem ridiculously expensive.

We stay at one of the Radisson SAS hotels, which, according to the hotel brochure, is the tallest building in Norway. With it's 37 floors it towers over the other building and we get a good view of the city from our window. We can see what I assume is the Holmenkollen Ski Jump, there is also the Royal Palace in the distance.

We arrive to Oslo exactly 3 weeks after the terror attacks and are reminded of this immediately, as, from our window we can see one of the buildings damaged by the bomb.

The Royal Palace (left, background) and the site of the bombing (right)

On a more positive note, from the hotel we also have a good view of the new Opera House, which my internet printout refers to as "absolutely, positively a must-see" and "architectural masterpiece" made of granite and white marble. It's nice but it's not on the way for our sightseeing walks, so we decide this view from the window is enough. We never see it up close but we do catch a glimpse of an outdoor concert there from our window.

The Opera House by the water

We also have a fascinating view of the workings of the Central Train Station.

View of train station with residential areas in background

The hotel seems to be specializing in tour groups, it's run a bit like a big industrial operation, but the service is friendly and at breakfast they serve the best scrambled eggs we ever had. In the lobby there is a large rack full of brochures of various attractions, what I always find very helpful.

We have lunch on a small street near the hotel. While sitting there I discover that Oslo is so much more of a melting pot than I expected. Almost half of the people strolling by seem to be of non-Norwegian origin.

One of the reasons why I love traveling is that we come across little everyday things perhaps never seen before in other countries. These are the insignificant things which guidebooks and documentaries don't bother mentioning, yet discovering them is just as much fun as seeing a famous sight. In Oslo we discover that during the red cycle, all pedestrian lights have two lit figurines, not one. Perhaps this is not unique to Norway, but this is the first time I have seen it.

Not just "stop" but "stop,stop"

After lunch we start our sightseeing. We head straight to the Cathedral. We want to see it's beautiful architecture and stained windows, but find ourselves instead in the middle of what seems to be the center of national grief over the terror attacks just 3 weeks ago. The area around the Cathedral is completely covered in flowers, and one can't help but whisper when walking through the little paths among the flowers, looking at pictures of the victims. They were so young! It is hard to hold back tears, and even harder to explain to our 8-year old what happened and why.

Flowers covering the area around the Cathedral

A makeshift memorial for the victims

Inside the Cathedral it's beautiful, but there is a somber atmosphere as people light candles and leave written messages for the victims of the attacks. We do so as well and leave with very heavy hearts.

Interior of the Cathedral

Messages left to the victims of the terror attacks

We stroll down Karl Johans Gate, Oslo's "main street". There are plenty of street performers, ranging from terrible to excellent. Our favorite is a young woman doing magic with a glass ball.

Karl Johans Gate

Magic with a glass ball

We pass the Parliament, a pretty 19-th century building. This area is very lively, the weather is beautiful and there are plenty of people sunbathing on the grass in front of the Parliament.

People relaxing in front of the Parliament

We pass the beautiful University and National Theater, and arrive to the end of Karl Johans Gate, the Royal Palace. On the scale of Royal Palaces this one is not that interesting, but the park around it is very pleasant for a stroll. And, again on the scale of Royal Palaces, this one seems incredibly open, no fence.

Oslo University

National Theater

The Royal Palace

Changing of the guards at the Royal Palace

We are quite tired at this point and I have read that Aker Brygge, by the water, is the place to have a drink and rest our tired feet. So we head there, but on the way we spot the Town Hall and can't resist to check it out. Well, there is no accounting for taste, but one can't deny that it is different. For me it is "Batman meets 50's propaganda architecture".

Town Hall

A little bit of Batman-set...

...and a little bit of 50's propaganda

The Town Hall's claim to fame is not it's architecture however, but the fact that this is where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded every year. It is the only Nobel prize awarded outside of Sweden - there is still a debate as to why Nobel wanted it this way. We would love to see the hall where the ceremony takes place, but, due to elections the city hall is closed to the public. Too bad.

Just across the street from the Town Hall, past the Nobel Peace Center, we finally make it to Aker Brygge. My expectations are for something of a glorified shopping mall, but am I wrong! This area is definitely one of the liveliest and loveliest waterfronts I have ever seen. Restaurant after restaurant, ice cream stand after ice cream stand line the waterfront. There are plenty of people, locals and tourists alike. It doesn't hurt that the view is on the harbor and on the impressive Akerhus Fortress across. We absolutely love it here and end up having most of our meals here during our stay.

Aker Brygge

View of Akerhus Castle and a cruise boat from Aker Brygge

Statue at Aker Brygge

We decide it was enough sightseeing for one day and head back to the hotel. It is not a short walk and there is a taxi stand nearby...so tempting...but we remind ourselves of the fare and decide to walk instead (we are just too lazy to investigate public transportation options).

We pause by the Town Hall to listen to a teenager playing the drums. Then a stop at a souvenir shop, full of trolls (of course).

Trolls, trolls everywhere

We take a different way back to the hotel, and somehow find ourselves at the sight of the bombing. Before we came to Oslo we decided that we will not try to find it but will not try to avoid it either, and now here we are. Visually there is nothing much to see, as a large area is cordoned off and the buildings are wrapped in white plastic, yet it makes a deep impression on us. The fact that there are so many boarded up windows even blocks away from the explosion shows how powerful the bomb really was. We return to the hotel with heavy hearts.

Flowers left at the site of the bombing

Damage from the bombing

Lots of blown out windows in the area

Day 2:

Today it's off to the Bygdoy Peninsula, part Oslo's rich suburb (the royal family has it's summer home here), part it's museum district.

We take the ferry from a terminal by the Town House and after a 15-minute crossing reach the Dronningen ferry terminal. The ride on the ferry affords us some nice views of Oslo, of the harbor and of the many cruise boats and large ferries docked there.

Ferry terminal by the Town Hall

Modern apartment buidlings by Aker Brygge, seen from the ferry

Arriving to Dronningen

From the ferry terminal it's a pleasant stroll to today's first sight, the Norwegian Folk Museum. It is an open-air museum with more than 140 buildings moved here from all across the country. There are farmhouses and town buildings alike and it is a really fun place to visit. From the countryside, there are farm houses and barns, as recent as the 50's. From the town there are entire apartment buildings, a store, a post office, a bank a school and even an old gas station. Our daughter's favorite is the feeding of farm animals, where she enthusiastically participates. It does strike me as quite pathetic that, living in a big city, we have to come to a museum so she could feed chickens, pigs, cows and sheep. Oh well, modern world.

The Norwegian Folk Museum

One of the farm buildings

Farm buildings

50's farmer's kitchen complete with 50's farmer's wife (yes, she is alive)

Demonstration of Norwegian folk dance

The town

Even an old gas station!

The biggest must-see sight of the folk museum is the incredibly beautiful stave church (type of a medieval wooden church), originally built in the 12th century. As is the case with all the structures here, it was disassembled and moved here from another part of the country. A wedding party is leaving just as we arrive there and we can freely wonder around inside.

The stave church from the front

And from the side

We try our luck on some wooden walking poles and we fail miserably. The locals are doing much better and are nice enough not to fall over laughing when they see our meager attempts to stay balanced and walk.

From the Folk Museum it's a couple minute walk to the Vikingskipshuset, the Viking Ship Museum. This museum houses three (or rather two and a half) 9th century oak viking ships, which were pulled ashore and used as tombs for nobility. The museum is cleverly built, with a number of lookout balconies, and affords a good view of the ships from all possible angles. Other attractions include some very nice carved sleighs.

The Viking Ship Museum

Viking ship

Viking ship from one of the lookout balconies

From here it's a bit longer but pleasant walk to a batch of 3 other museums. We start with the Kon-Tiki museum, which I have been looking forward to very much. I grew up watching the adventures of Thor Heyerdahl on TV, and it is so much fun to see his famous vessels, the Kon-Tiki and the Ra II for real. Also, having just been to Easter Island a couple of months ago, it is fun to read about the same stories so many many miles away. Thor Heyerdal spent some time on Easter Island, experimenting with how he thought the moai were erected, and there is a moai standing in front of the Kon Tiki museum. He also believed that the people of Easter Island originally came from South America and constructed a balsa wood raft, the Kon-Tiki to prove that such a journey across the Pacific Ocean was possible. This expedition happened in the 40s. Then in the 70s he took on the Atlantic Ocean, crossing it from Africa to Barbados on a reed boat, the Ra II (after a failed expedition with the original Ra). Looking at these boats is amazing, they look so small and fragile. It is hard to imagine that they survived such long journeys on the ocean.

Kon Tiki Museum with moai

The Kon-Tiki

The Ra II

No, we are not done with boats yet. Our next stop is the polar ship Fram, the "world's strongest polar vessel" (according to the museum website). It was used by, among others, Roald Amundsen on his famous expedition when, as first in the world, he reached the South Pole. It's a well done museum where one can wonder around in and on the ship and see the everyday items used by the ship's crew. We are getting too tired at this point to read any of the stories posted on the walls, but we do explore the ship itself.

Fram Museum

On the Fram

In the Fram

Inside the Fram

At this point we feel like we can't possibly see another ship, and we skip the Maritime Museum next door. We do make a quick stop however by Roald Amundsen's ship the Gjoa, which is displayed outside. The ship's claim to fame is that it was the first ever vessel to completely transit the Northwest Passage. It looks so small and fragile. It continues to amaze me that so many people entrust their lives to these small floating things.

The Gjoa

And, speaking of small floating things, we take the ferry from the Bygdoynes ferry terminal, and leave the Bygdoy peninsula for central Oslo, where it's back to Aker Brygge for dinner.

View from Bygdoynes

Day 3:

First it's off to Frognerparken, a beautiful, large park a bit outside of the center. It's not exactly walking distance and it seems like it might rain any minute, so we splurge on a taxi. The biggest attraction in Frognerparken is it's area called Vigeland Park. It's like an open air museum of the works of one of Norway's most famous sculptors, Gustav Vigeland. Perhaps I am not cultured enough, as I have never seen any of his works before. Not even on pictures. So, when we arrive to the park my jaw drops. It's amazing. More than 200 bronze and granite statues, mostly of nude people, in all sorts of poses. There is so much nudity, yet it's not vulgar at all. It is so realistic and so beautiful at the same time, displaying so well human relationships, mainly, it seems, the relationship of parents with their children. I leave from here a Vigeland fan. And the fact that the statues are set in a beautiful park, amid colorful rose gardens just adds to the experience.

Vigeland Park

Vigeland Statue

The gate fits the theme as well (there is another one with nude males)

The fountain

Definitely the most popular statue is Sinataggen ("Little Hot-Head"), a very grumpy baby, and a must have photo opportunity for tourist. It's so ugly that it's cute, and it's left hand is shiny from hordes of tourists (including us) touching it.

We take the tram to the Town Hall. We were planning to cruise the Oslo Fjord, but the weather is a bit rough today, so we decide against it. We spend the next couple of hours visiting one of Oslo's biggest tourist attractions, the Akerhus Fortress and Castle, which was originally built around 1300 as a royal residence, and today functions primarily as the representation rooms of the Government. Despite its renaissance renovations it has a medieval feel (complete with dungeons). After being exposed to the French kings' taste for outrageous luxury too much lately, I find the Akerhus Castle's relative simplicity refreshing.