TRAVEL TIPS - OSLO, NORWAY

Norway is a big country and to see the capital you obviously fly into Oslo. But it is also possible to skip Oslo and just fly in transit to fly to the northern fjords at Alesand or southern ones in Stavenger, I'd suggest flying into Oslo first though as it is worth experiencing. The train from Gardemon Oslo airport is about 10 euro or 100 kroners if you just take the national train system. There's a faster train which is 160 kroner, but if you're travelling, who is in a rush? The machines are easy to operate, there is help on standby and you can just swipe the pin machine if you have the right card. 

The airport itself is small and cosy, with wooden floors and easy to follow directions for everything. Oslo city is planned around the water where the cruise ships and ferries travel to Sweden and Denmark. As you exit the Central station you'll see a mass amount of cranes and buildings on the go. A modern planned hub is being built on the water all around with modern residential and commercial real estate. A short distance ahead is the lovely modern Opera Concert Hall which is worth a walk around, to the roof for an overall view, and through its interior to appreciate its design.

 The Opera House Concert Hall roof

                                                             Sail boats and big ferries in the harbour

 

 

 The tiger is a symbol of Oslo and according to legend it represents adventurous city people

The best way to see any city is with locals and I am lucky enough to have a sweet friend in Oslo, whom I also travelled to the western fjords with, and an old school acquaintance with whom I met up with to show me the city. Oslo is a well paced city with space to absorb the tourists. There are chic modern districts and older parts with European squares a fountain, statues, cafes, monuments and huge murals as you wander the city streets. There are also well kept monumental apartment blocks in different pastel shades with lovely balconies and European architecture.

 

As the weather was far from perfect, the first half of my day in Oslo was pretty wet. The first stop was at the Holmer Koller ski-jump and further up the road, good coffee at a lovely hotel which gave a bird's eye picturesque view over the whole of Oslo and surrounding regions, which I can imagine are stunning on a clear day.

The entire hilltop hotel is made of wood with lovely fish-scale type roof tiles and the interior lavishly designed with ornamented woodwork.  On the side is quaint warmly coloured wooden church which is similar in character to Norway's customary wooden cabins which dot the countryside. The latter of which will be covered in a new blog. 

                                                            Church at the hilltop Hotel

Decorative wooden staircase at the Hotel

The next stop was the beautiful and famous Vigeland Park where the artist, Gustav Vigeland's sculptured statues adorn the walk as an avenue of trees, en route to the tall monolith behind the huge fountain. There are pretty gardens all around and it must be lovely at night too!

 Statues are on both sides of the avenue

 This is apparently a famous statue and reminds me of the peeing man Belgian icon, though this boy seems to be kicking a tantrum!
 

Statues surrounding the monolith which are all around its perimeter
 
A zoomed in view taken from the monolith back to the gates 

The plan had been to visit an outdoor open air museum, (Norwegian Museum of Cultural History) but due to the weather it was put on hold and the back up plan was the indoor Viking Museum. However, the Vigeland park was such a lovely long walk and exploration that my day tour in Oslo was already more than half way over, so it was time for a lovely late lunch in the Grand Hotel Cafe on the Karl Johansgate main street. Opposite the main square and fountain, next to the Houses of Parliament  I had a delicious Peruvian Ceviche which is smoked salmon, with lemon, mango and sweet potato. The night before I'd been treated to Norwegian salmon done with sliced potatoes in the oven with tin foil and fresh salad. When in Rome do as the Romans! Norwegian salmon is the best and its the only one I buy at home.  I also ate their  dried fish delicatessen  which has a strong smell but is nutritious and a good challenge to chew. Almost the same as South African dried Kudu Biltong. Dried fish by the way is also an Icelandic delicacy. Not cheap, but definitely worth trying. Here some pictures of the walk around town. 

                                             A clock with the horoscope signs around it

                    National costume which is worn on the National Norwegian day in May

 

After rain is sun, which made lighting for photographs much easier. 

The main street with fountain and shallow pool with gardens

 

Oslo is a mix of the old and new and is a clean city still housing some homeless at the central  station, but this to me is a typical trait of European cities and anything too perfect would be sterile and boring. Norway has good social policies and a high standard of living and the Norwegians speak good English and are proud of their country. Norway's strength and reputation though is for its stunning landscape and dramatic scenery. 

I had long put off a trip to Scandinavia due to weather and also prices, so my trip up north was certainly overdue. I spent a lovely final night in Oslo with my friend's family eating Norwegian waffles with its customary jam and sour cream. Delicious! Next week's blog will cover the trip we took to the western fjords for a few days. I am happy I got to see the city of Oslo but also more of the stunning Norwegian landscape. That will be covered in next week's blog, so keep reading and keep travelling! Seeing and experiencing new things are good for the body, soul and mind.

 Flying in over the forested countryside and water