Oslo. Oslo the harbour city, travel far outside it’s sheltered harbour and you will very soon be in fjord country, able to take a trunk steamer on a guided tour to see how the last ice age that left Norway with this iconic landscape.
Oslo (Photo credit: Moyan_Brenn)
In the city itself, you’ll find chic shopping centres, the Nobel Museum and the Royal Palace, situated on the far side of a park, but well within walking distance.
My experience began when I relied on some rather ill advice from my father that I would see the Northern Lights from here.
Nobel Museum (HDR) (Photo credit: balachandar)
Too far south, a shame given that this three-day stretch had a high-pressure system of bright sunshine coming through.
I had a bog standard way to get there. Ryanair cattle-class. Oh Yes.
You get to land about fifty miles from your destination after having spent an hour and a half in squashed seats that stink with cranky cabin staff.
You know the feeling of being a valued customer, but its cheap. Once I had passed through customs at Oslo’s Torp airport, I proceeded to the arrivals lounge, where I was greeted by the heady smell of some sort of air freshener.
Taxi? Not a problem. Cheap? A problem. Don’t expect this to be cheap. Its Scandinavia, folks. Finding the hostel was interesting. The driver had no idea where the street was, but eventually we found it.
So there I am…I try to enter my dorm, with three other sleeping guests, as quietly as possible. By the way, the guests were male. Too bad.
And so it was that I dozed contentedly after having had my flight arrive late in the evening and before, inevitably, one of us had to use the bathroom and switch the light on.
This is where the fun starts. I consider this to be what travelling is all about. In the early morning before everyone has risen, you see their own city probably as they’ve never seen it before: in the early morning light.
Oslo Opera at dawn (Photo credit: Bernt Rostad)
Actually it could be any unsociable time of day and solitary place.
But this is what pays off from sleeping in airports and cramped seating arrangements.
A chance to see something different.
A walk. Where to? Oh, any old place if you’re an avid photographer like me. Tollbugata, a joyous suburb where my hostel was, right at the southern end of the city by the waterfront.
Tollbugata 24, Oslo. Built 1898. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
And so it was that I began to wander aimlessly through the area, snapping random shots, staring at a small ship in drydock and, not wanting to disturb my roommates, walking to the central station. This was about 3:00 a.m.
It was cosy inside the station when people decided they would be more considerate than stand by the automatic doors.
I do remember one thing, a homeless man, too weak to help himself, was helped inside by good samaritans. A nice city. After about four ice age…I mean..ehm hours, the place began to open up.
If you’ve ever been to Scandinavia and walked by a cafe, you’ll never forget one thing. The smell of pastries. I could’ve been lured from half way across the city by these.
Gorgeous soft, chewy outsides with fruity jam or marmalade in the middle…yum, I’d better not get too excited! I eventually worked out the payment system. It was cash-deposit-box-style arrangement. No till.
So, anyway, I casually drifted towards the harbour through a birch-treed park. I knew Oslo had lots of parks in it. I was told this by a young lady who I had started talking to (not to talk about parks :P) on the flight there.
And so the harbour appeared and I began to look for a harbour tour. I found a lovely old trunk steamer that offered tours plus a bar area on deck.
Given that the weather was glorious bright sunshine, I chose this option and boarded the ship.
The cruise lasted about two-hours and cost forty-six pounds. It was well worth every penny. As we came out of the harbour, having set out at 10:30 a.m., we began to see Norway’s fjords in all their glory.
These were formed, we were told, by the last ice age and they were magnificent to behold! So I drunk in the view quite happily over a pop drink and observed the ship skim over the glassy, azure water in a relaxing, almost ghostly manner.
If someone had told me to go back to the U.K. at that point…no way! There were other sights to see, such as the old naval officer’s academy on an offshore Island.
Oslo Harbour (Photo credit: BBM Explorer)
This building has everything to offer, it is now a maritime museum, from Norway’s oldest known boat (2,2oo years old) to a mock-up deck of an old sailing ship and information abound. Therefore the harbour cruise is suitable for anyone wishing to travel here.
Next was the Nobel museum with an exhibition on famous Norwegian Fridtjof Nansen, a man of many talents and who also won the Nobel Peace Prize.
He was a champion ice skater in his youth and he led the team that crossed Greenland’s interior in 1888, also coming to fame by way of a record-breaking North Pole expedition to 86°14′ north latitude.
The expedition lasted three years. The museum has, as you come out the other end, a row of all the people who have won the Nobel prize. Now for the business district of town.
Oslo is quite a high-brow place, with high-value clothing being the norm. Scandinavians have a reputation for dressing well.
The names of these shops are entertaining as well. Fancy shopping at “Bik-Bok”? The city has bicycles for hire and at reasonable rates too, maybe two pounds per bike.
It should be mentioned however that you may have to do a lot of uphill pedalling here.
Bycycles in Oslo. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Need I say why? Its not really viable to shop here or use bikes if you’re on a cheap budget like me. Better just to walk and, of course, try and book for a period of clear weather.
This doesn’t have to be in the summer, although you should go at that time for the long evenings.
So as we reach the high ground above the commercial area of town, we reach a city park that has a footpath running through it with plenty of green grass and birch trees lining it.
Naturally for a traveler, this is too good to miss. Often a city’s little nooks and crannies are part of the adventure.
Suddenly a building begins to appear through the trees. Let’s see, baroque in architecture. A large expensive building. Certainly no nook or cranny here.
A large sand visitor’s area in front of it. Two men dressed in traditional uniform clutching high-power rifles.
It must be the Royal Palace! Seen above, it is a very special building indeed…the sands glow orange in the evening light. It’s stone sides as well. How could a squarish building be so beautiful?
The colours that reflect off the pillars of the main entrance, with their long shadow cast on the building are truly breathtaking.
The next morning, I decided to see Oslo’s famous Opera House, as seen below. 
This is where Oslo’s richest make their mark; in this building that stylishly reflects the colour of the water next to it. As you can tell, the building is modern, the ground first being broken on 17th of February 2003.
Norwegian firm Snohetta is responsible for the design and tickets for guided English tours cost around £12.
Information about performances, dates, shopping, educational aspects and contact info may be found at www.operaen.no. This was a picturesque moment for me.
The Opera House adjacent to me, the setting sun…just fine. By the harbour, there was a girl with a stall selling crepes and they were great. Thinly-spread, crispy and with lingonberry jam…yummy!
As I stand in the queue to the check-in for my flight home, I find myself grateful for the experiences I have had and will continue to have through the coming years of my life.
Danish with icing. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Later on, as we approached Stansted, I was reminded of the gunpowder plot, seeing fireworks pop-up all over the place as we fly over southern England. That night, I met up with my sister, who was living and still lives, in London where I spent the night in her flat.
Our mother joined us the following morning. We spent the day in Hyde Park viewing a group of temporary sculptures by Anish Kapoor and separated.
After this, I had a little jaunt down to Marble Arch and photographed the Animal War Memorial, basking in sunlight, before meeting up with them again and visiting an Elizabethan-style building.
However, it wasn’t built then. I spent some time in Hyde Park photographing the geese, the park itself and other surroundings. The day also included the usual doses of Cafe Nero, always good in London.
That concluded my weekend…a thoroughly enjoyable one!
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