Between the Oslofjord and dense, ancient forests lies Oslo, Norway’s capital and largest city, with its vibrant social scene and the typical Scandinavian combination of nature experiences, outdoor living and city life.
Oslo is one of Europe’s fastest-growing cities, with a population approaching 700,000 and new neighbourhoods with eye-catching architecture popping up almost by the minute.
The largest city in Norway is quickly transforming into a cosmopolitan hub with an abundance of world-class museums, restaurants and art, while still maintaining the relaxed atmosphere of a much smaller town.
Tourism is an ever-growing business here and as well as planes trains and automobiles bringing the tourists into the city, the harbour welcomes some of the world’s finest cruise-ships on a daily basis, swamping the city with a sudden onslaught of several thousand extra people-but you’d never know it, because as you’ll see from the accompanying photographs, there are still plenty of wide, open expanses and peaceful parks to find a quiet spot right in the city centre.
As I said previously, the city is nestled between the Oslofjord and hundreds of square kilometres of ancient forested hills, and is green in more ways than one. The compact city centre is easy to explore on foot or by bike, and an efficient transport system of trams, buses and trains makes the whole city accessible without a car.
Be wary crossing roads tough as you have to deal with the lights for the cars/buses and lorries, the lights for cyclists and the tramlines! When I first got here in the 70’s I was fascinated by the separate lanes for bicycles and their own miniature traffic-light system-so effective, so safe and still in use today. We are SO far behind in the UK in some ways that it staggers me, sometimes.
Norway’s capital since 1814, Oslo is home to the Norwegian government and the Royal Family. The country’s largest cultural institutions, which include the Norwegian Opera & Ballet, the National Theatre and the National Museum of Art, Architecture and Design, present first-rate art exhibitions and opera, ballet and theatre performances. The most popular museum is without question the Viking Museum which houses the most intact Viking Ship ever found-it is astonishing to see and the workmanship on it is incredible. It is quite amazing to think that it was in one of these small boats that the Vikings first found America-a whole 500 years before Columbus did.
Live music is a big part of the city’s identity, and every year Oslo’s clubs and arenas host thousands of concerts that showcase the talents of everyone from local bands to international superstars. Several large pop and rock festivals are held every summer, and there are annual festivals for genres ranging from chamber music to heavy metal-and of course there are festivals celebrating the world-famous Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg.
I was lucky enough to live in Oslo for a couple of months in the late 70’s and absolutely loved my time here.
The city had-and still does-an open, friendly feel to it. Everyone is out. They don’t care about the cold-the pavement cafés are open all year round-with fleeces and skins to keep you warm in the cold weather. Vegetarians/Vegans amongst you will struggle with the amount of skins around, I know…and the shops selling a wide range of clothing made from pelts and skins. So be warned.
Of course, these days, they also have the famous ice-bars as well-which are hugely popular with tourists.
When I lived here, I was the resident pianist/singer in the Hotel Bristol and I am delighted to report that not only is it still in operation, but that it hasn’t changed one iota. It still retains the olde-worlde charm and feel of a bygone era, with deep red velvet, gilt and crystal everywhere, alongside artefacts from all over the world-mostly the Far-East and Egypt…..most probably taken illegally in the 1920’s and currently being sought by the Egyptian authorities lol!
I’ve been back there a couple of times to have a coffee with 2 members of staff who were there when I was and it was lovely to catch up with them.
It was also good to see so many coaches stopping at the hotel and unloading hundreds of passengers-so the future of the hotel looks good for the moment.
I met so many lovely people during my time there and have very fond memories of crazy nights in the piano-bar. After one particularly incredible night, the manager called the Swedish agent who’d booked me in and told him he’d better come down and see what was happening-so he did…and the next thing I knew he’d persuaded me to go to Sweden for a month…and I stayed off and on for 5 years!
As a sea-faring country, the water is very important to the Norwegians and just like the Swedes, many of them have summer cabins on one of the thousands of tiny islands dotted about the fjords. Thousands of them also have yachts, boats and dinghies.
If you arrive by boat then your first impressions will be from the water as you approach the harbour.
It’s a lovely harbour with a broad promenade, statues and fountains, with pavement cafés and places to sit and just take in the sights of the boats on the water-usually dwarfed by a cruise-ship. One of the berths used is right next to one of the biggest attractions in Oslo-the Akershus Fortress.
This is a particularly interesting place for anyone interested in WW2 to visit-especially the British-as it also houses the Norwegian Resistance Museum-and yes dear reader, I cried….again. Especially the last time I was there about a year ago, because there was a special display of statues and sculptures around the entrance displaying the emotions of abuse and war on a child-I found it quite harrowing to be honest…but a must-see.
The Fortress itself is an imposing walled Fort with many restored buildings and beautiful grounds inside-where you will find locals eating their packed lunch or people just strolling around. I’ve even seen a wedding taking place there and as a place of Military interest and history, you will also find sentries on duty at the main entrance to the main building.
The view from the top is stunning and you truly get a panoramic 360′ vista of the harbour and surrounding area. Although quite high up, it is a very gentle incline and so quite manageable for those with mobility issues-although wheelchairs have to us a dedicated path on the descent to avoid the cobblestones-which I found a bit tricky on the way down back to the ship.
All the photographs I’m using were taken at different times over the last few years….I’ll have to try and dig out my photographs from when I was first there in the 70’s….but that’s a whole other kind of blog, dear reader!!
As with most places, the city boast some beautiful parks. The Scandinavian summers can be hotter than the Mediterranean (how do you think they got so tanned and blonde before fake tans and peroxide were invented?!). As such, parks are a place to sit in the shade on the grass or a bench and cool down. Fountains and sculptures are everywhere to look at and admire-I love the honeycomb fountain.
When I first came to Oslo, I was quite astonished to see that you could literally just walk up to the front door of the palace and knock if you wished! It is situated at the top of a long, gentle avenue and is set in stunning grounds-which you are completely free to walk around.
The city itself, like most European cities is an eclectic mix of very old, very new and everything in between.
The hop-on tourist buses, road-trains, trams and buses will take you around the city and give you the opportunity to see everything in the city centre. To see some of the museums, sculpture-parks (several!) and outdoor folk-museums, you have to venture a little further outside the city centre-but not too far.
Most locals own a bicycle and these are also available for hire for quite reasonable prices and are a great way to get around-and very safe, having their own road-system/traffic lights to follow (which was here in the 70’s when I came-they were so far ahead of the UK in so many ways even then!).
Trolls, Polar-Bears all things snowy feature heavily in the souvenir shops-one of the most popular things to buy are Norwegian knits-hats and jumpers etc.
A must-see is the new Opera House-it is absolutely stunning inside and out! The use of white marble and wood is just beautiful and the acoustic in there is to die for. They have a little cafe and an outdoor bar/restaurant which is a lovely place to have a bite to eat and look out across the water and take in the unusual sculpture placed there.
Be warned though-having stayed outside the Euro, Norway is hugely expensive. VERY expensive. However, there are places you can go where you can eat reasonably and well (not to mention the ubiquitous global burger/pizza/coffee-chains, which abound!). The seafood-as in all Scandinavian countries is to die for and even a cheap little salmon omelette is of such a high standard of produce.
They have outdoor produce markets and flower-markets and when I lived here, one of the things I did regularly was get myself a bunch of fresh flowers every Friday morning for my apartment and on a Wednesday I would treat myself to something nice from the weekly Farmers’ Market-usually locally-grown fresh strawberries. They love their flowers.
As you already know dear reader, Scandinavia is a place I hold very dear to my heart for lots of different reasons and over the years, I have encouraged others to visit there if at all possible (give me Stockholm over Barcelona any day of the week!) and Oslo is somewhere that you should really try and visit-it is so easy to get there and there are many city-breaks on offer from tourist operators and ferry-companies. For the brave, there are dozens of excellent, well-equipped campsites around if you want to save a few pennies on the cost of a hotel room.
Try and go to Oslo.
You won’t be sorry.
MORNING (from the Peer Gynt Suite)-Edvard Grieg
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A DEATH 