Oslo: The "Big" City

I just got back from Oslo last night!  The city was really nice and much smaller than I expected - only about twice the size of Madison.  We also lucked out and had great weather for almost our entire stay, a rarity according to my friend from the area.

A view from the opera house roof toward the Oslo fjord

We drove up to Oslo on Thursday after class and got there around 5pm, just in time for dinner.  We had reservations at Peppe's Pizza, near the center of town, and stopped there after getting our metro passes.  The combination of great food and a long day led to our group eating ten (large) pizzas between the 13 of us.

In front of the palace with one of the guards

After dinner, we broke up into smaller groups, and mine walked down Karl Johans Gate.  This is the street with the Storting (Parliament, or literally "Big Thing"), palace, and other shops, etc.  We also stopped by the Oslo opera house which has a roof that slants down to the water and can be walked on.  The one year anniversary of the attacks in Oslo is today, July 22nd, and it looked like they were setting up for a memorial concert when we were there.

Looking at the palace down Karl Johans Gate.  I'm standing near
the Storting in this photo.

The next morning, we left the hostel in the morning for a walking tour of downtown Oslo.  We had seen many of the sights the day before, but the tour guide's stories about the buildings and places were pretty cool to hear.  We started near the Storting on Karl Johan's Gate.  Norway as an independent country is actually fairly young, and did not write a constitution until May 17th, 1814.  Their celebration, Syttende Mai, is parallel to our independence day and is a huge celebration in Oslo.  Karl Johan's Gate is full of people dressed up in their traditional clothes called "bunad", and the royal family come out on the palace balcony and wave as everyone walks by.

The building where the Storting is housed.

The Grand Café where the Nobel Peace Prize banquet is hosted is on this street, about a third of the way down.  The winner usually eats there and then comes out and gives a talk on the 2nd floor balcony.  It was also a favorite eating place of Henrik Ibsen when he lived in Oslo, and they still have a small table reserved for him as tradition.

The Grand Café.  The balcony that I mentioned
is on the 2nd story under the center tower.

We continued up the street to the old university building and national theater.  Unfortunately the entire face of the university was covered by construction, but we stopped and looked at the national theater just as storms started to move in.

Clouds roll in as we stop at the
national theater.

Another look at the Storting.

We continued on to the Oslo city hall and got inside just as it started raining.  The inside of the city hall is where the Nobel Peace Prize winner gives their main lecture, and was, coincidentally where the Norwegian studies professor with our group was married.  We also saw a glass vase that the mayor of Madison, WI had sent as a gift to Oslo from when the two were sister cities.



Thankfully, it cleared up just as we were leaving the city hall, and we headed to the metro to Bygdøy, a peninsula on the outskirts of Oslo's downtown that houses several museums.  The main attraction was the Viking ship museum, holding three ships used as burial vessels by the Vikings.  The main ship, the Oseberg (named after the location it was found) was in amazing condition.  According to our guide, it showed signs of wear that indicate it had been sailed by Vikings for a while before being buried.  There were a host of interesting things they found inside of the ships, including carts and sleds that were preserved as well, if not better than the ships themselves.

The Oseberg from the side

A cart found inside the ship- incredibly well preserved!

Looking down at the Oseberg

The rest of the day was spent exploring more of the museums on Bygdøy and other Oslo sights. We stopped at Akershus castle on the harbor and was the sight of German executions of prisoners during Norway's occupation in World War II.

Looking out from Akershus.

My favorite sight during our time in Oslo was the Holmenkollen ski jumping area.  There were great views of the city from the top, and it was amazing to see what ski jumpers see at the top of the run.  Inside the base of the jump there was a museum dedicated to Nordic combined skiing (cross country and jumping), and they had a pair of skis from Bjorn Dæhlie, one of the most famous cross country skiers ever.  We also stopped at a cathedral at the bottom that was a reconstruction of a traditional 1903 cathedral in the same spot that was burned down in the 1990's.

Myself in front of the ski jump

This is the reconstruction of the 1903 church.

A view from Akershus looking at the town and ski jump

Looking down from the top of the ski jump... scary

After a busy day on the town, we returned to the center of the city for dinner.  I had my first fresh salmon in Norway, and it was well worth the Norwegian price tag.

For our last day, we took it much easier, and walking through the Vigeland sculpture park was the only real event for the day.  The park is on the outskirts of Oslo and contains sculptures by the artist Gustav Vigeland.  The park is filled with bronze and stone statues of people that all center around themes regarding the cycle of life.  Interestingly, our guide said that he chose not to cloth any of the statues to avoid dating the park with a certain choice of clothing.

In Vigeland park

The Angry Boy

I forgot, also I saw "The Scream"

The group in Vigeland Park

I had a great time in Oslo, and the weather thankfully held out for us for the most part while we were there!  Next weekend, I'll be heading to Edinburgh, Scotland for a few days of sightseeing (where the weather will likely not be quite as nice).  I'm really excited and will be staying at Castle Rock hostel, right at the foot of the royal castle.