There are so many adorable cities in Scandinavia,
Oslo in Norway being one of them.
Although Norway is extremely expensive it is relatively economical to fly there from Helsinki and if you do your planning well in advance it is also possible to find reasonably priced accommodation. For everything else you need to pay pretty much.
Norwegians have found more oil so the economy is boosting and there is
lots of building sites all over the town. Population is expected to
increase rapidly within coming years due to high birth rate and
immigration so the massive building projects have difficulties to keep
up with the pace. And of course there is a reverse side for all the
wealth and well-being as prostitution, drug trafficing and beggars are really visible in the city center.
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| Main street Karl Johans gate |
Airport train ticket (
Flytoget) from airport to Central Station costs little bit less than 25 euros and one day ticket for
public transportation costs appr. 10 euros. In my opinion that is money well spent as the airport train is really fast and convenient and public transportation within city works well. Tram no 12 is really handy as it takes you from Grünerløkka via Aker Brygge to Vigeland's Park.
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| Oslo City Hall |
City is located by the sea, which always gives special character to the town as well as beautiful seaview.
Aker Brygge is gorgeous area to walk around and has many nice terraces by the sea, but all the restaurants here are extremely expensive. So it can be better idea to sit by the bank.
Tjuvholmen is totally new area built over the sea behind Aker Brygge. Very posh and modern area with a great sea view.
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| View from Tjuvholmen |
New
Opera House was built in 2007 and it is spectacular white granit and glass building by the sea. You can walk on the roof and enjoy the lovely seaview.
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| Oslo Opera House |
When getting the public transportation ticket it is good to make most out of it and have comprehensive round-trip around Oslo.
Holmekollen skijump is easy to approach by metro (takes some 30 minutes) and you can enjoy view towards the city and see the Skijump tower.
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| View from Holmenkollen |
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| Holmenkollen Skijump Tower |
Another fascinating place to visit is
The Vigeland Park with more than 200 sculptures of human bodies of all ages.
There are of course many interesting museums, but now it was so gorgeous summer weather that I wanted to stay outside. I have visited the famous
Munch museum and seen his paintings, including Scream at
National Gallery before.
My favourite neighbourhood to eat, have coffee and hang out is
Grünerløkka. Easy to get there with tram nos 11, 12 and 13 from city centre and get out at Olaf Ryes plass.
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| Thorvald Meyers gt, Grünerløkka |
There are so many nice restaurants and cafees that it is almost too difficult to choose from them.
Tea Lounge and
Kaffebrenneriet are the places I usually visit for coffee. And in the summertime it is extra nice as you can sit outside.
I really like the concept "Food For Good Karma" of the restaurant
Food Story. So basically better diet yet rich culinary experiences will lead to better life. This time the lunch we chose was not that healthy, but it sure was an exciting culinary experience! I had pancakes with blueberries and bacon (delicious!) and my friend had English breakfast with sausages, bacon, egg, toast and all the good stuff.
The main reason for my 2-days trip was
Bat For Lashes concert at
Rockefeller, but I also managed to include lots of other enjoyable substance to my trip.
And the concert was outstanding so overall very succesful mini-holiday in gorgeous summer weather.
