Exploring Oslo for 5 days

18 – 22 January 2020

When you think of European travel, does Norway pop into your head? I knew that Norway is known for the Vikings and the Northen Lights but I had yet to truly understand the wonderful culture and beautiful nature that makes up Norway’s identity. A flight from London to Oslo was a jaw-dropping $13.. there was no stopping me from visiting.

Oslo isn’t your typical European city. Although good sized, it isn’t known for its archetecture or food and there’s a different energy that runs through the streets. First, the city is one of the greenest in Europe and its residents are some of the healthiest. Osloites seem to constantly be outdoors, perhaps because there is an untouched giant forest only 30 minutes away allowing for hiking and skiing. Or maybe because the beautiful fjord runs along most of the city and that Oslo sits not only on the mainland, but also on several nearby islands. Oslo is a city without being a city.

My first peek at Norway was through my express train’s window. The sun was beginning to set and scatter through a slight fog that hung over the ground and between the trees. Houses of various shades were nestled on hillsides and fir trees waved hello as we sped past. Arriving in the center of the city, we were greeted with fresh air and construction that pushed us towards the water’s edge. People seemed to be drawn towards the fjord and we spent far too long taking pictures of the sunset as every few minutes the colors seemed to change. The boat’s masts, the water, the mountains in the background.. it was a wonderful feeling to be there. Despite Christmas being long gone, Oslo kept up lights that wrapped around trees and boats. The sun would set at 4pm but the city would be just as beautiful, coming alive in a different way.

We stayed in a hostel/hotel that would not only be my god-send for breakfast but my living hell at night. Deciding to stay in a mixed 12 person room was definitely a mistake for a girl without earplugs. How do men snore and never wake themselves up??? I won’t be making the mistake of leaving my plugs at home again. But Saga Hotel Oslo Central was a wonderful value for the beautiful breakfast spread of hot food, ripe melons (I ate so much melon), coffee and tea, and traditional Norweigan bites. It was also located in a safe and convienant part of town. Check it out if you decide to stay in Oslo! https://sagahoteloslo.com/saga-hotel-oslo-central/

Our first full day in Olso had us on Bygdøy island (pronounced like big boy but doy. We couldn’t stop laughing). You can take the ferry or bus #30. Oslo’s public transportation system has a trusting relationship with its citizens, so you technically don’t need to pay to get on because they rarely check your ticket. Tickets are purchased at 7/Elevens (there are HUNDREDS) or any other corner drug store. Its more expensive to buy them on the bus! These can be used to pay for the busses, trams, and metro and are about $4 each way. However, $10 will secure a 24-hour ticket and the transportation system is massive and very clean.

One of the biggest attractions of Bygdøy has to be their Folk Museum (or Norsk Folkemuseum). Its a huge peice of land dedicated to different regions and time periods of Norway. With different buildings came different stories and struggles. One of my favorite exhibitions was about the Sámi, a group of indiginous people that continue to thrive in Norway today. In fact, their reindeer hunting is such an integral part of their history and life that Norway, Sweden and Denmark continue to have open borders for them to herd reindeer across the land during the seasons.

Another landmark was the wooden Stave church. Originally built in 1200, it was moved and restored at the museum in the 1800s and closely resembles what a church in the Middle Ages might have looked like. Originally a Catholic church, the walls are now painted with Lutheran art as Catholicism was banned in 1537 during The Reformation Period. You can still see carvings and inscriptions inside.

Finally, my favorite building was a house built in 1946, during the reconstruction period following World War II. It resembles what a specific family’s house would have looked like. After WWII, many of the solider’s and civilians homes had been destroyed by bombs. Norway came up with a plan to reconstruct for their citizens. Following a standardized blueprint released by governmental architects, many houses had an upstairs, downstairs, and a cellar. In the case of the museum house, this family had been lucky enough to have a sauna in the cellar where neighbors from all over would travel to use. Because the government oversaw the rebuilding, many of the houses looked similar and helped decrease apparent social differences with homogenous housing. In most cases, families often found their house to be better than before the war.

A quick walk down the street led us to the Viking Ship Museum, housing two very beautiful and intact vessels with a third a bit degraded. They were all found as burial ships which means that after time on the water, they made a huge grave and buried their Viking men and women leaders with animals, beautiful clothing, tools, and other precious items that were believed to be used by the deceased in the afterlife. It was a bit pricey to come to this museum and it was quite small, but I think it was worth it because how often do you come face-to-face with a Viking ship??? Exactly.

Museums close when the sun sets, so we went back to the mainland around 4:00. The sky was starting to darken but the people were as lively as ever. As we took a side trip to get Starbucks (Norway is blessed with refreshers, I miss them!), we found ourselves along the water. Sarah pointed out that people were jumping into the harbor after sitting in a floating sauna. Keep in mind, it was about 30F. Norweigans are crazy! But their fun energy and shouts pulled us close and we sat down on a nearby, icy dock, taking in another gorgeous sunset and sounds of the sauna people diving in the water. (If you want to be crazy too, you can rent a floating sauna and learn more here: https://bigseventravel.com/2019/02/urban-saunas-in-oslo-7-things-you-need-to-know/)

The day HAS to be over, right?? Nope! We found ourselves at The Scottsman, a Scottish pub (of course) that was showing a game against Manchester United and Liverpool. The Norweigans love British football more than their own team we soon found out. Unfortunately, the room was too packed with football fans that we had to stay downstairs where we met some young Norweigan Royal Guards (I still love my boyfriend, I promise). We got to chatting and they taught us different Norweigan phrases, explained what their lives at home in the north were like, and how they ended up as Royal Guards, which is the military branch that watches over the Royal Palace. We even learned that in high school, students collectively rent out party vans and drive to a location to drink, prank their teachers, and then return a week later to do their final exams. And as they put it, if you fail, at least you had fun. Suuuuuure I guess? lol. It was a fun night meeting them despite the drinks being more than $10 a pint. The Norweigans aren’t kidding around with their prices.

The next day was clear, sunny, and 45F. To bask in the sunshine, we went to the Opera House, a structure that we kept seeing everywhere on Things to Do in Oslo. To be honest, it wasn’t my cup of tea. Built in 2008, it is a beautiful peice of modern architecture but I prefer older styles. However, going up to the top of the Opera proved to be worth it. The city greeted us from below. Birds flew to the ledge and didn’t shy away when you got close (my favorite part of course). Stretching far beyond into the distance was the fjord dotted with swans, thin ice floats, and a famous art installation. She Lies (or hun ligger) is a glass and steel sculpture that floats on a platform in the middle of the water. It is able to move with the wind and currents, causing different viewpoints based on the weather. Created by Monica Bonvinci, she hoped that the sculpture would bring awareness about climate change, as the peice appears to be an ice berg that has broken off a glacier and floated into Oslo.

After our trip to the Opera, we hopped on a train to what would be my favorite part of our trip because we had a cross-country skiing experience booked! Thanks to Airbnb Experiences, we had found Håvard (pronounced Howard), an avid lover of skiing, nature, and international culture. I thought that cross-country skiing was strictly flat thanks to my Ohio upbringing. But in Norway they ski down small hills and use a lot of upper body strength. While I started to get the hang of it, I couldn’t help but feel envy towards the man effortlessly skiing without poles while eating a sandwich and drinking a pop. Or maybe it was overshadowed by the fact that an 80 year old man zoomed straight past me and down the hill I had fallen down multiple times. Clearly, skiing runs through Norweigans’ blood, shown by the school trip of primary school kids clumsily getting the hang of the popular sport feet away from us looking just as dumb. At the end of the day, I conquered my fears and went down a very steep and sharp turn that literally veered away from a cliff overlooking a river. I envisioned myself cartoonishly flying over the edge and getting tangled in the trees. However, Claire, Sarah, and I all made it through the course just in time for some hot chocolate, oranges, biscuits, and Kjekssjokolade. Håvard explained that his dad used to bring these along as a snack for him when he taught him how to ski. We all sat around a picnic table, talking to people from the Czech Republic, Saudi Arabia, and Håvard’s girlfriend from Italy. In fact, they were celebrating their one year that day and had met skiing in a group similar to the one we were at. Thank you Håvard for teaching me to love winter, nature, and skiing. If you’re interested in taking lessons, check out his Airbnb experience page: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/experiences/1305054.

Back at the hostel, we were greeted by a new roommate. Orlando was from Mexico and had just gotten back from seeing the Northen Lights! Extremely jealous, he explained the beauty of it and how he spent two days waiting to see them in northern Norway. We then started talking about travel, life, and languages. We also introduced ourselves to Frank, a French 24 year old who quit his job to travel until he ran out of money. I was over the moon to practice French with him, especially because he felt most comfortable in his native tongue. He later told us that he had been learning English for only TWO months and he could hold almost-perfect conversations. Orlando and Frank had been getting by speaking in Spanish and French because they wouldn’t know the English word when they hung out that night. Language is so cool it really made me fall in love with the diversity of the world, even if it was the most common languages I have been exposed to. We ended the night giggling in the dark about the differences between “sheet” and “shit” because they didn’t understand the pronounciation differences. Unfortunately, though I’d made friends, Orlando’s motorcycle snoring was not taken lightly by a grumpy Jen in the morning.

Orlando left to go back home but Frank was staying in Oslo for an indefinite amount of time. We invited him to come hang out with us that day. Happy to have someone new along, we learned about his life as a builder, taught Claire some French, and burned off a lot of calories by not taking any public transport. Our first destination was the Munch museum, or Munchmuseet. Though small, the museum describes Edvard Munch’s early life and his sketches, along with displaying his most iconic works. You might recognize his most famous peice, The Scream. Unfortunately, it was not viewable as the museum is expanding to a new building this summer. However, his other paintings were beautiful and I can see why he is one of the most famous Norweigan artists. The museum also offered other artists who had painted Norweigan landscapes, which might have been my favorite section. Nature is such an essential part of Norweigan life and it is reflected in the beautiful works of snow, mountains, fjords, reindeer, and vast forests. At the end of the museum is a kids area that focused on origami. I have never struggled so much in making a swan, fish, or boat! Did you know curved origami is a thing? Its a talent that I will never excel at but with the help of Sarah and a worker at the museum, I finally made a swan. As we were about to leave, a group of children filed into the room, staring at us as their teacher selected peices of their artwork to display on the wall. We couldn’t help but giggle when she showed one that had A N U S spelled out in cut up magazine letters over a picture of water. Did the kids know what that meant? Then the teacher displayed a magazine cut-out of Absolut Vodka. We couldn’t stop laughing and some of the more bold boys noticed. The teacher seemed chill because she started to laugh with us too, and didn’t shame any of her students for making inappropiate pictures. As we were leaving, one of the boys asked us in broken English if we wanted to buy his anus picture for a billion dollars then ran away giggling.

After an artful afternoon, we detoured to a coffee shop that specialized in different coffee flavors called Jim Wendelboe. Some were nutty, others fruity, some more woody. Claire was in absolute heaven. Frank seemed to enjoy listening to our conversations, slowly learning new vocab as his travels were his teacher. Our caffiene meters full again, we trekked to the Royal Palace, or Slottet, a modest building compared to Buckingham Palace. Despite this, it was a goregeous pale yellow looking out over the city, holding in tons of history within its walls. In fact, Norway got its first king in 885. However, the history of the country itself is relatively new and it found itself apart of Denmark’s monarchy from 1380-1814 and then united with Sweden’s from 1814-1905. Currently, the present family has been the same since 1905, but they no longer have any political power over the country. Instead, similar to the British Royal Family, they are public figures who act ceremoniously with the government. Unfortunately, we were unable to tour inside the Palace as this is only open to the public in the summer, but we did watch a small changing of the guards ceremony.

By now, my body was throbbing with soreness from my skiing adventure the day before. We went back to the hostel to rest and eat some of our food in the hostel kitchen. It was 3:00 so the sun was beginning to set. We had wanted to see the famous Vigeland Sculpture Park before we left Oslo, so we quickly jumped on a tram, racing the sun. It was dusk when we arrived and I couldn’t have asked for a better time to have gotten there. It was the most amazing sunset we had seen yet. So many different hues of blues and pinks and oranges. Each view of the sky had a new palette to show off. The sculptures were an added bonus. Completed in 1949, Vigeland Sculpture Park is an art installation in Frogner Park, the largest park in the city. It is one of the biggest tourist attractions with more than 200 granite, bronze, and iron sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland. The park is open 24 hours a day but there is also a museum on the property showcasing Vigeland’s life and his many works. This had to be one of my favorite spots, a coexistance of art and nature.

Oslo was by far the best city I have travelled to, despite high prices. Norweigans speak English very well so there is no need to stress about asking directions or ordering at restuarants. The people are friendly and very active and kids seem to be everywhere on field trips. Even though it seems that a majority of the tourism is in the summer, like most places, winter was perfect to beat the crowds and maybe see some snow! In Oslo, it doesn’t seem to reach terribly low temperatures. You likely won’t be able to see the Northern Lights, but a quick trip to the northern parts of the country will definitely reward you with amazing views and all day darkness. My only wish was that we had time to go to Bergen and had travelled up north for a few days, but for the cheap flight, I think it was the perfect trip.

Afterthoughts…

If you are thinking about travelling to the city, I suggest NOT buying the Oslo city card if you’re a student because it is likely you won’t be able to pay off all the places it covers in one day and student entrance prices are very low. But, if you’re interested, here is a link to the city card: https://www.visitoslo.com/en/activities-and-attractions/oslo-pass