Friendly Oslo

Oslo is the most pedestrian-friendly city in Europe. Most of its destinations and sights are only a short tram, bus, or walk away, and I was staying with a friend near the Bislet Stadium at the end of my trip and was able to walk or tram it to the center of Oslo every day. Most Oslo residents speak English of some degree, and if I had any trouble getting around, a friendly person would send me in the right direction. After a few days, I was mistaken as a native because of my reddish blond hair and blue eyes. The Oslo police patrol the streets on horseback and make sure that people can walk the city streets safely.

The best thing to do in Oslo is to walk along the main drag, the Karl Johans Gate. During the summertime, it is crowded with tourists, and its businesses have sidewalk sales where you can get some great bargains in an expensive city. There are also street vendors selling jewelry and musicians playing music. I got a hair wrap put in my hair by a vendor, and some tourists filmed me getting it done, but I couldn't find them afterward to say thanks. Oh well! I was so happy to get a skirt at one shop in many colors for about , and I still have it today, along with a wooden-ball key chain that was hand painted by a local artist that is still on my key chain. People joke it is a weapon of sorts.

Other sights that are not to be missed are The Royal Palace where one can see the changing of the guard every day at 1:30 p.m., Vigeland Sculpture Park, the National Gallery, Akershus Fortress (Slott), and the 1952 Winter Olympic venue at the Holmenkollbaken. I also highly recommend a boat ride in the Oslofjord to see Oslo at its most beautiful, or going to one of the islands in the fjord.

Quick Tips:

In order to learn more about Oslo before visiting the old capital, read Rick Steve's guidebook Europe Through the Backdoor: Scandinavia. It gives a detailed and up-to-date advice on what to see and how to get there.

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The Haraldsheim Hostel is open to all ages and families and is a very clean and friendly place to stay at. Families stay in family suites and single people stay in male and female 4-bed dorms. The dorms have bunk beds, and you bring your own sheets and pillows. There are showers in every room.

The staff at Haraldsheim at the time of my visit were an international mix. One of the cooks and a concierge were from Egypt. The staff was very courteous and willing to help you with directions or information. The Egyptian cook always had a nice word for me and when I ate in the dining room, he prepared the food and served me personally. The food at the hostel was delicious, lasagne, fish and chips, etc., but a little expensive, but it was fine for me when I spent all day sightseeing and was exhausted.

Oslo is an expensive city to visit, but you can always find a bargain if you look hard enough at what the merchants have to sell. I love wearing long broomstick skirts, and I was thrilled to bits when I found one for $8 US at an Indian shop at the beginning of Karl Johans Gate. It is an abstract print that reminds me of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch's "Scream" painting with its wild colors and patterns.

I love buying handicrafts of places I visit, and I found these cute keychains made of wooden balls and strung up on leather strings. They are then hand-painted with flowers. I bought one for myself and when I got home to Idaho, I copied the design and made a bunch of these keychains to give to friends and sell. Another favorite handicrafts shop was the Sami or Lapp shop off of the Karl Johans Gate. I spent most of the time talking with the owner about the Samis who live in Northern Norway and her upbringing there.

The street vendors are mostly Arab or Indian immigrants to Norway, but they have some good wares, too. I got a custom-made necklace with my name on it and had a piece of my hair wrapped in colorful threads. A tourist with a camera filmed my long reddish blonde hair getting wrapped, but when I went to find him later, I had lost him. I still have that wrapped piece of hair hanging from my bedroom window at home.

The Karl Johans Gate is pedestrian friendly and low crime, but still watch your valuables because there are vagrants that wander the street looking for handouts, but the police who patrol Oslo by horseback will send the vagrants on their way and let the tourists enjoy the beautiful city of Oslo. I have many great memories of my adventures and lost 10 pounds walking around all of the time.

In the old days, Aker Brygge housed many of Oslo's workshops for shipping and fishing. Now, many of the old buildings are shops and restaurants. My friend and I came down to Aker Brygge a couple of nights, and you can see how the district really comes to life. There are street performers dancing or tumbling for audiences, and artists drawing works of art on the streets. I enjoyed sitting in an outdoor cafe having a drink and enjoying the Oslo nightlife.

But my favorite sight of Aker Brygge was the Viking ship in the Oslofjord. It is a replica, but I thought it was beautiful. My friend took a picture of me in front of the Viking ship so that I had proof that I saw a Viking ship while I was in Norway. Too bad there wasn't a cute Viking to take home as a souvenir.

However, if you want to eat or shop in the Aker Brygge District, only do it once because this is a very expensive district with its expensive restaurants and housing. It was nice trip for me and my friend to have a late-night snack and drink before heading back home.

My Australian friends and I had taken a tram on the way to the center of Oslo. From the city center, we walked up a very steep hill to our first stop, the Holmenkollen Olympic Ski Jump and Museum. It was a hot day, about 86 degrees Fahrenheit, and we were sweaty and tired by the time we got to the ski jump.

After paying an entrance fee, we walked through the museum and saw many displays on the history of Olympic skiing and winter sports in Norway. There's a mannequin of a Norwegian skier in an old skiing costume (no such thing as waterproof nylon in the old days!) and dioramas of many ski hills from World Championships and Winter Olympics. There are also trophies and medals of many Norwegian Olympic champions on display. The museum is not to be missed.

After seeing the museum, my friends and I made the long and steep climb up a staircase that is the ski jump. When I reached the top, I gulped at the height and grade of the ski jump ramp. I was greeted by a spectacular view of the bottom of the jump (which is now a pool of water), the Olympic Stadium, and the city of Oslo and its surroundings. Very breathtaking.

My friends and I then left the jump and made our way to the bottom, where there are statues of the leader of the Oslo Olympic Games and other important figures of the time. There is also a ski simulator which allows people to experience how it feels to go 80 miles an hour downhill on skis. I passed on the ski simulator, but my friends went inside it and were a little dizzy when they came out.

After our adventure at Holmenkollen, we took the train back to the Oslo city center. We wanted to save our energy for the rest of our day in Oslo.

For one to understand Vigeland's work, one needs to learn about the man. Gustav Vigeland was born in 1869 in Mandal, Norway, a small coastal town in the south of the country. Both of his parents and several family members were craftsmen or handymen. When Gustav was young, he was sent to Oslo for his formal schooling and to learn how to carve wood from one of the best wood carvers in Norway. However, Gustav's education was cut short when his father died, and he had to return to Mandal to help the family out.

In 1888, Vigeland returned to Oslo determined to make sculpting his livelihood. From 1891-1896, Vigeland studied sculpting in France, Denmark, Germany, and Italy. It was in France that Vigeland studied under the great French sculptor, Auguste Rodin. In 1894 and 1896, Vigeland had his first sculpture shows in his homeland that got a lot of praise from the Norwegian people and critics.

Vigeland did a lot of his work in a studio in Oslo. Several of his works garnered praise but some of them caused some controversy. A fountain that Vigeland had planned to put in Oslo was postponed because of its size and looks. In 1919, Vigeland completed his most famous sculpture "The Monolith (Monolitten), which was actually 121 smaller sculptures put together by Vigeland to look like they were clamoring to the top of the sculpture. At first it was a controversial piece, but as years went by, it became one of the most beloved and famous sculptures in Norway.

In 1921, the Norwegian government wanted to destroy Vigeland's studio in order to build a library there. Vigeland wasn't a happy camper about this destruction of his home and studio, but the Norwegians compensated Vigeland nicely by giving him a new home/studio in the Kirkeveien burrough of Oslo, which is near the Frognerparken, the location of Vigeland Sculpture Park today. Vigeland moved into the new studio in 1924 and continued to work there until his death in 1943.

Today, Vigeland's home/studio is the Vigeland Museum, and his ashes are interred there. I didn't make it to Vigeland's home, which was a 19th Century home that was formerly owned by the Anker and Wegner families before the City of Oslo bought it in the early 20th Century.

To really appreciate Vigeland's work, visit Vigeland Sculpture Park. Located in one of Oslo's biggest parks, The Frognerparken, you can see all of Vigeland's work in its realistic glory. Among the 212 sculptures, my favorite pieces were the "Crying Baby Statue", The Baby on his Back Statue, The Monolith, and the "Sonia Henie Statue." I saw that one on a rainy day with a friend as we were heading to a bar to avoid the rainy day blahs, and the statue is so realistic, you would think that Sonia Henie, the three-time Olympic Gold Medalist and actress, would have jumped off the pedestal the statue is on and started skating for you!

Vigeland Sculpture Park is free to see, and it is open from dawn to dusk daily. It is well worth seeing it more than once if you have time in Oslo.

Our first destination once arriving in Oslo was to the information center near the Akerbrygge, Oslo's fashionable district near the Oslofjord. At the information center, we saw brochures for the Akershus Slott (Fortress), and we decided that was going to be our next destination.

It was starting to get hot on the walk over to Akershus, but Denham, Tommi, and I were talking the whole way about our homes and ignoring the fact that we were turning into human lobsters. It was a short walk to Akershus, and we paid our admission fee (30 NOK for adults, 10 NOK for Children, and a student discount for anyone with Student ID) with yours truly getting a student discount with my University of Idaho Student ID.

Akershus Slott was the fortress and former royal residence of Norwegian royalty for many centuries. It protected the royal family and residents of Oslo from enemy attacks and never had been successfully captured by a foreign enemy.

Construction of Akershus began in the 1290s by King Haakon V (hoe-kon), and it replaced Tonsberg and other fortresses and castles in the area as the primary fortress and castle in Norway. The first test of Akershus as a fortress came in 1308 when the Swedish army under Duke Erik of Sodermanland attacked it. Sweden wanted a big seaport that could house the large Swedish Navy at the time. Whoever ruled Akershus, ruled Norway, and after this victory, Erik won the throne of Sweden.

In 1940, Akershus was surrendered to the Nazi occupation without a fight. The castle was used as a prison by the Nazis, and several Norwegian resistance fighters were executed behind its walls. After the war, war crime trials were held in Norway, and eight Norwegian traitors, including Vidkun Quisling, were tried, found guilty, and executed at Akershus Slott.

Today, Akershus is still a military area, but it is open to the public for tours until 9pm. The Resistance Museum (see my other entry on Oslo) and the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum are located at Akershus, and the Norwegian Defense Ministry is stationed here. Akershus is also used for formal ceremonies and other official functions by the Royal Family and Norwegian Government, and it is the final burial place for most of Norwegian royalty including the beloved Olav V and King Haakon VII and several Norwegian queens.

I loved Akershus Castle for its rustic interior and exterior. It wasn't as ostentatious as Versailles or other French chateaux, and unlike Versailles, photos are allowed to be taken in Akershus.

There are guided tours of Akershus Slott daily, but my Aussie friends and I chose to tour the fortress on our own. Later on in my trip, I returned to Akershus to see the Resistance Museum and toured the Fortress Grounds. There is a statue of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who is considered a hero to the Norwegian people for his stand against the Nazi tyranny during World War II.

A tour of Akershus Slott takes about 1-2 hours and is very much worth your time when you visit Olso.

After catching my breath in Palace Park, I would arrive at The Royal Palace (Slottet), and if I was lucky to make it to the Slottet by 1:30, I could catch the Changing of the Guard that occurs at the palace every day like clock work. I would wait with the gathering crowds for the ceremony to begin or stop my walk to catch the remainder of the ceremony if I was late for the ceremony. The soldiers assigned to guard the Palace are very formal and like Buckingham Palace's Beefeaters, they don't move from their stations no matter how noisy and crazy you act in front of them.

The history of the Slottet is not that old. The Slottet was built in the first half of the 19th Century when Norway was under Swedish control, and Oslo was then called Christiana. Construction began in 1825 by the architect who designed the place was named Hans Ditlev Franciscus Linstow (1787-1851) and his crew. It was to be the residence of the Swedish King, Karl Johan (Norwegian: Charles III or in Sweden: Charles XIV) whenever they were in Christiana. Sweden was ruled by the Bernadotte family in the early 19th Century, and this line still rules Sweden today.

Charles III never saw the Slottet completed, but his heirs Oscar II and Charles IV used the Slottet as their residence after its completion in 1849. The Swedish Royal Family stayed at the Slottet whenever they were in town, but Oscar also spent a lot of time at his palace at Bygdoy (big-day), and his wife Queen Sophia, who was ill most of the time, spent most of her time in Norway in Skinnarbol near the Swedish border.

In 1905, Norway wanted independence from Sweden, and Oscar II was nowhere to be seen during the dismemberment of the Norwegian/Swedish union, but his son Prince Gustav, tried to save the union and visited Norway often. The attempts to save the union were unsuccessful, and later in the year, Sweden resigned from the Norwegian throne and Norway came under the control of Danish prince Carl, who became Haakon VII, and one of Norway's beloved kings. Haakon VII took control of Norway as an independent country, and he was the first to use the Slottet as his permanent residence.

During King Olav V's reign (1957-1991), the Slottet fell into some disrepair due to neglect and lack of upkeep. Renovations of the Slottet began after Olav's death in 1991 and his son Harald V became king. It cost a lot of money and many years to complete, but the renovations were worth it, and the Slottet is open for visitors.

I didn't make it inside the Slottet in 1995 due to the renovations, but the outside with its pale yellow and white colors and view of Oslo from its hilltop home is spectacular. There is a statue of Karl Johan overlooking Oslo's main drag, the Karl Johan Gate that is popular for photos.

Today, the Slottet is used mostly for ceremonial purposes since the current Royal Family lives in another palace outside of Oslo. On 17 May, Norway celebrates Norwegian National Day, which celebrates Norway's independence from Sweden in 1905. The Royal Family watches a huge parade on Karl Johan Gate with the Norwegian population, and the streets are festooned with flags and streamers in the colors of the Norwegian flag, a blue and white cross on a red background.

It is free to tour the Slottet grou