0316 Exploring Oslo

31^st July 2015

An interesting city !

No rain during the night for a change !   We went for another walk around the area before breakfast, and once packed up headed into town to have a look around.  We aimed for the centre, but somehow ended up in one of the many tunnels that took us right through to the other side of town !  So we then had to double back, wandering through back streets, until suddenly we pooped out in one of the main squares, right outside the big City Hall. And a car was just backing out of a parking spot

– Couldn’t be better.  So we paid for 1.5 hours and went off to see what there was to see.  Right beside the car we found a cambio shop to change our Swedish money into Norwegian, as well as a Bancomat (ATM), so at least we now had some Norwegian currency !   In doing these transactions we also found out where the city tour bus left from (just round the corner), so we went off to have a cup of coffee !

The coffee was good – And came in soup sized bowls which were interesting !  And the cake we had with it was also pretty tasty.  Then, since we had to wait awhile for the bus tour, we went for a walk around the 700 year old Akershus Castle, which includes a museum detailing the Norwegian Resistance  during WWII.  Very interesting, including a very smartly dressed guard who spent a lot of his time marching up and down, all by himself !  And below the castle the large P&O cruise liner Arcadia was tied up – No wonder the streets were busy today !

From the castle we dropped back down into City Hall square, put some more money in the parking meter to ensure we were covered while we were on our bus tour, and set off.  We find the bus tours a great way to find out what there is of interest in a city, and then we can go back later to the things we want to see in more detail.  Past the imposing Grand Hotel and adjacent House of Parliament, and then Oslo University with its imposing columns out front.  Further up the road we glimpsed the Royal Palace, and then it was off around the NW part of town – Up market Frogner where there are big houses as well as Embassies and Consulates, past the Vigeland Sculpture Park which represents the life work of sculptor Gustav Vigeland (1869 – 1943), with more than 200 sculptures in bronze, granite and forged iron. 

We travelled on past the Royal Farm and summer residence in Bigdoy, and then came to the area where there are all sorts of museums – Cultural History, Viking Ship, Kon Tiki, Fram Antarctic vessel museum, and the Maritime Museum.  We plan on coming back to a few of these tomorrow. 

We then came back towards the city, past the large yacht marina at the head of the Frognerkilen, and back to the City Hall where we had started. 

We had a quick look in the City Hall which is

very impressive inside with its murals, although the outside seems (to me) to be very austere and not particularly beautiful architecturally.  But inside it is a different story – As it should be – This is where Nobel Peace Prizes are awarded each year !

Then it was back in the car before our parking ticket expired, and since Scandinavian camp sites seem to fill up quite quickly in the mid to late afternoon, we went looking for a camp site that was very close to town, so we could get in to town again easily in the morning.  Some big

Norwegian Youth soccer tournament was on nearby, so the camp site was pretty full – In fact no space in the caravan or motorhome section !  But due to our small size and not needing electricity and water etc, we were allowed into the tent area, and settled in on a pleasant sunny afternoon.  Laundry done, and supposedly wifi so I can update my blog (although unable to hook up at the moment !), we enjoyed sitting in the warm summer sun for a change.  Once the sun goes down, it quickly gets colder, and then it is time for warm sleeping bags and bed !!

Photos are here :-  https://picasaweb.google.com/110185357936043625130/0316ExploringOslo?authkey=Gv1sRgCO2zv7masq2vRw