Linda and Roxy's trip through the Netherlands & Norway

22 posting on July 11, 2024 ..... Back to the welcome page and listings for other links

Oslo - last stop in Norway
The 2 hour flight from Evenes to Oslo was a quick way to travel 870 miles! Leaving the small towns north of the Arctic Circle behind, we arrived in the big city along with thousands of tourists. Oslo, population over a million, is Europe's fastest-growing capital. Surrounded by mountains & the sea there are museums, galleries, restaurants, cafes, shops & stores. We exhausted ourselves with 3 days of walking to many sights. We stayed at a totally digital hotel. A code was sent to unlock the main door. We unlocked our room, luggage storage & laundry using an app on our phones, no staff at the hotel! 7 weeks in Norway passed quickly. We loved the nature, fjords, mountains, midnight sun, small towns, & independent respectful people. We laugh about transportation challenges and our butchering of the Norwegian language! Thankfully just about everyone speaks or understands English! 2 more weeks to wander before heading home.

Our email address is gusrox30@gmail.com . Feel free to drop a note and say hello anytime!

Rain welcomed us to Oslo but didn’t stop us from walking around. We weren’t the only ones “singing in the rain”! Karl Johan is the main street from the central train station to the Royal Palace.

The Royal Palace is the residence of the royal family. There are guards posted around the building & grounds. You can walk right up to them, chat & take pictures. That’s quite a contrast to some other places around the world.

The Oslo Opera House, opened in 2008, was designed to resemble a floating glacier. The ramps are actually part of the roof & are made of marble. It’s a bit steep but totally walkable. The views of the harbor are beautiful.

These colorful structures along the water are saunas, where you can take a cold plunge in the ocean after heating up. Public saunas are generally segregated, men & women and cost $10-25 for 1 1/2 hours.

An inner courtyard at the Akershus Fortress. The construction started in 1299 to protect the city from external threats. Over the centuries it’s been extended, modified & modernized. There are still active military uses for the site.

Norwegians take pride in the role of international peacemakers. This museum, the Nobel Peace Center, celebrates the achievements of Nobel Peace winners. Each December 10th the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded next door at the Rådhus (town hall).

The Fram, a Norwegian built ship designed for polar research, was launched in 1892. We were able to go aboard & get a feel for what the sailors lived like. The expeditions were 4, 3 & 2 years long! Can’t imagine!!

Vigeland Sculpture Park is an open-air showcase of 212 granite & bronze works by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland. The sculpture park is within Frogner Park, the largest of many green spaces in Oslo.

The Natural History Museum has an outdoor exhibition called the Stone Garden. It explores geological history thru the large rocks and signboards. The Museum also had a large botanical garden & exhibitions on zoology & climate. Great way to spend an afternoon.

There are over 1200 tunnels in Norway. There at least 33 underwater tunnels. They are chosen to replace ferries where water-crossings are too long for bridges. This ensures residents of islands & remote peninsulas have access to the rest of the country.

The total coastline of Norway, including fjords, bays & islands, totals over 62,000 miles! Fishing continues to be a way of life on the coast. Ferries are lifelines to small communities inaccessible by roads.

Norway is essentially a cash free country. We used credit cards for EVERYTHING! Heaven help us if the internet stops working!!