A Town Full of Vikings and Statues

The Angry Baby of Oslo
see all photos »

Given the chance to visit a city i have never been before is all the excuse i need to tag a few days holiday either side of my work commitments. So a three day training course became a 7 day stay in Oslo.

One of the first tings of note are the prices. Namely the cab fares from the airport to and from the hotel. 900 NOK each way - converted that comes to £90, or close to $200 Aussie dollars!! Luckily the company was paying or else it would have been a 2 hour bus ride instead of a 45 minute taxi.  The overall expense of Norway was one of the things that kept rearing its head throughout our stay. You have to be very careful or you will get a shock come Bank Statement time.

Munch of course is famous for his painting The Scream, but i preferred his piece The Murderer - the antagonist looking eerily like Freddy Krueger.

Besides the cost we found Oslo to be a delightful little city. Staying just a short walk from a Metro station we found we could get to anywhere quickly and without any hassle. Oslo is also one of the most child and pram friendly cities i have come across. Ramps and wide doors are everywhere.

As to the sights - we did as much as possible. Highlights include the fabulous Viking Museum with a complete preserved Viking longboat as its showpiece as well as the Munch Museum. Munch of course is famous for his painting The Scream, but i preferred his piece The Murderer - the antagonist looking eerily like Freddy Krueger.  Other sights included the vast and numerous parks like the Botanical Gardens and the Vigeland Sculpture Park.  The bridge in the Sculpture Park was adorned with fantastic statues - the Angry Baby being best.  The one thing about Oslo was the vast amounts of scuplture and art around the city - almost every street had a statue or scuplture of some kind. Brilliant.

The ferry to Bygdoy was also pleasurable, the views across the water to the castle and the cruise ships was worth the journey.  In Bygdoy can be found the Viking and the Kon Tiki Museums, but the walk through the streets is just as interesting.

Depsite the soaring costs i would heartily recommend Oslo for anyone who wants a change and to see a city not really on the tourist map. The people are friendly, happy to speak English to monolinguists such as myself and the main sights are all easy to access.

An enjoyable jaunt.