Os-High

I arrived in Tromsø yesterday after a beautiful but uneventful 2-hour flight up from Oslo, and I'm suitably stunned by its magnificent scenery. But more about that in the next update, this is meant to be about Oslo. I may leave a couple of things out though, it seems like ages since I arrived there four days ago! As with the other three - Oslo is a city undergoing major construction work, almost all of it confined to the harbour area. But, probably aided somewhat by the (yet again) amazing weather, there was a nice, happy buzz around the city and - if it wasn't about 8 quid for a pint, I expect it'd be a great nightlife too. There were trendy bars, cultural sights and the harbour (even despite all the construction) is lovely.

Before Oslo though, I'll quickly mention that the festival on my last night in Stockholm was no great shakes. I got there, had an overpriced beer and stood watching Paul Hook (former lead guitarist for Joy Division apparently - before my time I think) for about 45 minutes before deciding to leave. He's not very good - although the crowd seemed to like him. My highlight was chatting to a woman from Sheffield, who I offered to pick up so she could see (she was about 5 foot) - which her and her friend found hilarious, luckily. I was just planning to go back to my hostel, but got distracted and jumped on the ferry back over to Djurgårdsstaden (/Djurgården) for some pictures. Which unfortunately didn't turn out well on my phone camera. Then, instead of ferrying back, I just jogged the ~4mi round the harbour and back that way. Because why not.

The first thing I did after the 5hr train journey to Oslo, after checking in, was sit down for a classic Norwegian reindeer stew (which cost less than 20 quid, about 170NEK, with a 15% discount for being a hostel guest - great price for Norway!) Since I didn't want to pay for a 72hr 'Oslo Pass', which - similar to what I used in both Stockholm and Copenhagen - gives you free travel and free access to most museums etc. for a certain time (48/72hr), I just went wandering once I'd had my meal. So I went straight down to the harbour and along the Havn Promenaden (Harbour Promenade - I did tell you this Scandivian stuff is easy! I now have a database of 15-20, largely Norwegian, Scandinavian words saved on my phone). The Promenaden has 14 information points along a 9km (5mi) stretch of harbour, all about the history and future Development plans of that particular area. I started about halfway along though, due to the position of my hostel, and walked the western section and back. On the way back, I also saw a great street performer - a video of whom will appear on my Facebook at some point.

My first full day started with a walk down to the Akershus Slott (Akershus Palace) within the Akershus Festning (fortress). I got my 48hr Oslo Pass and an audio guide for the largely disappointing former home of the Norwegian royal family, where they still hold occasional state ceremonies etc. It was smaller and less lavish than any of the Rosenborg, Christianborg (CPH) or Kungliga (Stockholm) palaces I've visited so far. So, once I'd seen all it had to offer, I went to the Festning visitor centre to read up more on the history of the fortress itself - a former prison from around 1300AD - and get an information sheet to walk around it with.

The fortress was mildly more interesting, but I would have preferred real ruins (like those under Christianborg and Kongliga), as opposed to the continuous building and repair that's occurred there through most of its history, making it seem less historic. Far more fascinating, however, was the Norwegian Resistance Museum, describing the major events and personal attitudes that occurred in Norway during WWII, starting from the Nazi invasion at around 4am, 9th April 1940. It included information on the royal family's escape, secret communication methods with Britain, the teachers' refusal to teach propaganda and various other incredibly interesting exhibits..

By the time I'd finished there, it was already around 4pm, so I just managed to get over to the Historisk Museum (nope, you don't get a translation on that one) with about half an hour to look around before its closing time of 5pm. Because everything closes far too early here for some reason, even during the summer months. Strangely, for such a large museum, it had very little English translations for most of its exhibits, so half an hour was just about all I needed to see the Viking-age Norwegian exhibit, and one on the transportation of gold out of Oslo - and subsequently Norway - during the Nazi invasion. I then wandered through some Norwegian language exhibits (it may seem like an easy language, but I've not quite mastered it yet...) for the last 5 minutes. After that, I again found a nice swimming pool (free entry with my Oslo Pass) for a swim and sunbathe for a couple of hours.

My next day, Saturday, I got the ferry over to Bygdøy and walked over to the Norsk Folkemuseum (again, not translating). The exhibits in the main building were quite underwhelming, but I really enjoyed walking around the different sections of the gardens, with buildings and information from different periods of Norwegian history. Then to the Vikingskiphuset (shouldn't need to translate this one either - but it's the Viking Ship Museum) which contained, funnily enough, 3 recovered Viking ships, in various states of decay, with skeletons and artifacts also recovered from the sites. Unfortunately, although interesting, it took about half an hour to look round and wouldn't have been worth the entry price if it wasn't for my Oslo Pass. Then, instead of waiting 15 minutes for the next ferry, I again just walked the long way round, and back along the section of the Havn Promenaden I'd already done.

I checked out the harbour swimming area and decided I'd rather go back to the same pool as the day before (larger and less crowded) for more swimming and sunbathing. But it was closed for some competition or other. Then, the second I got back to the harbour and changed into my swimming shorts, the sun went behind a cloud and never reappeared. So, after an hour's kind of chilly sunbathing, I made my way back to the hostel for my tea. Then, as the sun was getting low, I quickly went back out and to the Opera House (a well-designed, modern structure which you can walk up, down and almost all over) for some pictures. Then jogged (again, because why not?) the eastern half of the Havn Promenaden, stopping only to read the signs and take more pictures.

I'm considering doing two posts for Tromsø, if I have time and enough to write about by tomorrow evening, as it may be an even longer one if not. But I probably won't. Sorry.