23/07/2011
We woke early when Nick (Sue's brother) rang around 3.45am to check that we were OK - he'd just seen the news about the 'incidents' in Oslo. Whoops, looked like we hadn't told him or Richard (other brother). We reassured him and then rang Richard to reassure them.
Breakfast was at the Egon Restaurant next door to the hotel. It's a very interesting building - has lots of woodwork (walls, floors, furniture) and the walls are covered in lots of memorabilia ranging from posters of past Olympics (eg Paris in 1924) to signs advertising long gone brands of engine oil and a collection of wooden skis. Some of the seats looked like they'd once been train seats.
Suitably fortified, we called in at the Tourist Info Centre for some ideas on what to do for the day. We had some ideas with advice from previous travellers but it was unclear how well the city would be operating.
As is the rest of the city, they were struggling to comprehend what had happened the previous day and it's impact on their way of life. Difficult to be a superficial tourist at such times but hopefully keeping them busy helped. Turned out some of the museums and other similar places were closed for the day due to the bombing so the best option was to get an all day public transport ticket so we could visit the Vigeland Sculpture Park and then continue on to the Holmenkollen Ski jump and then further up to Frognerseteren.
Sculpture Park was amazing - over 80 pieces in various materials, focussing on people, relationships, and emotions. They are deliberately without signs so you can interpret them however you want. There were lots of tourists there, including some tour groups - at times we couldn't help overhearing the commentaries of the guides - some bonus information. Dogs were out in force - Oslo people do seem to treasure their canine friends. They also like their bikes - there are a number of spots round the city where bicycles can be hired.
We even found an Orienteering control attached to a tree with multiple cable ties - we can't get away from O!
Then we walked up to Majorstuen and caught the bus up the hill to the terminus at Frognerseteren. This location is a ski resort in the winter and hosted a winter Olympics some while back, but also has lots of walking tracks in all directions. Then we boarded another bus and travelled down to the ski jump. It looks seriously scary!! Then we caught the next bus down to Majorstuen and switched to a tram for the final part of the journey. This route took some detours as some parts of the city are still barricaded off with armed soldiers making sure no one entered - there were lots of people at the barricades trying to catch glimpses of the previous day's disaster. We went past the Oslo Domkirke (cathedral) - there was a big crowd there with people leaving lighted candles and bunches of flowers as tributes to the victims.
After some domestics we went out for a walk along the waterfront. First stop was the Opera House. This is a very impressive structure architecturally speaking - on a par with the Sydney Opera House though very different. Advantage of the Oslo version is that you can walk up onto the roof and walk all over it to get some great views. Then we carried on round past an old fortress to the ferry terminal in front of the imposing City Hall. Then we walked back to the hotel, put our feet up and drew breath before venturing out for dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant (yum). Finally to bed.
24/7/11
We hoped to 'do' some museums today, so we packed up cameras, water bottles, umbrella (it is mid summer here but it's a bit like winter in Perth), and headed off to the Tourist I Centre to get our Oslo Pass (see below) and some directions to get us started. Most of the museums were operating so away we went.
We caught a bus to the ferry terminal and then boarded the Bygdoy ferry. We disembarked at the first stop and walked up a looooong hill to the Folk Museum.
This covers a large area with many buildings and other structures from various periods in Norway's history. There are even some small farms with assorted animals - sheep (or maybe goats?), cattle and horses. At some of the exhibits there are people in period dress available to tell you about them.
Next stop was the Viking ship museum - there are 3 Viking ships (and associated artifacts) built 100s of years ago and buried in burial mounds where they had been interred (with their owners on their death), to serve as vessels for said owners' final journeys to the realm of the dead.
Then a walk to the Kon-Tiki museum to check out Thor Heyerdahl's rafts - quite a contrast to the Viking ships. And then to the neighbouring FRAM museum which houses the ship that Raould Amundsen used to get to the South Pole (the same boat had previously done some serious Arctic work). Yet another very different vessel.
Back onto the ferry, then bus and then underground train to the Munch museum for a change of pace - it is full of Norwegian artist Edvard Munch's work - heaps of paintings including the one he is best known for - "The Scream". Great variety of work and styles - really interesting. Helped by a clever commentary setup over wireless that we could log our iPhones onto!
5 museums in a day - hardly did them justice - a couple would have justified a whole day to themselves.
We are now avid fans of Oslo's public transport - we've used train, bus, tram and ferry to get around over the two days. Very well organised system with lots of options.
Lots of payment options including very reasonable day passes.
They've taken it step further with the Oslo Pass which can be bought for 24, 48 or 72 hours and gives you free public transport and museum entry for the period you've chosen. Great idea - saves fumbling around buying tickets - and you don't have to do a lot to break even.
