More than just beautiful blonde people and an Opera House. Oslo, Norway
rrived, cold and rainy, and greeted by what we call ‘sleepy bike’s, bikes randomly laying down in the middle of the sidewalk or squares, all over Europe we’d look for sleepy bikes and photograph them. They just seemed so alone and lonely.
The ship from Denmark to Norway was excellent, offering oversized window views in our private cabin of the passing small solitary islands sliding past, sometimes with a single house on them, someone summer paradise. An overnight ship no matter how utilitarian is always romantic, like an overnight train ride with a private berth. We spent time checking out the outdoor decks, restaurants, bar with horrible music, and extensive gift shops.
Oslo offers rental bikes, colored blue, and all over the place, these seem to be replacing regular bikes, they have to be returned to an upright bike stand that locks them back into the system, so maybe sleepy-bikes days are numbered. They’re a great way to get around town and most stands normally have at least a few bikes. Their app will show you the closest stands, how many bikes are ready etc. All you need is your credit card.
1. Things to see
However, our second day we made a stupid mistake. We wanted to go to Bygdoy Island – supposedly full of sights like the Famed Viking museum, Fram Museum (Polar exploration ) Huk beach, and a few others – nicknamed museum island… We got to a bike kiosk, my partner set up two accounts for us – then rented one. The seat was too low, so handed it to me. It was now ‘my’ bike. Then he rented another one for himself. When we got to the ferry he exchanged his bike as it had a problem, for a new one – and surprisingly it wouldn’t let him take another one. It turns out you can only rent one bike at a time, and ‘his bike’ was now ‘my’ bike, (my name). Unfortunately, there was only digital customer service and it took them six days to get back to us.
A silly mistake, but left us with only one bike for the island, so it was a lot of walking for him and slow riding for me.
The island itself was full of upscale (wealthy) houses with big bushes trying their best to obscure some privacy, The Viking museum was surprisingly lame with only two ships and a small handful of Viking objects that looked like recycled parts and fabric mush. The Polar exploration was a little bit better with some corny bits where you walked through a frozen ship and dummies (that hadn’t been painted in 20+ years) sat up in bed like zombies – I guess to scare you, the rest was pretty dull. Then came a huge village that had houses from all eras of Norway’s past, this was a little better, but not by much. We finally ended our day on Huk beach – a nude beach, where indeed, even though it was fairly cold out – people were laying around nude. I won’t reveal if we did the same – shhh… secrets.
For future travelers, I wouldn’t say the trip to Bygdoy Island is a must – it appears to be more of a giant tourist trap that keeps you running around a maze of museums, shelling out money – while teaching little and giving a few good photo opportunities. The full-day might be better spent hanging out in Oslo. Or, if in winter – adding two days and taking the beautiful train ride to Bergen. The total of what I learned that day is that there were indeed at least two Viking ships that look like the ones on TV and that sometimes Norweigens got cold on their ships when they sailed in winter.
One interesting cultural difference about Norway is the apparent enjoyment of following the rules to the exact extent it can make other peoples lives miserable. For instance; a bus that has been idling at a bus stop will continue to wait until the driver sees you get within 10 meters, he’ll give a little smile as he turns his head and takes off. Or a ferry operator will tell you it’s too late to board even though it sits half-empty for another 10 minutes. A restaurant waitress will seat you, not come over for 15 min to take your order and then saunter over and say the kitchen is closing in 20 min and it’s too late to order that you should leave.
There are very few words like ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ exchanged. Certainly ‘I’m sorry’ – I was told this is because the way the work system is set up in Norway is different, each person is their own boss, if they piss off a customer and lose them, there is no boss to get upset with them, so therefore no need to go the extra mile to be kind to patrons. I’m not sure, but it took getting some getting used to.
The one must visit is (of course) the Opera House, built like a glacier it’s several long sloping surfaces of white granite and Italian white marble that you can hike up and give a reasonable view of the city. (hint: there are usually swans at the bottom in the lake). Inside (which we didn’t go into) is supposed to be an incredible curtain that looks like tinfoil (loomed from scanned tinfoil) and lots of warm wood. But, the outside is pretty incredible. Unfortunately, the entire city seems to be in a constant state of the building and what you mostly see are quaint houses overshadowed by a dozen looming building cranes which ruin just about any good photo you could get. One local complained that this has been going on for years and that Norwegians did not want all the expenditure on all these new constructions. Hrm.
Across the river from the Opera House was my favorite experience in Oslo – and A-framed structure that offered hot yoga or hot meditation on tiered platforms. You don’t get nude, but you do need to change clothes and wear a skimpy towel and then spend an hour in the hot room meditating with the teacher while facing a wall of windows that overlooks the bay. Outside you’re invited to plunge into freezing water in giant oak barrels. Amazing, followed by a beer on the park benches outside.
The Opera House
Cold dipping pools (once I was dressed)
Around town
Someone needs to pull my wagon!
View from the top
On the island
Misc Oslo
Final view from the top of the Opera House
2. Nightlife
I’m sure Oslo has a terrific nightlife scene, but we became lazy when we found a nightlife ghetto near our hotel, a whole alley of bars – we tried our share, a few too consciously hip, with everyone just posing and sipping overpriced drinks – another that controlled how many people got in (to inflate its allure), and finally a laid back bar in the back with a 70’s theme, where people had some crazy styles and were quirky. At the end of the day that’s all we were seeking – someplace to chill and get a buzz and relax from the adventure – not compete with fashionistas with or limited clothing options from our carry on bag. Posing for strangers has never made sense. Luckily, there was something for everyone.
Dinner and drinks
Just drinks
3. Spend
Nothing to spend on except the usual traveler trinkets, Norway magnets, keychains, postcards, etc.
4. Food
We found a few favorite places and kept returning to them as we could get a big meal and enough drinks to give us a buzz for a fair price, unfortunately, I don’t know the name of them.
That’s a big hotdog!
5. Getting Around
Feed and feet on pedals.
6. Costs
Norway has a reputation for being expensive. It is deserved. However, the good aspect was that for the rest of our trip everything seemed ridiculously cheap when we compared it to Norway.
