Oslo 2023

Photo by Silviu Alexandru Avram

• Q: Do you know what is better than the current trip?
• A: The next one.

It's a very catchy slogan by Delta, used in the commercial you are required to watch before the movie starts on the flight. The annoying part is that you have to view it every time a movie starts. The good part is that they are right.

My US trip was coming to an end and I was actually glad to be returning home, after almost 3 weeks of being spoiled by the American Dream. Snap back to reality, Marshall.

That being said, the magical date of the 1st of May was inching closer, and it's very common to celebrate it while on a trip. The most popular way is to do it is a trip to the seaside, but I was never a big fan of that. Instead, I am a big fan of city breaks, and even though I was expecting most people to chose the seaside or the mountains for their mini vacation, I also expected that the plane tickets to be sold out by that time. Still, it was worth a try, so I checked Skyscanner and, to my surprise, there were quite a few options with very good plane ticket prices, the best being Bologna and Oslo.

Both were places I've never been before, so that got me quite excited. But which one to pick? Sure, Bologna was going to be quite a sure shot, as Italy is always a good idea, as I've been there so many times and it never disappointed.

On the other hand, I've never been to a Northern country, not even Denmark. Consequently, the drive to try something new won, and we picked Oslo as the winner, bought tickets, and breathed easier, knowing that our 1st of May already planned for.

Oslo by foot

I prefer walking when I'm on a trip, and Oslo was not going to be any different. The city is very convenient for walking, with wide sidewalks, coffe shops , quite a few parks, and a waterfront. The waterfront areas are very sought-out places in Oslo, both for walks, but also for living. There are quite a few of neighbourhoods that were placed directly next to the water. Some areas also had construction sites going on, with new apartment buildings about to rise tall.

As you would expect, these neighbourhoods have a very modern feel, with contemporary style apartment buildings and offices, underground parking spaces and restaurants on the first floor. I would probably not choose to live in these kinds of places, as they seem to me quite soulless, but that's just me. On the other hand, I do appreciate the architectural style of modern apartments next to water canals, like a Venice built in the 21st century. Or Hamburg, even though it has its own unique architectural flavour, which I found quite impressive.

Oslo Opera	Oslo Canal View

One such place is Tjuvholmen, and Tjuvholmen has quite a lot to offer. It has canals with parking space for boats. It has the modern apartments and offices, some still in construction. It has a museum. And it has one restaurant that serves great Norwegian salmon courses, from sushi to grilled. The restaurant is called, well, The Salmon. You wouldn't want to make any mistake when going there. We surely did not, as the food was amazing. They know their salmon very well, so if you're a fan, this should be a non-negotiable stop.

Another neighbourhood is Sorenaga, just behind the Oslo Opera building. It's a very nice place for a walk during sunset and enjoy the sea view at the same time. Turning around and going on the 162, there's the Microsoft building. Hello, dear employer. Turning left and going back towards the Opera house, we went through Oslo's office district, which, unlike most such districts in other cities, this one was conveniently placed next to the city center. The modern neighbourhood theme continues here as well, with a focus on office spaces, even though there were many apartment buildings as well. The perfect place if you feel like living right next to your office and and have your commute in your pijamas.

Sørengautstikkeren	Oslo City Center

Of course, there's also the city center, with quite a large number of bars, usually packed in the evening. Overall, it's your usual European city center, with an abundance of choices for walking, shopping and drinking. I particularly enjoyed the street leading up to the Royal Palace, Karl Johans Street, with Norwegian flags hanging everywhere from the buildings, left and right. I did not enter the palace, but did walk through the surrounding gardens and admired the various statues and monuments placed there.

Continuing towards the Northeast, through the Uranienborg, a very upmarket neighbourhood, there's Vigeland Park. Not surprisingly, I found the park to be quite unusual, given the sculptures laying around, showing different human feelings and stages of life. These sculptures are impressive, not doubt, but they may not be everyone's cup of tea, as they show things like people crawling on top of each other and screaming parents throwing away their toddlers. Life is beautiful, but it's not all raindows and unicorns, and the Vigeland sculptures serve as a artistic reminder of that.

Oslo Museums

Even though we visited Oslo in May, the weather was totally not exactly May-ish. It rained quite a bit, and the evenings became pretty chilly. Consequently, we considered going to enjoy some of Oslo's museums, and, fortunately, there is no shortage of that. The first pick was The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. It's the Norwegian equivalent of our own Muzeul Satului in Bucharest, displaying a large number of buildings that made up rural Norway. The building collection includes living houses, churches, stables and grain depots. In addition to the buildings, there is also an exhibition with religious objects, clothes, furniture and decorations.

Also very impressive is the Fram museum. No, it's not the polar bear, but it's probably one of the most interesting museums I've ever been to, as it includes the actual Fram exploration ship. The whole museum is actually build around the ship, which is restored beautifully on the outside and you can also check it out on the inside, with living quarters, cabins, kitchen, the main gathering hall and storage areas. It is probably the most important museum to visit in Oslo, as I don't believe there are many like it.

Fram Museum	Museum of Cultural History

On the more convetional side of museums, we went to the National Museum, which includes a very impressive collection overall, not just works of Munch. It include a large amount of paintings, architecture and design objects, and it's definitely worth its ticket money. Of course, there is also the Munch museum, but, unfortunately, we could not fit it in our itinerary, given the short stay. Next time it should be number one on the list.

Final Thoughts

Overall, it has been a very short trip, but, to be honest, it was enough. Sure, Norway is definitely a place where I would return, but next time it might be more about nature and less about city breaking. I'm super happy with the trip, since it was something different and quite refreshing from my usual Italian city breaks. If you are looking for salmon special, definitely check out Oslo, and with that bad joke, it's time to end. Happy travels!