Arrival
& Accommodations
It
was grey and rainy for most of the train trip from Stockholm so not too much to say about
it. There was some obligatory pretty scenery, of course. Seemed
typically Swedish – birch/fir forests, fields and farmhouses and
lakes, of course. Towards the end, when it started to get more
Norwegian – there were all these darn tunnels (one is 11km long)
getting in the way of my photography!
On
arrival to Oslo station it was actually surprisingly easy to locate
both the info centre and my hostel (Sentrum pensjonat). The guy at
reception asked me if i was here for the Bruce Springsteen concert
that night (ah, no i answered politely – even though i do actually
like some of the Boss's songs thanks to my old Palmie flatmates) –
had no idea he was still touring! Found out later that one of my
roommates was going – she was a true groupie, had been to 300 of so
of his concerts and she was following him around on tour. she
would've been in her 40's but stayed out later than me every night!
The
hostel (hotel-style) was far nicer than i expected. It was great to
have a mere 5 beds in the room again! Though we did have to make a 2
flights of stairs pilgrimage to the showers (of which there were only
about 6 for what i assumed was the whole hostel). The first shower i
took there almost killed me – it was like standing in the path of a
fire-fighter's hose!
Headed
out to get some dinner (the most expensive Burger King i will ever
eat – 79nkk for a whopper and hamburger) then came back to my room
– to find...2 new arrivals, none other than Mike and Derek who had
also been roomies in Stockholm. There were hundreds of beds in the
place and they end up IN THE SAME room as me. I am now thoroughly
convinced that the world is SMALL. We had a good laugh about it and
they assured me they were not stalking me. Found out that both of
them were heading into post-grad study – one physics and one maths.
The guys regaled me with their plans of world domination and
retiring at 30 – you know just like all the other mathematicians
and physicists in the world.
Had
a precursory look around town (which thankfully was smaller than the
map made it look) and then turned in.
day
1 – 8/7
Headed
out to Oslo's Brygdoy peninsula (where all the big museums are at) on
the ferry. Realised while i was trapped in the line for the ferry
that i should have bought an Oslo Pass (one of those tourist passes
that all cities seem to have which are predominantly not worth
getting) as the museums (there were about 5 i wanted to go to) were
much more expensive than i had thought – not to mention the public
transport! The American cruise tourists next to me in line were in
the same boat too (pun) and we all bitched about it together.
Ended
up going to only 2 museums – the viking ship museum and the Con
Tiki museum (as in the Thor Hyderdal expedition NOT the tour
company). Both were quite good – i felt like i acquired at least
some new knowledge.
The
viking ship museum had 3 examples of actual viking ships (from around
600-800 AD) that had been used in burial mounds for the upper
echelons of Viking Society. Back in the day they used to bury people
with all the things they might need in the afterlife – including
servants, horses, dogs, food, tools and fine jewelry. Bugger being
someone's slave in Viking times! i felt really sorry for all the
horses too – amazing just how much they could fit in a viking war
boat.
All
the items in the graves were freakishly well preserved, despite all
the grave-robbing that had taken place over the centuries (most of
the valuables had been pilfered), thanks to the clay they had used to
seal up the mounds. You can see examples of elaborately-decorated
carved chests, leather bridles, dog collars and even shoes.
The
viking carvings (on pretty much everything they used), work tools,
jewelery and the boats, carts and sleds blew my mind. It's amazing
to see how much technology and talent these guys had so many years
ago! Their lifestyles and how far they managed to travel fascinated
me as well.
The
Con Tiki museum was interesting too – it was all about Thor
Heyderdal this amazing Norweigan amateur (he was a zoologist by
training) archaeologist/adventurer/cultural advocate. He is famous
for testing his archaeological theories himself. He led several
expeditions in various ancient style rafts (one made of reeds) to
prove the types of journeys and interactions that ancient peoples
could have made/had. I learnt about the Con Tiki, where Thor was
trying to prove that the Polynesians could have come from South
America rather than Asia, in 4th form social studies.
Incredibly, he and 4 other guys, set off from the Sth American coast
in a simple South American Indian style raft, and not only survived
140 days at sea but actually arrived on an island in the South
Pacific just by drifting on the currents.
The
guy is incredible – he kept on leading expeditions and studying
archeology right up til his 70's and ended up having a role in the
united nations (i think that's the right organisation), my memory is
a little hazy on the facts) as an advocate for cultural rights (the
guy didn't believe in barriers between different “peoples”). It
makes you feel as if you've done nothing with your life and makes you
want to rush right out and do some good deeds.
Later
that evening i checked out the new opera house with Derek and Mike.
It is a true architectural marvel – a huge ultra-ultra-modern white
structure right on the waterfront. I swear, with all the angles and
ramps the building has it is a skateboarder's wet dream.
To
top off the evening the 3 of us decided to sample some “traditional
Norwegian cuisine” from the diner-style restaurant underneath our
hostel. I had meatballs (Friskeller), spuds and mushy peas for 79
kroner. Was ok but it tasted somewhat 'microwave-mealish' – later
i found out why when i found the exact same meal at the supermarket
in the heat'n'eat meals section!!! LoL – guess you kind of expect
to get ripped off as a tourist sometimes.
day2
– 9/7
Still
had my transport pass so i decided to head up to the highest point
for a view over Oslo. Took the tram up to Frognerseteren. The view
was nice (you could see out over the fjord and pretty forested hills)
but the huge fir trees kind of obscured most of the city (not too
much of a shame though cos i didn't actually think too much of Oslo
city anyway). Stopped off quickly at the ski museum – Holmenkollen
to awe at the ski jump there ( it had been put up for the winter
olympics and is mega-steep) before heading back into the city for the
famed Frognerpark.
Frognerpark
was absolutely gorgeous – jampacked with perfectly-manicured,
architecturally-landscaped gardens and lawns, and beautiful
Norwegians of course. Right in the middle of it is Vigeland
Sculpture Park. To quote Lonely Planet's description, the sculpture
park is “a processional walkway lined with statues of screaming
babies, entwined lovers and other naughty people leading to a giant
phallus”. The statues are really really lifelike and were
definitely the highlight of my trip to Oslo – the only downside was
the myriads of bus-tripping tourists falling over themselves to try
and get the best pose with the statues. Nothing like random tourists
contaminating your photos (really i'm just jealous of their cool
photo ideas).
Some
other nice places i visited:
the
Askerhus Fortress (located right on the coastline with stunning
vistas over the water – great place to be on a nice sunny
afternoon)
the
Peace Museum (the price stopped me from going in but they have an
awesome gift shop and had a very thought-provoking photographic
display of the lifestyle of an Amazonian Indian tribe).
