Hidden Valley Waterfall

Hidden Valley Waterfall

Friday, August 16, 2013

Oslo, Norway

I will start by saying this: Oslo was my LEAST favorite spot all summer, including the spots in China. Why? Well, here we go...

To begin with, Oslo is the (or one of the) most expensive European cities. So, if it is making that much money and costs so much to live there, I anticipated a more pristine place. Instead, when I got off the train, I was greeted by cigarette butts galore, as well as trash along the streets. The people were not very friendly, and it was damp and drizzly to boot, so that didn't help. There was nothing charming about this city. There was nothing that screamed "visit me".  At least, not the city as a whole.

With that said, there were a few spots that were nice. My absolute favorite was the Vigeland Sculpture Park. The park is enormous and lined with the most beautiful statues that lead to the main one in the middle. I spent quite a bit of time here, enjoying the beautiful blue skies that we had that day.





I also visited the Viking Ship Museum here, but was a tad disappointed. It was a nice museum, but I guess just not what I was expecting. The ships were simple, but beautifully carved and there were several artifacts on display from the viking times as well. A friend gave me her museum ticket (good for 48 hrs at two different ones), so I was able to just flash it and proceed on through. :)  She also gave me her transportation card, so the ferry over and back was free as well!




















I visited the Akershus Fortress and Castle, but this was also not what I expected. I didn't go into the castle, as the pictures were less than flattering of that I would see and to be honest, was just being moody at this point in time. I walked around the fortress and then visited a free Armed Forces Museum on the grounds. This was actually rather fascinating to me and there was a lot to see.



One of the last places I visited in my short 2 and a half days is Oslo (more than enough time) was the Opera House. This is quite different from many opera houses I have seen. It's modern, yet not stark. It's simple, yet overdone. It's just - well - just what I would almost expect from Oslo. 

The view from across the water.

 This was a cool sculpture off the side of the opera house in the water. Very neat. 

 Standing in front of the opera house

I have friends that made the trips out west to the Fjords, and they loved the area, which I had heard was quite lovely. I didn't have the time, nor the extra money, to make the trip. As far as Oslo itself, I will never have a desire to revisit this city. I'm not ruling out all of Norway, but the capital is not the place for me. 



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