JC Travels
May 14, 2019
Oslo  ·  Norway
Oslo — main harbour and waterfront
Week 269  ·  Oslo Opera House  ·  Nobel Peace Prize  ·  City Hall  ·  Damstredet

Oslo

JC Travels  ·  my-jc.blog

Since we have people coming from different directions, we met at my office near Dulles and Ubered from there. Once in Oslo, picked up the van and found the AirBnB — no problems. Oslo very accessible as we spent the day putting over 20,000 steps through town. Perfect weather and daylight until after 10pm.

Getting There — Alex's Phone & the Plane Change

We got off to a bad start. Unexpectedly long line as Icelandic Air was changing planes (757 to 737) which caused issues as they required everyone to go to the counter, while concurrently Alex realised she had left her phone at my office and had to Uber back and get it and return while we waited in line. We did make it to the gate with time to spare but the plane change led to me getting moved from an extra legroom seat to a middle seat in the back of the plane — luckily it was near Alex and she switched.

On Oslo — What We Opted Not to Do

Oslo is filled with world-class museums and palaces, but with the spectacular weather and not a lot of time, we opted to stay outside and explore the city. We did stop by the gift shop of the Nobel Peace Prize (not to be confused with the Nobel Prize that used to be given out locally) — it would have been interesting had we been there during open hours.

Short visit to Oslo as our focus for the trip was outdoor places. We didn't see anything especially different — just a nice northern European city. $225 for pizza and water at the harbour.

The City — Harbour, City Hall & Opera House
Oslo harbour area Great ambiance — $225 for pizza and water — Oslo
Oslo harbour  ·  Great ambiance — $225 for pizza and water
Oslo waterfront Birds on statues head became a theme — Oslo Norway
Organisation before the picture — Oslo Oslo city area
Birds on statues' heads became a theme  ·  Organisation before the picture
Background — Oslo City Hall & the Nobel Peace Prize

Oslo City Hall was the result of a design competition in 1918 and was not completed until 1950 — taking 32 years due to interrupted funding and World War II. The building is widely considered one of Norway's most controversial pieces of architecture and has been described as everything from brutalist to art deco. The Nobel Peace Prize ceremony is held there every December 10th — notably separate from the other Nobel Prizes, which are awarded in Stockholm. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a Norwegian committee appointed by the Storting (parliament), a distinction that dates to Alfred Nobel's original will in 1895 and which has led to periodic diplomatic tension when the prize is awarded to figures controversial to major powers.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner's museum — Oslo City Hall — design competition 1918, finished 1960 — where Nobel Peace Prizes are awarded
Art Deco on outside of City Hall — Oslo Main Harbour — Oslo
Nobel Prize museum  ·  City Hall — design competition 1918, finished 1960, really terrible building but some interesting art deco  ·  Main Harbour
Opera House, Damstredet & the AirBnB
We always eat at restaurants near Jamie Oliver's — but alas, no more On top of the Oslo Opera House
Our AirBnB in basement — Oslo Oldest street in Oslo — Damstredet
Oslo neighbourhood Oslo — near AirBnB
Near Jamie Oliver's — but alas no more  ·  On top of the Oslo Opera House  ·  Our AirBnB — in the basement  ·  Oldest street in Oslo — Damstredet

"The beauty of Norway is that the whole country is a national park. There is no single place that is a '10' like the Grand Canyon — but there are endless 8s and 9s."

OsloNorwayOpera HouseNobel Peace PrizeCity Hall
Week 269  ·  May 14, 2019