New Years in Oslo
Oslo is the third city of my roundtrip through Norway at the end of my semester abroad. Oslo is also the second most expensive city in the world. I am not going to lie but after living in Norway for some time, I can confirm that the prices in Oslo are just a tad bit more than in the other cities of this beautiful country. Just as all the other cities in Norway, you will find it worth it to spend your money on all the amazing things you can do, but you will curse at your bank statement after you are back home.
Oslo is the capital of Norway, founded in the year 1040 and sits on the Oslofjord. The Oslofjord is a 107 km long fjord and the fifth largest fjord of Norway. You can visit the fjord by booking a boat trip from the harbor. I need to say that if you are going to Norway to see a fjord, do not choose this one, because Geirangerfjord is way more beautiful.
Public transport
From Oslo airport, it is really simple to go to the city center of Oslo by train (toget). The flytoget goes straight to Oslo S and from there you can take the bus, tram or underground. #Ruter is the company that provides tickets for the public transport in Oslo so if you need to go a little bit farther and cannot walk to your apartment or hotel buy a ticket in one of the kiosks at Oslo S. The tickets in the kiosks are cheaper than in the public transport and more importantly: You cannot pay by card in the public transport!
Oslo is a mix of modern and old architecture and is home to the Norwegian King Harald V and Queen Sonja. Buildings such as the Oslo City Hall, The Royal Palace and Oslo Cathedral really show the old architecture of Oslo. Some more modern pearls of the town are The Opera house, the MAD building and Vulkan. Vulkan is a development project on the river bank of Akerselva.
In the areas of Tjuvholmen and Aker Brygge you will find most museums and galleries of Oslo. The Astrup Fearnley Museet, Tjuvholmen Sculpture Park and Pushwagner Gallary for example are on this side of the city. Walking through Aker Brygge means walking through a harbor so while walking you will see the water (and some lovely boats) on your left and cafes/restaurants on your right hand. The restaurants range from highly exclusive, such as Hanami, to more informal places like Rorbua and Cafe Sorgenfri. Completed with a nice view over the harbor, this is the place to drink or eat something. A little bit further away from the city center you can find some more attractions such as the Norwegian Folk Museum and the Frogner Park. I have compiled a list of some cool things we did in Oslo.
Frognerparken or Vigeland Park
Back in the days, Hans Jacob Scheel built a manor and made a garden around the manor. The manor was sold and the garden transformed to a park in 1836. The City of Oslo bought the property in 1896 to secure space for further urban development but decided to use the park for recreation. Now, Frogner Park is the world’s largest sculpture park, with 212 sculptures made by only a single artist named Gustav Vigeland. The sculptures are pretty weird in my opinion. But if you know the meaning behind the art it makes sense. The sculptures have the theme ‘circle of life’ and are therefore all naked. You can find the angry boy, a monolith and the Wheel of Life in this park.
Walk through Aker Brygge and Tjuvholmen
I have no idea where the line between these two areas are but Akker Brygge is popular for its shopping and dining facilities in Oslo and Tjuvholmen houses the Astrup Fearnley Museet and the Sculpture Park. The Astrup Fearnley Museet houses a collection of modern/contemporary art in its two buildings. Outside the Astrup Fearnley Museet is the Sculpture Park which is also a perfect place to watch the sunset since it is situated at the end of the harbor.
Norwegian Folk Museum
The Norwegian Folk Museum is an open-air museum that has traditional houses of Norway and stave church from 1200. The museum reminded me of the Sunnmøre museum in Ålesund, minus the impressive church. Most of the surviving old stave churches (before 1500) are found in Norway, some believe that the stave church was the first type of church in Scandinavia.
Oslo Opera House
The Opera House is the national opera theatre in Norway and is a sleek, modern building situated next to the water. The Opera House is the largest cultural building made in Norway since the Nidaros Cathedral (1300) in Trondheim. You can walk up to the roof of the Opera House for a wonderful view over the city or go inside and see a show.
Magic Ice Bar
When we asked our local friend if he knew the Ice Bar he had no idea where we were talking about and asked us if we were not confused with the one in Bergen, Norway. If you want to freeze with minus 5 degrees to see some sculptures made of ice and drink something out of a glass made of ice, this is the place to go!
Akerhus castle/fortress
Akerhus is a castle-cum-fortress that was built around 1300 to defend Oslo against an earl and later against Sweden. During World War II Akerhus was used as an execution place. Akerhus is now an open-air attraction and is still a military area open till 21:00. In addition, the Norwegian Armed Forces Museum and Norway’s Resistance Museum also can be found here. If you visit the fortress you will meet His Majesty’s Kings Guard and maybe even witness the change of shifts.
Firework show
Oslo has some rules regarding buying and lighting off fireworks, so we played it safe and celebrated New Year’s Eve by visiting Oslo’s firework show. The show was in the harbor of Tjuvholmen and even though it was misty, it was beautiful to see. Most Norwegians celebrate NYE with family so a lot of families were present to see the show. If you are worried about getting home after, the public transport goes until 23:00 and starts again at 00:30.
If you go to Oslo around Christmas and New Year keep in mind that a lot of museums are closed. The official website of Oslo can help you figure out which attractions are open in the holiday season.
