As luck would have it, I got to visit Oslo for some on-the-job training and enjoy some free-time to walk around the city, too. Since my time was limited,
decided to traverse the city from west to east (for the most part).
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Akershus Castle |
My trip actually began in Vienna, and I landed n Oslo just before midnight on Wednesday, and the
Flybussen dropped me off very near my hotel about 40 minutes later. The bus is very convenient, especially since you can get a return ticket and not have to worry about getting back to the airport (it's a very expensive cab ride, so I hear).
As an aside, if you're in Vienna, try the Ottakriger Radler. It's excellent.
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RRR in Vienna, hours before his flight to Oslo. |
On Thursday after work, I watched the US-Germany World Cup game while the rain poured down outside. As the game ended, the rain also stopped. So, I figured that was an invitation to get touring and went outside. I started off at the Royal Palace and continued on into the Oslo city center.
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RRR and the Royal Palace |
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Karl Johans Gate |
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Oslo's crest on a manhole cover |
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A bronze tiger prowling around the train station. |
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The Norwegian National Ballet and Opera |
By the time I reached the Akershus fotress and castle, the rain began to fall again. To make matters worse, it had just closed 30 minutes ago.
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This was the closest I could get to the castle today. |
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Lots of ships in the harbour |
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Pride Park. Note the disco ball shining a beam of light through the rain. |
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The "Have fun. Be Safe! Enjoy free condoms" sign
is in front of a statue of woman with two kids. Hmmm. |
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Nobel Peace Center |
After visiting the city center, I returned to my hotel. In the rain.
After concluding my business on Friday, I took the T-Bane (metro) over to the Borgen stop. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the electrified "suicide rail" explicitly labelled as such. From Borgen, I walked through a cemetery and into the famous Vigeland sculpture park which is actually inside Frogner park..
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The cemetery at Borgen |
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Ironwork gate in Vigeland sculpture park |
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RRR and the Angry Boy statue |
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RRR! Save us from Gustav Vigeland! |
After the Frogner Park, I hopped on the tram/T-Bane to the Munch Museum, passing the Botanical Garden on my way.
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This sofa probably could stand to be cleaned a little more often... |
Once I got the Munch museum and walking around the gift shop, I decided that I didn't really want to pay the price of admission to see the scream. I mean, it's a masterpiece, but I think I like the
Lego version more. So, I headed back to the city center to see about getting into the Akershus Fortress. As I arrived at the castle, a military wedding was just about to start and I just barely got inside to take a few pictures before I was told the castle was closed to the public.
Walking around the fortress that surrounds the castle, I came across this figure sitting in deep reflection.
From the fortress, I walked back to my hotel.
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RRR and some distant relatives. |
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Children playing next to statues of children playing. |
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The National Theatre's production of Hitchcock's The Birds |
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Yeah, can I get a hot dog wrapped in bacon with meat topping? |
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Oslo street art thief. Banksy maybe? |
I went back to the hotel to change & rest before heading back downtown (for a third time) to get some food with some other Foreign Service folks before calling it a night. Overall, a quite enjoyable trip!
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