Regular readers will know I wasn’t blown away by Bergen on my previous two visits. Okay bad choice of words, I was blown away because it’s so bloody wet and windy! But what I mean is, Bergen didn’t left such a good impression on me as the rest of Norway. So, with a few people [...]
Christmas Time at Bærums Verk
It’s been a right royally cold week in Oslo! The temperature has been below -10C for most of the week and even touched -19C at one point. It only got colder than that once last year, when I was introduced to biathlon. Not that I’m complaining though, I’d rather it be cold than wet. As [...]
An Afternoon in Røros
It’s well into October and I’m still writing about my summer vacation around Norway! Faced with a mammoth seven hour plus train journey from Trondheim to Oslo with only me for company, my mum seemed a little glum at breakfast time. So I tried to cheer her up: That didn’t work, so instead I told [...]
Happy Birthday Norway!
On Thursday the whole of Norway got together to celebrate its 198th birthday. Last year I had only been in the country for two weeks before the festivities began. I had little idea of what to expect and it felt like I was crashing a party. Fast forward 12 months and with my future in [...]
Out in the Cold: Maihaugen Open-Air Museum
If I’m honest, the idea of visiting an open-air museum during a Norwegian winter didn’t fill me with joy. It came recommended by many though and with nothing else on the agenda, it seemed wise to at least give it a shot. Following our visit to the Norwegian Olympic Museum, Gerry and I made our [...]
A Tour of the Norwegian Parliament
Last month when my friend Colin was here I wrote about the Norwegian local elections. During that weekend, aside from being inundated with colourful election leaflets around the city streets, we decided to visit Stortinget, the Norwegian Parliament. It was a fascinating time to visit, just a few weeks after the terrorist attack and two [...]
Visiting the Nobel Peace Center
This weekend I’ve had the pleasure of Andy’s company here in Oslo. On Friday we wandered past the City Hall and the Nobel Peace Center, which reminded me I’d seen the announcement of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize winners on the news earlier in the day. Anyway we decided to visit the Peace Center on [...]
A Weekend In Trondheim
The more eagle-eyed of my readers will have noticed I spent last weekend in Trondheim. The many colours of Trondheim post was a bit of a giveaway Despite Trondheim being Norway’s former capital and third-largest city by population, it’s remarkably different from Oslo. For starters, it’s small. The population is just 155,000 and the city [...]
The Birthplace of Modern Oslo – Christiania Torv
Christiania torv is one of the most beautiful public squares in Oslo. It’s centrepiece is one of the best known statues in the city, the hand of King Christian IV, marking the spot where modern Oslo began. Ruled from Denmark, medieval Oslo stood to the east of where today’s city centre lies. Its wooden houses [...]
How the Vikings Lived
On Sunday Charlotte and I visited the Vikingskipshuset (Viking Ship Museum) on Oslo’s Bygdøy peninsular. I’d been told by some it wasn’t worth the 60kr entry fee so I was a little wary, but Charlotte was keen so we went. I’m glad we did! The museum hosts the three best preserved Viking ships in existence, [...]
