oslo in a nutshell
by call_me_rhia
Oslo.... a strange city that has its charms - but in a not too flashy way. Let's start from the city centre - it's full of attractions, especially museums - but generally speaking it's a grey-looking and sad city... in terms of overall nice buildings there's very little to see.
Outside the city, in the Frogner, Holmenkollen or Bidgoy area there are fewer attractions (the best, in fact) but the city becomes a lot more pleasant and airy... smaller houses, often made of wood, and colourful.
Oslo might be the only city (that I know of) that looks better in the suburbs than in the city centre. it's very green, too - and screams to be walked about. My fondest memory of Oslo is the people - and by that I don't mean only Norwegian people. it's a very multiethnic city, especially (but not only) in the grunelokka area. I like the way the cultures seem to blend peacefully.
And I'll never forget a sight to behold... one night, in the city centre... a tall beautiful coloured woman wearing a khimar, jilbab and hiking boots. And she did nt look out of place.
Currency
by Marpessa
This was the first time I used a currency so different from my own (The GBP and Euro are similiar enough to the Australian dollar for me to relate easily to them). I actually thought the currency was nice, and now have enough '1 Krone' coins left to make myself a bracelet (don't know if I'm actually going to do that).
Get a bike, and follow the...
by haakonar
Get a bike, and follow the river (Akerselva) opstream! Take a break when you reach Grünerløkka and go to a café. You'll find great nature at the lake (Maridalsvannet). Then You can go to the nightclubs(i.e.Jazid), cafées(i.e.Fru Hagen) and jazzbars(i.e.Blå) on your way down again. The boattrips on the fjord and the islands!
Damstredet- a feast for traditionalsits
by Ekaterinburg
Damstedet is a tiny little street tucked away between Akersveien and Fredensborgveien and if you go to Var Frelsers Memoria Cemetery you will find it quite easily. This is the cemetery where Munch and Ibsen are buried and after toiling up from the centre in the pouring rain, I was more than a little disappointed to find the signposting totally inadequate and the more famous graves, virtually impossible to find. Maybe not impossible if you have loads of time and nice weather but when you've circumnavigated it once on a wet day, you tend to give up more easily.
Leaving despondently and then stumbling across Damstredet made the whole expedition worthwhile. This street of pretty wooden houses looks like it's been plucked from a rural village far removed from the city and it was here that I finally gave in and took out my camera. The photos, taken with one hand from underneath an umbrella, aren't great but they give a general impression of the colourful cottages and the sudden feeling of being in Norway as opposed to Oslo.
After this I was constantly on the look out for older and more traditional building and if you look carefully, you will find them on many of Oslo's streets, tucked in between the bland and the functional as rewards for diligent walkers.
Stortinget
by yooperprof
This is the National Parliament, a pleasant nineteenth century structure that strikes me for its modesty in scale and design. The Stortinget is open for regular tours, which I highly recommend for anyone who is interested in architecture or government!
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Oslo City Hall
Oslo National Theatre
The Vigelandspark, Oslo
The Vigelandspark, Oslo
