Oslo Warnings Or Dangers

You have to buy a ticket before entering the bus/tram/subway!! A single-ticket costs 20 NOK(summer 2005), but if you buy in from the driver on the bus or tram it costs 30 NOK. If you don't have at ticket or you have forgotten to get a date-stamp on it you have to pay a penalty (900 NOK).
You can buy ticket at all Narvesen-kiosks, at Trafikanten by the Sentral - station and on machines on tubestations. Datestamp-machines can be found on all tubestations or inside buses/trams. Stamped tickets and are then valid for 1 hour of travel including transfers between the various means of public transport.

In Croatian slang, when something is extremely expensive we call the price "peppered". If you are travelling to Oslo prepare yourself for high prices.

Norway is one of the wealthiest states thanks to its oil reserves but its inhabitants also have many benefits thanks to extremely high taxes. Oslo is one of the most expensive places to live in the whole world and although locals are aware that tourists in general have lower earnings than Norwegians when it comes to prices there is no mercy. There are no cheap things here - it is only the difference between less expensive and more expensive. The best is to stop calculating the prices all the time, limiting yourself to what you can afford.

I certainly wouldn't be able to afford myself this salt and pepper jars and a toothpick holder I found somewhere in Oslo: each piece costed more than 4,000 NOK (500 EUR). Beautiful, but definitely "peppered".

(You are free to enlarge the photo if you don't believe me :)

O.k. the title "warning..." doesn't fit exact. I just wanted to say, if you go to Norway (or other skandinavian countries) buy as much duty free cigarettes as possible. They are extreme expensiv there!
One pack costs about 10$.
Up there everybody screws tobacco.
Sometimes it's possible to buy single cigarettes in the bars.

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Despite being in the European Economic area, Norway is not in Euroland - it voted against adopting the Euro. You will therefore need to exchange your hard-earned wonga into Norwegian Crowns (Kr)

Unfortunately exchanging money is not cheap in Oslo. Banks will frequently charge up to 70 kr or more, even for small amounts.

It is probably better to use an ATM or the cheap (ish) foreign exchange Bureau above the tourist info at the Central station : Forex

Forex have a number of branches in Oslo. They appear to offer a better rate than the banks and charge less commission too.

When I visited in Feburary 2005, the air was clear, cold and sparkling. It felt invigorating with all those positive ions about.

Seems nice, but after a while I realised that anything vaguely electrical became something of a very minor minefield - that static was bouncing for joy.

Avoid escalators whilst wearing nylon jumpers - or you will be able to add to the Norwegian National Grid.

The biggest warning in Oslo must be the prices! Be sure to bring enough money, as everything is expencive here. You can find some cheap places, but most of the time you are going to stumble across the expencive ones. Don't go for the first place you find, check a bit around and you can save lots of money.

The "official" touriststores are very pricey. They sell typical norwegian "touriststuff" like trolls, sweaters, calendars, books and other souvenirs. You can find many of the same things in other places. Most of the time they will not be "original souvenirs", but the prices are a lot lower.

Buy food and drinks in the supermarket, and not in a kiosk. Check out my pages or look on internet to find cheap accomodation and restaurants. There are lots of expencive ones, but you can find cheaper places that are just as nice.

Some of the attractions can be a bit expencive, so if you want to save money you should check out the different prices before you decide what to see and where to go. Many attractions are also free and are worth checking out even if you are not on a budget.

Coming from Australia I am used to flies and bees and the occasional wasp. In Norway wasps are as common as flies are in Australia, they were everywhere (I didn't get stung though). So just beware of wasps.

Like most of the Scandinavian cities also Oslo is rather a safe place. I was feeling pretty safe also late at night using the last subway train, so, it is not a problem here. The only danger is the people that over drinking, usually during the weekends. So try to avoid those.