It was a 4:30 AM wake up! Although “jarring”, we’ve been up most mornings very early. We did a quick double check that our space was in excellent shape and all our belongings were packed-up, then chucked the key in the Lock Box and out the door. Rainy but refreshing walk to Stockholm Central Station for our 5:40 departure to Oslo. Left 5 mins late due to an evacuation alarm at the station 😳.
As expected, feet on the ground in Oslo, Norway 🇳🇴 shortly after 11:00 AM. On Monday evening our plans changed a bit, as we were informed by our AirBnB that we could probably gain access to our accommodation several hours early. Thus, we tinkered a bit with the itinerary to avoid bag storage and made a plan to have a leisurely lunch outside of Deichman Bjørvika (Oslo Public Library) upon arrival. Found a shaded area where we sat and watched away our first moments on Oslo. Taking it slower today with a lighter itinerary, and time for nothing!
That brought us to time for check-in. Well now… loving this accommodation space already. Great apartment, 5 minute walk away from central station, 5 minute walk from Opera House. Close to Metro, grocery and attractions too… location, location, location! All the amenities ❤️ and access several hours earlier which was a bonus. Took a look around, dropped the bags, then off and running in beautiful Oslo.
Our Oslo Sentrum walk began at the Oslo Cathedral, the main church for the Church of Norway Diocese of Oslo. Free to enter, we immediately recognized the smell of burning incense and the “working look” of this still used parish church. The Norwegian royal family and Government utilize the cathedral for public events.
A short two blocks north is Karl Johan’s Gate, Oslo’s main thoroughfare. This popular avenue stretches from the point of our arrival, Oslo Central Station, on the eastern end to the Royal Palace on western end and transforms as it moves through the city. We walked the initial span of this pedestrian street, taking in the many shops, stores, cafes and restaurants that surround the passersby.
At the end of this colourful stretch is the Norwegian Parliament Building, Stortinget. Soon after is the “green belt” of the street with its ample trees, grassy areas, reflecting ponds and lovely fountains. Further along is the National Theatre, one of Norway’s largest and most prominent venues for performing arts, adorned with both statue and cafe.
The street culminates with the grounds of the Norwegian Royal Palace & Gardens. With growing crowds, we ascended to the front entrance of the palace to watch the daily Changing of the Guard Ceremony. Interesting… the Royal units from most monarchies have some sort of ritual such as the one we watched, and they remain popular to resident and visitor alike.
Feeling the heat of the day, and even worn from the early rise and train travel, we turned eastward towards our Sentrum based accommodation via a different route. We passed the very proletarian Oslo City Hall, with its striking Russian feel in architecture and design elements. That surprised us. I did a deeper dive to know more and found that although the building’s exterior might share some stylistic similarities with certain Soviet-era buildings, it is not Russian in design. The architecture is a blend of functionalism and other styles, and the interior is distinctly Norwegian.
That was followed by a short grocery stop at Joker Akersgata for veggies, hummus, morning coffee supplies and a couple of snacks (Yes!!! We found paprika potato chips 🫣). By the time we got home we were spent. The keys hit the table and sleep came easily 😴!
Tuesday evening we headed for the very picturesque waterfront area that surrounds the Oslo Opera House (Operahuset Oslo). It’s an entirely amazing piece of architecture, feeling like “opera” down below, but “skateboard” vibe on top! The 2019 Oslo Opera House space was definitely built intentionally for the Norwegian people, as all ages sat, walked and talked while enjoying the rooftop terracing. We were so fortunate to arrive on a spectacular summer evening and enjoyed watching people love their city.
As the tradition goes, we stopped for a beverage at the Dubliner Folk Pub on our saunter home from what ended up as a decent day of exploring. We sorted some details for the next couple of days in this Oslo leg of the journey, then home to do a few chores (Janie found a washing machine 😂) and check out our own rooftop terrace! Looking forward to what Norway 🇳🇴 offers for the rest of our stay… goodnight folks.
You both continue to log the daily mega steps and see so much !
Not sure Lori could handle your pace ! 😂
Enjoying the history and photos of your encounters!
You are providing lots of options to explore for my retirement years!
Keep having fun and hi to Janie !
With newly established pedestrian areas, and really no need / place for vehicles, most European cities encourage getting out and walking! We’re loving the steps… but have to say our pace is settling, as we ease back and enjoy this last city on this European walkabout.
Hoping you do glean some things from the writing / pics and perhaps find yourself in this very beautiful part of Europe. It’s incredibly scenic, lovely this time of year, and pride filled in how it is presented / looked after. Sticker shock for some items (especially alcohol) are eye openers to how progressive govt’s are tackling social habits that cost all tax payers. For us… loving every minute of this adventure! Thanks for keeping track of us Andrew… always love your comments! 👍
Another 18 hour day! Oslo pics are lovely…
You were successful again picking accommodations!
Enjoy your last city ….on this adventure!!
Another beautiful, well kept city Eileen. Tomorrow we are going to tackle full on! Janie pics all the accommodation and has once again done a perfect job (it’s a lot of work). Using Google Maps we figure out where we want to stay (walkability, access to transit, proximity to attractions), then Janie sorts through cost, apartment amenities, reviews and correspondence while visiting. Lots of teamwork in our travel and that’s a big part of the “fun”! Cheers… I’m sure we’ll be seeing you in a few days 👍
Looks like a great first day! Oslo looks awesome. And once again it sounds like you found the perfect spot with all of the ‘must have’ things nearby. I know your planning preferences like a book by now. And the fact that you are identifying different types of architecture tells me you’ve taken the lead over me in another travel category. A BIG lead:) I’m intrigued by your use of an AI tour guide. Totally new to me but now I’m hunting. You mentioned using YouTube for some of your planning this time. Such a great resource. Fifteen years ago, my key resource was a Rick Steves book but now there are so many possibilities. My new favourite is the Trip Advisor Forum. I ask lots of questions and then usually find a local expert. Eventually I ask permission to ask questions outside of the forum and have gathered some awesome first hand suggestions and advice. I lined up a great one for the Nice area and he/she is so helpful.
Excellent work with TripAdvisor… I get pulled into the site during searches / reviews but don’t have the kind of relationship with it as you! Sounds like more direct line to on the ground skills! We’ll stuff that in our back pocket.
As for architecture… I’m learning but mostly through mistakes. The identification of things looking very “Russo” in design were actually traditional Norwegian design elements. But who ever learned from getting things right 😂!
The “AI” tour can only get more defined as it gets used and steals info from blogs like yours / mine as it roams the web for ideas. I was a bit stunned at both the speed and accuracy though. I tested, somewhat, asking questions that I already knew the answers… it matched and upped the ante 😳!