When I saw Swiss Air ticket to Oslo for less than $450 back in August, I told myself I had to go. Here I am today, a week before Thanksgiving in Oslo.
Weather is cold on my first day in Oslo. However, it is unbelievably calm as I head to Vigeland Sculpture Park, a beautiful park result of one man’s artistic approach to human form. Sculptures in a wide range of situations such as standing, walking and sitting donated by Norwegian sculptor Gustav Vigeland, whom he had worked for almost 20 years creating 212 sculptures of bronze and granite.
The bridge is the first in the park featuring bronze sculptures of men, women and children playing or just simply posing for the camera. The focal point of the park is a 14 meter high monolith of intertwined human figures, representing human desire to reach out to the divine. Residing on the plateau around the monolith is granite sculptures of people in groups in various positions.
Day is clear and surprisingly windless, as I try to trace back from where I came from. Soon I find myself following a group of people heading to a neighborhood by the waterfront of urban renewal with high-end apartments, office space, retails, and restaurants. This neighborhood is the Tjuvholmen in the borough of Frogner in Oslo. High end restaurants and cafes along the boardwalk, speciality stores for your wardrobe and home, this area is definitely for people with deep pockets.
Offices and apartments characterized by unique architectural diversity and outdoor space. Towards the end of the strip lies the Astrup Fearnley Museum flanked by a sculpture park. The museum consists of modern and contemporary art, justified by the design and structure of the building itself.
Fredrikstad is a cosy city with deep historical roots, is just an hour train ride from Oslo. Downtown Fredrikstad is peaceful and gorgeous with cinema, cafes, shops and restaurants. As it’s almost Christmas, shops are decorated with reeves and selling holiday gifts and baskets. “Would you like to have coffee?” asked a shop associate as I browsed through some men’s styles and fashions at a store. What a great idea this is, and it would definitely makes shopping more friendly and personal.
At the center of downtown, city workers are erecting Christmas trees and Holiday lights. I make my way to the Old Town which is less than 10 minutes boat ride from city center. It is one of the best-preserved, and prettiest, fortress towns in Scandinavia. Unfortunately, my day here is wet and damp but I will not be dampened by the weather today. A bowl of soup would be nice. Unfortunately, soup of the day is the only hot item in the menu at this cafe. The rest is cold cuts, muffins and bagels. But I’m not complaining as the soup is delicious.
Where are the Christmas decor and market I asked a lady who runs a shop selling children’s clothing and souvenirs. “Oh, it is next week!”. Okay, I’m a week too soon; rows of houses between shops and cafes, I could imagine the crowd during Spring and Summer seasons in Fredrikstad.
The Holmenkollbakken hosted the 1952 Winter Olympics in ski jumping, cross-country skiing and Nordic combined events. It has been ungraded several times since the 1892 opening, from wooden superstructure to concrete tower. I can’t remember the number of steps climbing to the top (almost) but the structure is amazing either looking down from the top or down looking up.Like any other Scandinavian cities, Oslo is not cheap. A small bottle of water is about $2.50 at Seven Eleven; think twice before you decide to use the toilet at the Oslo Main Train Station, it costs more than $2 per entry; and a plate of Phat Thai at a regular restaurant is $20.
And by the way, my soup at Fredrikstad cost $13.
It has been a pretty good year in travel for me in 2016. What’s in my traveling agenda for the coming year, Japan’s Osaka and Kyoto is on my list while I hope to find other great deals before deciding. Happy traveling 2017 to all that reads my blog.
