OSLO - SEPTEMBER, 2013

I traveled from Stockholm, Sweden to Oslo, Norway by train. The trip lasted about seven hours, and traveled through areas of forests, farmlands, lakes and rivers. It was very beautiful, and afforded me a great view of Sweden and Norway outside of the main cities. Oslo is the capital of Norway, and has a population of about 500,000 people. It is located at the head of a 60 mile long fjord, and the city lies right on the water, surrounded by forested hills. My hotel was located near to the royal palace, and the embassy area of the city, so it was very quiet and less busy and crowded than the downtown area which was a 10 minute walk away. This is a view from my hotel window.

My hotel was a short walk from the Royal Palace which was surrounded by a large park. It was a very nice area, with many embassies on the surrounding streets.

Unfortunately, the weather, which had been warm and sunny throughout my trip, changed the last two days that I spent in Oslo. It became cold, windy and rainy, so it was much more of a challenge to be out and about seeing the sights. The downtown area of Oslo was a 15 minute walk from my hotel, and was the area of most of the sights to see in Oslo. In that area one could see the Oslo City Hall,

the Oslo Cathedral, built in 1627, and the location of royal weddings and funerals,

the Parliament Building,

the National Theater,

the National Gallery,

a statue in front of the City Hall Building,

all of which were within several blocks of the harbor, with a view to the islands in the fjord.

On my last day in Oslo I traveled throughout the city and the surrounding mountains on the trams and subways. I went up the mountains surrounding Oslo to the site of the 1952 Winter Olympic games to view the Holmenkollen Ski Jump, and a beautiful view over the city [unfortunately obscured by rain and clouds.]

I finished the day by riding the tram to Frogner Park, a 75 acre park which contains the lifetime of work by Norway's greatest sculptor, Gustav Vigeland, who made a deal with the city of Oslo in 1921, that in return for a great studio, and financial support from the state, he would spend his creative life beautifying Oslo with this sculpture garden.

Oslo was the last stop on my 10 day tour of Scandinavia. I had a wonderful time, and enjoyed visiting Finland, Estonia, Sweden and Norway on this trip. All of the countries were very beautiful, and the people friendly. I would enjoy returning again in the future.