Today marked the first of several ports we’ll visit in Norway, along with our exit from the Baltic Sea, where we’ve spent the past several days. Oslo is the Norwegian capital, and it lies at the end of a fjord-like inlet on the Skagerrak, which divides the Baltic Sea from the North Sea.
We visited Oslo on our earlier Baltic cruise 31 years ago, and returning brought back fond memories of visiting City Hall, where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, and the Holmenkollen, a spectacular ski jump in the suburbs. Oslo has grown a lot since then, with its population surging from 710,000 in 1993 to more than 1.1 million now, and I was curious to see how the city felt now compared to then.
How it feels today is wow. There’s a lot here that wasn’t here in 1993, and it’s all good. New museums, new library, new opera house, new waterfront development, new parks, lots of bike lanes, modern, efficient trams, and on and on. To say that I liked Oslo would be an understatement. I was smitten.
We booked a walking tour, and if value is measured by the number of steps taken we got our money’s worth. My pedometer had registered more than 15,000 steps by the time we returned to the ship, which I thought was great, though I have to say that we had fellow passengers on this tour who shouldn’t have taken on such an ambitious excursion. Royal Caribbean needs to do a better job of warning passengers away from tours that are beyond their abilities, but that’s a subject for another day.
Our tour started with a pretty long walk along a wide boardwalk and past a lot of attractive new waterfront development to a tram stop in the city proper. There we hopped on and rode for ten or fifteen minutes to a stop at Ekebergparken Sculpture Park, a 25 acre heavily wooded park high on a hill above the city. There are fifty sculptures, many by well known artists like Rodin and Dali, sprinkled throughout the park, and accessed by gravel paths through the woods. There is even one by well known English sculptor Lynn Chadwick. How about that.
The woods themselves were a big hit with me, because they were lovely and very much resembled those you would find in much of Pennsylvania. As a bonus, there was a great panoramic view of the city from the park, rewarding those in our group who took on the hills and completed the full circuit of the park.
From the park we took the tram back to the city, with an intermediate stop at a park to see the ruins, really not much more than the foundation, of a medieval Catholic church that was demolished during the Reformation when Norway became Lutheran. European history is complicated.
Back on the tram we took another short ride to a stop near Oslo’s fantastic new Opera House and Library, which are directly across the street from each other. The Opera House is unique in that it has a sloping roof that the public can walk up all the way from street level. It’s a bit of a climb, but the view of the city and waterfront from the top made it totally worthwhile. Besides, we heard that climbing up the roof of the Opera House is a “thing” in Oslo, so we got that box checked. Crossing the street, we also checked out the Library, which is almost as impressive, and another example of the great things that are happening here.
We had one more long walk to make, this one back along the boardwalk to the pier, and though I was getting a bit tired I enjoyed every step of it. It was a beautiful, sunny afternoon, and the locals were making the most of it, exuding a positive energy that seemed to rub off on me.
This sort of thing is very subjective, but Oslo was my clear favorite of all the cities we visited on the Baltic segment of our cruise. I can’t say that I’d recommend a visit in the winter, when it’s cold and dark, but in the summer Oslo has a lot to offer. Oh, and I almost forgot. The sail in and sail out down the narrow inlet were great too.
Tomorrow we continue our Norwegian exploration with a visit to Kristiansand, on the country’s southern tip. Stay tuned, because I’ll be back with a full report.
The boardwalk near the ship was a beehive of activity.
Everything in this photo is fairly new. Note the guy on stilts.
Sculpture on our way out to the tram.
The Nobel Peace Center is new since we were here 31 years ago. The museum is dedicated to the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded annually in Oslo’s nearby City Hall.
Michele is assisting our tour guide by holding up the “lollipop” that Royal Caribbean uses to help passengers keep from getting lost on tours in crowded places. Today we were on tour #21.
One of the sculptures at Ekebergparken Sculpture Park. And now it’s time for me to confess that I don’t understand much of modern art. I thought it was interesting though.
Another sculpture at the park.
And another. Another confession: there are sculptures here that are not suitable for a family blog.
I liked this one. I wonder if he’ll jump.
One more.
To me the woods were a big hit. They reminded me of home.
The view of the city from the park was great.
This is what happened to an important Catholic church in Oslo during the Reformation when the country was converted to Protestant Lutheran. The bricks and stones were repurposed.
Clowning around on the roof of the Opera House.
Michele and the view from the Opera House roof.
The new library.
Inside the Library.
This is actually in the Library too. I heard they have books here, but I didn’t see them.
On our way back to the ship. This is one of the anchors from the German cruiser Blücher, sunk by the Norwegian defense forces during World War II. The sinking delayed the German surprise attack on neutral Norway by a few hours, giving the government and Royal Family time to flee Oslo, an important moment in Norwegian history.
From the boardwalk. In the background is Akershus Castle. We docked underneath it 31 years ago.
Boardwalk scene. I liked the clock.
Nice spot. Lots of people enjoying the great weather.
Another pretty spot.
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