I figured since I have been home a week I should probably write about my visit to Oslo!
I flew out from Stansted with Ryanair and what a palaver that whole thing was. I took the train to Stansted and then went to start the process of going through security.
I want to add that it was really hot in the airport that day (tons of people there too) and I was not a happy flyer!
I went to security and stupidly forgot to take off my belt. I went through the detector and it went off (stupid metal belt buckle!) and was promptly asked to assume the frisk position. He patted me down twice, then put the metal detector over me before asking me to go through the standing metal detector and patting me down again.
I was given the all clear and proceeded to collect my things to head to the departure lounge. By this time, I was sweating like who knows what (i’m pretty sure my light blue t-shirt was now a shade of dark blue). I got something to drink and sat down for a few minutes. I saw the gate number on the screen and headed to the gate (I was not anticipating it being 5000 miles from the shops to the gate – I have since learned that there is a shuttle to get you there [thanks Jamie]).
One thing I will say about Ryanair – they gate closing time would appear to be the time they open the gates (I had the same happen at Rygge airport). I sat there for about 40 minutes waiting to board. I am so glad I bought an extra seat. The room was worth it. Fast forward about 2 hours and I arrived in Oslo. I left the sunshine and arrived to rain.
I waited for about 30 mins for Martin to pick me up from the airport. The ride back to his house was OK. Had to do a detour because of an accident on the motorway. It was OK though, got to see some of the back roads of Oslo – I like the scenic routes of places I have never been to before. He took us up to a point that overlooks the city. It reminded me of when we went to Rome and looked out over the city. It was an awesome view here in Oslo too.
We went back to his place and we just chilled the whole night. It was nice to relax after the stress of Stansted and security. It was strange to be there and see his kids and not being able to communicate with them. I think it frustrated the little boy as he was talking to me and I had no idea what he was saying and in the end he just rolled his eyes and sighed. Can’t say I blame him. LOL.
I still had no idea what we were going to do on the Saturday though. I bought a book and never got round to reading it. I know, shame on me. I kinda left it to Marting to decide. He did a great job at playing tour guide though.
We went to the following points in the city:
It was quite an impressive view from the top of the building. The way down was quite the trip. You need to have some decent balance to keep yourself steady. I joked that it would be good to have a skateboard to sit on and ride down.
Here are a couple of pictures.
I had a couple of reasons I wanted to visit here. Firstly, I wanted to see how other countries coped with the after effects of a terrorist attack. Secondly, as someone who has to deal with a mental illness I wanted to see what someone who claimed to be insane could really do. You can read my post about the attack here.
It was really strange to see how they have coped with the after effects. The road outside of the parliament is blocked off and the building still stands with a lot of the windows boarded off. It seems that it has been forgotten about – although I don’t think that to be the case.
Here are the pictures from this part of town.
As you know from previous posts, I am interested in the Second World War. I told Martin that this is one of the places I wanted to go. It was really interesting to see the Norwegian efforts in the resistance. I guess I only see it from the perspective of the US and UK. The fortress was really quite interesting too. It was nice to walk around and see the views of the fjord.
Here are the pictures from the fortress.
Here are the pictures.
It is unique in the fact that it has a sculpture park within it. The park is called Vigeland Sculpture Park. It was created by Gustav Vigeland and consists of sculptures in bronze, cast iron and granite. Most of the statues are depicted naked.
You can view my pictures from Oslo here.