Oslo

After spending time with colleagues and friends in Gothenburg I next headed to Oslo to spend 4 days. The drive to Oslo was the most challenging of the trip so far due to very strong winds. The worse was passing a high suspension bridge where wind gusts made it very hard to keep my motorbike within the car lane. After riding for 3 hours I finally arrived to Oslo very tired feeling like I had driven 6 hours.

Driving into Oslo.

During the next days I stayed quite close to the city center around Saint Olav's Cathedral and I was very happy to find out that most of the city could be reached within walking distance.

Saint Olav's Cathedral during a cultural event.

After walking around the city I found stunning architecture with very modern as well as some historical buildings. My favourite modern building had to be the Oslo Opera house which appears to me as if an white alien ship landed in the Oslofjord. It was completed in 2007 with a cost of approximately $700 million and it is possible to walk up its slanted roof.

Oslo Opera House.

View from the roofs if the Opera House, it is possible to walk up.

In contrast to the modern architecture I found the Akershus Fortress the most interesting historical building. The exact date of first construction is not known but there are written sources of the fortress for the first time in 1300. Within this fortress there is also the Armed forces museum which organises tours in vintage military vehicles.

Akershus Fortress.

Akershus Fortress yard.

Armed Forces Museum tours.

One interesting planning choice for the city is the Bygdøy or Museum Island as it is translated. It is actually a peninsula in the west side of the city but access by ferry is much faster than the long route by roads which explains why it is referred to as an island. In it there are five museums as well as a royal estate. There I visited the Viking ship museum that houses three Viking ships in various preservation states as well as artifacts. While marveling at the ships and great distances that Vikings covered with them I also wondered if today they would be similar to me and chose to travel by motorbike? Obviously it's a lot easier to travel by motorbike with modern technology such as GPS, and it's also nicer to not have to fight and pillage along the way, but perhaps it is the same kind of spirit that leads one to cross the Atlantic or hop on a motorbike for months at a time.

One of the three ships in the Viking ship museum.

In addition to its architecture and museums I was also really impressed by the night life in Oslo. Every night there were lots of people in really cool bars drinking and socialising. On Friday night I visited a bar that reminded me very much of Budapest's famous ruin bars. On Saturday night I met with other travelers and exchanged our stories over some drinks. It was really great to meet new people whole going out but an important note is that alcohol is extremely expensive in Norway. I will not write the amount I spent on alcohol here because many of you would worry for my health and send me to rehab but just one example was one of my new friends who fancied a special small brewery beer that cost him 18€ for a can.

Making new friends in Oslo.

As I set off for the next destination I reflected on the beautiful architecture of this city and most importantly I thought of the fantastic people that I hope to see again very soon.

Total travel to reach Oslo: 290kms in 3hrs

Total travel for the trip: 2423kms in 26hr30mins

Itinerary for the day.

More pictures:

Tiger statue, most wouldn't know Oslo is nicknamed the tiger city. This nickname seems to originate from a 1870 poem called "Sidste Sang" that describes a fight between a horse and a tiger; the tiger representing the dangerous city and the horse the safe countryside.

Statue of girl with mobile phone.

National Architecture Museum.

Nazi resistance statue.

Hilarious advert for "authentic" Mexican restaurant called Tacos. Ironically the advertised food is a dubious super American-sounding Cheesy Burrito Crunch, not what my grandma use to make.

National Bank.

Oslo Cathedral.

Oslo Cathedral.

Square in front of Oslo Cathedral.

Freia clock at Egertorget square. Freia is a chocolate brand.

Freia clock at night.

Oslo train station and shopping center.

22 July Information Center dedicated to the 22 July 2011 terrorist attacks in Norway, in Oslo and at Utøya.

Historical wood houses.

Historical wood houses.

Beginning of Damstredet where historical wood houses can be found.

Old Aker Church medieval era church and oldest existing building in Oslo believed to have been erected by King Olav Kyrre in 1080.

Another interesting military vehicle touring the fortress.

Inside the fortress.

Super realistic statue of wounded man carrying lots of bags.

Royal palace.

Fram museum in the Museum Island.

Viking travel itineraries.