Oslo Blog Gathering in August will give a compact three days to explore the city and Norway’s history, culture and traditions. Oslo Pass – included in the program fee – gives free travel on all public transport and free admission to museums and sights. This means that participants (coming from all over the world; check guest list so far!), may choose from the top shelf according to personal interest in a compact city by the fjord and mountains.
I often have visitors for business or social matters who are curious to see what I’ve been posting about. This time I take you along on a tour I gave an Italian guest one afternoon a few weeks ago:
Oslo New Opera House:
If you arrive at Oslo Central Station, a must see is the Opera House which is located right across the street. You will love it even if opera is not you’re cup of tea. The construction – designed by the acknowledged Norwegian architectural firm Snøhetta – is the largest single cultural-political initiative in contemporary Norway. It took five years to build and the cost was about 500 million Euros. The result is an extraordinary building that rises directly from beneath the fjord like an iceberg. The white marble clad roof cape forms a large public space in the landscape of the city and the fjord – the worlds only Opera where you can walk on the roof: As soon as my Italian friend saw it from the viewpoint in this photo, he could tell it was marble from his homeland and from which districts.
Vigeland Sculpture Park:
In 15 minutes by street car you are at Oslo’s most famous park. In addition to being a nice green recreational area it covers 80 acres and features 212 bronze and granite sculptures created by Gustav Vigeland. He sculpted every figure out of clay and individual craftsmen were contracted to fabricate the pieces into what they are today. These works of art reside along an 850 meter-long axis divided into six sections: The Main Gate, The Bridge, The Children’s Playground, The Wheel of Life with a Fountain and The Monolith Plateau. Here are two examples with me and my Italian friend: Left: The angry boy on the bridge – Right: At the Monolith Plateau
Btw: If you fancy an outdoor swim, Frognerbadet is situated next to the park with 3 pools, diving towers and a water slide.
Holmenkollen mountain and Ski Jump:
Since we had only a few hours, I had to cut out the next usual stop – up on the mountain, only 15 minutes by metro; Holmenkollen. Here you can enjoy the view of the city and fjord, pick blueberries and/or experience the oldest and one of the worlds most famous ski jump. Read my earlier post about it here: Holmenkollen a cultural high point in Oslo.
A gourmet Adventure at Aker Brygge:
Back to Oslo centre, close to the City Hall on the harbour, we ended up at Aker Brygge: a seaside shopping and nightlife centre with lots of glam and fun. There are plenty of pubs and sidewalk cafes to chose from. I’ll let some photos sum up our evening there when my wife DianeCA joined us too. Click the pics to bigify & enjoy and don’t miss the last photo which was taken at 11PM in the lovely Nordic night: Left: fried cod in wine sauce with potatoes and asparagus – Right: King Crab legs
Left: Us at a charming outdoor Restaurant – Right: Light evenings at 11PM
OsloBG offers it all:
This is just an example of a day with RennyBA at the OsloBG. I am thinking of offering this precise tour to bloggers from all over the world when I team up with my special helpers to offer unique personal guided tours by locally known residents. Mostly Expats like my wife DianeCA and Beaver Bush, or real Vikings like me and TorAa. So click to see The Program and hop on before it’s too late – this is an experience of a lifetime you know
Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere gives longest period of daylight. In Oslo, Norway (latitude of 60°) we have 19 hours and actually quite bright even at midnight. Let me show you by a photo I shot around 11PM at a BBQ-party on Saturday:
The word solstice derives from Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still) and this year it occur the 21st. The term is also colloquially used like Midsummer to refer to the day on which it occurs, except in the Polar Regions (where daylight is continuous for half of the year) – like north in Norway; The Land of the Midnight Sun – see my report from a few years back: Arctic Adventure Rafting The Barents Sea!
Since it’s the end of a season or semester and beginning of summer (schools close for 8 weeks and people normally use at least 3 of their total 5 weeks vacations), there is a lot to celebrate – and mostly outdoors. Who blame us; in 6 month we have winter & snow and 5 hours daylight. So we party, party, party – with co-workers, colleagues and friend. Let me give you a couple of examples:
Culinary sensations at Nodee Asian cooking:
This year’s party with colleagues at the Norwegian Computer Society was at an Asian restaurant, 5 minutes by Tube out of Oslo center. Okay, we ate indoors, but it count as a summer party anyway Let’s go directly to the 5 course serving and start with a friend of mine, well known to my regular readers: The one and only; TorAa Colleagues around the table.
1: King Crab, Soft shell Crab & Sea Bass. 2: Crispy Duck 3: Lobster wok Shao. 4: Ching Lak Ao Lau 5: Grilled Scallops
University collage mates from 73-75 at Aker Brygge:
The last 10 year or so, I’ve invited old school friends (yea, I’m kind of a HUB ) to summer party in Oslo. They are spread all over Norway, but 10 to 20 persons shows up; this year at Aker Brygge:
In the background you see Akershus Fortress! Aker Brygge (former ship yard established in 1864), across Oslo harbour and close to the Town Hall, is the city’s finance and amusement aria with shops, restaurants, cinemas, office space and apartments as well as a small boat harbour. Let me show you what we had to eat, before I show you the aria: I had Blue Mussel (love seafood you know), some had just a burger.
After dinner we walked around to soak in the summer atmosphere at Aker Brygge and checked the service at some of the restaurants (click to bigify & enjoy!): These photos is shot around 9PM – still sunny and bright
Don’t you love this summer party rituals and the late, sunny – and even romantic – nights? Norwegians have learned to take advantage of this, since we don’t have it all year around you know
Would you like to experience this and soak in the summer late night atmosphere yourself? Well here is you’re chance: I invite all to the Oslo Blog Gathering in August – click to check the program and book to join us! – if you then go to bed at sun set and get up at the rise; you haven’t waste you’re stay in Oslo by sleeping
The historical, cultural and Royal event when Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden will marry Daniel Westling in Stockholm Cathedral (Storkyrkan), is of course to be mentioned since my blog is about Norway and the Nordic countries. I mean after all; Norway is Sweden’s closest neighbour and friend and so are our Royal families too.
A non Royal husband or wife?
When Crown Prince Haakon of Norway and Mette-Marit became engaged there was much discussion; was it appropriate for an heir to the throne to marry a person who was not royalty. Now you have the same debate in Sweden and some wonder if Daniel Westling is appropriate for Victoria. To me it actually seams like it strengthens the Royal’s position and the fact that we both have a Kingdom in our countries.
When The Norwegian government invited to dinner before Crown Prince Haakon’s wedding in 2001, the Crown Prince held a direct and humble speech:
“Few things in life happens by chance, at least not that Mette-Marit came into my life. The more I got to know her, the more I realised that and therefore we wanted to live a life together. I do know that our choices have not been as easy for everyone else. A fact I just have to respect”, he said, and also was thankful for all the support they’d got.
Bridesmaid Princess Ingrid Alexandra of Norway:
Ten young bridesmaids and page boys are taking part and three of them are the Crown Princess’ godchildren.
Further more, as future monarchs themselves; Norway’s Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Princess Catharina-Amalia of the Netherlands, both 6 years old, are to be bridesmaids, while Danish Prince Christian, age 4 1/2, will be a page boy. So, there will be a lot of young children playing a part in this wedding. It certainly should be a sight to see!
This is Princess Ingrid Alexandra (see photo to the left – borrowed from ScanPix) biggest public appearance so far in life and a special reason for Norwegians to closely follow the ceremony of course
The biggest Royal event?
500 million TV viewers across Europe are expected to watch the 2 million € spectacle in Stockholm’s specially renovated cathedral. Stockholm’s airport has been renamed for the occasion, as Official Love Airport 2010. The wedding comes after a lengthy struggle by Princess Victoria to persuade the royal family to recognise her relationship with a commoner.
Oslo University Botanical Garden, Norway’s oldest, was established in 1814 and administrated by the city’s University. As part of The Natural History Museum, even the primate fossil Ida can be viewed as part of the exhibition “Can we forgive Darwin”. Ida gained world renown in May 2009, when the scientific paper describing her was accompanied by a TV film and popular science book. The garden originally covered 75,000 square metres, but has since doubled in size and the collection includes roughly 35,000 plants of about 7500 unique species. It’s not only a scientific collection in itself though – but very popular for recreation too:
My wife DianeCA and I had another quality time there last weekend and we gladly take you along for the tour. Read her post from a different prospective; An Oasis in the City – while I take this opportunity to announce & prove that summer finally has arrived in Oslo, and to show you what the locals are crazy about; the Sun ( click to bigify & enjoy):
Botanical Garden – a recreational oasis:
The garden is for those who are fascinated by the diverse and unique fauna. You may read more about that on my blog post from last year: Flowers and herbs….. This time I’ll concentrate of the recreational side of using the garden – by a photo reportage: From the Rock Garden.
A miniature alpine landscape, where the plants are hardy perennials, bulbs and shrubs from all over the world. They are arranged in series of European, America and Asiatic sections: Perfect for singles, couples and/or families to relax in.
The Victoria House:
Dates from 1876, it’s three division’s houses orchids and ferns, the spectacular Queen Victoria Water Lily (Victoria cruziana) and house plants:
In this house, you may also see utilitarian Tropical and Subtropical plants producing rice, cacao, sugar, cotton, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla.
However, what the two children in the above photo spotted was this little fellow to the right:
Experience for yourself at OsloBG: We always take guests visiting us in Oslo to the Botanical Gardens. It is well worth a day wander, and is located in the diverse borough of Tøyen which can be part of a planned trip to the area. Located in this section is also the Munch Museum which is dedicated to Norway’s collection of Munch’s paintings, and within the Botanical gardens you may visit the National Geological Museum and Natural Museum at the same time. Oh and don’t forget the greenhouses like Victoria House above. Hope you will come and explore with us, it will make your day bloom like a rose – so click here to join us in August!
Folk Music and Dance in Bunad at The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History – The Folk Museum – was on the program. In beautiful warm summer weather, my wife DianeCA and I had another quality time and as always we love to share with. I’ll get back to this great, Open Air Museum later – now let’s get straight to some cultural highlights from Norway:
The Bunad:
A Bunad is our traditional costume, typically of rural origin and local to different districts. It’s a result of both cultural evolution and organized efforts to discover and modernize older patterns. The designs are elaborate, with embroidery, scarves, shawls and hand-made silver or gold jewellery – both for men and women.
It’s common to wear Bunad at various celebrations, such as: Weddings, 17th of May National Day and even accepted as proper gala attire in recent years – so its use has reached far outside folk dancing and music.
Norway Folk Music:
Unlike many other European countries, Norway has an unbroken folk music tradition. Instrumental music is most commonly played on the fiddle or on the Hardanger Fiddle – Harding Fele – which is considered the national instrument of Norway. The Harding Fiddle is a violin with four or five sympathetic strings. It is beautifully decorated and is constructed somewhat differently from an ordinary violin. The traditional music with its associated dances has resisted all the changing fashions of music through the ages and is today firmly embedded in the country’s culture. In contrast to many other countries, this type of music and dance has never fallen entirely out of use and in many parts of the country an unbroken tradition still lives on:
Since it has been passed along continuously from generation to generation, there has been no need for a folk music revival. Norway has a strong and active body of folk musicians and dancers. This, together with in–depth research and professional collections and archives, has meant that the variations and dialects have been retained and developed into a rich variety of both music and dance. They start very young – as a true reflection of the Norwegian soul itself – and we saw the most adorable troupes:
Live Folk music and Dance:
Besides taking a lot of pics, I also shot some vids with my new Cannon G11. I’ve edited them all into one video– a potpourri – and hope you enjoy it and get an idea of what I’d like to share through this post:
As a visitor, you will not search in vain for the exotic and folklore–inspired image of Norway in which music, song and dance emerges directly from the landscape – wild and mysterious.
Experience for yourself at OsloBG: Read more about this Folk Museum on my post: Lefse and rural farmhouse from Norway. Also read my wife’s review of the same day: Folk Dance and living history at Norwegian Folk Museum.
This museum is located at Bygdøy Island – 20 min by boat on the fjord from Oslo. Here you also find: The Viking Ships Museum, Norway Maritime Museum and Kon Tiki Museum.
Remember also; with the Oslo Pass, included in the Oslo Blog Gathering, you get free boat transportation and free entrance. This island is TorAa’s old stomping ground, as he was born and raised on Bygdøy so I am sure he will be happy to give you a personal tour around the island and tell you some of its little secrets during the gathering.
Let’s go directly to the 5 course serving and start with a friend of mine, well known to my regular readers:
) to summer party in Oslo. They are spread all over Norway, but 10 to 20 persons shows up; this year at Aker Brygge:
