The Norwegian Opera & Ballet:
As an ice berg out of the ocean, the Opera from the outside is considered spectacular, and the radical change of worm welcome look when you get inside is equally impressive. It’s Norway’s largest performing arts institution, with 600 employees working in about 50 professions and trades. Designed by the Norwegian architects Snøhetta, it is the first opera house in the world to let visitors walk on the roof (click pics to bigify & enjoy)):

_{OsloBG participants roof photo shoot}.

The new opera house offers a rich and varied programme from three stages: The Main House (1369 seats), Second House (400 seats) and the Studio (200 seats). The Opera Roof and Foyer are also used for concerts and other artistic performances.
Our guided tour invited into a unique workspace and we learn a lot more about the architecture and even catch a glimpse of life backstage. I had my Nokia X6 mobile at hand of course, to give you a sneak peak:

The oak tree inside gives a warm and welcome impression as oppose to ice berg shaped building on the outside:

The artistic facilities and what is required of the shows was also among the guiding themes. We saw the public areas, the main hall as well as Scene 2 (photos above), and we even were back stage and also saw the rehearsal rooms and the sewing room:

The Oslo Pass = Free transport & entrance:
The OsloBG participants were given this Oslo Pass by VisitOslo. It provides free travel on all public transport, free admission to museums and sights, free parking in all Oslo municipal car parks, discounts on car rental, ice skate hire, Tusenfryd Amusement Park etc. This of course were very convenient to have – all the time – so even if only three stops away, we took the tube to our next adventure this second day.

His Majesty the King’s Guard (HMKG):
At 1:30PM 2 pm. every day, the changing of the guard ceremony take place in front of the Royal Palace. A popular spectator event for tourists and of course for the OsloBG participants too:

Their dark blue dress uniforms have remained virtually unchanged throughout the regiment’s 142 years of existence

I was serving at the King Guard myself in 1972, so I knew where to take OsloBG participants to stay or sit to get the best, closest look:

One noteworthy detail of the uniform is the plumbed bowler hat, which was copied from the Italian Bersaglieri alpine troops – a regiment that so impressed the queen Louise (Queen of Sweden and Norway between 1859 and 1870) that she in 1860 insisted the Norwegian guards be similarly attired.

OsloBG – the participant’s choice:
This is only a small collection of what was explored by the OsloBG participants this second of our three days together – all in all we were about 30 participants from all over the world. Seldom were we together in one group though as the program idea was based on that everyone should pick out their favourite spots according to their interest and preferences and of course what they felt for each day. So as “local hosts”, DianeCA my wife, our good friend TorAa and I picked out our rout for the day and invited those who wanted to follow.
I will post more from my trips and so will they – not to mention all the participants’ blog posts from their adventures. Those will be presented by me in one post as soon as I have collected all of them. So by all means: stay tuned!

After the Mayor’s welcome speech, it was my turn to return the favour with some words:
“Our Dear Mayor, Oslo Blog Gathering participants, and associates;
They say that Oslo is the city with a big heart, and you dear Mayor, participating in this reception is certainly proof of that. Even on your own 55th birthday you are here to welcome my guests from around the world with open arms. In the five years I have been blogging about Norway, our culture, traditions and habits, I have lots of regular readers who have become curious about our country, find us a bit exotic, and wanted to come and visit. I have also tried to explain about our open and transparent society. I have told the world about our accessible politicians who hear our individual voices, and you are now an excellent example of this.
I also wish to express my thanks to VisitOslo for their contribution as well as the gathering’s hub, First Hotel Millennium.
I’m proud of Oslo city and I know you are too. To me it is a dream comes true that I am able to give my blog friends, from all around the world, a taste of what we have to offer. Again, thank you dear Mayor for receiving us and letting us have a look at the heart of Oslo, our lovely city hall. I’m sure our participants will share some of their adventures from today and their expectations in the rest of the program with you.“

Then we had a great time enjoying the food, the drinks as well as a nice chat with the Mayor (click all pics to bigify and enjoy):

We also were lucky enough to get a guided tour in the city hall: Located by the waterfront, with Fritdjof Nansensplass on the inland side. It’s open to the public, with a spectacular main hall featuring huge murals with typical Nordic social democratic themes. Its characteristic architecture, artworks and the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony makes it one of Oslo’s most famous buildings. There are also some displays of historical artefacts in the side rooms upstairs and we where in the Munch-room with a beautiful view of the harbour and Oslo Fjord:

The day however started in the morning at reception in OsloBG’s HUB; The First Millennium Hotel, where we all meet for a guided tour: Highlights of Oslo:

Let me just give you a short memo from the bus tour which started with a round trip in the city when the guide gave a short overview and description of the towns history:
Our capital and largest city in Norway was founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway and largely destroyed by a fire in 1624. The Danish-Norwegian king Christian IV rebuilt the city as Christiania. In 1925 the city reclaimed its original Norwegian name, Oslo. The diocese of Oslo is one of the five original dioceses in Norway, which originated around the year 1070.
Oslo is the cultural, scientific, economic and governmental centre of Norway. It’s also a hub of Norwegian trade, banking, industry and shipping as well as an important centre for maritime industries and maritime trade in Europe. The city is home to many companies within the maritime sector, some of them are amongst the world’s largest shipping companies, ship-brokers and maritime insurance brokers.
We also had some short stops to some sightseeing:

The Vigeland Sculpture park:

Some of us gathered by the Angry Boy; the most tourist photographed object in Norway. We had an excellent guide who gave a wonderful introduction to Vigeland’s beautiful work of his life (you may read more about it in my post: Olga the travelling bra clothing statues Vigeland Park:

The Holmenkollen ski jump:
20 minutes by tram, on the hill behind the central city, you’ll find Norway’s number one sports icon: The Ski Jump: is host to the world’s oldest notable ski jump competition still in existence.
Since then the capacity of the stands has been increased to over 50,000 people and the jump has been extended 18 times, last time in 1982. Today’s tower extends 60 meters above ground, and 417 metres above sea level. The current record of 139.5 meters was achieved by Andreas Kofler of Austria on 14 March 2010. I was there at that time and can recall you’re memory from my post: “Holmenkollen Ski Jump preparing for OSL2011
This time we went to the very top and here is the view (unfortunately in rainy weather):

Bygdøy Island & the Museums:
We ended up passing the Museums at Bygdøy (click the links to read my earlier posts:- Like the Kon-Tiki Museum, which shows all year long the legendary expeditions of Thor Heyerdahl. The Norwegian Museum of Cultural History. Viking Ship Museum as well as Norwegian Maritime Museum and the ship Fram, used by Roald Amundsen.

OsloBG – The show will go on:
This was just a short report from the first day. The show will go on for two more days, so stay tuned!

Update: My wife DianeCA’s post from this first day: Blogger friends exploring Oslo at OsloBG!

OsloBG is a three day program to explore Oslo and Norway’s culture, traditions and habits. Associates like VisitOslo give the Oslo Pass to all participants which allows free access to sightseeing attractions as well as public transportation. That gives everyone a free choice of how to experience our compact city offering everything from the Fjord, the mountains and wild life as well as pulsating urban adventures. Click the official logo to read about the whole program.

OsloBG in Social Media:
The gathering is first of all a social gathering for people from all over the world who love to meet up and share magic moments while exploring Oslo. Some might blog about it live (like me, so stay tuned!) and some will share our adventures on other social media. I have a Nokia X6, excellent for uploading and sharing on all platforms, so check out my photos and reports on Facebook, Twitter and/or Flickr as well! If you are lucky, you might get a glimpse of us and our adventures live at my Qik-site too from where I can broadcast real time, on line!

OsloBG’s Guest list:
Of course all participants are active on the net too and you might like to check them out for reports during or after the gathering:
From Norway/USA: The Host Renny and his wife Diane at DianeCA’s Metamorphoses
Norway: TorAa at TorAa’s Mirror
Sweden: Mrs. Lifecruiser & Mr. Lifecruiser at LifeCruiser’s Travel Blog
France: Claudie & Pierre at LazazandCruisers
France/USA: Vagabonde at Recollections of a Vagabonde
Portugal: Lelé Batita at Pérola de Cultura
UK: living in Norway – Nicola at Facebook
Russia: living in Norway – Svetlana at Facebook
Denmark/USA: – Rachel & her sister at Happily practising Danish. And I run too.
Indonesia: – sherinesky! at Once upon a blog
Latvia: living in Norway – Edgar Valdmanis at Norwegian Computer Society
Philippines: living in Norway – Anna Lyn at Nothern Angle
Spain: – Maria… at Facebook
Canada: living in Norway – BeaverBush at Canadian in Norway
Norway: returned from South-Africa – Caroline at Returne to Norway
USA: living in Norway & her SO – Michele at My Grand Adventure Part II
USA: living in Norway – Corrine at Northern Natterings
Indonesia: living in Norway – Cecelia at This Indonesian
UK: living in Norway – Karen at Facebook
Philippine: living in Norway – Charles Ravndal at charlesravndal.com

Click their link to enjoy all they will report before, during and after the gathering and of course check back here for updates and reports from our gathering!

You get the same feeling when our vacation home city changes its name for the day to MaRioStad. My wife DianeCA and I, on our way to the city centre for a romantic dinner, accidentally came across the parade and I just had to capture the fun and share it with my blog friends. Luckily I always have my Nokia X6 mobile phone on hand:

Carnival is nearly synonymous with Rio, but that is not the only place. On the contrary, it’s celebrated throughout most of the world, especially in Catholic countries. Other major carnival cities include e.g. Verona, Nice, Lisbon, Verona, Cologne and Lisbon. People are preparing for months, saving money for the big party. In Mariestad there were huge expectations and everyone turned out so the sidewalks were full (click pics to bigify & enjoy):

_{People with big expectations – all over!}

Although Rio’s is today’s carnival capital, this celebration has it’s origin in Europe. The ancient Romans had large rallies in the street, where they among other things, drew a boat with them. There was plenty of food and drink and a grand feast for the occasion. In the middle Ages, carnival was to some degree celebrated in Scandinavia, but this celebration disappeared with the Reformation in 1537. I think it’s good that this tradition is reborn in Mariestad and with a cute, local twist:

<sub>Willy’s Steamboat float – Pippi Longstockings

Colourful clowns – What about a rolling rock band, now that’s rock n roll

Fancy cars and pretty girls</sub>

Before I end, let’s get back to the samba feeling and these beautiful women (mostly) and fantastic costumes:

I also had to check out the video feature on my new Nokia X6 – here you are: Turn up you’re speakers and let you’re feet lead the way:

One thing that is wonderful about Mariestad is that whenever something is happening in town all the locals turn out for the event. This time the weather was good and the atmosphere was energetic. Since this was our last week of the summer vacation in Mariestad, I think it was a smashing end to our stay – don’t you agree?

Sjötorp and Gjöta Canal:
The village is the most frequently visited place in the rural district and the start of the Göta Canal with all that this implies; leisure-boats, passenger-ships, car-tourists, bicycle-tourists, fishing-trips etc. Here you’ll find shops, restaurants, sleeping accommodations, wharf, museum and tourist-office.

Göta Canal is one of the largest construction projects (1810-1832) ever undertaken in Sweden. The canal stretches from Sjötorp to Mem, 190 km long and has 58 locks. To learn more, read my post about it: “Summer at Göta Canal” (click pic to bigyfy & enjoy):

_{The last lock before the boats enters Lake Vänern.}

M/S Marianne:
The Motor Ship was built in 1897 in Gothenburg for personal use of Captain Fredrik Pettersson and rebuilt as a passenger boat in 1926. The vessel is built of iron in the clinker. It’s a two masts beauty in 24 meters length and 4 meter wide – just take a look:

_{Below: Fine hard wood interior on and below deck}

Lake Vänern:
Geologically, the lake was formed after the last ice age about 10,000 years ago; when the ice melted, the entire width of Sweden was covered in water, creating a strait between Kattegat and the Gulf of Bothnia. It’s northern Europe’s largest and covers an area of 5,655 km². It is located at 44 meter above sea level and is on average 27 m deep. The maximum depth of the lake is 106 meter. A Viking ship was found on the lake’s bottom on May 6, 2009.

On our way to Mariestad, in warm and sunny weather, we had some nice views of the shore line:

<sub>Fast pleasure boats – Family cottages

Campground at Torsö – Clean and safe recreational use</sub>

Torsö Bridge:
You reach the island of Torsö by a gently rounded bridge with a beautiful view overlooking Mariestad. It offers several beaches as well as a camp ground and private cabins for rent. Click to read my last post about this beautiful place: “Torsö Island at Mariestad”

Mariestad, the Pearl of Lake Vänern:
Our vacation home town of which I have posted from often is called “The Pearl of Lake Vänern” and for a lot of reasons (see related posts below). Knowing the area quite well, it was kind of special to approach this city from the water. It’s easy to spot the Cathedral; build in the 15th century by the city’s founder Duke Charles, who later became King Charles IX of Sweden. The city is named after his wife Marie of Pfalz:

The boat trip ended in the harbour, a place we frequently visit to have an ice-cream, a snack or even a nice meal now and then:

Talking about it; here is a pic I took with my new Nokia x6 when we had dinner at the harbour restaurant the other day – I just could not resist trying to capture the golden beauty of the sky:

Some related post from Mariestad:
-> Wandering through time in old Mariestad
-> MidSummer or Summer Solstice in Norway and Sweden
-> Red hot sky and icy cold Scandinavian beach beauty

In my previous post I included an endorsement for our hotel in Brussels, the Sheraton Brussels. I have stayed there before, and my recent experience lifted it to one of our all-time-favorite-hotels. The story is that while out sightseeing one afternoon, we were caught by a terrible downpour not far from the EU offices in the Berlaymont building. We sought refuge in a doorway/driveway to some official building manned by Military Police. It was raining so badly so that we couldn’t even stand outside to try and hail a taxi. The MP’s gave us a number to call, but there was no answer at the taxi-central, understandably enough.

The rain continued, and we were getting desperate, it really was so bad so that I thought Noah may be coming back with his Ark to pick us up. And it didn’t look like it would be letting up for the next couple of hours.

The I suddenly realized that being a full-service hotel the Sheraton would have a dedicated guest-service-position known as a concierge, so I decided to call him (they’re very often male) for help. I politely asked if he could possibly arrange for a taxi to come and pick us up. I thought this would possibly be stretching the limits for his duties, but he was all help and no complaints. It took less than ten minutes before the taxi was there and took us safely (and dry!) back to your hotel.

From the web link above you can see that there are virtually no limits to what you can ask for, and from guest-point of view it came out as excellent service. This is the type of service that makes me argue for the benefits of paying more to stay in a full-service hotel rather than a B&B. And the type of service that will make me come back – rr at least write a post (he he….).

It could be interesting to hear your thoughts about this episode; How many of you have stayed in a hotel like the Sheraton, and have you actually used the services of the concierge? What is/was your experience?

Thanks Edgar, I can really understand you giving your full endorsement to Sheraton Brussels. I am not sure all hotels offer such good service outside of the establishment. I agree totally that this hotel deserves two thumbs up and the loyalty of its customers. We’ll send them a link to this post and make sure they get the praise they deserve!

Seems to me that Edgar is getting to like this blogging thing! Glad to see it can be contagious sometimes. Make sure you link up with him on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn (etc) and follow along as he is quite active in Social Media. Participants at our OsloBG will meet him in person and I know he’ll looking forward to it!

While sitting there at the water edge, the cutest little duck family came along and they were relatively tame. I had my Nokia x6 on hand of course and started to shoot pics (click all pics to bigify & enjoy!):

Scenery like this – at least to us – is breath taking. You don’t say a word as silence in the woods is golden – you just enjoy the magic moment and let your thoughts go with the flow. Like if you have the chance to see things like this:

To share this with the in-laws from US was kind of special we have taken our children up here for years to experience the natural environment. We use this place in the spring, summer, fall and winter as a recreational area and all seasons have their charm. We have hundreds of pictures of the family at this spot, and now it was especially nice to bring Diane’s family here to experience this place for themselves.

My in-laws are leaving tomorrow so I am glad that the atmosphere was good and that we could share one of our families treasured places with them and give them plenty of memories to take home from their trip. Last night we all exchanged pictures; the beauty of digital photography is you can share it with many without reducing the quality of the photo. So my in-laws will have plenty of good photos to remind them of their trip.

I am sure to be testing my new Nokia X6 much more in the days to come. We have some vacation left before OsloBG and will be online more after our guests have returned to their home in New York. Hope you will stay tuned and share the fun!

Update:
This post is part of Petunia‘s photo competition with the theme “Mitt lille land = My little country“. Click link to visit and see a lot of great pics from Norway!

Some time ago Renny wrote a wonderful post about the Brussels Fish Market. When my wife Kirsten and I visited Brussels a few weeks ago, being fond of seafood we wanted to explore the same. And yes, there it was, right in the downtown of Brussels, we found the street Rue des Bouchers, and the place La Bergerie.

_{Belgium seafood delight.}

However – we went on one of these HopOn-HopOff Sightseeing tours (I’m sure you’re familiar with the concept), and during the tour, the guide on the tape directs us to “The old fish market of Brussels on your right-hand-side”, when Renny’s place was definitely on our left. Strange, huh? Could be because it was pre-recorded, and played back at the wrong turn, or simply misguided (pun intended)? So we decided to check with the helpful concierge of the Brussels Sheraton. He confirmed that the guide, even though pre-recorded, was indeed right. The original Brussels Fish Market is indeed on the right-hand side of the Boulevard Anspach when you have the Brussels Bourse on your left side. In the evening we walked down, found it quite easily, a nice open square called Place Saint Catherine (take note of the name), with numerous delightful seafood restaurants around.

After having read menus back and forth and back again we chose a nice place called L’Huitrie. It was really good with a menu full of delights and excellent service to go with it. The price was slightly higher than in the Rue des Bouchers , but we felt the food and the service was worth more than the difference. Another point is that in the Place Saint Catherine there are no tourists, only locals. When Kirsten and I travel we tend to prefer the “not-so-touristy” places, even though we are tourists ourselves. Could be because we think we blend in so much better than all the others that speak English and take pictures of each-other at the restaurant-table.

Anyhow, we enjoyed our evening out and are only too happy to share the tip with Rennys entire readership. And if you’re looking for a good place to stay overnight, I’ve already mentioned the Sheraton Brussels – happy to endorse that as well.

Thanks Edgar – Back to RennyBA:
This was some good tips on how to get the most out of a trip to Brussels. We have of course been there a couple of times and find the city quite charming and people friendly. We will have to visit L’Huîtrière the next time we are there. This was also a good opportunity to introduce you to Edgar who will be joining us at the OsloBG since we are still busy entertaining my in-laws and showing them around the Norwegian countryside. I will be back with the details from our adventures in a couple of days!

Oslo is situated in an amphitheatre-like setting, with the city centre in the bottom close to the Oslo fjord, and residential areas stretching uphill from there in all directions. Behind the residential areas, the forested area extends, with flora and fauna that is quite extraordinary for a city of this size (click all pics to bigify & enjoy):

Enough facts and on to our round trip with the boat – I guess photos show more than a thousand words:

^{Recreational, don’t you think?}

^{A lot of nice beaches on the islands and shores.}

Tourist highlights:

^{Above & Below: Oslo harbour at the City Hall}

^{Above & Below: The new Oslo Opera House}

^{Bygdøy island with e.g. Maritime and the Viking ship museum.}

Some curiosities:

^{Above: Light Houses – Below: House boat}

Moose are commonplace (easily spotted in winter), and the whole of the capital is part of Norway’s wolf reserve (even if they rarely come here). We did not see any moose that day, but on the island by our friend’s cabin, we saw this cute deer:

A culinary end:

The day was finished off with a delicious dinner of grilled pork loin, baked potatoes and salads. We were incredibly lucky to have good friends willing to share their cottage and boat and help us give a perfect summer Norwegian experience while my wife’s family was visiting. We will soon be moving on to Sweden, and then across the Norwegian mountains to Bergen. So keep checking in for a look at the fantastic Nordic summertime.

Readers Guide for this post: Click photo to bigefy & enjoy – Click links to read my posts about it!

A taste of Oslo:
A real challenge since it’s so much to chose from and we only have a few days before the trip to Sweden. Our suggestion is to start with “Highlights of Oslo” (three hours bus trip to get to know the city and see the Vigeland Park, Holmenkollen Ski Jump and Bygdøy with the Viking Ship Museum).
We’ll also take the Mini Cruise on the Oslo Fjord (hop on/off from the harbour, the Oslo New Opera House and Bygdøy at the Maritime Museum.
Luckily enough, some friends have a boat and cottage on Oslo Fjord and we’ll have one day cruising around and dine at their summer paradise in the end of the day.

A trip to Sweden:
My regular readers know we have a vacation home in mid Sweden at lake Vänern (northern Europe’s largest) and we’ll go there for a couple of days. There are plenty of things to do in the local area around Mariestad, as my regular readers have seen over the years. Diane’s family hasn’t been to Sweden so this will be a fun experience for them. Some highlights we will visit are The Old Town, Göta Canal and Läckö Baroque Castle.
Of course we will meet some friends and enjoy an ice cream at the guest harbour. Plus no trip to Mariestad would be complete without a trip to enjoy the sunsets at Ekodden beach.

Over the wild mountains of Norway to Bergen:
To give a real taste of the variety of landscape in Norway; the long trip over the mountains and along the fjords to Bergen is a necessity. We will give them what we like to call the Postcard tour. The scenery along the way is breath taking with everything from open farm land, rolling hills climbing to high mountains, a snow capped high mountain plain, as well as breathtaking fjord views. There are many waterfalls along the way, and we will cross one of the lovely fjords in a ferry boat so we will have the view from the water as well. Bergen is of course a fun city to visit with its own special charm, so all and all the family will get a lot of holiday adventures in a compact period of time.

Practising for the OsloBG:
Some people might call me patriotic, but I do love to show off my country. It is always fun to have visitors who appreciate what we sometimes take for granted in our daily lives. We will now have an opportunity to warm up for the OsloBG where we will have lots of interested guests to guide around. It will be an advantage to go through the sites once more before our guests arrive and find the most efficient way to enjoy as much as possible.